Barely, I thought, my jaw tightening.
She was here, yes, but she wasn’t the Amber we’d grown up with, not entirely. And it was our fault.
Her gaze flickered between the three of us again, and she let out a shaky breath, her hands gripping the blanket tighter. “I need to make one thing clear,” she began, her voice low but steady. “I’m not forgiving you. Not yet. Maybe not ever.”
Alan stiffened beside me, and I could feel Aaron shift uncomfortably against the wall. My own chest tightened, but I forced myself to nod. “We don’t expect you to,” I said, my voice hoarse. “We don’t deserve it.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she seemed to be searching our faces for any sign of insincerity. “Good. Because this isn’t about what you deserve. This is about what I need. What I want.”
“You’
