CHAPTER 6: SOLVED

It was almost morning when Amber woke up from such a deep sleep. She fell asleep right after what she did with her bidder last night. Her whole body was aching because of the intensity of what happened between them. The man wouldn't even stop until she pleaded and told him that she was so tired already. 

She looked at the man beside her and as soon as she found out that he was still deeply asleep, she got out of the bed and gathered her clothes and dressed up. There is no way she would let the man see her again after what he did to her. Also, she already lost her dignity after selling her body to a stranger, at least she wouldn't let him take away her shame, too. 

Amber didn't know how she was able to go home. All that she could remember was how tired she was that she wasn't even able to wash her body before climbing up on her bed. 

"Amber! Amber!"

When Amber opened her eyes again, it was already noon. She sat up on her bed and saw Amelie standing at the side of her bed with a surprise look on her face. 

"Amelie, what's the matter?"

"The debt has been paid! How did that happen? I called them this morning and they just told me that it has been paid off already. Did you pay for it? Where did you get the money?" Amelie began asking countless questions. 

Amber paused for a moment. She wasn't prepared for her sister's interrogation. There is no way she would tell her the real reason how she was able to get the money to pay their debt. 

"A-Amelie, calm down. I'll explain it to you later, okay? C-Can you just please let me take a bath first?" she asked. 

Amelie was hesitating, but she just nodded her head. "Okay. I'll wait for you downstairs."

"Thanks."

The moment Amelie closed the door, Amber heaved a deep sigh and leaned on the headboard of her bed. She could still feel the ache between her legs as she tried to move them. Struggling, she limped to the bathroom and started taking a bath. 

Her skin became red because of how hard she was brushing it with the loofa just to remove the dried body fluids that reminded her of what happened that night. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Before going out of the bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. 

She may not be the same as before, but at least she was able to save herself and her sister. 

"You can start a new life again, Amber. Just forget about everything," she mumbled to herself. 

***

"So, where did you get the money from?" Amelie asked her sister again while they were having lunch. 

Amber took a sip of the coffee that Amelie made for her before looking at her sister again. "W-Well...I-I just borrowed some money from the bank."

"You did?"

"How did you do that?"

"I just inquired and I learned about that. They told me they would just deduct it from my salary every month until I pay it fully." she said without directly looking at Amelie's eyes. She just wished her sister wouldn't suspect her. 

Amelie nodded her head. "Then I'll give you all of my salary every month. You can use that to pay the debt even little by little."

"No, you don't have to. I'll pay it by myself, Amelie. Don't worry about anything."

"What are you saying? It's my fault that we got indebted to them, okay? I should be the one paying for it instead of you."

"It's not your fault, it's your ex-boyfriend's. Fine. If you really want to help, then you can just give half of your salary every month."

"Fine. By the way, don't you have work today? It's strange how you woke up so late today. You usually wake up so early in the morning like a grandma."

Amber shook her head. "I-I took a day off today. I don't know, I just feel so lazy. I'll go back to work tomorrow, anyway."

"Okay. You may take a rest today. You actually deserve that because you're always at work and you won't even take any day off. You know, you should take good care of your health."

Amber smiled. "Oh, so my little sister is worried about me? How sweet of you."

"Of course, I am worried about you. We are all that we have now. I can't lose you..."Amelie almost mumbled. 

"Yes, mother. I promise to take care of my health from now on. I still want to see you become an old grumpy woman, you know."

Amelie glared at her. "You would be the one who's grumpier between us. You woul be an old single lady who gets mad at every single thing. Also, you would be yelling at young couples for flirting too much."

"Fine, fine. But you promised that you would wipe my bum when I grow old."

"And when did I say that?"

"When we were kids. Back when I got hospitalized, remember?"

Amelie just rolled her eyes and laughed. "I can't believe you still remember that. Fine, grandma. I promise to wipe your ass when you're old."

Amber smiled while nodding her head "That's right. That's a promise."

She heaved a deep sigh as soon as Amelie left. That's right. She wants to live a long life for her sister. If she dies early, no one's going to take good care of Amelie. She will forget about the horrible thing that happened and start anew. 

Amelie needs her, so she should do whatever it takes to survive each single day no matter how hard it gets. No matter how that night would haunt her for the rest of her life. 

"Everything is done now, Amber. Tomorrow, you will start a new life. You will never see that man again. You will never remember that night again."