To finish off, this chapter has zero action and quite a bit of romance but read it if you want to. In answer to a question about why the police came, let's just say that someone tipped them off and they arrived in the nick of time. Also the fire had something to do with them coming.
Hex lay in his bed. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but sleep just wouldn't come. He had too much on his mind. Well it was actually one thing but he was so confused that it felt like a million. Amber. So many times over this holiday turn mission he had thought that Amber may have returned his feelings. So many times he was on the verge of blurting out how much he loved her but he had always chickened out in the end. He frowned a she remembered back to just a few hours before. Amber had been holding onto him and she hadn't shot him so maybe that meant something. Hex rubbed his forehead in confusion. Of course she wouldn't have shot him. That didn't mean anything- she wouldn't have shot Alex, Paulo or Li either. He had no idea what was going on apart from the fact that he knew he loved Amber more than anyone else. Why couldn't he tell her then? A little voice in his head said 'You're a coward. You're afraid of what she might say and what will happen.' Hex shook his head but the voice got louder. I'm not a coward. 'Tell her then,' the voice taunted. Fine. I will. But not verbally.
Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen from his backpack, Hex frowned in concentration. He needed something to right on. Reaching for his palmtop, Hex realised it wasn't where he had put it. Strange... He decided to look for it as soon as he had finished the letter, even though it was in the early hours of the morning. If he went searching now, he would never write the letter. Hex grabbed a book and started to write.
Amber tossed and turned in her bed. She willed sleep to come but it stayed stubbornly at bay. Why hadn't she told Hex when she had the chance? The way he had acted when they were back at the warehouse had been quite a good indication that maybe he felt the same way about her that she felt about him. Or she was completely wrong and he had been comforting her for other reasons. Amber sighed and realised that she would never get to sleep if she kept thinking like this. If only she had told him... She pushed all thoughts of Hex from her mind and rolled over, her hand flopping out of bed. She yanked it back up again. Ouch! Amber peered over the edge of the bed and saw something in a black case. Hex's palmtop. How had that got in here? Hex never let it out of his sight if he could help it. The sight of the palmtop gave Amber an idea. She pulled the palmtop out of its case and was about to boot it up, when she realised that she didn't know Hex's password. Bugger. There goes my brilliant plan. Amber flipped open the lid anyway and was startled when she saw it was already turned on and logged in. What on earth...? It seemed slightly suspicious but Amber pushed her doubts away. She opened up a new word document and started typing.
Hex tiptoed across the room. He had finished writing his letter and decided to leave it in one of Amber's boots which were sitting outside the door of her and Li's room. As he walked outside the door, he tripped and stumbled. Hex looked down to see what had tripped him and gave a sigh of relief. His palmtop. His relief turned to puzzlement as he picked it up. How had it got out here? Oh well. He had it back so what mattered. After slipping the note into Amber's boot, he went back into his room. He grinned as he thought of Alex sharing a room with Paulo. The Argentinean snored like an elephant with a cold and Hex was thankful that he had his own room. Once he was seated on his bed, Hex booted the computer up and logged in. He frowned. On his desktop was a shortcut that hadn't been there last time he looked. It was for a word document. Hex clicked it open.
Dear Hex,
This is really hard for me to say. Type. Whatever. I figured that if I typed it on your palmtop, you might take it seriously. Don't freak out, please. I just wanted to tell you something important. Well I think it's important but you might not.
I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. How you put my safety first ahead of your own. I can't thank you enough for all the times you've trusted me: the earliest- when I had to get you the antibiotics when you got bitten by the Komodo dragon and the latest- just a few hours ago when I was holding onto that gun.
That's another reason I'm typing this. I have a confession to make. You know when I said in the ambulance that I couldn't shoot you. I meant it. I could never shoot you, Hex or hurt you intentionally in any way. Do you know why? It's the same reason why I am mean to you sometimes and poke fun at you. It's the same reason why I feel safe when I'm around you. It's the same reason why I was clinging to you before. It's the same reason why I'm typing this letter. It's because I love you.
Amber
Hex stared at the screen. He read the words another time and felt his heart swell. He shut the palmtop down and lay back in his bed, sleep finally coming.
Amber put the palmtop gently down outside Hex's door and stood in the corridor. The next time Hex logged on, he would find the letter she had typed. That freaked her out a little bit and she suddenly felt very thirsty. Amber tiptoed along the corridor to the bathroom and had a glass of water. She heard a thump back out in the hall but didn't think anything of it. As she came out of the bathroom, she saw that Hex's palmtop had gone. That thump must have been his door shutting. Knowing Hex, he would be on the little computer right now checking everything was alright with it. Amber hurried back to her room but in her haste she tripped over her boots. The boots tipped over and a piece of paper fell out. I wonder what this is. Amber picked it up and walked back into her room. She grabbed a torch and snuggled under the bedcovers so that she could read it without waking Li. It was a letter.
Dear Amber,
This will probably come as a shock to you but I have to tell you. A letter seemed to be the best way as you know how I am with expressing emotions and stuff. That's why I never told you.
When I first met you, you were so horrible to me. I couldn't wait to see the back of you. But then we were shipwrecked and formed Alpha Force and you changed. I changed. It was after our first mission that I began to admit it to myself. When the holidays came round, while I was excited about seeing Li, Alex and Paulo, it was you who I wanted to see the most.
When we were at the warehouse I realised something. Life is so fragile and if I don't tell you now, then maybe I won't ever get a chance. There are times when I thought that maybe you felt the same way about me as I feel about you, but I know I'm wrong. That's another reason why I haven't told you. I was scared about how you'd react, what it would do to Alpha Force and our friendship. But now I realise that it's not that scary anymore. What is scary is the thought that with all of the trouble we seem to get in to, I might die before I tell you how much I care about you. Just in case I never get another proper chance to tell you, I'll tell you now. I love you Amber.
Hex
Amber looked at the paper for a few minutes, her eyes drifting over the text without really seeing it. She felt happy but nervous at the same time. What would it be like in the morning? Glancing at her watch, Amber felt a little wave of dread sweep over her as she realised that dawn was in just a few hours. Amber pushed the dread away. What did it matter? Amber turned the torch of and closed her eyes. She drifted off into sleep with the paper still clutched in her hand and a smile on her face.
It's done! Pretty long but I hope everyone liked it. Thanks to every single person who reviewed; I owe you guys heaps! Without you I wouldn't have had ideas or that bit of a push to get this story this long, let alone finish it. Thanks again guys, I appreciate it heaps and send hugs your ways.
Emmalea xxx