This is the final installment of this series. If you care to read it, my commentary about the last three chapters of this series is at the end. Thanks for sticking with the series.
Chapter Ten
Reunited
Amber stood in the living room of her long-time home and looked around at the emptiness everywhere. She was happy to be letting go and moving on, but she was sad to leave all the memories behind.
"I'm sorry I have to leave you this way," she said out loud. "I may not be who you wanted me to be but... I'm happy, right? I'm happy with Mackenzie and her husband. I'm happy to carry his child, even though it's not our little girl's. I always considered how you would judge me for what I've done lately but I also knew that you always wanted me to be happy."
She looked around again. She wept silently.
"I am happy, babe. I love our children and in a weird way, I guess, I discovered a new love that I never considered before. I'm happy. Our son came back to us, and he promised me he would complete our family since it was destroyed after you left us."
Her head bowed slightly in guilt.
"I know it's not the direction you would have led us, but without you, I did the best I could. Though, sometimes I wondered if I truly did."
She walked a large circle around the room.
"I'll miss this house, but I'll always have the memories we made here. I love you."
She walked to the kitchen counter and set the remaining keys to the house on it and walked out for the last time. She shed a few tears as she locked the door from the inside and closed it, never able to open it again on her own. She pressed her forehead against the door.
"Tell me I'm doing the right thing," she whispered.
She held her stance for a couple minutes before waddling to the car where her daughter was waiting.
"I can't believe I'm leaving our home," she said to Mackenzie.
"Our home is several states away now, Mom," Mackenzie said. "This one had memories, for sure, but look how they ended."
"Yeah," her mother replied.
It was a silent drive home and mother and daughter relived the memories of old and daydreamed about the new memories they will share together. Brian came out to greet them when they arrived, and he helped Mackenzie get the boxes out of their car after helping his mother-in-law get inside and get seated.
A week had passed since Luke left to find his sister and he had not contacted them at all. Amber worried plenty enough for everyone, but Mackenzie knew he could hold his own out there since he had done it for so long already. As they made dinner, they all discussed how the remainder of their time there would go. They questioned what point there was in keeping the old phones and why they needed to change the plans they had to move their combined households. Amber and Catherine expressed concern about being in the late stages of their pregnancy, but they were calmed and told them what their doctors had already advised.
"You just need to be here," Mackenzie said to both of them. "Don't try and help us move anything and we will take care of you. Remember, you have precious cargo!"
Catherine understood the precautions that needed to be taken and took the doctor's advice to heart. Amber was a bit stubborn and persistently tried to help get things done faster. It became habit for Brian to detach himself from whatever he was doing to attend to her. When she would try lifting things or moving furniture, he would take her by the hand and guide her to the bedroom. Making her cum several times would make her tired and she would nap while Mackenzie took care of moving smaller things into the garage or packing up boxes. Amber sometimes helped on purpose just to get sex without going through the usual steps. She never caught on that even though Brian enjoyed fucking her whenever she wanted, his primary goal during that time was to get her sleepy and unwilling to help any longer.
Sometimes, both Catherine and Amber both would become bothersome as the other two tried packing and moving without interruption. On those occasions, all four of them would take a break from moving and enjoy some intimate moments in bed together.
The common practice would have Amber and Catherine on their backs. They would hold each other's hands as their daughter and son respectively dived between their legs. Sometimes they would kiss passionately as they were being eaten out, sometimes they simply enjoyed closing their eyes while they were being brought to orgasm. Of course, there were variations along the way as to how they were each feeling, but they ensured the four of them took an intimate break together and slept together that same night.
When they were three weeks from closing, they all began to get anxious about Luke's plans. He had yet to contact them. They decided that they would give him more time but after a certain point, they had to move forward with their original plans. At that moment, the house looked as empty as Amber's did when Luke arrived. Mattresses were on the floor, they were using paper and plastic utensils and microwaving most of their food, if they didn't eat out. All their other items were either in storage or in their garage.
With two weeks remaining, Luke finally broke his silence.
"Call this number in five minutes," the text message read on Catherine's phone.
Amber was anxious to call him and paced the floor as the minutes counted down. When the exact time passed, she called the number and was happy to hear her son's voice.
"Hi, Mom," he said. "I don't have much of an update for Calley. All I can tell you is that I know where she's not. Aside from that, I have the rest of the plan worked out. You may not like all the details, but I assure you, it's for the best."
She put him on speaker as he laid out the plans.
"First things first, put all your old phones in a small box and tape it up. They will be going somewhere, but not with you. When you leave for the last time, leave that box on the porch and someone will pick it up. Don't worry about them anymore. That will help take care of people being able to find you too easily.
"After that, I know half of you are pregnant," he said with a chuckle, "So, I'm sending some stand-up guys to come help you move. They have a large truck and will come when you need them. They will pick up all your stuff from storage and whatever house the rest is in and will drive you where you need to go. You can release whoever you hired to do the job.
"These guys are not dealers, users or anything else. They're good guys and will handle all the stuff for you. You can offer to help them, but they'll probably decline it all. We good so far?"
Brian stepped up and asked, "Are we really concerned with people tracking us?"
"I'm not overly concerned about it, but it would make me feel better if I took these extra steps," Luke replied.
Everyone nodded silently to each other.
"And they will take us all the way to the new house?" Amber asked.
"They will take you anywhere you want to go that a truck can get to. Just give them the address and they will get you there, unpack the truck and move the heavy furniture in for you. Everything else will be up to you guys," he told them.
"What about Calley?" Mackenzie asked.
"Like I told Mom, I know where she's not. I also know where she's been but that's only marginally helpful. I will tell you that when I find her, it will still be months before we meet back up with you. My requirement is that she is completely clean and sober and through a 12-step program before I bring her home. We will do that far away from here and still far enough from where you're going."
"Thank you, Luke," his mother said.
"Don't thank me yet, there's still a lot to do. I need something from you, Mom."
"Anything," she replied.
