Page 23 of You've Got The Love
Bas pulls me up roughly, making Yuki leap across the room, and then he’s dragging me down the hallway towards his bedroom.
Maybe I’m still in my bubble, or half of me is, as I feel like I’m moving in slow motion. I trip and nearly fall flat on my face, but Bas grabs me before I do, then I’m in his arms and he’s carrying me, bride style.What wonderful notion.
I don’t want to think. My brain is screaming at me to move, but every part of me feels frozen, like I’m watching someone else living my life through a fogged window. Bas’s arms around me are solid, real, but even that comfort feels distant—like I’m drifting just out of reach.
The sound of my own ragged breath fills the silence between us as he carries me to the bedroom. I want to cry, scream, and beg for answers. But all I can do is hold onto him, the only anchor I have right now.
My hands tremble as I try to steady myself, gripping the fabric of his shirt like it’s the last lifeline in a storm. The cold weight of Yuki in my arms is the only other thing grounding me. She’s quiet now, sensing my fear even if she can’t understand it. I don’t remember picking her up.
Bas sets me down gently on the bed, but I don’t move away. I’m too scared, too shaken to leave his side. The room feels both safe and suffocating, walls closing in with every heartbeat pounding in my ears.
“Amber,” Bas’s voice is soft but urgent, like he’s trying to reach me through a thick fog. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
I want to tell him everything, to unload the fear choking me, but the words get caught in my throat. My vision blurs with tears I didn’t even realise had started to fall.
“I don’t know,” I whisper finally, voice cracking. “Dad said we have to leave.Now. He didn’t say why. Just…run.”
The panic bubbles up again, hot and fast. My chest tightens as my breath comes in short, uneven gasps. My legsshake uncontrollably, and I curl inward like a child trying to disappear.
Bas moves closer, wrapping his arms around me again. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, but we have to go.”
His warmth seeps into my skin, grounding me just enough to keep the terror from swallowing me whole. But even as I cling to him, the shadows of what’s coming press in from every direction, and I know this night is only the beginning.
Chapter 12
Bastiaan
Amber hasn’t said a word since that last whisper, and I don’t push her. She’s wrapped in her bubble of fear, and I know that bubble all too well. I used to live in it. After Marieke… God, I practically built a home there.
I glance sideways at her. She’s staring out the passenger window, eyes wide but unfocused, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her knuckles are white where her fingers grip her elbows. Every bump in the road makes her flinch.
I reach across the console and rest my hand on hers. Her fingers twitch under mine, hesitant, like a startled bird testing the air—but then she curls them around my hand, and the slightest bit of tension eases from her shoulders. It’s barely a shift, but it’s enough to keep my focus razor-sharp.
The hum of the engine fills the heavy silence. My wipers swish once, clearing a fine mist from the windshield. Streetlights glide over her pale face, gilding her in fleetingamber. I want to say something that will make it all go away, something light or comforting, but I know the wrong words might splinter her calm.
“You’re quiet,” I murmur finally, keeping my tone low, non-intrusive.
Her lips part, but her voice is a rasp. “If I talk, I think I might… fall apart.”
“Then don’t,” I say softly, giving her hand a small squeeze. “Just breathe. I’ll hold you together for now.”
Her throat works as she swallows. She nods without looking at me, and her fingers tighten around mine like I’m her lifeline.
Amsterdam rises around us, a patchwork of bridges and shimmering canals. The narrow streets twist like veins, the tall gabled houses leaning over the water as if eavesdropping. Usually, I’d smile, seeing it through someone else’s eyes—through her eyes—but tonight, I just want to get her somewhere safe.
A sharp car horn cuts through the night. Amber jerks like she’s been shocked.
“Easy,” I murmur, stroking my thumb along her hand. “Just a taxi. Nothing else.”
“I hate this,” she whispers. “I hate feeling… hunted.”
I nod, jaw tight, because I feel the same, but she can’t know that. She needs me to be strong. “I know. But they’re not going to find you tonight. Not with me.”
We drive in tense silence for several more minutes, winding deeper into the quieter streets. When I cut theheadlights, the van feels swallowed by shadows. I slow as I approach the canal where my friend Sander keeps his barge. It’s dark and still, the only light coming from a string of soft golden fairy lights along the deck.Thank fuck.Exactly as I hoped—no one in sight.
Amber exhales shakily. “We’re… staying on a boat?”
“Not just a boat,” I say, forcing a reassuring smile as I pull into a small gravel patch to park. “A barge. Solid, private, and—most importantly—off anyone’s radar. You’ll like it. Trust me.”
