Page 61 of Breaking Matt
There were a few seconds of silence before my father replied, "Okay."
"And I want a bodyguard posted outside his hospital room until he leaves the hospital," I added.
There was no way I was going to leave Matthew unprotected while he was recovering. I had no idea if they would come after him to finish him off.
"Fine," he agreed. "I will have to call Mark and make the necessary arrangements."
"Here, you can speak to him now," I said, walking to Mark and handing him my phone.
I crossed my arms and watched Mark's face as he took instructions from my father. His eyes held mine as he nodded, saying, "Yes, I will arrange that."
A few minutes later, the call ended and Mark handed me back my phone.
"I understand why you did this," he said softly. "But I'm not sure he will."
I looked down at the floor as I contemplated what he said. It would hurt him—but at least I was keeping him alive.
Chapter Nineteen
Ididn't wantto leave the hospital until Matthew's family arrived. It was like I didn't want to leave him without leaving someone to watch over him. It was hard enough, I couldn't leave him alone. Leaning against the wall I looked up to the ceiling. I wanted to go back inside his room and watch him while he slept peacefully, but I was scared it would make it impossible to leave him. A nurse walked out of his room and gave me a friendly smile, which I tried to mirror but failed.
"They'll be here soon," Mark said from beside me.
I nodded. There was so much going on in my mind. My heart was screaming for me to put myself first, but my mind and the guilt made me stay exactly where I was.
A nervous knot developed in my stomach at the thought of briefly meeting Matthew's family for the first time. Had he ever told them about me?
I pushed the thought out of my mind. It didn't matter. Whatever we had I was walking away from to protect him, and thinking about things that weren't relevant anymore was a waste of time. Every sound at the entrance of the floor made me look up but each time I saw people arrive, they would walk in another direction.
But the moment his family arrived, the resemblance left me with no doubt of who they were. An older couple alongside two young women who looked younger than me stepped out of the elevator. Their worried looks pulled at my guilt.
Matthew looked just like his father. They had the same features and they were similarly built. My eyes moved to the lady walking beside him. Matthew had the same color eyes as who I assumed was his mom.
Mark walked to meet them and I stayed where I was. I felt like this was my fault and I wasn't sure how they would react to my presence. Would they blame me, even if it had been his job to protect me?
"Where is he?" his mom asked Mark with a worried expression.
"He's recovering from surgery in his room," he informed them.
One of his sisters looked at me with a questioning glance. Mark turned to me.
"This is Sarah," he introduced me to them. "He was protecting her."
I gave them a nervous smile, unsure of how to respond to them.
Matthew's mom walked to me and took my hands in hers.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she said. Her reaction took me by surprise and all I could do was nod.
Only two people could visit at a time, so Matthew's parents went into the room and his sisters remained outside with Mark and me. I don't know why I was still waiting around. I'd told myself that once his family arrived I would leave, but actually walking away from him was harder than I'd expected.
Mark introduced me to Matthew's sisters.
"Sophie," he said, giving a nod to the youngest-looking one who had a similar coloring to Matthew. She stepped forward to hug me. I returned her hug.
"It's nice to finally meet you," she said with a genuine smile that reached her eyes. I gave her a questioning glance.
"He told us all about you."
