Page 41 of Breaking Matt
"But that doesn't mean something happened to her—" I started.
"We need to go back to the apartment," he said, cutting me off. He took me by the hand and led me toward the exit, ignoring the looks from the other students. Still feeling a little stunned, I allowed him to tug me by the hand to the car before I yanked my hand out of his grip.
"Stop it," I said, refusing to move another step.
He sighed out loud and then ran a hand through his hair.
"It might have something do with you or it might not. We can't take any chances," he explained.
I didn't have a good feeling about this, so I allowed him to secure me in the passenger seat before closing the door and going around the car to get into the driver's side.
A heavy silence settled between us on the way back to the apartment. Did Matthew really believe this had something to do with me? Was that why he was so quick to get me back to the apartment safely? Had something really bad happened to Courtney? Did this have something to do with the people Matthew was protecting me from?
I bit down on my nail as I gazed out of the window, trying to keep control over my overwhelming thoughts. I had to think positive and I had to believe this was a coincidence.
Thinking it could have something to do with me made me feel guilty. For the first time I was glad to have the protection of a bodyguard.
I glanced at him for a moment. A bodyguard I couldn't let anything happen to.
Chapter Thirteen
Time seemedto slow down as we anxiously waited for any news about Courtney. Ten minutes felt like an hour and I kept glancing at my watch, but it wouldn't speed up the wait. Matthew prowled around the apartment like a caged lion and I sat on the sofa biting my nails. He held his phone in his hand, waiting for news.
"Do you think the people who are after me might have taken her?" I asked quietly, trying to wrap my mind around what was happening.
He stopped pacing and turned to face me. He knelt in front of me and took my hands in his.
"They might have," he answered.
"But...I don't understand," I mumbled, feeling the guilt that something might have happened to her because she was my friend. It was hard to comprehend.
He reached up and caressed my cheek with his hand.
"We don't know anything at the moment. Let's wait until we find her before we start speculating," he suggested, but I could see he didn't believe for one moment her disappearance didn't have something to do with me.
He gave me an encouraging smile. I tried to return the smile but I could barely force the tips of my lips upward. It was hard to pretend on the outside what I didn't feel inside.
"She might have gone out and met someone and stayed over at their place," he said dubiously. That didn't sound like Courtney at all.
Instead of arguing with him, I nodded my head. Courtney wasn't one to go out during the week. I'd known her since high school and this was completely out of character for her.
In our tight-knit group from high school we were the only ones who had attended the same college. Although we still kept in touch with our other friends, Courtney and I had always been closer to each other than we had been to the rest of our group.
Matthew stood up and began to pace again. Unable to watch him walk up and down the length of the room one more time, I got up.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I nodded tiredly. "I just need to lay down a little," I said. The truth was I needed space—and watching him worry wasn't helping me.
Inside the quiet of my room, I slumped down on my bed. I tried to think back to the last time I'd seen her and I tried to remember if she'd said anything about going away. But I couldn't remember anything. The last time I'd seen her I'd been too consumed with my own situation with Matt. Feeling bad I'd been so wrapped up in my own life when my friend may have been in danger, I lay down on the bed and covered my eyes with my arm.
I had to believe she would be okay when we found her, because I couldn't think of a different scenario. It was too hard to.
My phone rang, and I sat up quickly. It was my father.
"Hi," I answered softly.
"Sarah," he said in his usual deep tone. Did he know about Courtney? "Matthew called."
