Page 62 of Breaking Matt
"Really?" I said, feeling a little taken aback. She nodded.
I wasn't sure why that surprised me. Maybe it was because he'd lied to me about who he really was?
"And this is Tracy," Mark said, introducing me to the other sister. She was fairer than Sophie, with long wavy dark blonde hair and the blue eyes.
She didn't hug me like Sophie had, and her smile never reached her eyes. The dislike was evident in her expression.
"Hi," I said, but it didn't seem to ease her tight features.
She wasn't as forgiving as the rest of her family. She was pretending to be fine with my presence, but I could tell she wasn't. I couldn't blame her. She was reacting exactly the way I'd expected.
Mark seemed to notice because he pulled her to one side by her elbow. Tracy gave him a glare and pulled her arm free from his grip. They spoke in hushed tones, so I struggled to hear exactly what was being said, but I could tell it was getting a bit heated.
"Don't worry about her," Sophie piped up beside me. I glanced at her. "Tracy doesn't approve of the whole bodyguard-thing."
It was something I could understand. If I had someone I cared about take on a job that risked their life every day I would probably feel the same way. Our situation was different—it hadn't just been about the money.
"I get it," I said with a shrug.
My eyes went back to Mark and Tracy, who were still having the same heated discussion. Mark, who was usually calm and reserved, was clearly angry. Tracy glared at him as she crossed her arms.
I couldn't help feeling there was more to their discussion than Matthew and the fact he was in hospital. I watched them with interest. Mark shook his head at something she said, looking like he was struggling to contain his anger.
"I swear they should just screw and get over it," Sophie said out of the blue. My jaw dropped. I gave her a look of alarm and she giggled.
"There's been something going on between those two," she explained with a shrug. "I don't know why they don't just get together."
I smiled at her honesty.
"Really?" I questioned as my eyes went back to them.
"Yeah, it's been going on for a while."
With this new information I studied them, looking for any sign of an attraction I might have missed before. Mark said something to Tracy and she pressed her lips together. She looked so angry. Mark gave her one more silent hard look before he walked away from her. Her eyes followed him. Then I saw something deep in her eyes when she didn't think anyone was watching. I saw a glimpse of something there. A slight vulnerability.
Sophie was right. There was something definitely going on between the two of them. When Tracy noticed my eyes on her she pinned me with a glare and any softness that had been there a moment ago vanished.
Mark walked to where Sophie and I were standing.
"Let me know when you're ready to leave," Mark said, and Sophie gave me a curious look.
The time had come to follow through on my decision. No more thinking or wrestling with it. Nothing good would come from me remaining at the hospital. The longer I stayed the more difficult it would be to leave him.
I looked to the door of the hospital room Matthew was in. What I wanted more than anything in this world was in that room, but I had to do the right thing. Remembering the pain and the blood when he'd been shot was enough to give me the strength to turn to Sophie.
"It was nice to meet you," I said, and I gave her brief hug.
"You're not staying?" she asked, looking a little confused by my actions.
It was hard for me to understand why I was doing what I was, so it would be almost impossible to explain my actions to an outsider. So, instead of answering her question, I shook my head.
Tracy, who was standing alone a couple of feet away from us, gave me an indifferent look.
"I'm ready," I said, pulling my attention back to Mark.
I walked down the hallway to the elevator and Mark followed beside me. It felt like a part of me inside was dying. Walking away from him went against every fiber of my being...but I had to. No matter how much it hurt, I had to keep reminding myself that I was doing this for him. I had to keep him safe, and the only way I could do that was to keep him out of my life.
He wouldn't understand. My decision would hurt him, but at least it would keep him alive and that was all that mattered. How much it crushed me to put one foot in front of the other and leave him didn't matter.
