Page 66 of Breaking Matt
I nodded. "It's just going to get worse when Matthew doesn't show up in week."
"Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out."
The easy solution would be to pretend Mark was my new boyfriend, but I wasn't sure I could pull that off. With Matthew it had been easy, because we'd had chemistry. Besides, even though we weren't really together, it felt wrong to pretend with someone else.
I closed my eyes briefly, feeling a little overwhelmed. I hated the feeling of not being in control and being at the mercy of the actions of others.
Later that day, my father called.
"You should come home," my father instructed. "We can protect you better here."
I wasn't ready to give up on the independence I'd gained by living in the apartment away from my parents.
"Let's see what happens," I deflected without refusing outright. "I need to continue with my classes and get notes." Even though it could all be done electronically, I preferred to stay. There was also the possibility of a stalker when Matthew didn't return but I refused to allow Ryan's ill-thought-out action to push me into making a choice I didn't want.
I heard someone else talking in the background. The voice was familiar. It was Matthew. The sound vibrated through me, leaving me shaken and unsteady. I sat down on my bed.
"Is that Matthew?" I asked my father, not quite believing it. As far as I had been aware he was still recuperating from his wound.
"Yes."
"What is he doing there? I told you I didn't want him protecting me anymore!" I said, raising my voice. My anger was rising—my father had gone against what I had requested.
"He isn't a part of your security detail, but he runs the company that is providing the bodyguards. He is still supervising your protection."
It made sense, but the news winded me slightly. I rubbed my forehead. It was unexpected and I felt a mixture of feelings at the idea that he was still a part of my life even though my intention had been to cut him out for his own safety. I was momentarily stunned.
"Shouldn't he be at home resting?" It had only been a week.
"He believes his guys will protect you better if you were at home," my father said, sidestepping my previous comment.
Was he putting extra pressure on my parents to get me to move back home?
"Your mom is worried about you." I knew that already. She'd spent every morning for at least thirty minutes on our regular phone calls for the last week trying to guilt me into coming home, but I'd stood my ground.
"I'll think about it."
If Matthew was having meetings with my father, would I see him around? There was a flutter of excitement in my stomach at the thought of seeing him again.
I had tried to keep him out of my life to keep him safe but clearly it wasn't within my control.
There were bad people in the world, people who killed with no care or conscience, but it was one thing reading or watching about it and being faced with it in real life. I had tried not to think about the man who was responsible for this and I had spent a lot of time at night remembering the picture Matthew had shown me.
After everything that had happened I wasn't sure I would ever be able to go back to the carefree person I had been before, but at least if Nick were behind bars and his organization could go on with their bad dealings with someone else in charge, I could return to some kind of normal.
My father finally gave up trying to persuade me and ended the call. I put my phone down beside my bed.
"What are we up to today?" Mark asked from the doorway of my bedroom.
I pinned him with a look that told him I wasn't in the mood for jokes. He knew very well I wasn't going to step a foot outside the front door. I wasn't stupid.
"Nowhere," I said. I hadn't been able to set foot outside the safe haven of the apartment.
A couple of policemen had come by to take a statement from me about the shooting.Did you see the shooter? Did you see where the shot came from? Did you see anything suspicious?I had felt useless—I hadn't been able to give them any valuable information. It had all happened so fast and my only concern had been Matthew bleeding out in front of me.
Mark remained silent, watching me.
"What?" I asked, hating the attention while I was feeling weak.
