Page 12 of Blindsided

“There’s a lot of noise no matter what you do.” Ellie laughs.

“True.” Adam deals the river, and Ellie ends up winning the hand. We continue to play, joking and laughing.

It’s the distraction I needed, and it makes me grateful to have Matthew in my life. It doesn’t matter that we don’t talk to each other on a regular basis. He’s been there for me when I’ve needed him. Going a step further to help distract me is just icing on an already delicious cake.

If my crush happens to grow a little more every day I’m here… well, that’s a consequence I’m willing to take to feel safe.

I’m also not going to give up a chance to hang out with Matthew one-on-one when it’s something I’ve dreamt about doing since I was a teenager. I plan on making these memories last because they’re the only ones I’ll ever get.

CHAPTER6

Matthew

My muscles burn as I reach down to touch my toes. You’d think that running with Tilly after work every day this week would’ve kept me limber, but I think I’m even tighter than usual. The girl can run, that’s for sure.

“You’re here early,” Adam says as he drops his bag next to me. He sits down on the turf to change his shoes to cleats and begins to stretch, too.

“Didn’t have anything else to do, so I figured I’d warm up a little.”

Adam’s lips turn down as he nods, making it clear he doesn’t believe me for a second. “Did Tilly make it to the airport?”

“Yep. She texted a few minutes ago that she was at her gate.”

“Good. What’s she going to do when she gets back to New York?”

“She’s staying at Desmond’s for the night since her flight to London leaves early tomorrow morning.”

“Did you talk to Jeffery?” Adam stands to stretch his quads.

“He going to reach out to some of his contacts in New York. Unfortunately, there’s not much he can do either, it sounds like.”

“It’s astounding to me that someone can be terrorized like she was and the police can’t do anything about it.”

I grunt in agreement. I’m not going to tell Adam how nervous I am that Tilly’s back in New York. What if something happens to her? Is she capable of protecting herself? Maybe I should’ve had Ellie take her to the self-defense class she goes to.

It’s too fucking late now, though.

The good news is she won’t be in the city for very long. She leaves for London tomorrow and will be traveling for a couple of weeks afterward.

Nolan and Carter make it to the field before we can finish our conversation, which is probably for the best. My whole week has consisted of spending time with Tilly, and I’m pretending like I’m not already feeling the void of her absence.

If it had been anyone else, I’d have been dying for them to leave by day three. I’m social by nature, but even I have limits. The fact that I never once got annoyed by Tilly’s presence is weird. Add in how lost I feel now that she’s gone, and I’m more out of sorts than I know how to handle.

Sara completes our group, giving hugs to all of us. “How’s Tilly doing?”

“Good, I think. She’s flying back home tonight.”

“Tilly Areneto?” Nolan asks.

“Yeah, she stayed with Matthew for a few days. I never got the full story from Ellie, though,” Sara answers.

“Why the heck didn’t I know about this?” Nolan huffs.

I roll my eyes. Of course, he’s put out about not being in the loop. He’s the baby of the family, after all. He can’t stand to be left out.

“Tilly has some trouble with a stalker, and she came to stay with me for a few days because Desmond’s team is traveling this week. She’s on her way back to New York now, and then she’s flying out to London.”

“A stalker? What the fuck is wrong with people? Is she okay?” Carter asks, shaking his head. He was only a year older than Tilly in school.

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