Right Place Wrong Time

chapter 22

*Matt POV*

Mum and Millie bombarded me with questions and stories, filling me in on the events from the last couple of weeks; I nodded and looked surprised in all the right places, as if I hadn’t heard these stories repetitively for 2 weeks.

“I’ll go and get us some coffees shall I?” mum said softly. Millie and I nodded, the same relief blessing us both.

“Has she been sleeping?” I asked slowly after mum had left.

“Not really, Tia and I have tried to help her out but you know how stubborn she is.”

Tia. I heard her when she spoke and kept willing myself to wake up, my brain shouting at my body to wake itself up and hold her tight, tell that I’m sorry and that I’ll never leave her again. Tell her I need her. But my body resisted, forcing my brain to endure the torture of her pleas and not allowing me to respond. I felt her fall asleep on my arms, her soft hair and the fall of her breath left tingles on my skin. But still I couldn’t respond.

“She’s been here every day you know.” Millie said, snapping me back to the room.

“I know.” I said quietly, “is she here now?”

“Yeah,” Millie replied slowly, “but she’s confused Matt.”

“Don’t blame her; does she want to see me?”

“Yes.” Tia’s sugar sweet voice rushed through my body; I lifted my head up to see her standing in the doorway, her dark waves of hair cascading down her shoulders.

“I’ll go see how mum’s doing with the coffee.” Millie smiled.

“Tia?” I croaked, feeling tears fighting up through my throat. A million words whizzed through my brain, I wanted to tell her how sorry I was, how much I needed her. How much I loved her. But before I got the chance her face was close to mine, her breath falling hot on my lips, she pressed her forehead into mine before kissing me softly.  As she lifted her head I saw tears dripping from her face. I wiped each of her cheeks with my thumb.

“Never scare me like that again.” She ordered.

During the few weeks after I was discharged from hospital, I re adapted myself to life, I worked with therapists and nurses and mum and Millie had been staying with me to help me out. Tia stayed sometimes but she had been spending more time at home to make up for the time she missed with her family while she was with me in the hospital.

With mum and Millie staying here I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Tia about what happened before my accident, I wanted to explain and apologise but I didn’t know how to begin and every time I tried mum or Millie would come in and I would have to stop. Our relationship had gone back to how it was; it was as if we had never broken up. But I had a feeling there was going to come a point where we’d have to drag all that back up again, just to be sure we were doing the right thing by being together.

“Matt come and sit down, there’s something we need to discuss.” Mum said slowly, gesturing to the empty seat on the opposite side of the table to her and Millie.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“You know that your father was charged with assault and sentenced to 9 months in jail?”

“Yeah…”

“Your sister and I have been thinking about this for a while and it’s not safe for us here anymore.”

“But he’s in prison mum, he can’t hurt you.”

“But he’ll come out Matthew, and when he does you know he’ll come back.” She replied slowly, fear fleeting through her eyes.

“He might not! And I’m here to protect you.” I insisted.

“Matthew we all know what he’s capable of,” she took my hands and squeezed them tightly, “honey, we have to move away.”

“Away where?” I choked. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing Tia again.

“We were thinking Spain.” I nodded slowly, I had pictured myself being with Tia for a very long time, but at the end of the day family comes first.

“This is going to break Tia’s heart.” I spoke quietly. Mum and Millie looked at each other slowly.

“Matt I think you’ve misunderstood,” Millie started, “Mum and I am moving away, you have to stay.”

“w-what?” I stuttered, trying to get my head around it.

“You need to stay here and look after Tia,” mum continued, “imagine dad gets out, he realises that we’ve all left the country; who do you think he’s going to go after?”

“But what would he want with Tia?” I asked.

“He’ll damage the things that you love, as revenge.” Mum said simply, “trust me Matthew, this is how it has to be.”

I felt tears running down my face as mum’s hand cupped around my cheek. She was right, dad was smart in the way he hurt people, he’d hurt the things close to you just to break you down bit by bit. I guess Tia was my kryptonite so it made sense that my dad would use her to get to me but I wasn’t going to let that happen. I could see that something in my mum and sister had changed, they were stronger than ever now, but if they stayed that would all be put in jeopardy. As much as it broke my heart to think of them leaving, they deserved a fresh start.