Bruised

Chapter 22

"I have some who aren't that easy to hide though" Matthew said and she chuckled. "Very funny."

"There's a slightly chance that you may amuse me Stella Petriece." He could tell she was trying to hide a smile "You just said I did."

The next minutes were spent talking about houses and whether they liked or not to move. "I wasn't really used to moving until I was dumped a few days ago." She looked shocked "You were what?" He explained but she didn't look any less surprised "How did I not know this?"

Matthew rolled his eyes "Stella c'mon you were ignoring me, maybe that's why" She crossed her arms "Don't look at me like that, you know it's true, I tried to talk to you"

"Joe could have told me" She stated in her defense. "Not that you would care" he said just after but she spoke again avoiding the subject. "Where have you been living?"

"Nate's mother found me a place but I'm going to look for a new one tomorrow. That one ain't really for me it was just temporary so I could put things back together. I have some savings and if this works out it'll be fine for me to pay a rent." He explained while Stella was quiet simply paying attention.

Once he stopped she had to speak again "I could go with you" Matthew told her he would begin really early but she told him that wasn't really a problem for her.

Matthew looked out the window and was about to say how beautiful the night was when he got distracted with the laugh of a few girls that crossed the street only to notice that Amber was one of them. There was always something that gave her away, it could be her style or her smile or even the way she walked. Matthew had always loved the way she walked with so much confidence and yet not full of herself. He lost himself in the middle of his thoughts unable to take his eyes away from the girl who peaceful laughed outside. Stella had to call him twice before he realised she was doing it.

"It's her isn't she? Amber?" He nodded. "Wanna talk about it?"

Matthew looked at Stella and stared back at the window watching the girl walk away "I told you before" She smiled tiredly "I'm not talking about the way you broke up."

He let out a laugh, the fact that she cared so much for him and for everyone around her was extraordinary "I had a rough life but my school life was always pretty normal, I was not the most popular kid on the block but I always had my gang and when Amber showed up to class the first time I didn't fell for her right away." He could recall all that so easily it felt like yesterday.

"She was sweet and shy and sat on a corner with a couple of girls caring about anyone else, one of those girls was Chris. Then Nate, the most charismatic guy in class decided to ask her out and they started dating maybe a couple of months later, me and Amber started to hang a lot more and it didn't take long before I realised how much I liked her. I guess that's the thing that fascinates me the most, the fact that once you get to know her you can't dislike her. She is the best at basically everthing and yet doesn't brag about it, she is flawless you see. She's still flawless to my eyes and the truth is after all this time I still can't control the way I feel about her."

Stella was almost sure his voice was about to crack and when he stopped to take a sip "I know how insane this all sounds, it's crazy for me too but it's the way it is. Nevertheless, trust me when I tell you she was a fantastic person, she was. When I met it was easy to tell if she was sad or upset only by looking at her eyes, they always gave her away. She always tried to stay away from the spotlight and covered her mouth when she laughed. Her giggle was the most innocent one and she was so much better than me. I know I messed her up"

He stopped when he noticed the judging face she was making "I'm not judging myself Stella, I'm not. What she did is unforgivable and her fault. But I know I changed her, I brought her to my world, not now but a couple of years ago I played a part in every dirty fight this city had, she was always by my side, I even trained her. I made her like me, except I loved her more than I could ever love myself and she grew to love only herself. "

By the time he stopped talking Stella had finished her cappucinno and was simply staring at him. Matthew smiled "That's that" he clapped his hands "Bed time now" said to lighten the mood.

The night wasn't so dark anymore and suddenly they were talking about whether and what they wished for when they saw a shooting star and suddenly they were talking about wishes and laughing loud at each other's jokes - or lack of.

Before he could realise it was past three and he knew that he still had to give the keys.

"I guess this is it for today" his eyes reflected his happiness and even his voice was enthusiastic. "I really liked this bit, thanks for giving me the opportunity" She grinned and only then did it rang a bell "We didn't talk about it!"

Stella laughed loud and he realised it was never her plan to talk about it. "Maybe next time, we needed some fixing first."

Matthew couldn't argue about that because they surely did. He smiled instead and mentally thank her for that night.