The Boy She Left Behind ✓

Chapter 19

This chapter is dedicated to SensGirl for being an amazing supporter of the story. I love you, man! Really!! ❤❤❤
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You know how people say that sometimes you're witnessing something and it's as if time in itself has come to a standstill around you? Well I was having one of those moments as I stood outside my bedroom door, staring Mathew in the eye as he stared back with so much intensity in his gaze that it was literally impossible to look away.

That was the first time I had to remind myself that my decision was right.

"Hey," breathed out Mathew in a raspy voice as he instinctively reached out a hand for me, almost yearning to touch me to assure himself that I was actually there. I, on the other hand however, hurriedly took a step back and away from his reach.

Gulping, I dreadfully looked up to find evident pain and hurt swimming in his eyes at my actions. His once vibrant blue eyes, so electrically blue that one could get easily trapped in them forever, were now dazed and glossed over; and it took my breath away to realise that I was the reason behind that.

"Hello," I managed to croak out despite of the ball of dread lodged in my throat.

A few minutes of painstakingly awkward silence later, Sandra coughed and gestured towards the living area. "I think we all should sit down and uh... talk."

Right, talk, it would require talking on my behalf in order for me to convey my decision.

While I made my way out of the hallway, into the living area and then proceeded to sit down on the sofa, I could constantly feel Mathew's unmistakable presence hovering just a millimetre behind me. That was the second time I had to convince myself of the rightness of my decision.

Once we were all settled down and I could no longer ignore Matthew's heated gaze on me, I spoke, "Th...thank you for the phone." I coughed and mentally scolded myself for stuttering. Then I placed the phone on the brown coffee table in front of me and pushed it towards him, "You can take it back now."

Chuckling lightly - and his small bout of laughter was more than just damaging to my decisive resolution considering that I was then willing to die to hear that melodious laugh of his - he slid the phone back to me and folded his hands in his lap.

"No. No, keep it. It's yours anyway. The only reason I had it was for safe-keeping. You know..." he averted his gaze and blinked, what I unfortunately realised were a few tears, before continuing, "until I could one day give it back to you."

Clenching my fists, I grumbled under my breath, "Just stop lying already."

"What?" Mathew and Sandra both enquired at the same time.

"I said," with my voice rising with each syllable as I stood up from my seat on the sofa, "stop lying!"

A startled look would be an understatement for how Mathew looked then. "I'm sorry, love, but I don't understand. I...I'm not lying."

"Yes you are!" I suddenly bellowed. "You're lying because you did not have the phone for safe-keeping! You had it so that you could rant in voicemails about how horrible a human being I am and how horrendous your situation was! You used it as your personal diary to catalogue all your days' tiring details regarding your hopeless endeavour to somehow find me!"

"Emma!" Sandra screeched in. "Don't talk to him like th-"

Whipping my head to face her, I shouted, "Sandra, just shut up for once!"