Hide and Spy- Gallagher Girls FanFic

Rachel POV- Chapter 25

Rachel

Chapter 25

As the phone line clicked and the message restarted I pressed the phone to my ear harder and rested my head on my desk.

She was alright. 

“Thank you.” Matthew whispered to himself as I heard him slide down the wall he had been leaning on.

“I’ll go and tell the others.” Joe sighed and left us.

“She’s okay.” I whispered, sitting up as Matt came over and wrapped his arms around me, “She’s fine.”

“She’s got Zach with her.” Matt told me, “Of course she’ll be fine, now will you please come and get something proper to eat?” He asked me, I hadn’t eaten properly for the last three days and we both knew I needed it.

Sitting in the empty hall with some soup and bread Matt and I looked up as the door opened.

“What’s wrong?” I asked Joe as he sat next to Matt on the bench. His face was angry but somehow relieved at the same time.

“Bex was being careless.” He sighed, “I went back to your office looking for you and she was ringing the phone.”

“You know Bex.” I sighed, “She’s sensitive,” I stope a glance at Matt, “she knows the reality of everything.”

“She did a three way call, Macey, Liz, Jonas and Preston were also on the line.” He told me.

“At least we know everyone’s fine.” Matt pointed out.

“What about Abby?” I asked, “Has anyone heard anything from her?”

“Not yet.” Joe shook his head as I stirred the hot soup.

“When do you want to leave?” Matt asked us.

The truth was, I didn’t want to leave. This was my safe place, where I could hide from the world and not be afraid of it hurting me anymore than it already had. Now there were people threatening it again, I had no option but to leave … to keep the students safe.

“Where are we going to go?” I asked them.

“I know a few places.” Matt shrugged, “They kept me off the radar.”

“And I’ve got the cabin.” Joe nodded as I got up.

“We’ll go to the cabin.” I decided, “We leave tomorrow morning.”

***

The next afternoon I sat at the end of the dock with my toes in the cool water of the lake.

“What are you thinking?” Joe asked as he sat down and passed me a glass of Lemonade.

“I feel like a kid again.” I admitted, “Like when Matt and I used to do this, before Cammie.”

“That was the first time Matt bought you here wasn’t it?” Joe looked to me, “When you found out you were expecting?”

“Yeah,” I smiled and blushed, “he kept me off the radar of at least a month.”

“Matt’s good at doing that sort of thing.” Joe chuckled.

“When we went home we had a big fight about me going on leave.” I played with the ring on my finger, “He ended up walking out for a weekend.”

“I remember that.” Joe smiled again, “We bumped in to each other.”

“He said,” I nodded, “thanks for sending him back.”

“I wanted to go back anyway, I was just too stubborn to admit it.” Matt came and sat on my other side.

“I’ll never know how you did it.” I didn’t need to tell him what, he knew I was implying how he left us.

“I don’t either.” Matt sighed.

“Cammie used to make up the most brilliant stories about her summers.” I smiled remembering, “I felt so guilty,” I sighed, “all the girls would come back with stories about their holidays with their parents …” I shrugged.

“She had spent it at her grandparents.” Joe nodded.

“She probably hated me.” Matt sighed.

“I think she hated us all at some point.” Joe pointed out.

“You more than us.” I pointed out to Joe

“Make me feel better why don't you?” Joe rolled his eyes.

“I owe you big style Joe.” Matt sighed as he lay back on the wooden slats, “You did a better job with her than I could have.”

“It can’t have been easy.” I nodded.

“I was overly harsh with her.” Joe looked down in to the water, “Yet she still stuck with it.”

“That’s a Morgan trait.” Matt laughed.

“Not one of your best ones.” I told him with a smile.

“Right!” Matt jumped up as he and Joe both grabbed an arm each.

With a scream I landed in the cool crisp water of the lake. Laughing when I resurfaced I looked up to the boys, “You’re devils.”

“Your turn.” Joe announced as he gave Matt a shove and he flailed in to the water. Joe wasn’t close behind him, purposefully making the biggest splash.

We spent the rest of the afternoon just messing about and relaxing. Just for a short time, I got to forget about everything. 

My daughter was safe, the school was miles away, and I was with the two men I loved. I didn’t have anything to worry about. I hadn’t realised it before but I’d needed this for a long time, I had just been to stubborn to admit it.

Perhaps Cammie didn’t just get her stubbornness from her father?