Living In The Shallows (UK Crush #1)

Chapter Forty

We went after him immediately, but suddenly the crowd between us and the door seemed to multiply exponentially, and everyone wanted to talk to Teddy, or get a picture with him. By the time we got outside, both Matty and Gethin were long gone.

"They could only have gone back to the hotel," I said. "It's three in the morning. Where else would they go?"

"Come on, let's go check," said Teddy grimly.

"Should we tell Ronan to come?" I asked.

"Sure, why not? Let's just have another party in our room," Teddy said.

"I was just asking a question," I said mildly.

He sighed. "I know, love, I'm sorry I was cross," he said, taking my hand and kissing it. "It's just that this is going to suck so much, and I'm really dreading it. I had no reason to take it out on you. You should probably let Ronan know what happened, and where we are."

"Matty has left the party v upset and gone back to the hotel. Gethin is with him. Teddy and I are going now to talk to him. You should probably come too."

I hit send.

We grabbed a cab back to the Ritz-Carlton.

"In here," Gethin called from Matty's room. We went through Ronan's room and Gethin's room to where they were. Matty was calmly zipping up his duffel bag, getting his shoes on. He looked up briefly when we came in, giving Gethin an "are you serious?" look before turning back to his packing.

"What's this? Just want to get the point across? Make it crystal clear to poor little Matty? Well, don't worry, I've got it. I'm leaving." He was trying to cram one last shirt into a side pocket of his duffel, and it obviously wouldn't fit; he was going to break the zip if he kept at it much longer. "Fuck it all, anyway!" he shouted, kicking the bag.

Gethin rose from the bed. "How about if Tink and I go to the other room, so you two can talk for a bit, hmm? Seems like you have a bit of hashing out to do before you say goodbye to one another." He reached for my hand, but I shook my head. He sat back down on the bed, confused.

"No, Geth. This is about me. I'm not a piece of luggage to be 'discussed'; I'm a person, I made the decisions that are affecting all of us here. If anything, I'm the one who should stay, and you two should leave." I sat down next to him to make my point.

Gethin and Teddy both looked at me with surprise. "Well, okay, should Theo and I leave, then?" Gethin asked.

"Don't bother," Matty said, shaking his head. "We all know each other's business, anyway. Why stop now? What's the difference?" He sat down on the sofa. Teddy remained standing. "Not that there's anything to talk about, anyway. Like I said, I get it. I told Tink how I felt about her a long time ago, but she chose Theo anyway, just like I knew she would. No surprise there.

"So predictable, isn't it? I don't know why I expected anything different. I guess because you were different,Tinker Bell. I mean from the kind of girl who usually goes for Theo, the kind of girl he usually goes for. You know, model, blonde, fake boobs out to there, thinks Austria and Australia are the same place, doesn't have two brain cells to rub together.

"Then you come along, so smart, so pretty, so talented, someone I can really talk to, about books, music, politics, anything. And Theo gets to have you too? It's just not fair, is it? I mean, what's an ordinary guy to do?" He spread his hands apart, eyebrows raised above his astonishing eyes.

I had to say something. "There is nothing ordinary about you. You are the most incredible person. All those things you said about me are doubly true about you. You are the entire package, don't you know that? You have everything," I finished softly.