Side Effect

Chapter Ten

Maton typed in the encryption again. This time, it worked, and one corner of his mouth curled in a smile, the only indication that he was deeply satisfied with this development. He was working on an idea that he'd put on the backburner since his shooting, but now, he was starting to see the importance of it. He was trying to develop an app that made it easier for internet users to delete all their online history if they wanted to. For someone like him, it was easy enough, but for someone like Kendall, she simply had no idea.

Their falling-out three days ago hadn't deterred him from looking at her online activity. In fact, he was checking it more regularly than ever—not because he was stalking her, but because he had revealed the name of his assailant to her. If she looked Dexter up, then she would be connected to him, and he couldn't have that; he had to protect her.

He hadn't thought much about what had happened since she'd left him. He'd taken a lot of drugs to help him sleep and forget about Kendall, so he hadn't dealt with it—apart from his initial outburst when he'd trashed his apartment. His mother had been strangely calm as she'd picked up the shattered pieces of his possessions. Archer had been stoic, as was his usual way of going about things, and Zander had been his normal self, acting like nothing was wrong, and he was just helping out a mate in need, even trying to lighten the mood with a joke or two.

Later, when Maton had been of sound mind—well, as close as he could get to sound mind—he'd been disgusted with himself. He felt sick that he'd allowed the people closest to him see him at his most vulnerable, that he'd needed their help to pick up the pieces again. What had become of him?

Maton yawned. It was early, only 8 PM, but he needed to go to bed. He stood from his chair just as his mobile chose that moment to ring. He rubbed a weary hand over his face and checked the time before he picked it up. It was his mother. She always called at about this time. He ignored it. A minute later, it rang again. This time, it was his dad. He ignored that call, too. Then, the intercom to his apartment rang. It would probably be Archer. He woke up the computer that was dedicated only to his CCTV but jumped out of his seat when he saw who it was, knocking over his glass of water in the process. Kendall was standing in the foyer of his apartment building. Ignoring the water, he picked up his intercom receiver.

"Yeah."

"Ms. Atherton is here to see you," Sean said.

He took a deep, calming breath. "Send her up," he said.

He watched as they entered the elevator and alighted at his floor a minute later. He waited for her to knock on his door before he clicked it open. His hand was shaking, and his breath was coming in faster, harder. It felt like the beginning of an anxiety attack. He squeezed his eyes shut. Not now. Please, God, not now. Kendall would be standing in his living room about now. He opened his eyes and looked at the screen. She was standing just by his lounge and removing her coat. She would probably come looking for him in a moment if he didn't make an appearance, and he didn't want to make her angry again. He didn't like angry Kendall; he liked happy Kendall, playful Kendall, the one who looked at him like she could solve all his problems with just one soulful glance.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he left the darkness of his office and found her facing the blinds. She was beautiful, he thought. She was wearing the same dress she had worn the first time she had come to see him. She swivelled, obviously hearing him enter the room. Their eyes connected straight away. They were crystal blue and totally unreadable. It unnerved him to not know what she was thinking or feeling.

"I didn't think you would come back," he said into the silence.

"Do you want me here, Maton?" she asked, and finally, he detected an emotion—anger.