Unspoken Memories (Unspoken Series) (19 page)

As I’m eating dinner, I think of the traumatic experience I
just went through, and wonder what am I supposed to do now? I’m sure I’m not
out of the woods yet, but I know I have to learn to live my life, one way or
another not look back, but to keep stepping forward. At this moment, there is
nowhere else I would rather be than here with my new family.

After dinner, we all ended up drowning our distress with
alcohol. So Kelly and David stayed the night in Matt’s room. Matt must have
been feeling paranoid, because he insisted on sharing the bed with me,
promising he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

As we lay there in the darkness, I can’t sleep, even with
the alcohol in my body. My body is facing in the direction of my bathroom, my
back against Matt. By the sound of his breathing I know he isn’t asleep either.

After the events of the day, I keep wondering how much
longer I would have to hide from Bill, or if I am even safe still staying with
Matt.

“Matt,” I say, in his direction.

“Yeah, beautiful,” he responds.

“Do you think Bill will come back?” I ask, almost not
wanting to know the answer.

“Even if he does, I won’t let him anywhere near you,” he
growls, the anger radiating in his voice.

“Maybe I should move out, since he already knows that I’m
here. I would hate for him to try coming back and you guys getting hurt or end
up in jail because of me.”

I feel the bed begin to move, then his arm wraps around my
waist, pulling me closer to him. My back is now against his chest and he forces
me to lift my head so he can place his forearm under my head. I feel his face
find the crook of my neck, the warmth of his breath slowly striking my skin as
he speaks, “You’re not going anywhere. This is your home now as much as it’s
mine.”

Silently sighing to myself, I knew it wasn’t. But from the
way he said it, I know he meant every word. I really didn’t want to be anywhere
else anyways. So as long as he wanted me here I wasn’t going to argue.

With him next to me, comforting me, I finally fall asleep. I
could have blamed the good night’s rest on the alcohol, but I’d only be lying
to myself. I knew it was really Matt’s warm arms that kept me sleeping through
the night, and I’d never felt safer.

WITH THE DRAMA behind me, I was
finally able to slowly move forward. I stayed in the house for the next two
weeks, which led to the weekend of the guys’ first football game. It was an
away game, taking place in Chicago, meaning they had to fly there. It also
meant that I was going to have to be home alone. Matt and Trey were not happy
about it, but they had no choice, since they
were
the captains of the
team, and were obviously expected to be there.

Kelly had insisted that she was going to stay with me for
the weekend, and it eased Matt a little. To say he was being protective was an
understatement. The last two weeks sometimes felt like he was overbearing. I knew
he was feeling really remorseful about what happened. I don’t know why. I tried
reassuring him that no matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn’t be with me
every second of the day. Although sometimes he tried, it didn’t help alleviate
my feelings for him, it only increased them, and I was now a willpower expert
when it came to Matt.

It kind of sucked, knowing it was Matt’s first game, and I
couldn’t be there. So making a rash decision, I told Matt I needed the credit
card linked to my account to do some online shopping. I did most of my shopping
online now, since the whole mall fiasco. He didn’t think much about the request
and just handed it over.

I ended up doing a lot of shopping the week before the game,
but he never once questioned what it was. When I had told Kelly to pack a large
bag for the weekend, she simply shrugged her shoulders, thinking that maybe I
didn’t want to leave the house at all. The day the guys had to fly out, I
hugged them both wishing them luck, and waved them goodbye as they drove away
in Matt’s car.

When Kelly arrived at the house half an hour later, and saw
that I also had a bag packed, she gave me a confused look. She screamed with
excitement though, when I told her that I had booked us first class tickets to
Chicago so we could fly to the guys’ game. Five minutes later, we are piled
into the car heading to the airport. We ended up flying out of a different
terminal than the guys, so I don’t feel worried at all about them catching us.

Two hours later we’re on a plane, in the air, on our way to
Chicago. With a bodyguard named Julio in tow, who I had hired for the weekend.
After that last nightmare I wasn’t taking any chances. He came highly
recommended by a security agency, and the guy looked more like a linebacker who
could be playing on Matt’s team. He was currently on a trial basis only, but I
had decided if he passed the Chicago test, I would keep him on the books.

As we are sitting in our seats drinking our champagne, Kelly
looks over at me. “How in the hell did you plan all this without Matt blowing a
gasket?”

I smile at her, knowing she’s also not going to like my
answer. “I didn’t tell him. I wanted to surprise them.”

Her eyes go wide. She already knows he’s not going to be
happy.

I lay out my defense before she can begin lecturing me. “Hey,
I promised not to go anywhere without protection, hence my protection,” I say,
pointing my chin in Julio’s direction, which is sitting on the other side of
the aisle.

“Girl, you sure know how to get around those loopholes,” she
says, referring to how I was able to deprive Bill of my money.

I ended up telling her and David the whole ordeal the day we
were drinking after the Bill incident. I don’t know if it was that I trusted
both of them because of what we’d just been through, or that the alcohol had
given me liquid courage. Either way they both knew, and had sworn to the same
secrecy as Matt and Trey.

Six hours later, with a slight buzz, we land in Chicago. I
had arranged for a hired car to pick us up at the airport upon arrival, making the
trip to the hotel easier. I had booked us the Presidential suite at the same
hotel as the team, wanting to be as near to them as possible. This would also
allow us to spend more time with them as well.

The hotel was in the heart of downtown, with Chicago’s tall
buildings all around us. The city was breathtaking, and I couldn’t help notice
how close we were to Lake Michigan. Upon seeing it, I was already itching to
run next to it. The weather here was sunny and beautiful, making it harder to
resist.

Upon checking into the hotel, we went straight to our room
to settle in, and we decided to shoot the guys a text confirming that they had
also arrived. Kelly ended up spoiling her end of the surprise for David. She
kept asking for his room number, and he had gotten suspicious. She finally
broke down and told him. I couldn’t be too angry with her, since it also got me
Matt and Trey’s room number as well.

A couple of minutes after telling him, David was in our room
attacking Kelly with kisses. Since all the team members had to share a room, I
had a feeling that David would be spending a lot of time in Kelly’s instead and
I didn’t blame him. Not wanting to put up with hearing sounds that make me
jealous tonight, I left them alone in the room, and headed to Matt’s.

Although I’ve stood at a door waiting for Matt before, I
still get nervous when I’m waiting for him to answer. My stomach is turning and
my palms are sweaty, but when I finally do see him as he answers the door, it
all flies out of the window. The look on his face when he opens the door and
sees me is worth all of it.

His mouth is gaping open and his eyes are wide open in
surprise. “What are you doing here?” he says, before pursing his lips.

Trey comes up behind him, curious to see who is at the door.
“Oh, shit supermodel. Whatcha doing here?” he says as his face lightens up.

“What you’re not happy I’m here?” I tease them both.

Matt’s eyes look past me, narrowing straight to Julio
standing behind me, and his face grows in agitation. “Who is he?” he asks, not taking
his eyes off him.

I look back at Julio, who raises his eyebrows, as if
debating whether he should let Matt’s remark slide or tackle him. He has his
arms and hands crossed in front of his chest, just standing there, watching
Matt like a hawk. So far he’s doing well, I think to myself.

I turn back to Matt and laugh. I lightly swat him directly
on the chest, to try to distract him. “Calm down, bad boy. This is Julio, I
hired him for the weekend,
since
you made me promise not to go anywhere
without you as protection.”

Behind me, I hear a snort, then a quick throat clearing from
Julio.

Trey comes to my defense, stating, “Dude, she’s got you
there,” and laughing at Matt, while slapping him on the shoulder.

Matt shoots him a nasty glare, and Trey just walks back into
the room. I follow him, pushing past Matt, causing Julio to follow.

The room now feels really small with all of us entering it,
but I don’t care. I didn’t want to be standing out in the hallway any longer.

As Matt shuts the door, I walk over to what must be Matt’s
bed, since Trey is already sitting on the other one. I sit down at the head of
the bed, leaning up against the headboard, and start to distract myself by
picking at Matt’s uniform. He has it tossed on the bed, with some of his other
clothes. It looks like he’s started to unpack.

From the corner of my eye I see him walk over and stop at
the edge of the bed. Crossing his arms in front of him, eyes drawn to a slit,
his lips are still pinched in a line. He still looks aggravated.

Trying to alleviate his tension, I figure I should tease
him. “Didn’t your sister ever tell you it’s not good to look pissed all the
time? You’re going to get permanent frown lines,” I say to him.

Matt’s lips turn into a deeper frown and I instantly regret
mentioning his sister. I know it’s a sore spot with him, but I didn’t think
before I spoke.

“What are you doing here, and why didn’t you tell me you
were coming?” he growls at me. I don’t know whether I liked the silent Matt or
the snappy one.

This only makes me regret even coming, I thought he would be
happy to see me, but I was wrong. Thinking about the other person who
accompanied me, I hope Kelly is having better luck with David than I am at this
moment. From the looks of them practically running to her room, I’m pretty sure
she was.

I stand up, hurt in my eyes. “Obviously I wanted it to be a
surprise, but by your reaction, it’s the last thing you would want. So I’m
sorry I even bothered you, Matt,” I say, starting to walk to the door, with
watery eyes.

Julio is standing in the tiny hallway entrance of the room,
and looks uncomfortable as he sees me.

Matt yanks out his arm and blocks me from moving any
further. He moves to stand in front of me, with regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry,
beautiful,” he says faintly, in a low voice. “I’m just shocked that you’re
here. I’m happy about it, really.”

I don’t know what to say, so I stand there, with my head
hung low.

I feel his finger pull up my chin up so I could better see
him when he asks, “Where are you staying?”

“Here, in the Presidential Suite,” I say, pointing my finger
at the ceiling.

I see Trey jump up, and off his bed from the corner of my
eye. “You’re shacking up in the best room in the house, and we’re stuck in this
piece of shit room? Oh fuck no. Party in supermodel’s room,” he shouts with a
fist pump in the air.

I turn my head to him. “Oh, hell no Trey. You are not
trashing my room. If you want to party, you do it somewhere else,” I say,
pointing my finger at him.

Trey’s face goes into a frown, but I don’t care, I am not
having my room trashed by a bunch of rowdy boys.

Since the guy’s game isn’t until the next day, we decide to
go out to dinner, and grab some famous deep-dish pizza. After dinner, we head
back to my room and sit around talking. The night starts to grow late and
everyone decides it’s time to head to bed.

I was saddened when Matt was about to leave, and I think he
noticed. So he offered to stay with me for a little while, only until I fell
asleep. We ended up lying in bed, facing each other, talking about his sister.
I could tell how close of a bond they had, just by the way he spoke of her, and
I loved listening to him. His voice did its magic trick as always, and
eventually sent me into a deep sleep. As I started to drift away, I hoped Matt
would forget about getting up and stay the night with me instead. I was sadly
disappointed when I woke up the next morning, with the other side of the bed
empty.

He always had a habit of leaving before I awoke. It’s as if
he had sneaking away down to perfection at this point. I wondered if he had
perfected it due to his friends with benefits rule. Even though I didn’t want
to know the truth of that answer, I had to look at the bright side of the
situation; he at least falls asleep with me.

Refusing to let it dampen my mood, I get up, and out of bed.
I’m hoping that maybe if I take a run this morning, it will help cheer me up.

As I’m getting ready to go for my long awaited run, I hear a
knock at the door. I’m hesitant to answer at first, since I’m not expecting any
visitors. I’m sure we haven’t ordered room service yet, but then I hear the
ping of my phone, and look down at the screen.

Answer the door-M

After seeing the message I rush to door and see that Julio
is already looking through the peephole. He opens the door, probably since he
saw Matt at the other end.

“Hey beautiful,” he says with a smile as he walks in the
room and sees me. “Ready for a run?”

“I am now,” I answer enthusiastically. “How did you know I
would go for a run today?”

“I know you; you’re probably looking forward to running near
the water.”

I chuckle, and go back into my room, leaving Matt to trail
behind me. I finish lacing up my shoes, and grab a light jacket. Dressed and
ready to go, we head out of the room and straight to the nirvana that awaits
me.

An hour later, I’m back in my room, and feeling content.
After showering and dressing, Kelly and I decide on a quick brunch to help kill
the time. Since Matt had to go straight to practice after our run, I won’t be
seeing him until after the game, and I couldn’t wait.