fecklessly in front of my bleary eyes as I
tried to read them. I could hear an insistent ringing, and for a moment I
thought I was back at college and it was a fire alarm. I was about to call out
to Sharon to put on some pants this time when I realized that I was in my
apartment, almost a decade between me and my college days, and it was my phone
making the cacophonous noise.
For
a moment I considered ignoring it, but the dutiful part of me wouldn’t allow me
to let it ring, so I leaned over and picked it up, groaning as my head throbbed
slightly with the movement. The only person who would even call me at this hour
had to be Sharon.
“What,
Sharon?” I said grumpily into the phone as I answered its needy ringing. “It’s
4am.” My voice was grainy from sleep, and my tone was enough to make most
people slam down the receiver immediately.
“Amanda?”
I froze as I recognized Mathis’ deep, smooth voice, entirely free from the
confusion of sleep.
“Mathis!”
I said his name without thinking, and cringed at how breathless I sounded, like
a giddy schoolgirl talking to her idol after a pop concert.
“I’m
sorry for waking you,” he said, sounding genuinely sorry about it. My heart
rose up, buoyed on the sound of his voice, and lodged itself in my throat so my
voice came out high-pitched and bizarre.
“Oh,
no you didn’t wake me,” I said stupidly. “Well, you did, but it’s okay – I
wanted to talk to you. H-how have you been?”
“Amanda,
you’re babbling.” Mathis sounded vaguely amused. “Take a deep breath.”
“Sorry,”
I said, cursing myself for how idiotic I must sound. “I’m still out of it. I
tried calling you last night, but you didn’t pick up.”
“I
told you it would be better if you didn’t contact me,” Mathis reminded me. “I
didn’t want to risk taking the call.”
“Sorry.”
I sounded like a broken record. Then I remembered why I had tried to call him –
the gun and the money in the suitcase. A tendril of irritation stirred in my
stomach at the memory – what had he expected me to do?
“It’s
safer if I contact you,” Mathis continued.
“I
know,” I said, a little impatient. “But Mathis, you sent me a gun and
enough money to buy a small country or a very large number of pudding shots –
did you expect me to sit here meekly and accept it? What on earth were you
thinking sending me those things, and without as much as a by-the-way!”
It
was Mathis’ turn to hesitate, and when he spoke he sounded slightly abashed.
“Well,
I suppose it was a little selfish of me,” he admitted. “I didn’t think how it
might seem to you – I just wanted you to be safe.”
“So
you gave me a gun?” I asked archly.
“It
was just a precaution,” Mathis assured me. “It’s very unlikely that you will
ever have to use it. I just felt better knowing that you had it – selfish, I
know, but I had your best interests in mind. Do you remember the times we
practiced in the yard at your uncle’s place?”
The
summer we met, we borrowed Uncle Andy’s rifle and took practice shots at
targets we set up in the yard out the back. Although Mathis hit the target
almost every time, it was me who always hit dead in the bull’s eye. He used to
tease me about how he’d better watch his back when I was around.
“I
remember,” I admitted grudgingly.
“I
know you could handle yourself if you needed to,” Mathis said, and I could hear
the smile in his voice.
I
wanted to ask him why. If he knew I could handle myself, why was he shutting me
out to the extent that he refused to even see me? I avoided asking, however,
not wanting to sound childish.
“What
about the money?” I asked instead, trying hard to keep any feelings out of my
voice.
“Amanda,
you know how dangerous it is for us to be together right now. I don’t want to
cheat you out of your uncle’s inheritance, but it’s too
tried to read them. I could hear an insistent ringing, and for a moment I
thought I was back at college and it was a fire alarm. I was about to call out
to Sharon to put on some pants this time when I realized that I was in my
apartment, almost a decade between me and my college days, and it was my phone
making the cacophonous noise.
For
a moment I considered ignoring it, but the dutiful part of me wouldn’t allow me
to let it ring, so I leaned over and picked it up, groaning as my head throbbed
slightly with the movement. The only person who would even call me at this hour
had to be Sharon.
“What,
Sharon?” I said grumpily into the phone as I answered its needy ringing. “It’s
4am.” My voice was grainy from sleep, and my tone was enough to make most
people slam down the receiver immediately.
“Amanda?”
I froze as I recognized Mathis’ deep, smooth voice, entirely free from the
confusion of sleep.
“Mathis!”
I said his name without thinking, and cringed at how breathless I sounded, like
a giddy schoolgirl talking to her idol after a pop concert.
“I’m
sorry for waking you,” he said, sounding genuinely sorry about it. My heart
rose up, buoyed on the sound of his voice, and lodged itself in my throat so my
voice came out high-pitched and bizarre.
“Oh,
no you didn’t wake me,” I said stupidly. “Well, you did, but it’s okay – I
wanted to talk to you. H-how have you been?”
“Amanda,
you’re babbling.” Mathis sounded vaguely amused. “Take a deep breath.”
“Sorry,”
I said, cursing myself for how idiotic I must sound. “I’m still out of it. I
tried calling you last night, but you didn’t pick up.”
“I
told you it would be better if you didn’t contact me,” Mathis reminded me. “I
didn’t want to risk taking the call.”
“Sorry.”
I sounded like a broken record. Then I remembered why I had tried to call him –
the gun and the money in the suitcase. A tendril of irritation stirred in my
stomach at the memory – what had he expected me to do?
“It’s
safer if I contact you,” Mathis continued.
“I
know,” I said, a little impatient. “But Mathis, you sent me a gun and
enough money to buy a small country or a very large number of pudding shots –
did you expect me to sit here meekly and accept it? What on earth were you
thinking sending me those things, and without as much as a by-the-way!”
It
was Mathis’ turn to hesitate, and when he spoke he sounded slightly abashed.
“Well,
I suppose it was a little selfish of me,” he admitted. “I didn’t think how it
might seem to you – I just wanted you to be safe.”
“So
you gave me a gun?” I asked archly.
“It
was just a precaution,” Mathis assured me. “It’s very unlikely that you will
ever have to use it. I just felt better knowing that you had it – selfish, I
know, but I had your best interests in mind. Do you remember the times we
practiced in the yard at your uncle’s place?”
The
summer we met, we borrowed Uncle Andy’s rifle and took practice shots at
targets we set up in the yard out the back. Although Mathis hit the target
almost every time, it was me who always hit dead in the bull’s eye. He used to
tease me about how he’d better watch his back when I was around.
“I
remember,” I admitted grudgingly.
“I
know you could handle yourself if you needed to,” Mathis said, and I could hear
the smile in his voice.
I
wanted to ask him why. If he knew I could handle myself, why was he shutting me
out to the extent that he refused to even see me? I avoided asking, however,
not wanting to sound childish.
“What
about the money?” I asked instead, trying hard to keep any feelings out of my
voice.
“Amanda,
you know how dangerous it is for us to be together right now. I don’t want to
cheat you out of your uncle’s inheritance, but it’s too
Similar Books
