Page 54 of Rosie
Back in her apartment, Rosie took him up on an offer to make tea. They could have gone to his place, but since it had too many memories with Olivia for her, he hadn’t suggested it.
Rosie was in the bedroom getting comfortable, while Matt watched the mug turn in the microwave. She’d withdrawn, and while her friends might not notice it, he could tell the argument at Fabled weighed on her mind. That was the problem with being the quiet one, as Matt well knew. Sometimes your best friends didn’t realize when you were pulling away.
Dunking the chamomile tea bag into the mug, Matt carried it into the bedroom to see what was taking so long. Rosie was sitting with her back to the headboard, her knees pulled up to her chest, the science fiction quilt pooled around her ankles. A sad, faraway look clouded her face. His heart heavy, Matt set the mug on the bedside table.
“Do you want milk and sugar?” he asked gently. When she nodded, he left the room and returned with the jug of milk and her sugar packets. He sat on the bed while she fixed her drink, then took the milk back to the refrigerator.
When he came back to the bedroom, she had her hands wrapped around the mug, and lifted her head to look at him for the first time since the restaurant. Under her gaze, he shucked his jeans and sweater and pulled on the t-shirt and sweatpants he kept at her place. Hesitating at the bed, he ran a hand through his hair.
“Can I join you?”
At her nod, he slipped under the covers to her side and wrapped an arm around her, breathing a sigh of relief when she laid her head on his chest. “I’m so sorry, Rosie.”
Walnut-colored locks spun as she shook her head. “Let’s not talk about it. I upset one of my best friends tonight. And ithurts. It hurts so bad, Matt.”
“And it’s my fault.”
“It’s not, though. She didn’t let you talk to her. I just wish I could understand why she’s so against this.”
“She treats me like I’m going to break again.”
At that, Rosie cocked her head to the side and looked up at him. “What do you mean,again?”
Matt heaved a sigh. He’d put off telling her this long enough. “I was born a month early. I didn’t put on a lot of weight at first, something I’ve obviously made up for.” The self-deprecating joke was worth seeing her smile. “And I had trouble breathing. It turns out my heart didn’t form right.”
That emerald gaze laser-focused on him. Matt squirmed, and his chest tightened. He had to look over her shoulder, but he curled a strand of hair around his finger and let it slide through. Touching her calmed him. Repeating the motion, he continued.
“The artery and the aorta were side-by-side instead of one over the other. I had to have heart surgery, and quickly. That’s where that nasty scar came from. So, growing up, my parents were always too concerned about me to let me play sports, or play outside more than half an hour, or … anything that they thought could damage it again. I guess Livvy’s just picked that up from them.”
“It’s not nasty; who told you it was?”
He shrugged. “Kids at a pool party when I was seven.”
“That’s why you were in the NICU. Transposition of the great artery?” At her question, Matt looked down again. Yeah, that’s what it was called. He nodded. Rosie sat her empty mug on the nightstand, then kissed his chest where the scar hid under his t-shirt. A contented sigh escaped him as he cuddled her closer and pulled her down to the bed with him. She laid her head on his chest.
“It explains Olivia's behavior, but it’s not an excuse.”
“I know. She’s being overly dramatic.” And that wasn’t the only reason Olivia had reacted the way she did. “The other reason might make more sense. When we were still in high school, the year she was a senior and I was a sophomore, I asked her friend Willow to homecoming. I liked her, she was pretty, and she was nice to me.”
Rosie tensed in his arms.
Matt pressed a kiss to her head, an amused smile pulling at his lips at her jealous reaction. “Obviously, I hadn’t seen perfection yet.” Rosie buried her face in his chest, but he could still see the blush on her cheeks. “Anyway, Willow and I get to the dance, and her ex-boyfriend shows up. She proceeds to dance with him all night, leaving me looking like an idiot. Apparently, she’d only agreed to go out with me to make him jealous. But she didn’t tell meorLivvy! Then at school, the two of them made fun of me and I became the laughingstock of the cafeteria. Olivia took my side and lost all her friends from high school. So, when she met you guys, she told me you were all off-limits because she didn’t want to go through that again.”
“But we would never—” A yawn cut Rosie off mid-sentence.
“I know.” He stroked her hair some more. “And I should think she knows you ladies well enoughnowto know that. But some fears don’t go away easily.” She yawned again. He chuckled softly, kissing her once more on the lips. “Go to sleep, I’ll be here in the morning.” As she relaxed and her body went liquid in his arms, Matt leaned over to turn out the light, then pulled the blanket up around them.
Despite the drama of the night, he was happy. Olivia would just have to get used to it.
Chapter 15
AnunheardvoicemailonMatt’s phone
“Hi, Mr. Lundholm, this is Yvette, the nurse from Dr. Nelson’s office. You’re past due for your yearly check-up. Please call the office at your earliest convenience to schedule your appointment and EKG. We look forward to seeing you soon!”
Chapter 16
Yellowingwallpaperandstainedcarpet sped by as Rosie made her way down the hall towards Nadia’s apartment. Her heart pounded in her chest at the thought of facing Olivia for the first time since Caleb’s birthday. But Olivia needed to know that nothing in their lives needed to change just because she was dating her brother. The love she felt for Matt didn’t change how she felt towards her squad.
