Fighting for Love (Second Chances #4)(38)
“I can’t explain everything,” I said, “but you have to know that I’m going to do everything in my power to make it up to him … and to you. I’m sorry for not saying good-bye. I missed you after I left.”
She scoffed. “Yeah, well, Matt and I were kind of used to people leaving us. You learn to expect it after a while.”
“Not everyone leaves, Gabriella. Actually, I’m writing an article about your brother for the magazine I work for. I don’t know if you read sports magazines, but it’s called Physique. Have you heard of it?”
She nodded, her eyes going wide. “Yeah, my mom gets them every month. So Matt’s really going to be in it? That’s like huge, isn’t it?”
Gabriella was opening up a bit and I hoped I could keep it going. Gabriella and Matt were close to each other, just like me and Jace. Without their support it would put a strain on an already weak foundation, and that was the last thing Matt and I needed.
Smiling, I said, “Yes, it’s huge. He’ll be the highlight for next month’s issue, and his face will be on the cover. I’ll write an awesome story about him so that everyone in the world will know how great of a person he is, as well as an accomplished MMA fighter. It’ll open many doors for him.”
More tears streamed down her face, but she smiled through them. “He deserves this, you know. I knew his time would come.”
So did I, I wanted to say.
“Are you coming to the fight this weekend?” I asked, hoping the smile would stay on her face.
“Of course, that’s why I’m here. I usually stay with Matt when I’m in town, but if it’s going to be a problem then I can stay with one of my friends,” she suggested, fiddling around with the hem of her shirt.
“No,” I blurted out incredulously. “You don’t need to do that. I’m sure Matt would love to spend time with you. I have plenty of things at home I can do to keep me busy, and besides, it would give me time to actually start working on the article. ”
Turning on my heel, I started back toward the door thinking she would follow me in, but when I turned around she hadn’t moved an inch. “Are you coming back in?” I asked, peering at her over my shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m coming. I just need to make a couple of phone calls first.” I nodded and started back toward the door, pleased that things with her didn’t feel as tense as before, but I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.
“Hey, Shelby?” she called.
Slowly, I turned around and took a deep breath. “Yes?”
Keeping her gaze on the phone in her hands, Gabriella shifted on her feet and blew out a heavy sigh. “I’m pretty sure Matt doesn’t want you to know all of this, but I feel it’s something you should know. After you left it was the worst I had ever seen him. He barely slept or ate for months, he worked nonstop, and I could hardly get two words out of him at a time. He had a whole evening planned for you two, which would’ve taken place the night after you told him. He bought you a ring, Shelby. He planned on buying a house out near your college so you two could go ahead and get married.”
Gasping, I covered my mouth with my hands and tears immediately sprang to my eyes. If I had just waited a couple more days, things could have been completely different. We had talked about getting married, but we were young and I didn’t even know he was saving money for a ring.
Gabriella finally lifted her head and stared at me with the same green eyes as her brother. My heart shattered once more. “I refuse to see him like that again, Shelby. Whatever you do, don’t hurt him. He may not be perfect to you, but he’s my brother and he will always be perfect in my eyes.”
Not waiting on a reply from me, she punched in a few numbers on her phone and put it up to her ear. I didn’t want to hurt Matt, and I couldn’t exactly tell her that I left to help her out as well. Matt already worked long hours to keep his family afloat, and it would’ve killed him if he had to do more to provide for me and a baby. I don’t know if things could have been different if we’d gotten married, but it’d always be something we’d never know. My family would’ve given us money, but I knew Matt’s pride wouldn’t allow that. What Gabriella didn’t know was that I suffered as well … immensely. I was glad Matt didn’t have the heartbreak of having to witness the loss of our child.
It was a burden that only I had to bear, and not a day went by when I didn’t feel the pain of the loss.
MATT WAS ECSTATIC ABOUT SPENDING time with his sister, but I could tell he was nervous about mine and Gabriella’s altercation when I explained to him what happened. For the rest of the afternoon, I watched him train on his own with Carter so he could get ready for the fight this weekend. I used that time to document the kind of workouts he did to prepare his body because every athlete I interviewed for the magazine had different workout regimes. Each sport demanded something different, and it was always interesting to learn what those differences were.
After we finished our time at the gym, he dropped me off at my house and went back home to be with his sister. It just so happened that it was perfect timing. Jace was going to be my date for the night, and as we were about to sit down and eat dinner he received a call saying he got the lead role in the movie he auditioned for. The only stipulation was that he was expected to be on a plane the next morning, heading to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to begin filming.