Vision In Love (Legends of The North Book 1) (11 page)

"You know, you can stay at mine as long as you want. Why didn't you tell me what Mum and Dad were up to?"

Jess lifted her shoulders and let them drop as she toyed with her fork. "I didn't think they'd actually do it."

Matt covered her hand with his own, making her look up at him. "And did they?"

"Yeah. They normally pay my allowance into my account by the end of the first week of each month. Nothing has been paid since October."

"Well, it looks like you're stuck with me then," he said with a smile, trying to make light of it.

Emma put a garlic baguette in the middle of the table. "Dig in."

"It smells great," Matt said as Emma set a steaming bowl of bolognese in front of him.

"Yeah, it does," Jess agreed, twirling her fork around the spaghetti.

Emma smiled at Matt, thinking he looked less tired since he'd sorted things with Jess. She nodded at Jess, who took a deep breath.

"Actually, I'm not."

"What?" Matt asked around a fork full of spaghetti.

"I'm not stuck with you. Emma and I talked this afternoon and came up with the perfect solution."

"Mmm?"

"It helps us both. Emma is struggling with the rent on this place, and I'd be out from under your feet."

"You're going to move in here?"

Jess nodded, and a smile broke across her face as she looked at Emma. Matt glanced from Jess to Emma and back again.
God, he's so cute,
Emma thought as his forehead crinkled and his eyes narrowed.

"I don't understand how that helps either of you."

"Gran left the house in trust to us, so Mum and Dad can't touch it. If I live here, I won't have to pay rent, and I'm not going to charge Emma. I'll cancel her lease agreement, and Emma has agreed to pay the bills until the end of the year. Then we'll split them. Hopefully, I'll have a job by then."

Matt looked between the pair of them and shook his head. "I don't know. I leave you alone for an afternoon and you end up sharing a house. Remind me not to get on the bad side of either of you two. Who knows what evil plan you could come up with?"

***

"Go, relax, we'll do the washing up," Matt said to Emma as he started to fill the sink.

"Thanks for offering my help."
 

"Don't mention it." Matt smiled as he glanced over his shoulder. "I wanted to speak to you alone."

Jess stopped drying the pan to look up at him. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, yes, it's fine. I ... You know I'm sorry about what I said earlier, don't you?"

"Yes, so why don't we just forget the conversation ever happened?"

"We can, but not until I've said this. It's just ... Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're moving back up here, but it's just so sudden. Everything's okay, isn't it? You left London so unexpectedly, that's all." He stopped washing the dish in his hand as Jess started to pull on a loose thread of the tea towel. "Jess?"

"What do you think? Mum told me if I wanted to stay living down in London, I would need to find a new apartment. They weren't going to pay for my lease to be renewed. But if I came back up here, they would happily pay for my rent."

Matt dried his hands on a towel and turned to face Jess. "I don't understand, you said they had cut off your allowance."

"Yes, they have. What Mum failed to mention was that if I moved back up here, there were conditions." She held up a finger and carried on. "Like one, I couldn't work." She held up another finger. "Two, I needed to get married, preferably to who Mum chose, and I have a feeling she's still harbouring thoughts of me and Miles getting back together."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope. Do you not remember what Mum said after I broke off the engagement? It wasn't just Miles's heart I'd broken but hers, as well as Miles's mother's. Please, he'd need a heart before it could be broken."

He should have known; wasn't it the same move their mum was trying to pull on him? The woman was obsessed with marrying them off. "I'm sorry, Jess. She told me I needed to get married soon or women would start to think there was something wrong with me." He glared at her as she snorted at his words.

"For once, I agree with her. You're what, thirty-two now? Leave it much longer and you'll be a confirmed bachelor. But you've got Emma now, and she's a keeper. Do you want me to put in a good word with her for you?"
 

Matt threw his towel in her face as she started to laugh at his expense. He didn't really mind, though, because he hated seeing her upset. "Don't you bloody dare say a word to her." He followed Jess into the living room where Emma was looking relaxed, a glass of wine in her hand.
 

 
Jess had insisted on picking a movie to watch, yet halfway through had promptly fallen asleep. As the credits rolled, he glanced in Emma's direction, smiling as their eyes met.

"I guess I better take her home. At least I won't have to do that for much longer."

Emma leaned into him. "No, and I'll just leave her asleep on the sofa. You going to be okay?"

"What, getting her home?"

"No, just generally. You look tired. I'm worried about you."

He smiled, quite liking the idea that she was worried about him. "I'll be fine."

"It's just, well, I care about you."

His smile widened and, apart from the fact, his sister was asleep on the sofa, he thought this was the perfect opportunity. Cupping his palm around her jaw, he wrapped the other around the back of her head, threading his fingers through her hair. When she leaned in to his palm, he pulled her closer. Their lips met, soft and warm, gently at first. She leaned further in to him, and gasped as his hand grazed the side of her breast. He took full advantage, and his tongue stroked hers.
 

"Get a room, you two."

Matt repressed a groan at his sister's timing as he pulled back from Emma. The flush on her cheeks made him smile, glad that he wasn't the one blushing for once. But the smile quickly faded as he realised Jess would always be there soon. He couldn't repress his groan at the thought.
 

"Night, Jess."

"Goodnight, Matt. And it's about time you and Emma sorted yourselves out. I thought you were never going to make a move."

Matt watched open-mouthed as she headed for his spare bedroom. Shaking his head after her, he made his way to the kitchen. His thoughts were racing, mainly over Emma and where things might be headed. Much as he loved his sister, he had a feeling she was about to make his life a lot more difficult.
 

He pulled a beer from the fridge, knowing he wouldn't be sleeping any time soon. Leaning against the sink, he twisted the top off the bottle and took a large swig before a shadow across the window caught his attention. It wasn't unusual for people to walk past his kitchen window but the shadow was small, unusual for this time of night as most kids would be in bed already. He turned to face the window, head raised. The bottom was at street level so it was only a few inches above his head, but with the brightness of the kitchen compared to the darkness of the night outside, he couldn't see a thing. The sound of nails scratching across the window made him cringe and, without thought, he ran back upstairs.
 

As he opened the front door, the dark seemed to take on a shape and the overpowering scent of rotting leaves filled his nostrils. The darkness moved towards him as he stepped back. A moist coolness wrapped itself around his neck and began to squeeze. Sharp nails dug into his back, and he couldn't stop himself from screaming. His hands tried to pry the coolness from around his neck, but he couldn't get a grip on whatever it was. As he writhed against its hold, the nails scraped up his back and another scream tore from his throat before the breath was squeezed out of him and darkness descended.

Beneath his closed eyelids, there was an orange glow from the bright light and he heard whispered voices. Slowly, he opened his eyes and let out a breath of relief as he recognised his own living room. As he sat up, his back burned where his muscles moved and his neck throbbed.

"Matt. Lie back down!" Jess shouted at him. Ignoring her, he swung his legs to the floor and sat up.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. When I heard you scream, I thought you were having another nightmare. But then I found you on the floor in the doorway, unconscious. I couldn't move you and then, well, I was scared so I asked Emma to come round." He turned his head to look over his shoulder and met Emma's eyes. From the size of them, Jess wasn't the only one who was scared.

"I'm fine. There's nothing to be scared of."

Emma took his hand and pulled him toward the mirror. Circling his neck was a red, raised ring of skin. He touched his fingers to it and winced. It felt sticky, like duct tape had been ripped off. Emma turned him so he was looking at his back in the mirror. His top had three rips down it and, through the holes, he could see his skin was raised and red there, as well. He met Emma's eyes in the mirror and swallowed hard. He couldn't think of a single thing to say to erase the lines from around her eyes and forehead. The same lines reflected on his own face because he had no idea what had caused those marks.
 

Turning to face Emma, he pulled her against his chest, burying his face in her hair. The almond scent of her hair filled his nostrils and blocked everything else except for the feel of her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

***

Breakfast had an air of sombreness. Jess had left Matt and Emma alone the night before, but Emma wasn't there anymore and it looked like Jess intended to make the most of it.
 

"You need to go see the doctor."

Matt stared at her for a beat before raising his eyebrows. "And what would you suggest I say when the good doctor asks me how the injury came about?"

"That you were attacked."

"And when he asks me who attacked me and if I reported it to the police?" He watched as Jess tried to think of an answer but then just shook her head. "Exactly. I have no idea who, or what, attacked me. I mean, it looks like I tried to hang myself or had some seriously kinky sex." He finished his coffee, placing the mug back on the table before lifting a hand to his neck. "It's not so sore now anyway. I called Miriam, and she's going to cover the museum for me."

"Just try and get some rest then. I'm going to take the rest of my stuff to Emma's place. No, I guess it's our place now. I'll be back at lunch to check on you."

He shook his head but didn't want to argue anymore. He felt fine, even if he didn't look it.

After Jess left, he poured himself another coffee and took it upstairs to the living room. The house felt quiet without Jess around. He sat on the sofa and glanced around the room, feeling uneasy. Restless, like he should've been doing something. He laughed out loud at that thought. What was it, about two months since he'd first met Emma, and he'd been feeling unsettled that day. His routine, the rut his life had been in had been bothering him.
 

Look at me now.
Monday morning and he was having breakfast at home. Betty had probably called the police already. When was the last time he'd missed breakfast at the cafe? Not going into work, either; in fact, nothing planned, nothing to do. He wasn't sure what was worse, the monotony of his old routine or the emptiness of the day in front of him. Or the fact that something attacked him the night before and he had no idea what or why.

He tried to take Jess's advice and rest, but every time he closed his eyes, he heard the scrape of nails on glass, and his eyes would fly open. That sound was the last thing he remembered. He tried reading but when he found himself going over the same line for the tenth time, he slammed the book shut.
 

Instead, he fired up his laptop and loaded the spreadsheet with Emma's and his dreams on it. He added in an entry with the previous day's date. Under details, he typed in "Matt attacked." He stared at those two words and absently rubbed his neck. What if it had been Emma who had been attacked and not him? At least she wouldn't be alone anymore, but he still hated the thought of her and Jess alone in the house together. What if whatever came for him tried to go after her? Or Jess? What if they'd somehow managed to involve Jess?
 

Reluctantly, he scrolled to the top of the spreadsheet. In italics, he typed in "August." Under details, he typed in "James–missing" and let out a long, deep breath. He couldn't be sure it was related, but until he was certain it
wasn't
he'd keep it there. Rubbing a hand across his face, he wondered what else should be on there, like when exactly Emma got back to Altenchester. He added in another section and typed in "Emma moved to Altenchester" under the details. Maybe the more facts he added in the more he might see some kind of connection.
 

He became lost in the details, and the slamming of the front door followed by Jess calling his name had him flipping the lid of his laptop shut. He was supposed to be resting, and he just didn't want to explain it all to Jess, not yet. It wasn't really his story to tell, either.
 

Well, not entirely.
 

As Emma walked back towards the village, she couldn't seem to shake her melancholy mood. Even Barney seemed subdued. Gone were the reds and golds of autumn, as well as the damp browns, replaced by the cold white blanket of frost. Trees bare except for the fine latticework of white. December had brought winter with a vengeance, and there was more than a bite in the air. Her nose stung with each inhale, the smell of burning wood heavy. As she came alongside the river, she looked down toward Matt's house and couldn't fight the feeling that he was the reason for her melancholy. Suddenly, she needed to see him, to make sure he was okay even though Jess had said she'd had lunch with him.

She stood, hand raised to knock on his front door, and then hesitated. The bizarre feeling she was being watched made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She checked behind her but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Barney let out a low growl, telling her he felt it, too. She turned as she heard the door open.