Convincing Amy (Amy, #1)

Chapter 16: Distractions

Chapter Sixteen 
DISTRACTIONS

Amy woke slowly Wednesday morning, her senses slowly awakening. The first thing that she registered was that she was extrememly comfortable. Blankets held in the warmth and blocked out the freezing temperatures of outside. The warmth absorbed her some more before other things became clear to her.

There was a smell. Not a foul odor, but a pleasant smell; one that she'd only ever smelt a couple times before. But this was much stronger than the smell she'd associated with Matthew. It seemed smell like a highly concentrated version of Matthew.

Amy sat up immediately, opening her eyes. To her relief, the bed was empty apart from herself. The dim morning light from outside was blocked out by a set of curtains on each of the two small windows which matched the creamy white colour of the bed sheets. Amy flicked on a nearby lamp and looked around. Her suitcase was by an ajar door and other belongings that did not belong to her were scattered here and there.

Flinging the covers off of her nervous body, Amy stood up and began searching to find out where she was. She couldn't remember ever moving to a bed last light. She remembered taking a shower and dozing off on the couch... but from that point on, nothing was clear in her mind.

She tip-toed to the slightly opened door and moved her eye to the gap. Amy recognised the staicase right in front of her that would lead down to the first floor of Matthew's house. She was about to step out the door when,

"Amy!"

Amy screamed. She turned around quickly and pressed her back against the solid wall. Her hand clutched her heart and she sank to the floor, realising who had just spoken.

"I didn't mean to scare you! Sorry!" Matthew ran over to Amy and knelt down in front of her.

The next few moments were spent with Amy calming herself down with deep breathing whilst putting her thoughts together.

"Where - What room is this?" she finally asked after a few minutes.

"My bedroom," Matthew answered simply. He moved to sit beside Amy on the thick carpet. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm," she mumbled. Amy looked at the bed she'd just woken from. She continued to stare at it as she said, "We didn't - you know - you didn't sleep - um."

"Oh, no, no no," Matthew answered hurriedly. "No, I slept in another room. Promise. I just had to get something from my bathroom this morning. You were still asleep when I walked in, but when I came out, you were awake. Sorry."

"Stop saying sorry!" Amy objected.

"Sorry," Matthew said instinctively, but he couldn't help grinning. "How's the heartbeat doing?"

"Pounding," Amy answered, but she feared Matthew would hear a double meaning. She stood up awkwardly, her stitches pulling slightly but not enough to cause pain, and said, "I'm going to get changed."

Matthew stood up and walked out the door, closing it behind him, leaving Amy alone in his bedroom. Amy lifted her heavy suitcase onto the bed, unzipping it and looking through for some warm clothes - the winter temperatures were insanely cold. Although the temperatures were only a few degrees lower than the winter temperatures for Melbourne, they seemed to be much, much colder.

She pulled out socks, tracksuit pants, long-sleeved tops and a thick hoodie and began to change, cautiously watching the door Matthew had exited only moments before. When dressed, she walked through Matthew's wardrobe and into the ensuite where she brushed her hair and committed to the essential morning toilet visit. Walking back into Matthew's bedroom, she noticed something hanging on the wall between the two windows.