Even After All

Part Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty Five

A/N - a rapid chapter as you are all debating this story so fiercely, I love how angry you all are, and how involved. As a writer it's the greatest honour. Thanks all for EVERY comment!

Matilda felt her eyes snap open before she had processed what she had heard, the sun almost blinded her, and the owner of the voice was a silhouette against that.  She’d known instantly who the voice belonged to, but she still needed that confirmation, the visual. Lifting a hand she shielded her eyes and Dylan came into focus.

                “What do you want?” she snapped as she stared at him. He was wearing jeans, a shirt and a dark grey blazer, despite the pristine nature of his clothes, even she could see that he looked shattered, his usual tanned skin pale, his face drawn, but she wasn’t about to feel sorry for him. Not in this lifetime.

                “ I honestly didn’t know you’d be here.” He offered tucking his hands in his pockets. “I just needed fresh air.”

                “So you came here?”

He nodded, “there aren’t many calm places in London, this is somewhere I remember as being a quiet spot. I come here if I need to think. I could ask why you’re here.”

She stared at him a moment hating that he was mimicking her, hating that his memories were similar to hers, and despising him for ruining this sanctuary. But she knew he was telling the truth, he hadn’t come here to find her this time, it was pure coincidence.

                “I come here when I can,” she mumbled, not ready to expose any more of the pain of her past to its perpetrator.

Dylan stood in front of her and sighed, “as bad as the past often feels, it’s never lost its attraction.” She couldn’t help but nod at that. “I have been looking for you all day though. Sarah has deliberately hidden your personnel file so I couldn’t find out your address, you’re not answering your phone, I had no idea where you’d be. I was about to give up. This was my attempt to clear my head first.”

                “I thought you had meetings in New York.”

Shrugging he lowered himself bravely to the bench along from her, maximising the distance from her, “Matilda I haven’t been able to function since Wednesday.”

Shrugging she took another sip of her coffee, “I think we said all we needed to say then. And it was LONG overdue, I knew things wouldn’t work, we were kidding ourselves.”  The snarl in her voice was more warning than anything else. She was tired, fraught, on the edge of emotions, she wouldn’t let him in, wouldn’t let him schmooze her in the way Dylan Wallace always did.

                “No,” he shook his head vehemently, “that’s wrong. I was wrong. I need to say sorry.”

Without looking up she gave a sarcastic laugh, “and that it? That makes it all ok again?”

He groaned, “I know it’s not that easy. I don’t expect you to understand...but I have to tell you I’m sorry. Ok?”

She turned in her seat and nodded, “damn right it’s not that easy. You deliberately humiliated me; you made it too difficult for me to stay working there, a place where I was happy, confident...I was GOOD at that job. And worst of all was that you didn’t trust me. I was naively going about my day, breaking myself in two just trying to do everything...EVERYTHING I had to - to keep YOUR hotel running smoothly and in profit. And that was the thanks I get?”

He sighed, “I have no defence. Not really. My only defence is being me. I suppose I expected things to deteriorate between us, that meant that I was looking for it...”