CAPTURE THIS (Updating regularly)

Chapter 7

Before she could say anything to cheer him up, her phone began ringing. It was her father. 

She felt the dread settle into the pit of her stomach as she answered the phone. 

"Hello?" 

"Amber, when are you coming home? It's getting dark." He already sounded irritated with the conversation. 

Amber glanced at Matty, who was glummly picking at a leftover wing. "Actually, I was thinking of spending the night here. Matty's going through some stuff and I don't want to leave him alone." 

There was a pause. She could hear Mr Riley's heavy breaths and it was as though she could hear his thoughts. 

"Amber, I don't think it's sensible for you to stay at Matty's," Mr Riley answered after a moment. 

Mr Riley almost sounded like his usual, understanding self, unlike the bitter irate version that Amber had been left to put up with. 

"But Dad, I can't just leave him here. He's really upset," she told him quietly, glancing at Matty, hoping he wouldn't hear her. 

Mr Riley sighed. "Is that girlfriend of his going to be there?" 

Amber felt like a little white lie wouldn't have that much of an impact. She was still angry at her father for what he had said about Annette. It only made her more determined to spend the night here instead of having to face the awkward silences at home. "Yes, Dad. Lindsey's here." 

She said it quietly so that the others wouldn't hear that she was lying to her father. 

"Fine." He answered begrudgingly.

She felt a smile rise onto her face. "Thanks, Dad. I'll see you in the morning." 

She heard her father sigh again. It was obvious she was testing his patience but she felt no remorse. It was as if he didn't realise there'd be repercussions to kicking one of his daughters out. 

Saf and Zora were quarrelling over who was going to take the trash out for Matty on the way out whilst Matty stared absent-mindedly at the TV. 

"Come on, Ambs. Let's get going," Saf told her. 

Amber shook her head. "I just spoke to my dad. I'm going to spend the night here."

Matty seemed to have awoken from his stupor as he whipped his head around to gape at her. 

"What? No, Ambs, you really don't have to," he protested quickly. 

Amber rolled her eyes. "It's already been decided. Unless you don't want me to stay?" 

Matty stared down at his lap. "No, of course I do. Thanks." 

He was mumbling shyly and Amber knew that he was grateful. 

"You guys go ahead," she told Zora and Saf. 

"I would stay," Zora told Matty, "but you know my parents." 

Saf nodded. "Me too. Don't want to go home tomorrow with my mum threatening to marry me off to some Bengali chick." 

That made Matty laugh quietly. "It's fine. Thanks for coming, though." 

He rose off of the couch and gave Zora a hug. Saf clapped him on the back. 

"Don't worry, man. You'll make it through this," Saf told him quietly. 

Matty nodded and gave him a wobbly smile. "Thanks, Saf. Drive safe." 

"Bye guys, I'll see you tomorrow," Amber told them, waving from the armchair she had been glued to. 

The pair waved and headed out of the door. 

Once they heard the front door slam, Matty turned to Amber. 

"So what now?" he asked curiously. 

Amber shrugged. "I'm going to borrow some of your pyjamas and sleep on the couch." 

"The couch?" Matty frowned, walking around the coffee table to help her up. 

"Yes, the couch. You have a very comfortable couch." 

Matty rolled his eyes. "Take the bed. I'll take the couch." 

Amber gathered her crutches and made her way to the bedroom whilst Matty hovered around her. "You're going to have to get used to that bed until you sort things out with Lindsey. For tonight, we can stay up for as long as you want, but you are sleeping in that bed." 

It was at least an hour before Matty agreed to let Amber sleep on the couch. He rambled endlessly about how he didn't need babysitting and how he was perfectly fine, but Amber knew she was doing the right thing. She wordlessly took out one of Matty's t-shirts and long trousers from his wardrobe before slowly heading to the bathroom to change. She would normally have borrowed one of Lindsey's pyjamas but given the current situation, it didn't feel right to hobble around the house in his girlfriend's clothes whilst he was heart broken over her. 

She heard Matty linger outside the bathroom door for a moment as he finished his rant but his footsteps then descended down the hall to the bedroom. 

It was nice to have a moment alone to breathe. After carefully placing her crutches on the floor without causing a loud clatter, Amber lowered herself onto the edge of the bath and took a moment to rest her eyes. She had gotten very little sleep the night before due to everything that had happened with Ann, and now she knew she would get very little sleep again. It wasn't anyone's fault. She didn't have the heart to turn her back on Matty, especially since she was still feeling traces of guilt for not picking up her phone the night before. Maybe if she had talked to him after the first two messages, none of this would have happened? Amber shook the thoughts out of her head wearily. There was no point dwelling on the things, she could have done. She needed to get out there are and comfort Matty - besides, this was a good distraction from her own issues at home and with Alex. 

Amber searched the cupboard for some of Lindsey's make up remover. She seemed to have left a lot of her things, which benefited Amber. After scrubbing her face clean, and using a spare toothbrush to brush her teeth, Amber slipped into Matty's massive clothes. His t-shirt made it to her knees but it was comfortable having a loose top on. The trousers were a bit of a problem. Her wound was healing nicely but still stung if she stretched it, and it was hard enough getting into a pair of her own trousers but her legs were lost in a pair of Matty's. The trousers had to be rolled multiple times at both the waist and the feet before Amber could see her toes sticking out at bottom. 

She emerged from the bathroom to find Matty in his own pair of pyjamas sitting on the couch, flicking through the channels of the TV. 

"Come on," she told him, heading straight for his bedroom. "You're going to bed now." 

She heard him yawn as he shut off the TV, she felt her own resolve crumbling as she used her crutches to get to the bedroom. It was exhausting having to use them but she knew that her wound would ache all day tomorrow if she didn't. 

Matty collapsed on the bed and Amber lay down beside him. 

"I'll head back to the sofa after you fall asleep," she assured him sleepily. 

"Let me sleep on the sofa, Ambs," Matty mumbled half-heartedly. 

"All you need to do is fall asleep." 

The bed was so soft against her aching muscles, it made her feel like she was lying on top of a cloud. But the sofa... the sofa could go screw itself. 

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Okay, crude ending, I know. But come on, you didn't expect her to actually sleep on the sofa after only getting a couple hours of sleep the night before and having to walk using crutches all day. I have to cut my characters some slack (sometimes). Also, in life, things never go exactly the way we plan. Sometimes our bodies just can't make it to the sofa. 

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. This one was a bit of a struggle to write because so much happens but I feel like things needed a bit more explaining so this chapter just had to happen. 

See you on the next one! 

-Fariha x