Breaking Matt - Loving Bad Series (Sample of Published Book)

Chapter 2 - Part 1

How long did I need to stay here? I checked my watch. I'd been hiding for five minutes. I paced in the small room, trying to figure out what to do about my annoying ex and the sexy stranger who didn't seem to be interested in me.

A few minutes later there was a slight knock on the door.

I froze as I stared at the door. Had he found me? If it was him, I wouldn't be responsible for my actions. I had never gotten physical before but I was very tempted to slap some sense into Ryan.

When I didn't immediately reply, there was another knock. More insistent.

Should I answer or not?

"Sarah?"

It didn't sound like Ryan. Then I realized who it was.

"Matthew?" I stood by the door with my hand reaching for the handle.

This couldn't get any worse. The guy I had been trying to attract had discovered me hiding out in one of the spare rooms upstairs.

"Are you okay?" he asked. How had he known where I was?

"Yeah." I opened the door. His eyes met mine and I felt the familiar pull of my attraction to him. I wondered if he felt the same.

"What are you doing?" he asked, searching the room behind me.

"Hiding." I don't know why I admitted it. I knew it would only lead to more questions.

My eyes scanned the hallway to make sure there was no sign of Ryan.

"From who?" he asked, following my gaze.

"The ex."

"Was that the guy I saw you talking to earlier?"

He'd noticed? I thought he'd been too busy chatting up the girl I'd seen him with to notice. I smothered the sharp pang of jealously I felt—instead of talking to me, he'd been too interested in the bimbo who had hung on his every word.

I nodded, leaving the room and walking back to the stairs. Matthew followed beside me.

It was then it dawned on me. I stopped to face him.

"Why did you come looking for me?" I asked.

He shrugged. "The bathroom downstairs was busy so I came upstairs. I saw you duck into one of these rooms alone. I thought it was strange."

I continued to hold his gaze as I debated his answer. With a slight inclination of my head, I walked away.

"Is he harassing you?" he asked, putting a hand to my wrist to stop me at the top of the stairs. His touch sent a thrill of awareness through me. It was hard to think coherently with him so close. My pulse quickened.

It took me a few seconds to recover from the unfamiliar reaction. His eyebrows knitted together with concern.

"'Annoying me' would be a better description." It didn't seem to ease the concern on his features.

"Do you need me to have a talk with him?" he asked as his frown deepened.

"No. I can handle it." I wasn't a damsel in distress who needed a knight to swoop in to save me.

"Yeah, it looked like you were handling it well back there hiding in the room."

I pinned him with a glare as I tugged my wrist free from his grasp.

"So I don't have it all figured out. It's not like I have experience with stalkers," I muttered, turning away from him and intent on walking away.

"Stalking sounds pretty serious."

His words stopped me. I looked back at him over my shoulder. Despite his obvious concern, all I could think about was the moment he had shown interest in a girl who hadn't been me. It had put a dent in my ego—one which hurt more than I wanted to admit.

"Why don't you go and find the girl you were chatting up earlier. I'm sure she is much more interested in your company than I am."

And with that I left him at the top of the stairs without a look back in his direction. Telling him off had been a rash thing to do but it had been hard to control my anger. I was upset. He unsettled me and I didn't like it one bit. I went to find Courtney.

"Where have you been?" she asked. "I've been looking for you for the past ten minutes."

"I was hiding," I answered, surveying the crowd for my stalker.

Ryan's actions had gone past those of a boyfriend who couldn't come to terms with the ending of our short coupling. His actions were becoming more serious, which put me in a difficult situation. I had to figure out a way to deal with him or I would have to tell my mom about it—even when I knew what that would lead to.

"Ryan?" she questioned, and I nodded.

"You're going to have to do something about it before he becomes a real problem."

She was right but I had no idea what to do.