~{Chapter 30}~

The next day, I wake up in my hotel room and find all the events from last night flooding back to my memory.

Mr. Parker was leaving at the same time I was, so he gave me a ride back to the hotel. All he said was that Matt was right in what he had done. I said a quiet goodbye to him and his wife before quickly jumping out of the car.

I had hurried up to my room and had immediately taken off my dress and gotten ready for bed. The minute my head had touched my pillow, I had fallen asleep, escaping the world for the night.

I sigh and slip out from under the covers after going through everything that happened last night. I walk to the living area and sit down on one of the couches. What happened last night may not seem like a huge deal, but it is a huge deal to me. It took me back to my childhood and not exactly a good part of it.

When I moved to South Hart, I was not always welcomed with open arms. On the contrary, people were very wary of me, and it took awhile for James and me to convince them that I was trustworthy.

Even before South Hart, I was not exactly welcomed anywhere. James was the first person who had taken the time to get to know me. He was the first one to give me a chance at becoming something more than an outcast.

Where does Matt fit into this? Well, after James died, I was left broken. Matt was one of the people who helped me through that. He was the one with me when it was James' first death anniversary. Matt was the one who did not push me into a relationship despite having feelings for me.

Sure, he messed up, but James did too. I can not hold that against either of them. Is it possible for me to love someone else while still loving James?

Wait, did I just say that? Do I love Matt? Is that what this is? Is that why I was being so strange last night?

Just then, my phone buzzes, interrupting me from my rambling and unexpected thoughts. I unplug my phone and look down to see yet another text from Matt. He has been texting me since last night, and I still have not answered any of them.

My phone begins to ring, and I see that it is Matt. I bite my lip and take a second to think about whether or not I should answer the call. I finally sigh and answer.

"Yes?" I ask quietly.

I hear him sigh with relief. "I thought you would never answer. Kate, please tell me what's wrong. Why did you run off?"

I sigh. "I'm not exactly sure, Matt. I'm just confused, and I needed to get away so I could think."

"Okay. Kate, just please remember that I like you too. I like you a lot, and I don't want your feelings or whatever they are to keep you from talking to me," he says kindly.

"Matt, I really can't talk about this right now. I especially can't talk about it without being face to face with you. I need to go, but I'll see you tonight," I say, trying to end the call.

"Alright. I'm holding you to that promise," he says before hanging up.

I sigh as I set my phone down. I sit for a few more minutes before standing and getting ready for the day. I slip on a casual chic look and put on a small amount of makeup.

The book event starts tonight at six-thirty, and it is another black tie event. I am looking forward to it, but at the same time, I am slightly hesitant. If last night was an example of what it will be like tonight, I am not sure I will actually enjoy it.

I sigh at my reflection in the mirror and pick up my purse and walk out of my room. I ride the elevator down to the lobby and walk out of the building and down the street.

I loiter on the sidewalks for a few hours before finding a cute little restaurant to eat at. I order my food and sit down at a table in the corner. It is not long until my order comes.

I am eating my salad when I see a familiar face walk in. It is Matt. I look behind him and see that he is with a group of people, so I do not call out to him. I do not hide, though I really want to.

All of a sudden, his head snaps to my little corner, and he spots me. He smiles at me, and I somehow manage to smile back. He turns back to his friends, making me frown slightly. Then, he turns back to face where I am and begins to walk in my direction. I resist the urge to get up and run out.

"Hey," he says when he is standing beside me.

I smile. "Hi. What are you doing here?"

He smiles at me with a twinkle in his warm brown eyes. "Just here to eat some food. We had a break in writing, so we decided to take a break to eat. How about you?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I was just walking around and thinking."

He looks back at his friends and then sits down across from me. "Tell me what's wrong?"

I try to lie by saying, "Who said something was wrong? Nothing is wrong."

He rolls his eyes. "You may not think you know me as well as you did before, but I still know you really well, and I can tell when something is wrong."

I sigh. "I'm just trying to sort out some of my feelings and trying to get ready for tonight. I'm not sure if I'm ready to face any of those people again. They're pretty uptight and scary if you ask me."

He laughs at my last sentence and replies, "They're more scared of you than you might think."

I sigh. "Why don't they like me? And why do you keep trying to convince me that I belong in this kind of world?"

He leans back in his seat, obviously thinking about what I said. "They are stuck up people with a false image in their minds of what they think they're so called 'world' is supposed to look like. As for why I'm trying to convince you, you belong wherever you are. You just need to believe in yourself. You have more character than half of those people combined. Kate, you change people if you stay long enough and have the opportunity to share your light. God has gifted you with an amazing welcoming spirit."

I tear up his words and try to say something, but one of his friends walks up and tells him, "Hey Matt, we have our food, and it's time to go back to the studio."

Matt gives me an apologetic smile and turns to his friend. "Give me five more minutes."

His friends nods and glances at me before walking off, and I tell Matt, "You really don't have to. Go."

He reaches across the table and takes my hand in his. "Kate, why do you have all these insecurities all of a sudden?"

I sigh. "I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"Us. This whole situation is confusing me. I told you that I consider you as more than a friend, but you didn't seem to care. In fact, you went on just like everything is normal," I say.

He gives me a smile. "I went on like nothing happened because I could see you weren't ready for a relationship with me. I'm not going to force you into anything because I know that you still have some unresolved feelings. I messed up, and it is hard to move on from that, yet you have been so understanding. It's the least I can do to be understanding of you and your feelings."

A car horn honks, and he stands up to leave as I say, "Thank you."

He smiles. "I'll see you tonight. I'll be waiting for you."

~-~-~-~
I look in the mirror at my reflection. I am wearing another formal dress. This time, it is a beautiful red gown. My hair is up in a beautiful chignon. A woman came by order of Matt to do my hair and makeup, and she told me that he had told her that he wanted me to have a special night tonight.

My makeup is simple yet elegant. There is not too much or too little, but it is more than what I usually wear. I have beautiful jewelry that Mrs. Parker graciously loaned me. The Parkers have made me feel so special, and I will always be grateful to them for making me feel welcomed and better after what happened last night.

I finally turn the bathroom light off and pick up my coat before doing down to the lobby where Mr. Parker is waiting for me. He smiles and gives me a hug before leading me out to his car where a very beautiful and kind Mrs. Parker is waiting.

"Hello, Kate," she says upon seeing me,  "I hope you're doing alright, and I hope my husband isn't working you to death."

I laugh, and we make small talk all the way to the event. When we get there, I feel my nerves beginning to form. I hesitate before stepping out of the car, but I shake my nerves away and confidently step out of the car to only be greeted by the same face who accused me of being a gold-digger.

She gives me a smirk before turning and walking inside. Mr. and Mrs. Parker both give me reassuring smiles. I give them what I hope is a convincing smile. They seem satisfied as they walk ahead of me inside.

I walk behind them and almost gasp when I see how extravagant the building is. Not only is it full of people dressed in their best, it is also full of many different gold decorations and crystal decorations. Chandeliers hang from the ceilings, making the room feel even more elegant than the one last night.

"Kate?" Mrs. Parker asks me.

I snap out of my thoughts and say, "Yes ma'am?"

"We got here just in time for the music portion, and we are sitting in the front row, so we need to head there," she says as she begins to lead me toward the front.

I nod and follow her. We arrive at our seats just in time. The lights begin to dim right when I sit down. I adjust my dress to make myself more comfortable.

Three performers come out one after the other and perform a couple of songs. They are all relatively new artists it seems like. By the time all three of them have performed, it seems like everyone besides the Parkers and me are restless. It is as though they think the performers were horrible, while I thought they were great.

"Hello," a very familiar voice says, and I turn my attention back to the stage and see Matt staring at me with a wide smile. "I was honored when the organizers of this amazing event asked me to come and perform this evening. Tonight, I will be introducing a new song to everyone. It's called Together."

He sits down at the piano on the small stage and begins to play. I had no idea he played the piano, and he is really good. He begins to sing his song, and it brings tears to my eyes. Not only is it an extremely sweet song, it is also telling a story. It is telling our story. It is telling how we became friends and how we walked through the last two years.

He stares at me the whole time with love and happiness in his eyes. In this moment, I realize that I have been keeping myself from a relationship with him because I was afraid to get hurt or to hurt him. I see how wrong I was.

I was afraid that in order to love again, I had to stop loving James. Now I see that James will always have a place in my heart. Matt will not replace James. Matt is his own person, and he will fill a new place in my heart.

I have also realized that love involves taking chances. Loving God is probably one of the most amazing chances I have ever taken. Now I see that maybe it is time for me to take another chance.

Matt plays the last note, and the people are already standing and applauding. I smile and stand up to join the crowd. I smile at him, and his eyes are still on me. I blush as he walks off the stage toward me. I feel everyone staring at us as he walks up to me and takes both of my hands in his hands.

"Kate," he says just loud enough for me to hear over the crowd, "I know I said I wouldn't push you, but I needed to let you know how I feel about you. I know you're not ready, but I..."

I place my hand over his mouth and give him the largest smile as I say the words that I have been wanting to say for such a long time without even realizing it, "I love you Matthew Parker."

His smile becomes larger. "I love you too."

He bends down and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek. If someone would have told me a year ago that I would be in love with Matt Parker, I would have never believed them.

God works in mysterious ways.

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Yay! Alright, this was the last chapter! That's so crazy!

Don't worry, though, I have the epilogue written so it will be up very soon. When it's up, this book will officially finished! I've enjoyed writing this book, and I'm excited to "dub" it as my first completed book!

Anyway, thanks for reading and sticking with this story for quite awhile now! Stay tuned for the epilogue.