Chapter 130

• Alexis found herself seated disconnected at the far corner of the coffee shop, her fingertips following complicated designs along the edge of her untouched cappuccino. The outside world, obvious through the window, was lively with a furious vitality that she had long since lost the capacity to gather. Her look was settled on the darkened see, her thoughts once once more spinning around Matthew. The move from the simple beginning to the more complicated stage of their relationship was progressive, associated to the whisper of a breeze that carried a fragrance both recognizable and strange. There were viewpoints of Matthew, his tone, his quirks, the unpretentious ways he made her feel insignificant, that reverberated the characteristics of her father. It had been a long time since Alexis had thought of her father, burying those thoughts deep, trusting they would blur into the foundation unnoticed.
• However, they reemerged, revived by the man she had once accepted would be different. Her phone vibrated close to her cup, shocking her back to reality.
• It was Matthew. "Where are you? You said you'd be home by 6. "