Caged Birds ✔️

Chapter Twenty

Matt's P.O.V

It was around seven o'clock when Chace and I went to my dad's restaurant for dinner as we had agreed. He came out of the kitchen and served us his meals himself. The night was young well - until, I saw her. She was sitting in the centre of the restaurant by herself. By that point, I hadn't seen Sam in nearly two years, since she vanished without any warning with my car and thirty grand.

"Bro, you've said that like a thousand times now" Daniel rolls his eyes, "I get the picture, your honey stole your ride and cash then took off"

"Right" I nod, "her hair was longer and another colour. The last time I saw her, her hair was chocolate brown, but now it was brown at the top and got lighter to the bottom..." I continue.

I couldn't keep my eyes off her. It was like seeing a ghost. A version of the girl that I used to love - a version that I no longer recognized or connected with on any level. The only link she and I shared were our pasts. Our messy complicated pasts that intertwined like a long piece of string, each time we met created a knot that couldn't be detangled.

"What's up with you?" Chace asked, stuffing his face with shrimp.

I clenched my jaw, my eyes still focused on her. I had bee staring at her for twenty minutes by that point, just trying to figure out what I was going to say to her.

Slowly, I said "Sam's here"

Chace's eyes widened in disbelief as looking over his right shoulder then his left. "As in here here?" He asked while doing so.

"As in over there" I pointed to her.

She was across the room, far from both of us, sitting in front of a pizza. For two years, I had wondered what I would say if I ever were to see her again. When the moment finally arose, I found myself too stunned to do much at all.

"Jesus she is too" Chace lowered his voice, "what are you going to do?"

"I don't know" I admitted. Chace just gave me a look, like a, are you serious look. "Hey, what do you want me to do? Go up to her, throw her pizza to the floor and say why the hell did you leave?"

"That's exactly what I want you to do! I need you to get angry," Chace stood up theatrically, "I'll be outside" and with that, he walked out of the restaurant, leaving me and my thoughts alone together at the table.

"Did you enjoy that, Mr Marino?" A familiar voice asked from in front of me.

I looked up to see my dad standing there in his black chef's uniform.

"Yeah, it was alright" I assured while standing up, my attention still focused on Sam.

"Just alright?" Dad laughed, "hey" he began snapping his fingers in front of my face.

"What!" I snapped.

His smile dropped. "Hey, look, kid, I'm trying here"

I rolled my eyes.

"No, you're not" I grit my teeth. "What, do you think that this makes up for it all?" I looked over to the plates on the table. "Do you think you cooking dinner for me once will make up for all the missed birthdays? Do you think that this makes up for not showing up to my graduation? Not showing up for anything that was remotely important to me?"

He didn't say anything, he just stood there motionless. A moment of silence followed, allowing me to look over to Sam's table to find that she was gone.

Out of anger, I looked back at my father and uttered the words "see you in another ten years" and left the restaurant.

From the sidewalk, I watched as Sam drove off in my Range Rover.