The Matchmaker

Chapter 6

~~9 years later~~

Shannon woke up with a start and sat bolt upright in bed. Sweat dripped down her face and her sheets had become soaked. Her mother’s scream was as vivid as the day of the fire. The nightmares were occurring every night and she rarely had a full night’s sleep. She would wake up at exactly the same time, 5:30am.

The dream was always the same. She was separated by a glass window. She could see the flames engulfing the house and her mother screaming for help but she couldn’t do a thing. All she could do was watch as her mother burned to death.

It had been nearly 15 years since her mother’s death and whilst she had managed to get through each day, it wasn’t without its consequences. The guilt she felt was so extreme that every single day she lived like a completely different person. Nothing had changed.

Her relationship with Brain and Nathan was still strong but strained. However, she never knew how much so. They struggled with her new personality, even after all those years, and still lived with the hope that one day she would snap back to the old Shannon. They both tried to question her change on many occasions but never got anywhere. The pleading look Brian got from her that first day was the same one he or Nathan received every time they questioned her.

Neither of them had expected it to take so long but regardless of the strain on their friendship, they were determined to wait and hope. Unfortunately no amount of determination could stop the inevitable. It was only a matter of time before something made one of them snap.

Shannon’s matchmaking had become like a life support to her and ruled her life. It helped her handle the guilt and it was the only bit of happiness she ever received.

However, match makes were doomed for failure as she had experienced firsthand all those years ago. That terrified Shannon more than anything. Every time one failed she would react the same way. It brought back all the memories of her mother’s death and she couldn’t handle it. She had been extra careful since that time but 5 others still had failed. At those times her friends had no idea what to do. They just waited for each moment to pass.

When the match makes were successful she felt happy and content but her personality was far from agreeable. She never had regained that youthful carefree personality she once had. That part of her died when her mother did.

Noticing it had already ticked over to six o’clock, she approached her morning as she usually did. She pulled herself out of bed, pushed the thoughts of her mother’s death out of her mind and approached the day as if it were any normal day.

Little did she know that that day was the day things would begin to change. Whether she liked it or not she would be taken on an unwanted trip down memory lane.

“Shannon Maxwell, get into my office now!”

Shannon looked up at Bob, her boss, and her stomach dropped. She knew that tone of voice. After the last job she lost over a failed match make, she had lost one other and she wasn’t proud of it. She hoped it wasn’t going to be another. Never had she intended to bring her personal life to work but some of her match makes were with work colleagues so the aftermath, whether good or bad, just sort of followed her. She had been at her current job for 5 years and all match makes had been successful in that time. This was the first one in all that time that had failed with a workmate. It had all been organised and done outside of work but the angry colleague made it obvious at work that she had a problem with Shannon.

Heaving a sigh, Shannon stood up and followed Bob into his office. Everyone else around her kept their heads low but she knew they were all wondering what would happen. Bob never got that angry unless it was bad.