Chapter 17: Alone together

It was 4 o'clock in the morning when Kelly opened the door to her apartment. Her brother Anthony came up with her although she had told him it wasn't necessary for him to bring her up. But he insisted. He wanted to make sure she got home alright since she must be exhausted. He was a great brother, and Kelly was so grateful for everything he did for her and the kids. She had thanked him hundreds of times over the past few days. She had truly relived, seeing her children again and spending precious time with them. But as soon as she dropped them off with their father less than 10 hours ago and she had to leave them behind again, it seemed as if all desire to live had left her body once again.

The flight home had been silent, with Kelly staring out of the window most of the time whereas Anthony had been able to get some sleep. The ride home was even more silent. When Anthony asked if she was going to see Matthew, she didn't even respond. Caught up in her own thoughts, she blocked everything and everyone out. Now, here they were, standing in of her apartment. In utter silence. She put her bag on the floor by the door and went into the living room. She sank down onto the couch, pulled her knees to her body and buried her head in between them. Anthony turned on the lights but Kelly immediately asked him to turn them off again. She told him she was going to sleep in a while anyway. 'Is there anything else I can do, Kel?' Anthony asked her. She just shook her head, not even looking at her brother. 'Okay, I'll call you tomorrow then,' he said before he turned around, ready but hesitant nonetheless to leave her behind like this. 'Anthony', Kelly whispered. He turned to face her again and was surprised she was already right in front of him to give him the biggest of hugs. 'Thanks again, for every single thing you have done'. He stroked her back before he said: 'Anytime'. He let go of her and placed a kiss on her cheek, then grabbed both of her shoulders and squeezed them looking into her eyes. She just nodded, a silent sign she was going to be okay and with that he left and took a cab home to his own apartment and his girlfriend, leaving Kelly alone in the dark.

A few blocks from Kelly's apartment, Matthew was sleeping soundly when suddenly his iPhone beeped. He grabbed it with his eyes still closed and unlocked it. It was a text from Anthony. 'Hey Matt, we're back in NYC. Worried bout Kel though. Keep an eye on her, will you? Thx mate!' He didn't doubt a single second about what to do. He got out of bed, put on the first jeans he could find, grabbed a T-shirt and managed to pull it over his head somehow while he was already on his way out. 'Taxi!' he shouted. Walking to her place would take too long even if it were only 9 blocks. If he was going to Kelly's, he would make sure he set a new record. The ride only lasted for 3 minutes, since it was late at night and there was no traffic whatsoever. It left him just enough time to reply to Anthony's text: 'I'm on it! Thanks man!' The taxi stopped right in front of Kelly's building. Matt slipped a $20 bill to the driver, not waiting for any change. He rushed towards the entrance, the doorman nodding and opening the door to let Matt in. Once upstairs, he used his spare key to unlock the front door to Kelly's apartment. He stepped inside and listened. He didn't hear her, all the lights were out. He slowly closed the front door and checked her living room first, but she wasn't there. He tried her bedroom next, where he had better luck this time. If you could even call it luck. Kelly was lying all curled up with her back towards the door on top of her bed, on top of her sheets. He could hear her sobs through the dark. He watched her for a second, then went to her. He got on the bed, lay himself next to her, spooning her while he searched for her hands to entwine them with his own. He placed a soft kiss on her left ear and that was that. Both of them. Alone. In the dark, together.