The above picture is from: MattMooreHardy.com
The following evening, well after midnight…. Matt pulled into the drive way and noticed Colleen’s van besides the guesthouse, and that a light was on in the bathroom where she was staying. Matt ran his finger through his hair taking a deep breath of the rich Carolina air… he assumed Colleen was still up. He didn’t bother to get his bags out from the car he just wanted to get inside and see Angela. She was probably asleep. Matt quietly unlocked the front door and looked around, it was dark and at the end of the hallway he could see shadows of orange and red glowing across the ceiling from the living room doorway. Benny who was laying in the doorway of the living perked his ears up when Matt opened the door, and got to his feet to greet his new master. Benny came quietly to Matt and licked his hand. Matt grinned patting him gently on his big head, rubbing his ears and then he smiled as Benny disappeared into the kitchen. Benny, Angela’s family dog had made himself quiet comfortable in Cameron since Angela’s Aunt Jenny had died a few months before and Uncle Richie had given his faithful companion to them because in his older age carrying for Benny was becoming more of a chore & a burden then a delight. Matt as well as Angela had quickly welcomed the dog and enjoyed having the semi quiet yet somewhat excitable golden retriever around. Matt sighed hanging up his leather jacket as he set his keys down on the side table in the front hallway and started down the hallway to the living room. He leaned in the doorway of the room and watched for a moment the dancing flames and the shadows glowing about the room from the fireplace. Matt looked around and sighed stretching a bit, it was really late. He quietly walked towards the open window across the room to close it when he noticed something on the couch. He leaned against the back of the couch quietly and smiled down at the sleeping Angela. He had expected her to be in bed, but he should have know she would be here waiting for him. She looked beautiful despite how sick she was. Her long brown hair lay nestled beneath her, she was indeed lucky she hadn’t lost much of it yet. She was snuggled under a blanket and from the way she lay he saw her mothers cross and the angel necklace he given her over a year ago hanging from her neck, resting against her soft skin. She was breathing normally and she looked content. Matt stared at her a long time wishing she were awake, but knowing she needed her sleep. He wished she were well, that he was returning home to her after a long hard few weeks of wrestling and that she could wrap her arms around him… that he could hold her and make her warm and that he could touch her everywhere…. as he longed too… but not daring to considering her recent condition. That was the last thing he wanted was to do… cause her more harm and pain. But Matt couldn’t help but wish she were awake now…He ached to smile into her beautiful green sparkling eye’s and know those would be the eye’s he’d forever look into… the only eye’s that would ever matter, the eye’s of his beloved wife… he sighed silently praying yet again….that they’d both see the day! Matt grinned leaving quickly to go upstairs to change. He put on a pair of pajama pants and a long sleeved silk shirt not bothering to button it and went quietly back down to the living room. He took another blanket from the chair in the corner and sat down at the other end of the couch covering himself as he looked over at the peacefully sleeping Angela. He was glad to be home and to be able to be here to be with her. He set his head back watching the fire. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep… *** A few hours later…. Angela lay awake for a while her eye’s still closed as she listened to the crackling fire. She was surprisingly warm for a change and she sighed opening her eye’s as she stared up at the ceiling watching the glow from the flames dancing across the ceiling. Where was Matt she wondered sighing as she turned onto her side and started to close her eye’s again, when she suddenly felt familiar eye’s on her. She opened her eye’s and sat up a bit staring at Matt who sat at the end of the couch awake and staring at her. “Matt… you’re here.” Angela whispered surprised smiling excitedly at the sight of him. He looked incredible! Since the moment he’d last left her she would close her eye’s and picture him, but nothing could compare to seeing him before her. Matt nodded as he sat up a but more, uncovering himself as he stared at her. Angela smiled as she uncovered her own self and crawled down towards him. Matt wrapped his arms around her pulling her gently across his lap as she snuggled against him and he covered them back up. Angela snuggled against Matt warm and happy to be in his arms and to know he was there. Matt kissed her cheek softly as she picked her head up from his shoulder and smiled at him touching his cheek softly sighing. “You couldn’t possibly know how much I’ve missed you! Why didn’t you wake me?” Angela asked whispering softly as Matt grinned staring at her. Matt shrugged, “I knew you needed to sleep.” Matt whispered staring at her. Angela smiled after a moment and leaned over to kiss him softly. “I was waiting for you…. never let me sleep again when you know how anxious I am to see you!” Angela whispered against Matt’s lips as he laughed softly kissing her back gently. It felt wonderful to hold her and to know she wasn’t gone yet… that she was real and she was still alive! They sat snuggled together in silence for a long time and Angela finally broke the silence looking up at him. “Matt I have to go back to Dr. Burke’s tomorrow. Will you come with me?” She asked softly looking up at him. Matt stared at her a moment and nodded. “You know I will Ang.” Matt whispered kissing her gently. Angela sighed, it was amazing to feel Matt‘s touch, to be held by him, and to feel his lips against her own… to smell his sweet clean breath and to just feel him beside her, to know he was there with her. After a while Matt helped her up and they went upstairs to go to sleep. Angela fell asleep quickly knowing Matt was there and that he was holding onto her. Whenever he was by her side she slept easily. Matt sighed holding Angela gently as he closed his eye’s feeling relaxed and happy to be holding her as he drifted off to sleep himself. Matt awoke late that morning to the distant sound of the vacuum cleaner from somewhere downstairs. Colleen must be awake he figured rolling his eye’s. He sighed yawning as he looked down and saw Angela still snuggled against him sleeping deeply. He grinned smoothing her hair away from her face. Matt sighed as he looked to the clock on the dresser and saw that it was a little after 10am and he knew he should wake Angela up if they needed to get her to the doctor‘s. The curtain was drawn across the window and he heard that it had started to rain. The fire was dying in the fireplace and he yawned again staring down at Angela a moment. He smiled as he leaned down close to her face and kissed her lips softly whispering her name as he kissed her. Matt knew instantly that she had awoken when he felt her gently kiss him back. “It’s late Ang…. We better get up to go to your appointment!” Matt whispered as he kissed her again and pulled away looking down at her as she slowly opened her eye’s and stared up at him smiling. She smiled nodding sleepily as Matt chuckled hugging her tightly trying to not hurt her as she snuggled against him closing her eye’s. *** Matt was still holding Angela a few minutes later when he heard her soft sleepy whisper. Matt opened his eyes and looked down at her. “Promise me that you’ll marry someone special…. Some one who can make you really happy!” Matt stared down at Angela as she meet his eye’s. Matt was confused for a moment and then he repeated her words silently to himself and pulled away from her letting her go as he got to his feet and moved to the closet to find something to wear. “Stop talking like that… your being ridiculous and I don’t wanna hear it!” Matt said as he glanced back to where she now sat up on the bed. Angela sighed staring at him. “Come here.” Angela whispered staring at Matt. Matt glanced down to the floor and sighed frowning. She wasn’t gone yet and she was talking like she knew she wouldn’t make it…. As if she’d already given up all hope and made up her mind that they had no future! If he was doing his best to believe she’d be fine then she should too! He wasn’t giving up on her… she shouldn’t either. Matt was doing his best to be strong for her and for himself, he was trying to believe in the best, but it was growing harder to be strong for both of them…. Matt glanced back to Angela and frowned. “I don’t wanna hear you talk like that ever again!” Matt said sternly seriously staring at her feeling a flare of anger for her. He needed her to be strong so he could continue trying to be that way too. Matt watched her as she frowned staring at him. Matt watched her eye’s as they moved over him. Angela stared at him wanting him desperately… wanting to go back to being normal, to being allowed to do the things she longed to do before she got sick. She reached up pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed meeting his eye’s again. “Will you please come here?” Angela asked whispering softly as Matt studied her face. Matt stared at her for a few moments and sighed heavily as he hung up the hanger with a shirt he was about to put on and came back to the side of the bed sitting down as Angela reached for his hand her eye’s finding his. Angela stared at him feeling lost for a moment in the deep dark depths of his sparkling brown eye’s. She shivered wishing she’d never said anything to him about what she feared. She could sense he was angry with her for even thinking such a thing. The thought of being without him and knowing that he had moved on with someone else was like a stab to her heart and she frowned feeling scarred and suddenly at loss with her own uncertain future. Angela looked back up at Matt feeling his eye’s and she frowned, feeling close to tears knowing she didn’t quite know how to say what she was feeling. Angela ran her free hand through her hair gently looking at her hand after seeing long strands clinging to her fingers. Matt stared at her as watched the sadness in her eye’s that seemed to enclose around his heart. He frowned reaching to pull her into his arms. Angela cried softly burying her eye’s into Matt’s shirt and hugging him tightly. “I’m sorry.” Angela whispered finally as Matt held her gently. Matt was at a loss he didn’t know what to say to her. He took a deep breath and the scent of her seemed to haunt him… he closed his eye’s knowing no matter what happened to her that he could never move on and marry another woman that made him feel the things Angela so easily could. There were things she was only capable of making him feel, things only she could do to him. “Angie you are the only woman I’ll ever marry… no matter what promise’s you wish me to make I could never promise such a thing… I have no desire to be married to anyone unless it’s you… don’t you know that by now Ang?” Matt whispered pulling away from her and touching her chin forcing her to meet his eye’s. Angela shivered staring into his gorgeous face. Angela frowned, “Matt I’ll purposely haunt you until I force you to find someone who will make you happy, someone you can marry, grow old with and have a family with! I swear I’ll haunt your every moment until you do!” Angela vowed staring at him seriously. Matt couldn’t help but laugh. He shook his head sighing as Angela slowly grinned not sure whether he laughed because he was angry or amused. Matt stared at her and shook his head, “That I believe….” Matt whispered frowning as he set her next to him and got up to get the shirt and the rest of his clothes to go to the bathroom and get dressed, not wanting to have anymore of this conversation. “Regardless of what happens, I believe you’ll always haunt me…” Matt whispered as he shrugged concentrating on gathering clothes to dress in and ending the conversation as quickly as he could. “Do you promise?” Angela insisted ignoring his obvious want not to discuss anything further, as she stood up to try and stop him from leaving when she was so eager to get his vow that he’d move on without her. Matt groaned as he reached for a pair of pants and decided not to speak. He didn’t wanna argue with her… he didn’t want to have this conversation… he just wanted things to go back to being normal. “Matt promise me, please promise you’ll get married and be happy! Please! I have to know that you‘ll be okay.” Angela insisted as she clung to his arm, tears falling down her cheeks. Matt sighed as he tossed the clothes in his arms onto the couch prepared to argue to get his point across to her if necessary and looked down at her as she moved to snuggle against his chest, Matt frowned as he wrapped his arms around her and closed his eye’s wishing he could take all her pain away. Angela clung to him and Matt felt at a complete loss. Matt sighed scooping her into his arms as he set her back down across his lap as he sat back on the edge of their bed. Matt smoothed her hair gently away from her eye’s and stared at her. “Ang I want you to listen to me.” Matt whispered finally drawing Angela’s full attention. As she met Matt’s eye’s he touched his finger tips to her cheek, “I love you… I don’t know how many times I have to tell you….. But I love you! I love you and I could never ever love anyone the way I love you…. I will never marry another woman, unless it’s you… I’m not gonna lie and promise you anything… I can’t make such a promise…” Matt paused wiping a silent tear from her cheek with his finger tip, “I will never love anyone other then you, no matter what happens to you. You are the only woman I will ever want, you are the only woman I desire… you’re the only woman I will love forever!” Matt whispered as more tears spilled from her eye’s. Matt wiped her tears gently meeting her eye’s. “I’ll haunt you forever! I swear!” Angela whispered defiantly as she snuggled against him. Matt chuckled, “I know you will… you haunt me constantly as it is now….and considering how lost I’d be if I were to ever loss you, knowing that you swear to haunt me will be the best thing to heal my grieving heart knowing your there watching me… knowing you swear to haunt my every move… at least you’ll be there with me…to see that without you I could never be happy and therefore would have no reason to move on, because no woman no matter how beautiful-would only pale in comparison to you…” Matt paused as Angela stared up at him as if she were amazed he was saying what he was, “Ang you can haunt me my whole life but it wouldn’t matter because if you die….if…. not when…. if…. I know I’d be haunted because I’d never be able to erase you from my memory…. I’d always taste your lips on mine… the sweet scent of you would never go away…. I’d wander the world searching for just one more moment with you, I’d ache for your touch… wishing to just be able to spend one more moment with you! I‘ll never marry any woman Angela unless that woman is you… that is something I can promise! You can swear to haunt me forever Ang, but let me assure you I‘d only treasure your ghost!” Matt said softly staring down at her as Angela’s eye’s seemed to be a sea of emotions. Matt touched her cheek as she looked up at him pondering what she should say. Matt sighed as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you…. Now if you don’t get dressed were gonna be late for your appointment!” Matt whispered against her soft tear damped skin, as he set her back down on the mattress beside him and got up and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Angela to consider his words.
