The house- Chapter 12

    

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Sarah did not hear from Matt for the rest of the weekend. She painted half of her bedroom on Saturday, and by Sunday night it literally felt as if her arms were going to break off. She didn't try to phone Matt again and figured that he would contact her if he wanted to speak to her.  

She couldn't get that picture out of her mind and made a mental note to take it with her to the library the next day. She wasn't sure where she had seen the girl in the picture.  It might have been in one of the books in the library.  

She was exhausted and lay in bed trying to fall asleep. She rolled around for a few minutes and then got up to go pour herself a glass of warm milk.  Perhaps that would let her sleep.  It was already nearly nine o'clock when she heard the doorbell rang.  She had her nightgown on because she was definitely not expecting anyone. 

She opened the door and there was Matt.  He looked absolutely exhausted.  

"Hell Matt... what happened to you..you look terrible"  

She stepped aside to let him in. Sarah didn't want to pry and told him to follow her to the kitchen. She made some coffee and sandwiches and laughed when she realized that they had nowhere to sit. Matt laughed when she told him about her seating arrangements and she suggested that they go eat in her room.  

"I'm sorry, I had a horrible weekend. I had to fly out to San Francisco to be with my son.  His mother had one of her episodes and I had to go and sort out some issues.  I slept on the plane.  Geez I'm so tired..." 

Matt looked really sad and she realized that nothing would make him feel better now.  

"Let's go to my bedroom,I need to show you something...I found something interesting.."  Matt's eyes seemed to lit up a bit and took the tray and carried it up to the room. 

She went in first and switched on the light. "Woah! This room looks different. I can see that you have not been sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. This is the perfect color, it looks great! " 

They sat on the bed drinking their coffee while eating the sandwiches. It was clear that Matt had a very rough weekend. She told him that she went to the library and then took out the photo from the drawer in the bedside table and showed it to Matt. 

"This looks familiar Sarah...I just can't put my finger on it.  I am sure that I've seen this girl somewhere before..."

"I'm going to take it with me to the library tomorrow morning to do some extensive research. I am sure I will find something there. Do you want to talk about your weekend?"  She asked cautiously as not to stir any emotion. 

"No I'd rather not. I don't want to spoil your evening with my problems.  Why don't you tell me more about the house?"  

"Well I have done a little bit of research, but I haven't sorted out much. I will tell you everything as soon as I've done my research." 

She smiled and then got up to go and put the tray in the kitchen. 

When she got back to the room, Matt was fast asleep on the one side of the bed. He really looked so peaceful and she decided not to wake him and climbed into bed next to him. This is awkward she thought to herself, but didn't make much of it. She covered him with a blanket as he was on top of the covers, and then turned off the bedside lamp and fell asleep. 

She slept like a baby and when she woke up, Matt had already left. He left a note saying that he had to leave early as he had an appointment and he had to go to his apartment first for some fresh clothes and that he would see her that night. 

Sarah took out the photo and placed it in her laptop bag to take with her when she left a bit later for the library. She dressed casually and then left to go to the library.  The photo of Amelia kept haunting her through the night and she was more than ready to find out who Amelia was. 

She asked the librarian to help her look for some books, and then she found a quiet corner to start her research.  She didn't realize how long she had actually been busy, but it was nearly one 'o clock when she looked at her watch for the first time. She was starving. She phoned Matt and asked him to meet her for lunch. She was just about to pack up when she closed the one book and by accident bumped another one off the table. It fell on the floor and it lay there open. She bent to pick it up and there was Amelia...staring her right in the face...