( Esther's point of view)
As soon as Matthew said those words, everything around us seemed to stop. The phone buzzed in his shaking hand, reminding him of all the things that were falling apart. It felt like a cloud had settled on both of us because of what had just been said: the threat and the past that wouldn't stay buried.
I stood there, hardly breathing, and watched him. With every second that went by, I felt the distance between us grow. It looked like he was trying to mentally prepare for something he couldn't control by looking far away. And I—I was on the edge of something too big to ignore.
"You have to fight for us, Matthew," I said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "You have to fight for me."
At first, he didn't move; his eyes were still on the phone. I could see
