Page 26 of Tethered Hearts
Brie
“You told him what?” Melanie asked Brie as they wandered through the department store. After purchasing Brie’s dress for the wedding, they were now shopping for luggage for Melanie’s honeymoon. The newlyweds-to-be were travelling to Tasmania for two weeks after celebrating their nuptials, and Melanie wanted to purchase a selection of suitcases as well as a backpack for the planned hike up Cradle Mountain.
Brie picked up the tag on a rather nice-looking leather satchel but immediately let it slip through her fingers. She didn’t earn anywhere near enough to justify paying such an exorbitant amount for a bag that wouldn’t fit much more than a book and a water bottle. “I admitted that I had a crush on him.” Brie shook her head with the memory. At the humiliation. At how she’d wanted the ground to open up beneath her. Thankfully she hadn’t gone into details about following him on social media. Even commenting on some of his posts. She wasn’t a stalker; she’d made that point very clear. But still, the fact that he knew she’d admired him from afar was embarrassing.
“Had or still have?” Melanie peered across the top of a row of suitcases. One perfectly arched eyebrow raised in amusement.
“Mel …” She couldn’t answer that question. Didn’t want to answer it. She’d been down that path before, tripping over her own feet to give her heart to a guy in the hope of earning something in return. She was trying to guard her heart with the utmost security and discernment, yet each interaction with Matt chiseled away a little more of her rock-solid defense.
“It would be ironic, though, wouldn’t it?” They rounded a corner to a display of an assortment of handbags and purses. “If he fell in love with his biggest fan.”
“What warped universe are you living in, Mel? That’s not going to happen.” Brie rolled her eyes and wandered through the bags, selecting a quaint tan handbag that would do nicely for work, and was well within her price bracket.
“Oh, look! Speaking of the man of the hour.”
Brie followed Melanie’s line of sight as she pointed across the store.
“Well, that’s just great.” A giant poster hung above the sporting goods section. A giant, colourful poster of Matt wearing the national colours of green and gold, running in full stride through a forest. It was for a popular sporting label, obviously one of his sponsors, and a strange emotion swept over her as she stood in the middle of the store eyeing the larger-than-life image. A sense of pride mixed with sadness settled in her chest. He had been an amazing athlete, and now, he would never run again. She empathised with his heartache and despair. His sense of hopelessness. But she couldn’t imagine the pain of losing a dream so big or having everything you’ve ever known ripped away so tragically. His anger and frustration were justified, given that he faced a lifetime of pain and limited mobility. And it seemed easy for placating words to roll off her tongue in an attempt to offer encouragement. For her to speak spiritual words that held no significance for him. Yet, she yearned for God to move in his life. For Matt to realise that God was the steadfast rock he could stand upon. The only one who could offer hope when his world looked so bleak. She only wished he could see himself for who he was beyond an athlete. Who he was in God’s eyes. He still had so much to offer, and it pained her to see him think so poorly of himself.
Still, she could only do so much. Matt was the one who needed to open his heart and accept all God had to offer him. She prayed that he would do just that.