ephemeral // matty healy

the hermit

Stella sat alone at home. She had a dinner shift at the restaurant, but she called in sick. Her wine glass was nearly empty for the third time this evening.

"Oh, piss off," she muttered to the television. Leonardo DiCaprio had just asked if his heart had ever loved before seeing Clair Danes' beauty. Stella filled up her glass a fourth time, with every sip tasting sweeter and sweeter.

Her friends were avoiding her call. Blair once, but she knew that she and Matty would be partying, and Bo twice. He didn't say he would be up to anything this evening, so it stung a bit more than she had anticipated. She left him a voice message both times, "Hey, I'm alone tonight and I don't want to be."

She slept through the remainder of the film and awoke to the roll of the credits, and a short text message.

Talk soon, busy tonight.

She called him immediately, knowing that he would never blow her off without reason.

"Bo, is everything okay?"

His voice sounded strained but smooth. "Of course."

"I can tell when you're lying." She settled further into the couch cushions. "Where are you? It sounds like you're in a cave, but there are, like 1,000 other people with you."

"I'm at the hospital, actually. My mum fell..." He trailed off. Stella felt her heart stop for a moment. First, she remembered the tea she shared with Bo's mum on his last birthday, then she teetered the phone on her shoulder while getting up from her spot on the couch.

"Is she alright?" She shrugged on a jacket and laced up her boots. "I'm coming to meet you, are you in the ER waiting room?"

"I think so, but Stella, you don't have to do that," he answered. "It's already late and I'm sure you have things to do tomorrow."

"You're right, I don't have to do anything," She said locking her door and marching into the night. "But I'm still coming to meet you."

When she looked relieved to find him there, sitting in an off-white upholstered chair. His head was heavy in his hands, but he looked up and felt relieved to see Stella holding two hot drinks in her hands. Immediately, she settled into the seat next to him, handing him a cup.

"Any updates?" she asked cautiously. He shook his head.

"They said that they might have to keep her overnight, just to monitor her, but that was shortly after we hung up." He took a sip and raised his eyebrows for a moment, before returning to his stern expression. "I'll probably stay here overnight."

She took a swig of her sweet latte. "I can stay here with you." Bo opened his mouth to protest but tasted his drink another time instead. She had remembered that he liked peppermint mochas because they reminded him of his last Christmas in Sweden. This one even had the same rich whipped cream on top.

-

Matty and Blair had run as fast as their legs had carried them until they were left gasping and laughing on a street corner under the yellow glow of a neon sign. Matty offered to pay for some late-night chow after their escape, but Blair said that she had some treats and a bottle of wine at her flat.

"Are you inviting me to come home with you, Blair?" Matty wiggled his eyebrows and shimmied his hips.

"Yes, but not in that way," she dismissed his boyish humour. He extended a bent elbow and let her hand slide into the crook of his arm. "And anyway, we will have to be quiet because my roommate will be asleep."

She checked the time on her phone. It was nearly midnight, but they were still hungry for more excitement. They walked hand in warm hand down the street. Savouring each step until they reached her flat.

Blair glanced up to see that the lights were off inside, so she quickly turned to Matty and gave him a hard stare.

"If you wake up Stella, she'll kill us both, and then kill me, got it?" He made a zipper motion across his lips.

Then tiptoed through the front door. She noticed her open and a nearly empty bottle of wine on the coffee table and swore under her breath. Stella must have gotten thirsty. She gestured to Matty to head into the first door to the right, then carried in as much as she could.

Matty hung off of her bedroom's doorframe, watching her sift through the fridge and pantry for goodies to nosh on. He sighed dreamily and fell backwards onto her plush duvet. His eyes closed until the door closed quietly.

Blair looked at Matty making himself comfortable on her bed and then dumped the snacks atop him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, then tightened his lips together. They were both still for a second, waiting to see if Stella would rise and tell them both to fuck off. They assumed the coast was clear and then dived into their stash.

"I brought crisps and sweets," she got up to open her closet, "but there's one thing that I don't put out in the living room." Blair pulled out a fresh bottle of red wine, nothing too fancy, but it was something that she kept on hand as an emergency (in case the other emergency bottle disappeared).

A backup emergency bottle, never to be had alone, or so she told herself. In fact, this would be the first time she would take part in her backup emergency bottle with another person. They clicked their glasses quietly.