Sick Child - MarkoxOC

Part 23: something blue

Marko drops Sofie off at work the next night before he and the boys go prowling the boardwalk for a meal. The bar is still technically closed until Matt can get the tables and chairs replaced, but she's come in to cut checks and replace the alcohol that Kevin and his cronies smashed. She climbs onto a bar stool and pours herself a large glass of whiskey before pulling out a pad of paper and making a list of bottles for Matt to order. After about half an hour, she hears the back door open and shut softly. She knows it's Matt solely based on the way his keys jingle in his pocket.

"Matty?"

"Sofie! Jesus!"

He bursts out of the back room, his face is twisted and angry.

"I've been trying to call your apartment. Where the fuck have you been?!"

"Out of town," she lies.

She doesn't feel good about it, but it's better than the alternative: "Flying, defiling the pool table, and murdering my ex-boyfriend. You know, the usual."

"You can't call me and tell me that?!" He snaps.

Something's gotten into him. Sofie has never seen him this riled up before. Matt has always been calm, maybe even a little too calm. They fit well together. Sofie is a highly-strung, anxious mess. Matt either eggs her on or calms her nerves.

"Sorry." She pours him a glass of whiskey as a peace offering and pats the seat beside her. "What'd I miss?"

Matt crosses his arms over his chest.

"Sofie, you can't just sweep this under the rug. You've been totally different ever since you started dating that Marko guy. I can never get a hold of you during the day, you've got these new friends - which, don't get me wrong, they've been totally helpful and cool, but -"

"You're jealous."

"You're damn right I'm jealous!" He exclaims. He's quiet for a moment and crosses his arms over his chest. The anger fades as quickly as it rose in his chest. "I miss you."

Sofie slides off of the barstool and reaches her hands out.

"Come here."

"Sof..."

"Come here, you big idiot."

Matt walks over and wraps his arms around her. Sofie pulls him close. Her chest hurts. There's so much she wants to tell him, but she can't. She wouldn't even know where to begin - and what would he say even if she could find the words? He'd probably have her trucked off to a hospital. She pulls away and presses her forehead to his.

"I miss you too, and I'm sorry I've been so... not here. In all ways. But I'm okay, Matty. Really."

He picks up her hand and sniffs at her fingers.

"Are you smoking again?"

She bites her lip and shrugs half-heartedly.

"I'm going through a lot?"

"Wow," he breathes. "It's like I don't know you at all anymore."

Sofie gives him a firm shake; her voice rises with urgency and panic.

"You do know me! You do! Matty, don't be like this."

She studies him for a moment. It's more than just jealousy. There's something else going on. Matt's eyes well up with tears and he rubs his face. Sofie holds his gaze when he looks up, silently urging him to come clean about whatever's going on while ignoring her own hypocrisy. To be fair, his secret is bound to be far less dangerous than hers.