𝐖 𝐔 𝐑 𝐋𝐈 • 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐖 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐎

𝟏𝟐

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 

𝟖 : 𝟓 𝟖 𝐀 𝐌

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁 — a place the Sturniolo family would visit annually. the whole drive was mostly quiet — Matts parents asking frequent questions every now and then. y / n's head cradled upon Matts lap with Trevor curled beside her. Matt ran his fingers through her hair as the subtle reel of the night prior began replaying in his mind and suddenly he could feel her clutching to his frame — his hand began to trace the design of his sweatshirt she wore on her back. Matt couldn't help but smile to himself as his mind melted back into the night before between y / n and his mother. the sight of the girl in his lap was simple but rather surreal to him as he watched her labored breaths — shoulders rising with every inhale and the slow release of the exhale. it was almost like he subconsciously picked up his phone to take a photo of the girl. Matt grabbed Trevors paw placing it in the frame and the sight couldn't help but allow a soft giggle escape his lips. Matt cautiously leaned forward to the seat in front of him, "Chris."  he whispered, doing his best to keep quiet — moving his phone in front of Chris's face, seeing the picture plastered on his screen.

 Chris grabbed Matts phone as a wide grin formed upon his lips before he giggled — catching the attention of Nick — sitting on the seat next to him. Nicks gaze followed Chris's. Matt looked between the two to see their reactions, "please send me that."  Nick struggled to say through his muffled laughs. "Trev!"  Chris yelled, hushing himself in a whisper as he turned around — facing Matt, looking down to his lap, "stealing Matt's girl, huh?"  Trevors eyes perked forward, causing the boys to giggle, "zero remorse."  Nick said giggling once again. Chris's free arm reached over the seat, gently petting the dogs head.

"Chris... Matt." Nick called. Matt's eyes trailed upward seeing him holding his phone out for a wide photo. Chris posed — sitting Matts phone on his lap and Matt smiled brightly, holding his hand out with his thumbs up. Nick laughed as he viewed the photo before posting to his instagram story. Matt and y / n' s phone buzzed almost as if it was on cue, getting the notification that they had been mentioned on a story. Matt picked up y / n's phone to see the photo for himself due to his phone still in Chris's possession. Matt promptly turned her phone over, the light reflected his face — seeing her lock screen as Matt began stifling a short laugh through his exhale as he pondered back to that very night she took the photo of him. bringing his free hand to rub at one of his eyes tiredly as his other swiped over her screen to unlock the phone. scanning through the apps a sudden notification fell from the top of the screen and Matts eyes began to soften as he read the preview of the message  —

Blake : im sorry for what happened. I shouldn't of said the things I said or reacted in the way I reacted. I didn't mean it. I miss you, can I see you? I really want to talk to you.

a name he hoped would never appear again made him feel nauseated while reading over the exposed words of Blake. his gaze began to trail down to the girl in his lap and once again; his fingers shook involuntarily. Matt looked at her as his chest grew tighter in anger — swallowing harshly, he knew it was wrong of him but he couldn't stand the thought of something or someone coming between them again. it physically pained him to fight back the urge to respond or make a decision he knew he would later regret. 

Matt knew he could trust y / n, but a reluctant — yet insecure voice reigned above everything else in the moment, "she'll never know."  echoed throughout his mind almost as if it was temptation — his hand had a mind of its own. 

Matt giving a single tap on Blake's contact, scrolling down to find the red letters in bold — delete contact, permitted a wave of uneasy silence, and with a deep breath and frantic movement, he followed through with his original intention — he blocked Blake.

Matt sat her phone back to its previous position as if he was covering up evidence that it had been moved. Blakes words fermented within him, and suddenly that rotten feeling he previously possessed fumigated. he could practically hear his heartbeat in his ears. matt did everything and tried his hardest to not let the text pry deep under his skin. He felt uneasy as the minutes passed — a lump forming at the base of his throat. 

The family stood inside the hotel lobby gathering all the luggage. "Matt and y / n....you're in room twenty-eight B" Matt's fathers says, sticking out his hand — handing them the keycard to their room. Matt grabbed the card, shoving it in his left pocket. y / n eyes trailed his movement as her brows knitted together. Matt felt ashamed and avoided any optical contact as possible, he couldn't be dishonest toward her even if he wanted to — she could read him better than anyone else. the two began walking toward the elevator as Matt kept a distance which created a thick — yet obvious tension between them. y / n began to wonder allowing her intrusive thoughts become reality, "Matthew?"  he stopped In his tracks and his face dropped at the sound of his name coming from her liquid voice — turning around and face the girl who was several feet behind him, waiting for her to get closer, "mm?" 

y / n stood in front of him with a concerned demeanor, her hand raised to cup his cheek, her thumbs softly tracing circles over his skin, Matt couldn't help but feel guilty. "are you doing okay? ever since we got here you've been acting distant....did I do something?"  Matt gave into the full weight of his head resting in the palm of her hand and reached to grab y / n's that rested upon his cheek. Matt looked into her eyes, he only found truth — knowing he couldn't keep it a secret for long. his thought become narrow as he solely focused on the love he had for her and every promise he had ever made — no matter how she would react, he had to tell her to remain a man of his word and to be the love she once fell for.  

"can I talk to you when we get settled in the room?"  y / n eyes began to fade as fear washed over her expression replying hesitantly, "of course...sure."