𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐒, 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨

₅₁. 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆

"𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐬,
𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞."

♫  shut up and drive - rihanna

———

CHAPTER 51
"PASSENGER PRINCE"

[real life, instagram]

the next day

the next morning, matt wakes up in his room, turning over to find melina still asleep. he quietly gets up and heads downstairs, yawning. "morning, mom," he mumbles, giving her a hug as she kisses his head.

"good morning," she smiles, pouring herself a cup of coffee. she turns to matt with a slightly raised brow. "next time you bring melina to stay over, at least let me know first so i don't get a call at 3 in the morning from her parents asking where she is."

matt furrows his brows, confused. "wait, they called? how do you even know she's here?"

marylou nods toward chris, who walks into the room, looking half-awake, rubbing his eyes.

"thanks," matt snaps at chris, who, as expected, flashes him the middle finger when their mom isn't looking.

matt sighs, leaning against the kitchen island and crossing his arms. "mom, i'm sorry, but she couldn't stay alone. she was really upset last night." he purses his lips. "they left her home alone again."

marylou's expression softens, but her tone remains firm. "matt, honey, i know you care, but you can't just bring melina over here without letting her parents know. we're not her guardians—they should know where she is."

nick stumbles into the kitchen, squinting as he flops into one of the chairs. "mel's here?" he mumbles sleepily.

matt runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "why not? they don't even care where she is. they never check in. last night, she was home alone, crying. she begged me to bring her here."

"what time did you go over there?" chris asks curiously, propping his chin on his palm.

matt shrugs. "i dunno, like nine?"

chris smiles. "liar." he says tauntingly, earning a slap on the shoulder from matt.

"chris, shut up!" matt snaps, as chris slaps him back with much more force.

marylou sighs and gives chris a pointed look. "go get ready for school."

chris groans but pushes himself off the counter, muttering, "fine," as he heads upstairs.

marylou turns back to matt, her expression softening slightly. "alright, go get ready. it's fine that she stayed, but she needs to call her parents back. next time just ask."