𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭; 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐫

chapter four

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stephanies pov: two days later. —> john's release.
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"how are you feeling now that you're getting released?" matthew asks as he packs up his dad's things "happy. i'm ready to go home and get my life back together." he says "remember john, you have to take it easy, no work until you get approved. you need to continue to take your heart medication and, you need to rest." she says and he sighs "mary i know. i've been resting for two days now. i'm going to go crazy if i don't do anything. i'll start small, like gardening." he says as the doctor walks in "john, i get it. sitting around doing nothing all day can be boring but, you're heart is in no condition to do any kind of manual labour. which includes gardening. play chess or read a book. but no manual labour and no working out. you also as i mentioned, are not approved to go back to your job, i will need your job's faxing information to fax this information over." he says and john nods

"i'll write it down for you." he says as he grabs a pen and paper and writes it down. "how long until i can do anything?" he asks as he hands the piece of paper to the doctor and his doctor sighs as he grabs the paper "it's hard to say. you will make a full recovery but for some, it can take weeks, even months, before they can do things like workout again. you need to keep on top of your meds john, if you don't that will put you at higher risk of having another heart attack. you're lucky that you survived and are making a full recovery, most people don't." he says and john nods "thank you. if i start having any pains should i come in for a checkup?" he asks "yes, any kind of pain in your chest can be related to your current situation. come in if you have any. also, i forgot to mention this but, due to high stress levels, currently you should not be driving. high stress levels even with your meds can cause issues with your heart. since you had a heart attack your at higher risk of another one or a worse situation." he says and we all nod

"okay, thank you." i say as i stand up and help matthew pack up his dads things "hey, we got this here, you go to work alright?" he says and i nod "okay. i love you." i say as i give him a quick kiss "i love you too" he says as i grab my purse and walk out of his room and straight to the elevator.
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time skip: lunch on set. —> stephanies pov.
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"how's matthew doing?" shemar asks as i start eating my salad "he's alright, he's with his parents right now. his dad gets discharged today. not sure when yet." i say and he nods "what about john? is he okay?" he asks and i sigh "he's better but i know this is hard for him. he can't really do anything because it'll be too hard on his heart. he can't even drive yet. he's literally stuck at home. i feel bad for the guy because he wants to do so much and probably feels helpless because he can't." i say and he nods "i know kid, i know. it's gonna be okay though. i promise. we're all here for you every step of the way." he says as thomas storms into the room angry.

"thomas what's wrong?" i ask as i stand up which makes him almost shove me "thomas! sit down!" i say and he stops then sighs and sits down "i'm sorry steph i shouldn't have done that. are you okay?" he says and i nod "i'm okay. what happened? why are you so pissed?" i ask and he sighs "they think i should start anger management. they said if i don't they'll fire me." he says and i sigh then sit beside him "thomas, you have to. look at what just happened. you almost hurt me. you need to go to anger management or else you will lose your job or worse, hurt someone. you need to get help. i know that's hard to hear but, it's the truth. back when i first starting working full time, right before i got this role, i was forced to go to therapy because my mental health and neurological condition was affecting my performance at work. they threatened to replace me if i didn't go. i tried to refuse, but then i had a mental breakdown at home one day and realized i needed help. i could handle my anxiety, depression and adhd on my own anymore. so, i got prescribed medication and started going to weekly therapy sessions. although there were improvements, due to me waiting so long to get help, i still ended up losing my job. i don't want to see that happen to you. please, get help. talk to someone, a professional." i say and he nods

"okay, i'll find someone." he says "thomas, i'm not kidding. promise me you'll get help." i say and he nods "i promise steph." he says and i smile "good. now go apologize to whoever you might've just offended or upset." i say and he nods "you're younger than me and still boss me around" he says and we both laugh "because you and i both know if i don't you'll spiral." i say and he nods. "i've never seen him listen to someone and do as they say so willingly." aj says and we all laugh "thomas and i have a history. one we avoid talking about. he's actually my uncle. on my dad's side. i don't talk about it because it's a hard topic for the both of us. we both went through a lot regarding my dad. he was abusive physically and mentally to both me and thomas. my dad, is actually my step dad. i have never met my biological father. my mom never talked about him." i say and they nod.

"that's awful, are your mom and step dad still alive?" joe asks and i shrug "i don't know about my mom. i haven't heard any different. but my step dad died from an overdose when i was 17. thomas basically raised me seeing as my parents were always leaving me home alone while they got high, and when they were home, they never took care of me and did drugs instead. he tried to force me to do lines with him when i was 14, i didn't want to end up like them so i said no and ran out of our trailer and rode my bike to thomas' house. at that time i didn't know that my step dad wasn't my biological father. i didn't find out until i was 19 and i got into a huge fight with my mom when i was moving out and into thomas' place. i basically grew up with thomas as my dad. i know i don't call him dad or anything but, that's because we keep that part of our relationship private." i say and they all nod "i'm glad you're okay steph. it's good that you have thomas." shemar says and i smile.

"thank you. the reason i brought this up is because my step dad is the main reason thomas has a short fuse. he used to beat him while my mom and i were in the room to the point that thomas would black out. i'd call the ambulance every time because my mom found it hilarious. he almost died from it once. it's a miracle that he didn't." i say and kirsten gasps and covers her mouth "does matthew know about all of this?" kirsten asks and i nod my head. "he does. but i guess i can't say all because most of the other stuff that happened i either don't fully remember or was too young to even comprehend what happened so it doesn't really make sense. my childhood sucked to sum it up. it didn't help that thomas couldn't adopt me, he tried, many many times but, they wouldn't never sign off on it. it's like they wanted to cause me pain and trauma." i say and they all nod "i'm so sorry steph. is that all you remember?" kirsten asks and i shake my head

"i remember lots more. my step dad once locked me in the car in only my winter coat, boots and snowpants during winter with no food no water and the car off for 4 days. i was only 7. i almost died but then one of my neighbours found me got me out of the car and brought me to her house where she called an ambulance and i was taken to the hospital and held in the hospital for 2 weeks because they had been starving me for 3 weeks before i was locked in the car. i was so underweight my hair was falling out and i couldn't even eat. they caused me to develop anorexia." i say as kirsten wipes her tears and hugs me "oh steph i'm so sorry." she says and i smile "it's okay kirsten, it's not your fault. you have no reason to apologize. but enough about my past, let's talk positive." i say and she nods "stephanie we need you on set in 15. make sure you're ready to go." the directors assistant says and i nod and stand up "i guess i better head to hair and makeup then. thank you guys for listening. i really do appreciate it." i say and they all smile "of course kid, always." shemar says as he leans back in his chair and i walk out.
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narrative. —> stephanie.
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although i have a lot of bad stories, i also have a lot of good ones. throughout the entirety of my childhood, i always had one person who protected me, that person is thomas. and if for some reason he wasn't there, it was me protecting myself. i always knew i could count on him. but i also knew his job was demanding. his three kids, travis, agatha, and james have always treated me as one of their siblings. i haven't seen them in years though. i miss them like crazy. i try to keep in contact but, the last time i messaged our groupchat they didn't answer. i just hope they're okay.