Secondhand Smoke [m.h]

Part Nineteen.

I take it upon myself to go get empty boxes from my storage locker downstairs before going in my apartment.
I unlock my door and quietly open it, careful not to make too much noise.
I hear his soft, yet raspy voice carrying through my apartment.
My heart melts a little.
I try to listen to the lyrics but as I'm shutting the door, the boxes tumble to the floor.
"Fuck." I mutter.
He has stopped singing now and I quickly try to collect the boxes but notice that he's now standing in front of me.
He looks at the boxes and then up at me before pulling me in a tight hug.
I exhale, "I have rules."
"In good time, love." He says, kissing my forehead.
I rustle his curls with my fingers and bend down, picking up the boxes.
I place them on the couch and walk over to the TV stand and open it, emptying out the contents.
Movies, CDs, books, you name it.
"Wow, that's a good collection." Matty observes, leaning against the wall.
I laugh, "Most of my stuff is still at my mom's. This is nothing."
"How much time do you think packing will take?" He asks me.
I shrug, "I don't really know. Hopefully not more than a few hours."
"Let's go, then.. we do have tomorrow, as well. My management flew in and they brought me some stuff, but we also should grab food because you haven't eaten all day." He says, extending his hand.
I nod, "I guess you're right."
I take his hand and he helps me stand.
I grab my keys and my wallet before walking with him to leave.
We leave my apartment and as we come down the steps, I notice the nicest car in the whole parking lot.
Of course, Matty walks to that one and opens the door for me as I get inside and crawl across.
An older man with darker hair is in the driver's seat. He presses his inner ear piece, "Hi, your stuff is in the trunk and you can take it when you get back. I'm in a meeting, though.. so I'll ask now. Where do you want to go?"
"Pick somewhere you definitely won't find in Europe, then.." Matty smiles, nudging me with his arm.
I laugh and roll my eyes, "Let's go to Panera."
The driver and nods and drives us to our destination.
Matty holds my hand the entire time.
When we get there, we put the hoods of our sweatshirts up and order soup in bread bowls.
We decide on sharing a Coke and sitting on the table closest to the back of the restaurant.
We immediately eat, hungry after a wild day.
"You doing alright, love?" Matty asks me, his fingers spinning around his spoon in the soup.
I take a deep breath and smile, "Yeah.. yeah, I'm alright. I'm ready for a change."
"Okay.. that's good, then. If anything is ever going wrong.. I'm always here for you. I made a few phone calls and when we get there, if you want, you can come with to all the recording sessions in the studio that we have scheduled.." He suggests.
I nod, "Of course! I would love to. I think this is going to be good for both of us. I'm going to bring the rest of my money with and you can't say anything about it. I have stuff to buy when we get there so don't deny me."
"Fine.. that's a deal. Money is not a problem, though.. and you know if—"
"No. I hate when you pay for anything.. I haven't been doing photography sessions or anything lately and that's my own fault. I'm sure in England I'll find an opportunity for photography and writing." I tell him as I begin to pick apart the empty bread bowl and eat the pieces.
He rolls his eyes, "If that's what will make you happy, darling.. then we'll make it happen."
"Saying it like that makes it sound shitty!" I whine, a laugh breaking up my sentence.
He laughs a little too loud and his face scrunches up as he tries to contain his laughter.
"We'll do it together and it'll be wonderful because we have each other through it all." I remind him.
He takes a sip of the Coke, "Definitely."
____________
We spend the night finishing up our packing and he goes through a checklist to help me remember.
His hair was still damp, curly and wild from the shower he had taken when we returned to my apartment.
He was now wearing a dark green sweater which he had pulled over his hands to make the cutest sweater paws.
He was wearing black joggers and his fingernails and toenails were painted black.
I finished packing up some of my kitchen stuff, but there was still a lot of stuff I was leaving behind so that my mom could take it.
I stare at the boxes that are scattered across my apartment and for some reason I feel tears prick at my eyes.
Matty notices and sets down the notebook he was holding.
He looks at me, concerned.
"Is everything alright?" He asks me.
I nod even though tears build up in my eyes.
He pouts and stands up, "Baby, no..."
"It's n-not anything that's y-your fault. I just— I think you'll get s-sick of me w-when we live together.." I cry, putting my face in my hands.
He shakes his head, "Never. Come here, love."
He pulls me against his chest and I remove my hands from my face and wrap them around his waist.
He runs his hand over the back of my head as he holds me tightly.
I run my hands up and down his back and use my fingernails to graze across as well because he always relaxes when I do that.
"You've had a long day, okay? Please don't worry too much. We have some of tomorrow to do last minute stuff but we should get some sleep, love. It's a big day tomorrow." He tells me, softly.
I nod, "Yeah, t-that sounds good."
He kisses the side of my head and holds my hand, leading me to my room and turning out lights as he passes the switches.
I slide off my leggings and put on pajama pants and take off my t-shirt to reveal a black tank top.
I climb into my bed and hold open the blankets so Matty can climb in.
He instantly reaches out and pulls me close to him and I breathe him in as he runs his fingertips over every inch of my skin.
It somehow calms every nerve in my body enough for me to shut my eyes and relax.
"I love you, Matty." I tell him.
He kisses my forehead, "I love you most."

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hey guys !!!! <333
thank you so much for reading.

much love & hope you're doing well !! :) i've been super busy and have had some writer's block (sorry)

xo
- adrianna