Secondhand Smoke [m.h]

Part Twenty-Five.

After shopping, we placed our shopping bags on our bedroom floor and immediately changed into pajamas.
My hair was wild from the wind and he calmed it by running his fingers through it.
I smiled up at him as we lazily laid on the bed.
"Are you hungry too?" I ask him.
He grins, "Oh one-hundred percent."
He opens his phone and has me choose a restaurant to deliver nearby.
We both decided on pastas and ordered it.
"Game of Thrones?" He asks me.
I nod excitedly and gently push his shoulder as a boost to sprint downstairs to get to the couch faster.
He catches up with me fairly quick and tries to tickle me, but I get free and catapult on the couch.
"Hah." I comment, sticking out my tongue.
He chuckles before sitting down beside me, picking up my legs which were draped on the couch and putting them on his lap instead.
He turned on Game of Thrones and we made side-comments to each other the whole time.
"Ugh.. such a wanker." He groans.
I sigh, "Can someone just kill him off already? He's such a twat."
"Profanity!" Matty teases, leaning over kissing the side of my head.
I laugh just before the doorbell rings.
"Food!" He shouts, excitedly.
He runs to the door and brings it inside.
"Thank you, wonderful and amazing boyfriend who I love so much." I say, rubbing his back as he walks to the dining room.
He bows, "Only the best for my incredible and beautiful girlfriend, who I love so much."
We sit and eat together, properly talking about life and old stories.
"I'm telling you, milk came out of my nose. Literally." He explains, shaking his head.
My eyes widen, "That waitress must have been so horrified!"
"Oh completely, it was a quiet morning too. That's what made it even funnier." He claims, eating another forkful of pasta.
I take a bite of pasta too, but my brain went to the topic of my family.
My brother and my mother.. and my father, along with his surprise visit and new car.
"Have you phoned your brother yet?" He asks, quietly.
I shake my head, "We've texted.. but the phone call is what I'm more nervous for. I don't know what to say.. and do I tell him about my dad?"
"You're overthinking that, love. He's your brother, he is probably just wondering how you're doing." He tries to calm me.
I take a deep breath and take a sip of water.
He is right.. my brother & I talked often. He's probably lonely at home now.
Matty started to clean the space.
"Would you mind if I--"
"Of course, love. Call him. Tell him I say hello." He says, kissing the top of my head and walking to the kitchen.
I go to the bathroom and wash my hands, trying to think of conversation.
I realize that will only make me more nervous.. so I just call him.
It rings three times before I hear his voice, and it makes me teary-eyed.
"Hi Ben!" I say, sweetly.
"Hey, big sis. How's the UK life?"
"Oh, it's quite lovely." I say with a bad accent.
He laughs at that, "Wow. I'm glad. Things are okay with you & Matty, right?"
"Definitely. How are you?" I ask.
He sighs, "Just stupid school stuff. I got an A on my huge science project though."
"Oh my gosh, that's great! Good job. Is everything okay at home and with mom?"
He takes a deep breath, "She.. she took it pretty hard in the beginning but things are getting better now. I've been helping with whatever I can."
"I'm really proud of you. That shows a lot of responsibility. I love you a lot, kid." I tell him, smiling.
"I love you too. Now get off the phone with me before you cry or something." He says, teasing.
I laugh, "Okay, Ben. Matty says hello. I want to visit sometime, or you could maybe come here at some point.. we have to figure something out."
"Tell him I say hi back. That sounds good. Talk to you later, sis." He tells me, before hanging up.
I exhale from relief as I slide my phone back in my pocket.
His voice sounded pretty normal and it was nice to hear after a while.
It calmed a lot of my stress.
I walked back out in the dining room, rubbing my eyes from becoming fairly tired.
As I got out, I noticed there wasn't much left on the table and the kitchen was dark.
Maybe he was back in the living room?
I peeked in, but it was also dark.
Maybe he was tired too and decided to get ready to go to sleep.
I walk up the stairs and look around for him.
Finally, I see a light on in our shared bathroom through the cracked door.
I can see when I come upstairs that the bathroom side is dark, and the mirror & sink lights are the only ones that are turned on.
I slowly push open the door and I stare in shock.
I watch as his head moves across the counter, white powder lined up.
My brain takes extra long to process it.
"Matty..?" I say, my voice almost a whisper.
His head lifts quickly and he makes eye contact with me as he crinkles his nose.
His face goes blank.
I stand in silence, unsure of what to say or do.

______________
hello oh my goodness.. i haven't updated on anything in AGES! i'm so so sorry.
their new album is incredible.. i love it.
i know matty has been more open about addiction lately so i hope that fans won't hate me for turning the story like this...
i hope you know that i mean no harm, i hope i didn't trigger anyone..
i love matty so much and am not glorifying drug use or addiction by talking about this here. this is fiction, although matty has been open about it i just wanted to make it clear that this is FICTION.
i do not want to portray matty like this. he is a major inspiration to me and i love him so much, i never ever would want to offend him or fans.
addiction is serious. drugs are not a joke. alcohol is not a joke. please seek help or be a help to others.
thank you very much.
i don't know why my writer's block has been so bad but i hope i update at some point.
thank you for reading.

- adrianna ♡