🌟sparks🌟 (matt sturniolo)

- 19 - blanket -

reaching for freyja carefully, matt pulled the book away from her, and placed it on her nightstand. she was curled up on the side of the bed near the nightstand, and matt quietly put his pajamas on, before climbing carefully over her sleeping body, and getting under the covers beside her. as he reached over her to switch off the lamp, freyja shifted so she was facing matt and slowly opened her eyes.

her first expression was confusion, then surprise, and finally, embarrassment. "shit, matt im sorry. i was gonna read and then get something to eat but i fell asleep and your bed looked comfier than mine and....and.....," she sighed, giving into defeat when she saw mat smiling softly at her.

"its ok," he said quietly, lying down so he was facing freyja in the darkness. "im glad your here."

freyja frowned, and matt smiled at her confusion. she began to speak, but matt interrupted her. "shhhh, go back to sleep. we can talk in the morning." freyja had barely nodded her head before matt pulled her closer to him so that her head was resting on his chest. freyja closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat. a minute later they were both asleep.

but the question swimming around freyjas head as she fell asleep was why had matt chosen to sleep in his bed with her? why hadn't he just moved her, or gone and slept in her bed? that's what freyja would have done, right?

when matt woke up the next morning, freyja was gone. it was their fourth day in bolanza, and freyja's parents were getting divorced. looking at the time on his phone, matt saw that it was 10:30. they had half an hour. yawning, he climbed out of bed and got dressed into sweats and an oversized hoodie, before he walked into the kitchen. mary-lou was cleaning up, wearing leggings and a thick jumper. a hiking backpack sat by the door. no one else was in sight. "hi honey," mary-lou smiled at her son, and gave him a hug, before going back to wiping down the bench.

"where is everyone?" matt asked, frowning.

"they are in the car, waiting for me and chris. we are going on a hike up the mountains today, and i wanted to let you sleep because you've seemed really tired the last few days. you're welcome to come if you get ready quickly, but if you want to stay, that's fine as well."

"wheres freyja?" matt tried to keep his panic down, but freyja was supposed to be here.

"freyja is staying here because she said she still isn't feeling great. i think she caught a bug from the cafe we went to for breakfast the other day."

matt nodded his head, before taking a deep breath and talking again. "i think ill stay here as well, im not feeling great either. i might have caught whatever freyja has," he half lied through his teeth. at least it wasn't a complete lie; matt wasn't feeling a hundred percent, but that was mainly because he didn't know where freyja was. she needed to be here.

chris walked into the kitchen then, and dapped his brother up. "are you coming with us?" he asked, grinning.

"nah, i reckon I've caught whatever freyja has," matt faked disappointment.

"damn that sucks."

matt nodded awkwardly. "where is freyja, anyway?" he tried to sound casual, but his voice cracked at the end of the sentence.

chris shrugged, and mary-lou hugged matt goodbye before answering. "i don't know honey, im sure shes around. i saw her about ten minutes before you woke up."

matt nodded, looking at the clock on the wall. they had just more than 20 minutes. "alright, well we'll be back by about four or five o'clock. there's leftover food from last night in the fridge for you two if you want it." matt nodded his head, watching as his mom picked up the backpack and followed chris out the door. he stood still until he heard the taxi they were taking pull out of the driveway.