𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠, matt sturniolo.

𝟬𝟭𝟰. ❛ stay the night ❜

after the pair broke away from one another, maisie wanted to freshen up in the bathroom and matt decided it was time to put the stuff he pulled into the basement up for the night. she's taken a bit long though, so he must have put everything up already and wandered elsewhere.

she's not quite sure what she's doing here honestly. she feels out of place in such an unfamiliar, previously forbidden to think of, space, but she doesn't exactly want to leave just yet.

as much as she hates to admit it because there is truly no one else on this planet who manages to get under her skin like him, something about matt just intrigues her. she wouldn't have caved so quickly if that wasn't the case. even with all the red flags she's gotten to witness first hand recently, the pull she feels towards him is too strong for her to be swayed.

once she gets closer to the kitchen, she notices that matt is now shirtless. of course. she knows he must be doing all this shit on purpose, and she hates how it affects her. what stands out most to her during this moment though, is that matt is stood in front of the fridge as he looks through it, the small light projected from it giving her a chance to see all the different shades of purple spread over his torso. it almost pains her to look at, because she can only imagine how it must have felt. she wishes that she could know the reasoning behind such a beating, but it doesn't seem like matt is planning to fill her in anytime soon.

he must not care about hiding the bruises since he knows she has seen them already, because as she gets closer to the kitchen, he makes no attempt to flee under the feeling of her stare. he turns his head at the sound of her approaching footsteps and watches silently as she comes into the dark room. her eyebrows pull together as she glances over him, and as much as she wishes she could just go without saying something, she can't resist her curiosity. she knows he won't tell her what she wants, so she asks instead, "where do you go when this happens?"

he furrows his eyebrows at her question, confusing flooding his features. "what?" his voice is on the softer side as he closes the fridge door and turns his body completely towards her. "what do you mean?"

"i mean," she pauses to cross her arms underneath his stare, "who takes care of you when you get all of these?"

matt blinks repeatedly, clearly taken off guard at what she's asking him. he glances over the features of her face in the dark lighting of the kitchen, and when he makes out a twinge of concern swirling in her eyes, he sighs, "oh, i don't know." maisie doesn't seem satisfied with his answer. "just dylan."

"matt." maisie's voice is flat when she responds, and matt feels it sounds like a mother's scolding. it's only when she goes on to say, "you should come to me," that his ears perk up.

before he can help it, the corner of his mouth is raising. it just feels automatic when he's in front of her. "to you?" he repeats, voice full of amusement as maisie has to visibly resist rolling her eyes. "what would you do for me?"

maisie doesn't find his wording as funny as he seems to. "i'm just saying," she remains serious as he stands in front of her. "i've taken as many medical classes as i have regular."

matt somehow only seems to grow more amused, tilting his head slightly. "oh yeah, nurse maisie?" he teases as maisie pulls her lips together, refusing to laugh because she doesn't want him to catch her finding him funny. "i don't see that for you," he then nonchalantly adds.

maisie's lips subconsciously twist downwards and she has to resist from replying 'me neither.' she instead settles for a roll of her eyes and, "not all of us want to be rockstars, matt."

"that's a shame, mason." he clicks his tongue. "maybe if you ditched mommy and daddy," he suggests playfully just to purposefully irritate her.

"it's not that easy," she tells him sternly, frowning at the way he doesn't appear to take her answer very seriously. the look on his face has her automatically growing defensive. "and i would never want to be involved in something that has you hiding bruises under your shirt."