16 | The Wallace Brothers Love the Same Girl
[-MATTEO POV-]
Sunday
I watch as Imani shifted in the bed. Her eyes fluttering as they open ever so slightly. She slowly moves to sit up in the bed, her hand bawling up as she rubbed it against her eye. "Matteo?" She questions and I scoot my chair closer to the bed. I could almost cry. I'm happy she's awake now.
"How long was I sleeping for?" She asks.
"13 hours," I answer, and her eyes widen. "13 hours?" She repeats and I nod, a small yawn escaping my lips. "What time is it?" she asks.
"11pm."
She rest the palm of her hand on the top of her head, her eyebrows pinched together. "Why am I in my sleep clothes? I remember plummeting down a mountain when I was awake." She states calmly.
"I had my mom and Sarah change you out of those coats. They were covered in snow." She nods slowly to my answer.
"Where's Sam?" I feel a sharp pain in my chest at the question, but I answer her, nonetheless.
"In his room. He hasn't left it since we came back with you." She groans and places her face in the palm of her hands and I worry she's in pain. "Are you ok? Do you need me to get my uncle?" I ask in panic.
She quickly looks up, shaking her head. "No, no, I'm fine. It's just...your brother...he feels guilty for bringing me up there?" I nod and she looks down at her hands, a small giggle comes from her mouth. "I can't wait to tell my class about this." She says, pointing at the fresh stitches on her arm.
I muster up a small smile. I wish I could find enough energy to give her a full one, but I was drained. It's only been two days and I already feel like I'm losing my mind in here.
I watch as she removes the covers from her body and tries to sit up. I quickly stand and gently rest my hands on her shoulders. "No, you got to get some rest." I tell her and she places her hands on mine.
"How much more rest do I need?" She questions, an eyebrow raised, her head tilting to the side a bit, wearing an amused smile.
"Plus, I need to talk to Sam. I want him to know it's not his fault and that I'm fine." She tells me but I still don't want her getting up and moving around just yet.
"Okay, can we talk first? After that, you go to sleep, and you can talk to Sam first thing in the morning." I offer her and she thinks about it.
"Sure." She lays back down against the warm bed and I take my seat beside her.
"I need to talk to you about Cathryn." She immediately frowns and opens her mouth, probably to protest but I speak before she gets a chance. "Please, shut up and listen," She looks like she wants to speak up again, but I try my hardest to plead with my eyes.
"Cathryn and I are not together, we split up a long time ago and I don't plan on getting back with her. She's a terrible woman and I divorced her for a reason. There is literally only one person in this world that I want and she's you." I admit and her mouth hangs open.
"I like you a lot, I might even love you, I don't know. What I do know is that from when we first arrived, I felt sick to my stomach when you would ignore me and spend all your time with Sam. I enjoy being in your presence, I enjoy our back-and-forth insults, I enjoy picking Mikey up late from school just so I could get some alone time with you, even if it would only last a minute and a half. Last week was complete hell for me, not being able to pick up my phone and text you and coming on time to get Mikey, and I want to tell you so much more, but I really can't...but just know I didn't do it because I was losing interest in you." She stays silent, just staring back at me.
I stand in my spot and head to the door to exit. "Now please, try to get some rest...for me."
___
I slide open the patio door, two sweaters in my hand. One for myself, the other for Sam, who sat on the couch, who stared ahead at the mountains.
I close the door behind us, bringing myself to sit beside my lonely brother. "What are you doing out here this late?" He asks, his regular cheery tone replaced with a low, depressed one. My god, he sounds like me.
"I could ask you the same thing," I throw his way. He doesn't respond, only lean back in his spot. I place the sweater on his lap, and he looks down at it. "You'll catch a cold out here if you don't cover up."
"I don't care." He tells me as he takes the sweater and hands it to me.
I take the sweater from his hand and wrap it around his shoulder. He sends me a bothered look but doesn't go to take it off.
"Is she awake?" He asks, I could hear the guilt in his tone.
"Yeah, she's fine. I know you were worried." I answer.
"I was more than worried, I felt sick when I saw her laying in your hands like that."
"Same here."
A second of silence passes.
"Is she angry with me?" He asks, turning his head to look at me.
I shake my head and his eyes swell with tears. He takes a deep breath in, his bottom lip quivering. "I feel horrible, I-I should've never taken her there." He says, his words shaking a bit. I put my arm over his shoulder, bringing him in. I allow him to cry into my arms for as long as he needs to.
I stay silent and let him break down for a couple of minutes before finally speaking up. "It's okay, she's fine now, you'll get a chance to talk to her tomorrow morning," he says nothing to this and we're silent again, allowing nothing but the chilly wind to speak for us.
He repositions himself, no longer leaning against me, but now leaning back into his seat, his head low as he reaches into his pants pocket for a pack of cigs and a familiar lighter. I watch as he lights a stick and brings it to his lips. My eyes follow as his chest rises a bit to inhale from the cigarette.
I sigh and run my hands through my hair. This was a shitty situation. I want to say that I'm not still a little mad at my brother for being so reckless but that would be a lie. I was frustrated and upset.
"Why did you even bring her?" I can't help but exasperatingly ask as my face rest in the palms of my hand.
I hear a disoriented laugh come from Sam. "Because I like her, I genuinely like her" He starts and my chest stings. "I enjoy being around her, talking to her, sharing stupid stories with her. She treats me like a person and not a fuckin nuisance...I don't fucking know. This whole shit is fucked." He finishes, taking another drag out of the stick between his fingers.
It was fucked.
"I didn't mean to yell at you like that back there, by the trees." I say softly after we sat in some more silence. It was true. Although I was still kinda pissed at him, yelling at him in that situation wasn't going to undo anything. I know he didn't mean to hurt her. He's not that type of person. It wasn't a purposeful thing, so I genuinely was sorry that I lashed out on him.
"I deserved it," he looks at me, our eyes meeting, his eyes puffy from the crying. "Do you...like her?" He questions and I take the cig from his hand, bringing it to my lips. I inhale deeply, allowing the dirty feeling to wash over me.
"I'll take that as a yes," he says, turning his head at the scenery in front of him.
"Do you?" I ask. "Do you truly genuinely...have feelings for her?" Every fiber in my body was on edge for his response. Please let it be a no. I didn't know how I would be able to manage through the rest of this trip if his answer was anything other than a no.
"Yeah, I do"
Word Count: 1,511
Ohhh bitch I love being messy~
Also y'all got this story to 10k reads so imma keep my end of the promise and post these next two chapters
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