it was thursday night. freyja sat on her bed, looking out the window. her airpods were in her ears, and lana del ray was playing at full blast. she was wearing plaid pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt. freyja's parents were getting divorced tomorrow at 11:00 sharp. her mom had texted her with the details and zoom link, but freyja wasn't ready for this to happen.
she had just closed her eyes and began to hum absentmindedly to young and beautiful when she felt the bed dip beside her. looking over, she saw matt sitting next to her, looking out the window at the softly falling snow. she pulled her airpods out and stopped her music.
freyja and matt hadn't spoken since the other day when matt had taken her back to the villa while everyone else went for a walk. once they had returned, freyja had got straight into the shower, then slept for most of the day after.
matt looked over at her. "we are all going for dinner in the next town over. are you coming?" freyja shook her head, and matt nodded his head in understanding.
"how are you doing?" his question took freyja by surprise, and she eyed him suspiciously.
"i don't know," she answered truthfully, and matt nodded again, taking her hand in his. butterflies began to swirl around in freyjas stomach again, and she looked up, seeing matt's blue eyes boring into hers. in a movement that took her completely by surprise, matt lifted her hand up to his lips and brushed his lips against the back of it. the kiss was so soft that freyja almost didn't feel it. she drew in a sharp intake of breath, and matt gently let go of her hand. he stood up and began to walk out of the room. as he got to the door, he turned back to look at freyja. "call me if you need anything," he said, before smiling and closing the door softly behind him.
freyja looked down at her hand that rested on the covers beside her, exactly as matt had left it. she had no idea why matt had done that, and it seemed very out of character for him. but nevertheless, freyja's butterflies were back, and she took that as a sign that something was going on.
sighing softly, she climbed under her covers and picked up her book. freyja shuffled around for a minute, not being able to get comfortable. the bed didn't feel or smell right, and for some odd reason, it felt cold and empty. her eyes roamed around the room looking for a blanket or something but stopped when she saw matts unmade bed. it looked so much more comfortable than hers. she knew she shouldn't, but being comfy was a priority at the moment. sighing, she grabbed her book, airpods, and phone, and hesitantly walked over to matt's bed. right before she was about to climb under the covers, freyja raced back to the window to make sure the car was gone. it was, and the house was quiet.
hearing a scratching at the door, she opened it and scooped trevor up into her arms, before climbing into matt's bed. she pulled the covers right up to her face and inhaled the scent of matts cologne and a mixture of cinnamon and mint. trevor settled himself at the end of the bed. matts bed was much more comfortable than hers and didn't feel cold or empty. it felt warm and full. a red and white blanket sat crumpled on the floor near the bed, and freyja picked it up, spreading it over the covers.
freyja planned to read her book in matts bed for a bit, and then get up and grab some food. by the time everyone got back, no one would know that she had been in matts bed, least of all matt himself.
but, of course, freyjas carefully devised plan failed. ten minutes later, freyja was fast asleep, with her book laying on her chest.
but it wasn't weird that she was in matts bed, was it? she doubted that if he found out he would mind, and if he did, he would get over it. so it wasn't weird or strange, was it?
when matt walked into the room he shared with freyja that night, the first thing he noticed was that freyja wasn't in her bed. he hadn't seen her in the lounge or kitchen, and had assumed she was sleeping. his eyes roamed around the dark room, frowning when he didnt see her. he walked over to his bed and switched on the lamp. matt gasped in surprise when he saw the sleeping figure in his bed. she had the covers pulled right up to her chin, and his favorite blanket was spread over her body. her book lay on her chest, and she was twisted around so that she was facing him. she sighed softly in her sleep, and trevor shifted from his place by her feet.
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.
"shit," he swore. "shit, shit, shit. freyja where the fuck are you?"
matt raced back to his room and grabbed his phone off the bed. as he was about to call freyja, a message popped up on the screen. it was from nic.
imessage
nic: heard that ur sick
matt: nows not the time
nic: did u catch it from freyja?
matt: maybe idk
nic: i wonder how 🤔🤔🤔
matt was so fucking fed up with his brothers harassing him about freyja. there was nothing going on, they were just friends. matt left nic on read and called freyja's number.
the first time he called, freyja didn't pick up. matt immediately called again, and on the last ring, he heard the sound of freyja's voice. it was like music to his ears.
"hello?" freyja's voice sounded breathless, and matt could hear the wind howling in the background. outside, snow had begun to fall, the first they had seen since arriving in bolanzo. the wind had also picked up and was blowing leaves around everywhere.
"freyja! where are you?" matt checked his watch. they had 17 minutes.
"matt. i um, went for a walk."
"you went for a walk?! the case is in fifteen minutes!" matt's voice had risen without him realizing it. there was silence from freyja's end of the line for a minute, and matt was about to speak again when he heard crying.
"hey, frey. i didn't mean to get angry at you. where are you? are you ok?" his voice immediately softened, and guilt took over his frustration.
"im at the bookstore down the road. can you come and get me?" freyja's voice sounded tiny, and matt immediately grabbed the keys to the minivan.
"yeah, im on my way. ill be there in five." he hung up.
racing outside, matt jumped into the car and started it up. as he drove towards the gates, a flock of birds flew onto the road. he beeped impatiently at them, and they flew away in a babble of squarks and a flutter of feathers.
matt hastily parked out the front of the athesia buch-shop, and rushed inside. as he looked around aimlessly he saw a text from freyja. she said she was upstairs. rushing up the dimly lit staircase, matt found freyja curled up with her knees against her chest on a small window seat. she had her airpods in. she looked up when she saw him, and stood up slowly. she gave him a small smile before matt grabbed her hand and pulled her back the way he had come.
once they were back in the car and driving safely back up the street, freyja spoke. "matt, im sorry. i got scared and i told everyone i was going for a walk and i ended up in the bookshop and i knew i had to get back to the villa but i couldn't move until i saw you. i don't.....i don't know what happened."
freyja's eyes were puffy, and it was obvious she was trying not to cry. "its ok, its ok," matt soothed, taking her hand, and holding it in his lap as he drove.
"you have nothing to be afraid of. if you want, ill stay with you the whole time. and then, after its done we can go for lunch," matt glanced at freyja out of the corner of his eye. she had her head resting against the window.
"lets get this fucking divorce over and done with, hey?" matt said, trying to take a different approach. freyja met his eyes.
"ok," she smiled.
AUTHOR STRIKES AGAIN:
ok sorry this took so long for me to update.
school finished and lifes been busy.
i think this is prolly the cringisest but also the most romantic chapter ive ever written.
i wasn't sure about the hand-kissing thing, but it was too sweet for me to delete.
anyways
new update soon hopefully.
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