—————
M A T T H E W
"Slowly..." My therapist muttered. "Good. Now get onto your other leg."
I carefully placed my left foot on the ground and put some weight on it. At first, I winced, thinking it would hurt, but it wasn't bad.
"Okay," He said, grinning. "I think from now on, we can ditch the crutches and start walking with your brace only. We'll get your arm cast removed too soon. Just stay patient."
"Thanks," I replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."
I carefully and slowly walked back into my room, trying not to fall. Once I made it, I sat down on my hospital bed and sighed. There was nothing to do. It was so boring here, and my parents were out to do who knows what.
"You have visitors," Nurse Heli said, smiling.
I frowned at the 3 boys who came into my room. I've never met them before...
"Can I help you?" I asked. "I think you got the wrong—"
Out of nowhere, one of them grabs my shirt in his fist and yanks me towards him. "You're Matthew, right?"
By now, I was scared and also confused. These random boys just barged into my room and they all looked like they wanted to kill me.
"Andrew, calm the fuck down," One of them said, and the boy let go of my shirt.
"Uh, Who are you guys?" I asked.
"You're the fucking bastard that kissed Evanna as a bet?" The last boy said.
My eyes widened at her name. "W-Wait, What?!"
As Andrew was about to punch me, it looked like, I yelled out, "I didn't kiss her!"
Yes, I did, but I had to get Andrew or whatever to not punch me, so I yelled out something.
Andrew dropped his fist and stared at me in confusion. "What?"
"Before you hit me," I said with caution. "Yes, I did kiss her. No, it wasn't a bet? What are you guys talking about? Who even are you—"
"Woah, woah, woah," The oldest said. "Are you lying to us?"
"First answer my question!" I sighed. "Who are you guys."
"Evanna's Brothers," Andrew answered, making my eyes widen.
"She has brothers? I didn't know that... Okay, well I have no idea what you're talking about. I kissed Evanna because I like her! What bet? It wasn't a bet!"
Now, we were all confused as hell.
The other one shook his head. "Wait... then... someone texted her saying it was a bet. And then you admitted it was a bet..?"
I furrowed my eyebrows. "My phone broke... someone broke it... I haven't talked to Evanna in a long time. Is she okay? Is this why she's not coming to see me? Does she think it was a bet?"
"Okay," Andrew said. "Let me get this straight. Someone lied to my sister, and then someone used your phone to tell her that it was a bet? How are you even in the hospital? What happened?"
I sighed. "Some fucking idiots happened."
"Oh my fucking God," The one identical to Andrew said. "I'm going to kill Jayden."
And the the rest looked like they knew exactly what happened.
"Jayden? How do you know him? What's going on? Can you tell Evanna that I didn't know what happened? Is she okay? Is she upset?"
"Ethan," Andrew muttered. "I don't think it was a bet..."
"No shit, Sherlock," Ethan replied. "For a kid who is in the top of the school, you're pretty dumb."
"I'm Alex, by the way," The last one said.
I nodded. "Right. So what you're saying is, after someone took my phone, they texted Evanna and said that my kiss was a bet?"
Ethan sighed. "Yeah..."
"Okay, since we got that fixed," Andrew said, and he lunged at me to punch me again.
Alex held him back. "Andrew!"
"You fucking kissed my sister!" Andrew shouted at me. "You're fucking dead!"
Alex shrugged. "I mean, he has a point..."
"W-Wait!" I yelled. "I've already gotten beaten up, and I literally just got rid of my crutches."
Ethan grabbed Andrew's arm and pulled him away. "Matthew, I swear, if you ever try anything to my sister, I'll-"
I put my hands up in surrender. "I won't."
"We'll tell Evanna, don't worry. Hope you get better soon," Alex said, and they all walked out, Andrew giving me a last death glare before he left.
I sighed and closed my eyes. Maybe that's why she never came...
I missed her...
—————
E V A N N A
I was in the living room, doing my homework while Brandon tried to help me.
"What the fuck is trigonometry?" Brandon asked.
I laughed. "You never learned this?"
He shook his head. "Not that I remember..."
Our heads shot up when he heard the front door open. The twins and Ethan walked in, looking furious.
"Evanna," Ethan growled. "I'm going to have to break the promise we had."
I stood up. "W-what? What promise..?"
"It'll come to you," He said. "Guys can you take Evanna out please?"
"Uh, sure?" Brandon grabbed my hand.
What promise?
What promise did Ethan and I...
Oh.
Oh no.
Ethan promised me last night he won't hurt Jayden.
I don't want someone getting hurt because of me! And Jayden's just going to get madder, and he'll ruin my life.
"Brandon!" I yelled. "Wait! Stop!"
Brandon didn't listen, but pulled me away.
"Ethan! Stop it!"
Why am I helping Jayden?
Jayden deserves it...
I don't even know anymore!
Brandon dragged me outside, Andrew and Alex following us.
"No! What's going on? Someone tell me! Is it because of me? Did something happen?" I frantically tried to pull my arm away from Brandon.
Out of nowhere, Brandon yanked me closer to him. "Evanna! Stop!"
I flinched when he raised his voice at me.
Brandon sighed, dropping my arm. "I'm sorry, Evanna. I don't know what's going on either."
"Evanna, Ethan won't hurt Jayden," Andrew said. "That badly..."
We were outside by now, and I was scared. I was scared for Jayden too. And I was also scared Jayden would get mad at me after.
"We talked to Matthew," Alex said.
My eyes widened. "Y-you What?!"
"It was a misunderstanding," Alex said. "Jayden and his loser friends apparently beat him up and Matthew ended up in the hospital. And so, one of the boys used his phone and told you that it was a bet."
I was dumbfounded. "W-what?"
"Whoever told you it was a bet was lying to you," Andrew finished.
I felt like I was going to cry. So many emotions overwhelmed me. I was stressed and I couldn't even think properly.
But I was also happy at the same time. The kiss wasn't a bet...
But Jayden... Did he seriously go that far to ruin my life? How much lower can he get?
"So, let Ethan do whatever he needs to. Knock some sense into Jayden," Andrew sighed.
"Wait," Brandon said. "It was a bet?! Who said it was bet? Is it a bet? What is a bet? The kiss? Who? Matthew? Is it a bet or not? Back the fuck up for a second. Someone explain to me?"
Andrew and Alex filled him in, interrupting each other every so often.
"And that's the whole story," They finished at the same time.
Brandon scrunched up His face. "It's annoying when you both do that."
And at last, it hit me.
Sammy lied to me.
The happiness of learning that the kiss was real disappeared. The only thing I felt was betrayal and hurt.
Sammy promised me... How could he do that? I trusted him so much.
I couldn't even speak. I was so shocked and confused...
"S-so Wait," I mumbled. "Jayden... hurt Matthew, and Sammy lied to me..."
I wasn't happy anymore, but rather, I was stressed. I was overwhelmed. I couldn't process all this information.
"I think Jayden deserves it, right now," Brandon said. "But who the fuck is this Sammy guy?"
"Right," Andrew nodded. "He's the next person I'm going to kill."
I didn't even react to that. "Sammy... lied... Matthew... oh no. Is Matthew mad at me? Is he wondering why I didn't come? Now I feel so bad!"
"Hey, Hey," Andrew said. "It'll be alright. We'll figure everything out."
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "Guys, I'm cold. Can we go in now?"
Andrew scratched his head. "Well, I mean, I guess, yeah..."
I pushed past them and ran to my room, shutting the door.
And then I had a mental breakdown.
————
I wiped my tears, washing my face after. I sighed as I plopped down on my head, sighing in frustration.
Downstairs, I heard them talking.
"Is Evanna alright?" Ethan asked.
"I don't think so," Andrew replied.
"What happened with Jayden?" Brandon asked.
"I punched him. Once. Knocked some sense into him."
"Only one punch? I think he deserves more than that."
"He's already grounded," Ethan said. "And he also has a lot going on too... I don't even know anymore why is out life so fucking messed up?"
I grabbed my jacket and went downstairs. "Can I go see Matthew?"
Ethan looked at me wearily. "Uh, sure... Come on."
I went into Ethan's car, and Andrew was the only one who followed. "Why're you coming?"
"Just in case." He winked.
After a while, we finally reached the hospital. I found out which room he was in and we went up to his room.
I stared at the door, biting my lip nervously. "I'm scared. What if he's mad at me? What if he asks me questions? What do I say?"
Andrew opened the door and pushed me in, smiling at me. "You'll Be Fine." And he closed the door.
Matthew coughed, clearing his throat. "Uh, hi..."
I turned around, facing him. "Hey..."
I walked up closer to him, and he sat up on the bed. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "I'm fine. Are you?"
I gave him a small smile. "Yeah..."
There was this awkward tension between us. "So, about the kiss..."
I looked away. "Right... I'm sorry. I didn't know—"
"Exactly," Matthew cut me off. "So you shouldn't be sorry. You didn't know. I didn't know. It was all fucking Jayden's fault."
"What happened?"
Matthew sighed. "He and his dumbass friends just cornered me and... yeah... Oh yeah, how's Sammy? I'm sure he's great, after manipulating you."
"When are you coming back to school?" I asked.
He raised an eyebrow. "Soon. Maybe a week or two? Why? Miss me?"
"You're still cocky as always," I teased, grinning. "Get better soon."
He smiled. "So I can kick Sammy's ass?"
"That didn't go well the first time, did it?" I joked.
"That was because 7 people ganged up on me."
I sighed. "Don't get in too much trouble. You make me worry."
"Don't talk to Sammy. Don't even breathe near him, okay? Stay away from him."
I sat down. "You sound like my brothers."
"Speaking of brothers, since when do you have brothers?! You never told me."
"Right... Uh, how do I explain this quickly. They're my step brothers."
"Oh... Do they treat you well?"
"Yeah. Well, now they do. So yeah."
I mentally slapped myself for literally being so stupid.
Andrew poked his head out. "You guys aren't making out or something, are you?"
I faked a smile, staring at Andrew. "Get. Out."
Andrew laughed as he closed the door. I turned back to Matthew. "I'm really sorry, though. The misunderstanding and everything. I hope you get better soon."
Matthew grinned. "I'm sorry too. You must've been hurt when you thought it was a bet... I'm sorry for putting you through all that pain—"
"But you didn't. It was all Jayden..."
"Yeah... Does Jayden have something against you? Why is he such an asshole to you?"
I sighed. "I wish I knew..."
"Did you try telling someone?"
"Obviously I have."
"What happened?"
I stood up. "Hm, let's see. There's actually multiple times... oh right, one time, I ended up in the hospital for telling my parents. Another time, I ended up in the hospital for telling a teacher. And I can't forget the time I ended up in the hospital again for telling someone."
Matthew stared at me, his eyes sad. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I want to help."
I bit my lip. "It's my problem... I don't want to run away from it. I'm trying my hardest to get through it. But thanks."
Matthew nodded. "When I get a new phone, I'll text you."
"You still... remember my number?"
He laughed. "Why would I forget?"
I walked to the door, smiling. "I'll see you soon."
"Bye Evanna!"
I laughed. "Bye Matthew."
Andrew and Ethan were waiting outside. "Okay, from now on, you will never ever speak to him, or go five feet near him, understand?"
I rolled my eyes playfully. "He's just a friend..."
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Friend?"
I looked away. "Well... Nevermind..."
Andrew threw his arm around my shoulder, smirking. "I'll be glad to beat him up again if he kisses you one more time."
And then, Ethan rested his elbow on top of my head. "Me too, shortie."
I glared at Ethan and smacked both of their arms away. "You guys are just very tall."
"And you are just very short too."
"You're mean."
"You know I love you."
And my life seemed great at that time.
***
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE! AND ALSO MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Since it's winter break I'll update more often ;)
I'm binge watching all the Marvel Movies and it's literally awesome.
So yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We are super close to 200k! Thanks guys!
<3
Vote
Comment
Share
:)