Life, Love, & Lies

Twenty-Two

Mark Russo

His last meal will be
served at 9pm, your
last chance to get in
to see him will be 11:30.
He will be gone by
morning. Just shoot me
a text if you change
your mind. I can have a
car to MSG within ten
minutes of receiving a
message from you.

LoLo shuts off her phone, sighing as she leans her head back against the couch, grateful in a weird way to the break up the previous week because everyone has been giving her space, and no one has been brave enough to ask what's going on. Groaning again she rubs her fingers against her temples, weighing, like she had been for days now, the pros and cons to going to see her dad tonight. The biggest draw to going is that there are answers she needs that she can't get from anyone else, at all. But she'll only get those answers if he is honest with her, and willing to answer. On the other hand, if she doesn't try at all, she will never have the chance to get those answers.

"You okay LoLo?" She startles, turning to see Matt looking at her with his brow bunched in concern.

"Just got a headache, it's been a long couple weeks and it must have all caught up with me or something." She shrugs.

"I'm sorry about that by the way. I haven't said anything, and it isn't my fault or anything, but I hope you know I'm sorry you're going through it. Break ups suck. Especially break ups where you are cheated on." He rambles slightly, moving to sit on the arm of the couch a few feet from her.

"You've been cheated on? Who in their right mind would cheat on Matthew Knight, heartthrob of Pier 6." She smiles slightly as she jests.

"Now, now, calm yourself, I'm not Harry Styles." He laughs, "Na, there are some shitty people in the world though, and I hate to speak ill of Reese's family, but anyone willing to cheat is a shitty person. I had a girl I was into an unhealthy amount, and in a bad mental place myself a few years back, just after we got to LA. She used my devotion and obsession with her to her advantage and used me for a long time. Milo and Zach finally talked some sense into me, after Chaz slapped it into me a little too literally. It was our first band fight, and when we decided communication and trust would not be things we let become problems between us."

"I'm sorry you were cheated on too Matt, it sucks. I watched it destroy my mom when she found out my dad's infidelity. And though one boyfriend of five months doesn't really compare to a husband of twenty-some-odd years, I understand a little better the betrayal she felt."

"My dad too." Matt smiles sadly, "He loved his career more than mom, or me, or my sisters. He's in music too, but not successfully. Just a small band that plays bars and clubs around New York. But he enjoyed the groupies more than family, and by the time my baby sister was born he was packing his bags. Couldn't handle being tied down with a girlfriend and three kids. He never even married my mom, but she loved him so much, she tried so hard to see the best in him. It almost broke her when I wanted to pursue music, it almost broke me too. I never want to be him, or be compared to him. I refuse to talk about him in interviews because I am so afraid people will start saying things like I followed his path."

LoLo's heart seems to swell slightly, hearing a story she knows, but also knows he doesn't know she knows, a story that is so personal it is hard for him to ever talk about it. He never liked talking about his dad if he could help it. "You are not your dad, Matt."

"You don't even really know me." He chuckles.

"I know enough." She assures him.

"Thank you." His voice is soft as he nods.

"Can I ask you something that might be a little bit personal? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Sure."