Aftermath

3

Cal whipped her head around so Matthew couldn't see her face, and tucked her chin onto her shoulder. Still holding onto her hand Matthew knelt to level himself with her. She shook her head, not even sure what she was refusing. After a moment he simply lifted his arm around her and engulfed her in a hug.

"Okay, " he whispered, ''it's okay".  He rubbed her elbow in an attempt to soothe her. Her cries eventually quieted and all that was left was exhaustion, all her senses dampened by her drunken state. Mattie made no attempt to move even when her breath no longer hiccupped. Unsure of how to proceed, she turned her head around to bury it in his chest, wrapped her arms around his neck, and whispered the only words she could fathom.

"I'm so sorry Mattie." he shushed her immediately but she felt his grip on her tighten. He stayed unmoving for a while, both of them existing in comfortable silence. Mattie was the first to break contact, unwrapping his arms from around her and brushing her hair from the places it had been pressed into her face. He stood and again, offered a hand out to help her up.

"Let's get you home, you look tired" Matthew offered up a look of concern as he took in her appearance. Panic rose as soon as he spoke, she didn't want to leave him, she didn't believe he would be there if she walked away. Frantically, she racked her brain for an idea of what to do, anything to keep the night from ending. "You can come and watch a movie?" he offered when she didn't respond. She shook her head yes and stood up, still off-balance in her steps she gripped his hand until she felt her balance right again, before letting go and sliding into the passenger seat.

At the hotel, she changed into some of his sweats and a sweatshirt before getting cozy under a blanket. Mattie changed into pajamas and slid in next to her on the bed resting his back against the headboard.

"What should we watch?" Cal asked, she was excited to be doing something as nostalgic as a movie night. Matthew looked over at her and laughed. "What's so funny?" she exclaimed embarrassed that she looked so laughable. He shrugged, still chuckling.

"This is the most relaxed I've seen you in years, it's just happy," he said simply, then added, "I'm not saying getting hammered all the time is healthy, but you do let loose a little once your inhibitions are removed."

"I don't know if that was a compliment or not, so let's pick a movie before I find something to be upset about."

"Noted, what mood are you in?" He asked, scrolling through the genre options. She shrugged, not having any strong opinions on the movie, not convinced she was sober enough to pay attention anyways. In the end, they settled for a mystery. Calpurnia felt herself nodding off after a while and moved closer to Mattie and tucked her head under his chin. His fingers found their way to her wrist and the pad of his thumb swiped gently over her pulse point soothingly.

"I'm too sleepy," she mumbled, "I should call a cab and go home." She snuggled closer briefly, preparing herself to pull away and get ready to leave,  then sat up. "I'm going to go change," she said but before she could get up Matthew stopped her.

"I can take you," he said, refuting her idea of calling a cab to get her there.

"I'm just drunk, I'm not helpless," Cal said sarcastically, not oblivious to the fact she didn't have to come here in the first place and he definitely didn't need to go out of his way to get her back.

"I don't think you are," he said pointedly. He continued to scan over her face before adding, "if you want to leave, that's fine. But I will take you." Her brow furrowed, did he think she didn't want to be there? Had she given the impression that suddenly the only thing she wanted was to be away from him?

"It's not that I want to leave, I just can't stay awake..." She trailed off, confused by his reactions and motives.

"Stay," he said quickly and her eyes shot to him to see if her ears were playing some prank on her. But Mattie made no move to say anything else. She carefully examined his face looking for even the smallest of hints as to what was happening in his mind.