The Secret (Boston's Best 1)

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Matt

Insane.

Incredibly lucky.

Wow.

That's the only way I can describe how I'm feeling right now.

In the past few months I became an orphan, found out my parents had a secret double life, sold my parents company, inherited a shit ton of money, got a gorgeous girlfriend, graduated highschool, and now I'm standing in the living room of the house where my three best friends and I are going to live for the foreseeable future.

Alex is sitting on the front porch smoking a cigarette –all of us have already told him off about that and he's not allowed to smoke in the house.

Darius and Felix are carrying in D's bed frame.

I pulled the captain card and called dibs on the master bedroom even though I won't be captain on the new team and Alex and Felix won't even be playing with us, but it worked so I'm not gonna question it.

Felix is getting the whole basement to himself because he needs the studio space for his art.

And Darius and Alex both just have regular sized rooms on the second floor down the hall from me, but they have to share a bathroom.

I will not be stepping foot in that room, ever. I love them but they're nasty dudes.

I feel like we're all going to have to put a red tape line throughout the house, and mine and Felix's side will be clean and tidy and their will look like we got robbed, a bear attacked the place, and a bomb hit.

"Bro, can you lift? I'm gonna drop this right on you."

"Darius, you're like four or five inches taller than me, slow the fuck down and then I can catch up to you, okay?"

I see D roll his eyes, "Yeah whatever, shortcake." He looks over at me, "Matt, come and help us here! I'm gonna break my back with how this one's lifting this."

I chuckle and make my way over to them. Felix steps back and I slip under and catch the frame from him. We start to carry it up the stairs and D sighs, "See? Watch what Matt's doing and then maybe next time you won't break my back or yours."

"Oh shut up," Felix shakes his head, "It's cause you two giants are basically the same size."

I look back at him, "Felix, you're five foot eleven and you're acting like you're a dwarf. Respectfully, shush."

"Coming from the six foot three and four people." He states.

"I'm only six-one if that makes you feel any better." Alex shouts from outside.

Felix laughs, "I don't actually care that you are taller, I'm just saying that it's easier for you guys to do that type of stuff because you're closer in height–oh forget it, Olvídalo."

We all laugh and after we bring the rest of his bedframe and mattress up into his bedroom, Felix and D run off into their corners of the house and I go out to the porch to Alex.

He takes a sip of his beer and raises his eyebrows when he spots me. "Am I allowed back inside my own house now?"

"Are you gonna stop smoking now?"

He tilts his head, "Forever or just right now?"

When I don't answer straight away he continues, "Because I'll burn it right now, but I think we both know that I'd just be full of shit if I said I'll quit."

"Alex..."

"Don't start with your whole protective dad, smoking will kill you speech, I just can't deal with that right now."

I sit down opposite him, "How's she doing?"

He takes a drag of the cig, "Shit. Worse than last month, but I've been told to not lose hope and that she has a year maybe two, so that's just fucking fantastic."

"Alex." I say more sternly.

"Yes, dad?"

I give him a look and he sighs and puts out the cigarette on the ashtray. "Right, here's how this is gonna go, we're not going to talk about that because I don't want to, just like how you don't want to talk about your parents, you'll get off my back about the smoking, we'll walk in there and forget about this little heart to heart because I feel like my heart just got ripped out and we're gonna set up the TV, order some pizza and play some video games. That good with you, cap?"

Knowing that pressing on this issue won't help either of us I nod, "Perfect. I'll order, what do you want?"

He grins and stands up, "Everything. No olives though or pineapple, nasty shit."

"Yo, D! Felix! Pizza, what do y'all want?" He shouts.

"Meat-lovers." Darius shouts and then comes trampling down the stairs. "We got beer?"

Felix walks up from the basement, "Pepperoni, thanks. And no, you alcoholic, we don't have beer as we just moved in like an hour ago."

D nods, "Right." He leaves and comes back in about twenty seconds with his shoes on and car keys in hand, "I'm going to the store, anyone need anything?"

"A full grocery shop." I say.

He shakes his head, "Nah, man. That'll be up to you two mother hens. See ya."

We all laugh at him and I order our pizzas.

Half an hour later we're all sitting on our new sofa eating pizza and drinking beer and playing video games.

And this is going to be my life for the next four years, minus the actual college and studying and gruelling football training part, and I think it's gonna be pretty great.

Especially if Maddie doesn't get sick of me, that will just be the cherry on top.

Because I want that girl in my life for a very long time if she'll have me, and I really fucking want her to have me.

But I think the secret to it all is just to make her happy. Happy wife, happy life, right?