back home | matt sturniolo

chapter 6

dear ari,
you just won americas got talent, and i could not be more proud. i love you so much, but you have a bright future ahead of you.

"fuck," matt mumbled to himself, scratching out the entire letter and tossing it in the trash. he leaned back in his chair and ran his hands down the sides of his face in frustration. he had a lot on his mind recently ever since ari won americas got talent and got offered a tour around america. he couldn't even find it in himself to find the right words to say to ari at this point.

matt wanted nothing more than for ari to live out her dream despite the obvious distance it would put on their relationship, but part of him knew that ari wouldn't take it. ari never thought she would would actually win agt, so she never had it in her mind to go on a tour. she only went on the show because matt encouraged her to do so. matt remembered hearing ari's voice. she was happy she won, but the thought of having to leave her boyfriend and family really set her back.

matt let out a sigh and decided to text ari instead of writing her a lame letter. he told ari to him at the small park right at the front of their neighborhood as quickly as she could. matt already felt himself get emotional as he got himself dressed for the outside. he wiped his eyes when he felt tears and quickly scurried along outside to meet up with ari.

his shoes scuffed along the pavement as he tried calming himself down with slow, deep breaths. it was night out, the road was only light up by a few street lights and the glow from the moon. when matt got closer to the park, he saw ari sitting on a swing. matt smiled as he watched her drop her head back so she could look up into the sky. he felt himself relax just a little bit at the sight of his girlfriend, but then remembered why he was there and walked over towards her.

"hey matt," ari greeted when she heard matt shoes on the mulch. she looked up and gave matt a smile as she hopped down from the swing to give him a hug. matt let out a big breath of air as he wrapped his arms around ari's waist, pulling her in tight to his body. matt felt water in his eyes as he rested his head on top of ari's hair, closing his eyes for a brief moment and breathing in the warm smell of her body.

"what's up?" ari questioned, stepping back while grabbing a hold of matt's hand. matt let out a sigh as he walked the both of them over towards the bench. they sat down with their thighs touching, and matt continued to stay silent. "you're worrying me," ari mumbled, turning her legs towards matt's direction, "what's going on?"

matt let out a huff and finally looked at ari, cursing himself when a stray tear rolled down his cheek, "look, we're going in two different directions, ari. you won agt and get to go on tour-"

"but i'm not going on the tour," ari interrupted right away.

"and who am i to let you not go?" matt argued desperately, "ari, you won. this is your dream. you'll be able to go on yours and sell albums. this is what we talked about. it's your time to shine, and i'm about to start youtube with nick and chris-"

"matt, what are you getting at?" ari asked right away, a crack in her voice that made matt shiver. matt noticed the tears starting to form in ari's eyes and the tremble in her voice, causing his heart to break even more.

"ari, this is insane," matt belted out, feeling himself grow more frustrated, "why would you not take this opportunity? you wanted this. we talked about this. take the tour, don't stay here."

ari stood up and started breathing heavily, shaking her head frantically, "i don't want to go, okay? the dream was together, you and me. i'm only fifteen, and i do t want to leave you or my family. i love you."

"that's not good enough," matt argued, running his fingers through his hair, "you would be stupid to not go on tour. this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."