Lonely hearts

10. sleepover

The next morning, I felt a little better thanks to Chris and Nick. They had reminded me that I was not alone, and that gave me some strength. As I ate my breakfast, I got a message from Chris.

*text*

Chris: Hey Liv, do you want to stay over with us tonight? We can have a movie marathon and just relax.*

I smiled reading the message, but my smile quickly disappeared when I realised that Matt would probably be there too. And after everything that had happened, I wasn't sure I wanted to face him. Still, I didn't want to be ungrateful to Chris and Nick, and maybe it was good to talk it out right away.

Olivia: That sounds like fun. I'd love to come.*

-- 

The day slowly crept by, but by evening I felt a growing knot in my stomach. I packed my things and walked to the triplets' house. When I rang the bell, the door was quickly opened by Chris, who smiled broadly.

"Hey Liv! Glad you're here," he said enthusiastically. He gave me a quick hug and led me inside. Nick was sitting on the sofa with a big bowl of popcorn and smiled at me.

"Welcome back, Olivia," he said cheerfully. "We missed you."

I felt a little more at ease thanks to their warm welcome, but my sense of discomfort returned when I saw Matt walk into the living room. And standing next to him was Amber.

"What is she doing here?" Matt asked immediately, his voice cold and distant. I felt my heart pounding in my chest and my hands began to tremble. I had prepared for this, but the reality of his hostility hurt more than I expected.

Chris quickly stepped between us and put a hand on Matt's shoulder. "Olivia is here to stay with us, Matt, she's my girlfriend and we want her here."

Matt looked at Chris angrily. "She is not welcome here. I don't want her in my house." Nick also stood up and joined his brother. "Matt, you need to relax. Olivia is our guest here, and she's staying here. End of story."

Amber looked from Matt to me and I saw a mocking smile play around her lips. "Maybe we should just go, Matt - let's put this drama behind us."

Chris turned to Amber and looked at her sharply. "No, Olivia is staying. She's important to us and we won't just drop her."

The tension in the room was palpable and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. But I swallowed them and held my head up. I would not break, not now. Matt looked at me with a mixture of anger and confusion. "Why do you keep doing this, Olivia? Why can't you just leave me alone?"

I breathed in and out deeply, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. "I'm not here to cause trouble, Matt; I'm here because Chris and Nick are my friends, just like you once were. I want to work this out, but not like this."

Matt looked away for a moment, as if thinking about what I was saying. Amber rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Come on, Matt, let's just go." But Chris persisted. "No, Amber. This is our house and Olivia is staying here. If you have a problem with that, that's your choice."

Amber looked pleadingly at Matt, but he seemed to hesitate. Finally he turned to me, his face still hard but with a glint of something softer in his eyes. "Fine, Olivia. Stay. But don't expect us to stay friends if you can't be happy for me."

I nodded, knowing it was the best I could hope for at that moment. "Thank you, Matt."

With a deep sigh, he turned and walked out of the room, followed by a clearly annoyed Amber. The door fell shut behind them with a bang and the tension in the room seemed to ease a little.Chris and Nick came over to me and put an arm around my shoulders. "Well done, Liv," Chris said softly. "We know this isn't easy for you."

I smiled weakly and finally felt the tears streaming down my cheeks. "Thank you guys," I whispered. "Thank you guys for being there for me."

As the door closed with a bang and the tension finally eased a little, Chris led me into the living room. Nick followed us with the big bowl of popcorn in his hands and a reassuring smile on his face. "OK, time to relax," Chris said as he pulled out a stack of DVDs. "How about some classics? We have some of the best feel-good movies ever here."

I smiled weakly and lowered myself onto the sofa. "Sounds perfect."

Nick put the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and plopped down next to me. "So, we have a choice between 'The Princess Bride', 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' and 'Back to the Future'. Which will it be, Liv?" I thought for a moment and felt grateful for their attempt to cheer me up. "Let's start with 'The Princess Bride'," I suggested. "A bit of romance and adventure sounds good."

Chris stuck the DVD in the player and dimmed the lights while Nick handed out the popcorn. The film's opening music filled the room and I felt some of my tension melt away.

Throughout the film, we joked about the dialogues, laughed at the crazy scenes and quoted our favourite phrases. Chris and Nick did their best to make me laugh and succeeded more than once. It felt good to escape reality for a while and just enjoy the moment.

---------------------------

After 'The Princess Bride', we decided to order a pizza. While waiting for the delivery guy, we switched to 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'. The film's humour and light-heartedness were exactly what I needed. We laughed at Ferris' antics and all felt a little lighter as the evening wore on.

The pizza arrived just in time for the third film, 'Back to the Future'. We spread the pizza boxes out on the coffee table and started eating as we followed the adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown. The nostalgia and fun of the film brought us even closer together, and I finally felt a little at ease.

"You know, Liv," Nick said between bites of pizza, "you're always welcome here. No matter what happens with Matt and Amber."

Chris nodded in agreement. "Yes, really. This is your second home. We're always here for you."

I felt my eyes become moist again, but this time of gratitude. "Thank you, guys. Really, you don't know how much this means to me."

By the time 'Back to the Future' had ended, we were all tired but fulfilled. The tensions of the day seemed far away, and I felt a little more hopeful about the future. "Shall we watch another film or are we all ready for bed?" asked Chris, stretching and yawning.

"I think I've seen enough films for one evening," I said, smiling. "But maybe we can just talk some more? I don't want this evening to end."

Nick smiled and nodded. "That sounds good. Let's just chat some more and relax."

We continued talking for a while about anything and everything - from our favourite memories to our dreams for the future. It felt good to be open and share my worries with friends who really cared. Eventually, fatigue started to catch up with us and we decided it was time to sleep. Chris and Nick had prepared a sleeping bag and an extra blanket for me in the spare room, and I crawled into it with a sense of warmth and security I hadn't felt in a while.

"Good night, Liv," Chris said softly as he turned out the light.

"Good night, guys," I replied with a smile.