My Best Friend's Brother | ✔

20. matthew

6:30 am.

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New note.

I ran for an hour this morning. I woke up early, before anyone in the house. I needed to clear my head. I don't remember what happened after we got back into the lake house. Morgan and I went to my room, had a few too many drinks, and, I don't really know. I don't know what happened and where she is right now.

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12:23 pm.

Notes app.

Morgan's awake. She came downstairs to bring me breakfast. I must have fallen back asleep. She told me she has a pounding headache. I realize I have one too as I write this. I asked her if she knew what happened last night, she doesn't. I haven't spoken to Hailey after our bickering at the drive in. I haven't checked my notifications yet. The group chat is going crazy.

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I shake my head, reading these texts. Partially because I just want to keep it easy tonight. I'm not a huge drinker, but these past two days have been too much for me. I need a break today.

I grab a towel and turn the shower on as cold as I could. I stand under the water and sigh loudly. The cold on my skin gets my braincells going, as fragments of last night come back to me.

The last thing I remember is my lips against Morgan, in the car driveway. We noticed Hailey wasn't home yet, so she came downstairs to my room, or did we sit on the dock? No, cause I remember her admiring my old waterskiing trophies from the summers before. I offered her some drinks and she agreed. That's all.

When I get out of the shower, I wrap my towel around my lower body. I brush my teeth before splashing my face with cold water once more. The thought of grabbing a cup of coffee right now makes me nauseous. I go upstairs and look for something to drink. I decide that water is the safest option. I can see the dock from here. My mom's swimming around as Hailey and Morgan are sitting in chairs, tanning. Morgan's responding to texts on her phone as Hailey is reading.

I put my plate from breakfast in the dishwasher and I rub my forehead. I rush to the bathroom as I throw up into the toilet. Flushing it, I feel relieved. I grabbed some pain medication and went back downstairs. I took one and drank water with it. The door opens, and I see Morgan, who's hair is looking lighter than it was yesterday. She notices my gaze on her head.

"Hair lightener." She says gently, holding up the bottle.

"Ah." I reply.

"Whatever happened last night, I, I don't regret it." She says.

"Yeah, me neither. I just don't know what happened."

"Well I don't think we, you know." Awkwardness fills the room as I look down at her.

"Yeah. I know."

"I threw up this morning, though. That was the downside. I mean, that and the fact that I can't remember what happened."

"We should take it easy for a bit. Like specifically tonight. I can't go out tonight." I say.

"Yeah. I think Hailey's doing something with the group, but we could stay and watch a movie?"

"That sounds nice."

I follow her down to the dock, with a new towel. I put sunscreen on my body before making eye contact with my sister, who looks like she was having the time of her life before I got there.

"Look who's awake before the sun." She says. I don't fight back though. I don't have the energy today to argue with my sister.

I sit back in my chair and let the sun hit my face. I let my muscles relax as my body sunk into the chair. This was what I needed.

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After my day of quiet, I went back into the lake house, refreshed. I honestly felt like I could go out, but it was not in my best interest. I helped my mom make dinner. We had fish with lemon sauce and a salad with a light dressing. My sister and I never really liked salad dressing, which is pretty much the only food product we don't like. However, my mom's salad dressings are always amazing. She never makes them too strong.

I plate the food and we sit at the dinner table.

"Do you kids have anything planned for tonight?" My mom asks.

"Hailey's going out, but Matthew and I are staying back, just to relax tonight."

"Nice. What are you and your friends doing, Hailey?"

"We're just going to go to Leo's." She replies.

I was especially hungry tonight, so I had an extra serving of food. When Hailey left, my mom said she was going upstairs to read. Morgan and I looked at the movies we had. We have an old TV here, so we only use DVDs. She found a comedy that was one of my favourite movies when I was younger. I turn it on and she grabs some blankets for us.

Halfway through the movie, Morgan moves closer to me. I feel her body slowly pressing against mine.

"If you want to sit beside me you can." I say.

"Oh, it's okay, you just took most of the blanket."

"Yeah, cause I want you to sit beside me."

She moves to where we're sitting right next to each other. She rests her head on my shoulder and I move my arm around her body.

I've never experienced this feeling with a girl before. Some of them just want to hookup with me, others are too busy. Morgan though, she gets me. She respects me and waited for me. I wouldn't even wait for myself.

In this moment I feel safe. Even if Hailey walked in, I wouldn't care. I'm happy with where I am, like I could just text Alexis and tell her to tell Hailey. But I wouldn't do that. Not without Morgan's permission.

"Thank you." She says.

"For what?"

"For tonight. For last night. For the night before. The night before that." She looks at me.

"Well, thank you for putting up with me all those days."

"I've put up with you since you were 12. I'm not complaining."

I pull her into me, to the point where she can hear my heartbeat. I wonder if she can hear it speed up. I kiss the top of her head and we watch the rest of the movie, quietly.

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- Author's note

Hey guys! Thank you for 400 reads! This is a shorter chapter, but I hope you like it! I will keep trying to update often and I hope you enjoy how the story progresses!