Different Days | Matt Sturniolo

10

The last 24 hours have been exhausting. After spending an hour at the hospital last night, I reluctantly went home to sleep. After my mom's surgery at 8 a.m., my dad and I visited her once again. Now I'm back home, finally able to relax a bit. My mom is expected to come home tomorrow morning. From there, she'll need to rest and then begin physical therapy. 

I check Instagram and am surprised to see a new D.M request. I open it. It's from Matt. The blue check mark next to his name is weird to see in my D.M's. 

Hey, any update on your mom? his text reads. That's right, I forgot to update him.

She's doing well. She had surgery this morning and is recovering in the hospital. I reply

Good. Any idea of the recovery time?

Probably months.

That sucks but I guess it could be worse. 

For sure.

Any chance I can get your number? I don't really dm much.

And that's how I ended up giving Matt my number.

I'm hopeful that we would transition to a conversation about anything. Just as long as we keep talking. But after I respond to his "hey it's Matt" text with "hi," he doesn't respond. Maybe he'll text me tomorrow. 

Three days go by. I haven't heard anything from Matt, Chris, Nick, or Nate. I tried my best to focus on school, reading, exercising, and anything else to get my mind off of the situation. Luckily, my mom is quickly recovering at home. A home health care aide from the hospital has been checking in. My mom is set to begin physical therapy next week. As I watch her read a book while relaxing on the couch, I feel embarrassed about my reaction a couple of days ago when I was freaking out in front of Matt. But I didn't know if my mom was going to be okay. It's still embarrassing though. 

Later that day, I finally receive a text from Nate: "going with the triplets to Dairy Queen if you want to show up. It's cold but whatever. It's their last night in Boston."

Already? Time went by way too quickly. All my daydreams of Matt and me walking around Boston, as giddy as tourists, seem unattainable now. Of course he'll be back, but when?

I respond to Nate, letting him know that I'll stop by later. I don't want to seem too excited. And in all honestly, I'm not. I don't want to see Matt, knowing I won't be able to see him again for awhile. 

I dress in a simple Red Sox sweatshirt, denim shorts, and sneakers. I brush my hair, but leave it down.  Dairy Queen, like most businesses here, is only a short walk to get to. 

Even though Nate told me they'll be there at 9, I arrive at 9:03 and they're not here. All the picnic tables are full, so I walk to the side of the building and sit under a tree. I scroll through Instagram as I wait. 

So this is really it. Matt will be leaving for L.A. This week has been a roller coaster. For a good 24 hours, the possibility of Matt and me dating seemed very real. Him asking for my number felt like a big deal. But now I'm confused.

A few minutes later, a familiar mini-van shows up. "Sorry we're late!" Chris calls out. "It's okay," I shout back. Once the boys get closer, Matt says "blame Nick. He wouldn't get out of bed after his nap." I hold back a laugh and ask "who takes a nap at night?" Nick acts offended. "Naps are perfectly acceptable to be taken at any time of the day."

"Let's just get our food,"  Matt says. Today he's wearing a black hoodie, grey sweatpants, and Adidas sneakers. His hair is once again parted in the middle. 

"Food?" Chris asks with disbelief.

"Yeah..." Matt responds.

"Since when is ice-cream considered food? Like let's go get our food... chocolate chip mint ice-cream. Just say you're getting ice-cream," Chris says. 

"Hold that thought!" Nick yells. "That can be our topic for Friday's video."

As we order and eat our ice-cream, we talk about the triplets' plans for L.A. As I listen to their upcoming projects that are a secret to their fans, I think about how many girls would love to be the position I'm in right now. 

But then it's over. We finish our ice-cream and Matt says "we should get going." They have an early flight tomorrow morning. They don't know exactly when they're coming back to Boston, but it's going to be months.

It was fun while it lasted.