Assistant manager- [M.S]

13

I sat silently as Matt started to pour out his thoughts.

He was definitely high, and I'm starting to feel guilty that I had let him smoke, now showing his vulnerable side unwillingly.

I mean, I didn't push anything out of him. He just started spitting out shit about love and heartbreak, and I sat there receiving it all.

I hadn't answered him, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to.

"I don't believe in it. But I've never had a reason to."

He stood up and went back to the couch he had been resting at when I first arrived. He pulled his hood over his head, covering his eyes a bit as he laid down on the leather furniture. He crossed his arms, returning to the closed off nature I had become used to.

My phone rang in my sweatshirt pocket, matt's head snapping over to find the source of the sound. "Is that me?" he asked as he started searching for his phone in his pockets.

"It's mine," I respond and struggle to pull it out from my pocket, the vibration against my side starting to irritate me. "It's an unknown number," I mumble to myself.

"Answer it," Matt sits up.

I shake my head. "I don't know who it is."

Matt moves so his feet are on the floor, now sitting with his hands on his knees.

"Just answer it," he starts. "If it's some random, just like, scream bloody murder into the phone.
They surely won't call you again after that," he suggests, waving his hands around as he speaks.

This gets a laugh out of me, and Matt does the same.

"Your phone's still ringing by the way," he points.

I raise my phone to my ear, fully prepared to let out a horror film worthy scream into the microphone if necessary. "Hello?"

"Alyssa? Hey it's Nick."

"Who is it?" Matt whispers, starting to stand like he is going to sit with me to hear the phone call.

"Nick," I whisper back, turning the microphone away from my face. Matt lays back down, uninterested.

"Hey, how's everything?" I ask, now standing up to leave the room, knowing he's probably going to talk to me about Matt.

"It's nice, just really hot," he says, and I wander back into the kitchen area as he talks. "We're going to be out for a little longer, then we have to get ready for the show. How's Matt?"

"He seems... fine?" I respond, more in a question.

Matt is still in the lounge, and he's turned the TV back on at this point. I open the mini fridge and look around inside, not to snoop, but just one of those weird 'on the phone with someone and you start doing random shit and pacing around' things. I grabbed another water while I was in there. "I don't know how he's really feeling though, I don't think he would tell me anyway," I added.

"That's probably true," Nick sighs, and I can hear Chris speak up in the background. "Chris, not now I'm talking to Alyssa. Chris, stop!

Then there was some shuffling, muffled sounds now coming out of the phone.

"Alyssa!" Chris cheered through the phone. "How's the diva doing?"

"He's okay," I laugh. "We played FIFA, then talked a bit," I filled them in, making sure to leave out the fact that we had smoked. "I won by the way," I boast.

"Good for you. He's very competitive, very possessive too, I'm surprised he didn't throw a fit that you won. I told you, total diva," Chris goes on, and I laugh at the nickname he had given Matt.