Beautifully Broken ❤️

Just Friends

Stella stood in the pharmacy line, impatiently waiting for the woman in front of her to quit cussing her insurance company out. She pulls out her phone and sends her mom a quick message. She was waiting for a reply when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turns and smiles, "Matt?" 

"Hey Stella!" He pulled her into a hug.

Stella hugged him tightly. "I've been back home for two months now, and this is the first time I've seen you."

"I've been really...

"Matt, don't do that." She interrupted his excuse.

"Don't do what?"

"Don't make lame excuses, and don't lie to me. I know you guys are purposely avoiding me...

"Stella, no, it's...

She held up her hands, stopping him from talking. "Matt, it's okay." She assured him. "I understand."

Matt gave her a look of surprise. "You do?"

She nods. "I can only imagine how hard it is for Gabby to see me with a baby. Me being a mom, having what she really wants. It's got to be hard for her; my heart breaks for her and you."

"It is." He admitted. "She has tried to pull herself together to come visit you. But... She just can't do it. Three miscarriages have changed her; they've made her bitter and depressed. I'm worried about her." 

"Is she at least talking to someone about it?" 

"I'm trying to convince her to see a therapist, but she keeps telling me she doesn't want to talk to a stranger. And she apparently doesn't think I could understand what she's feeling." He looks away, not wanting Stella to see how scared he is. "It's affecting our marriage; I'm trying to hold on and be there for her."

Stella pulled him into another hug. "It's okay." She whispers as he cries on her shoulder. 

"I love her so much, Stella, but she keeps pushing me away, and I don't know what else to do." 

"You guys will get through this; I know you will." She says this as they pull apart. "I promise." She squeezed his hand. As the voice behind her said, "Next person." She turns around and walks up to the pharmacy counter. "Hey, I'm here to pick up a prescription for Ryan Kidd."

"Okay, give me one minute." The woman said, then walked away. 

"Is Ryan okay?" Matt asked. 

"Yeah, he is running a fever and has a bad cough. So his doctor called in some antibiotics for him. I hope it works; he's been very fussy all day."

"Here you go, ma'am." Stella turns her attention back to the woman. 

"Thank you." She takes the bag and turns back to Matt. "Don't be a stranger; you can stop by my house anytime."

"I appreciate that; maybe I will."

She kisses his cheek and walks away. As she walks outside towards her car, she hears her name being called. She turns around and sees Kelly standing by his car. "Let me guess you're here to pick up a prescription." She jokes. 

He smiles. "No, I was waiting on Casey."

"Are you his Uber?" She teased with a raised eyebrow. 

He laughs. "You can say that; actually, he just needed a ride home from shift; he asked me to stop here so he could pick up Gabby's prescription. She's out of town visiting her family."

"Oh!" She replied as she thought about the conversation she just had with Matt. 
She was curious about what Gabby's prescription was for but didn't want to get into her personal business. She looked at her phone and sighed, reading a message from her mom. "I needed to get going; I had a fussy baby waiting on his meds."