𝐈𝐌 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇, faith haven & matt sturniolo have always been best friends until one day faith started to hate matt's guts and he didn't know why until he realized he knew why and if he hadn't been so oblivious then maybe she would still like him...
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. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . 🥂 ݁ chapter 9 ── .✦ ( real life )
𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓
❝ i made it all look painless man, am i the greatest ❞ — hit me hard and soft, billie eilish
𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍 her bed, staring at the ceiling as the evening shadows crept across her room. the fight with her father the night before still echoed in her mind, each harsh word replaying like a broken record. she could feel the sting of tears that had dried on her cheeks, but the heaviness in her chest remained.
her room, usually a sanctuary filled with the comforts of her favorite posters and soft blankets, felt like a prison tonight. the walls seemed to close in, suffocating her with memories of the shouting match that had erupted the previous evening. her father's slurred accusations and her own desperate pleas for him to stop drinking still hung in the air like a toxic fog.
she had spent the entire day in her room, isolating herself from everyone. the hours had passed in a blur of numbness and intermittent sobbing. she reached for her phone, hoping for a distraction, but the screen was filled with messages she didn't have the energy to respond to. izzy, ella, and the others had all texted, asking if she was okay, but the thought of explaining everything felt exhausting. instead, she put her phone back down and curled up tighter, hugging her knees to her chest.
the door creaked open slightly, and a tiny face peeked in. sadie, her little sister, tiptoed into the room, clutching her worn-out teddy bear. "faithy?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "are you okay?"
faith forced a smile, though it felt like a mask. "yeah, sadie. i'm okay. just tired."
sadie climbed onto the bed, settling into faith's arms. the innocence of her sister's presence brought a momentary calm, but it also deepened the ache inside faith. she wanted to protect sadie from the chaos that had become their home life, but it felt like an impossible task.
as they lay there in silence, faith's mind wandered to a time when things were simpler, before her father's addiction took hold, and before her mother's absence became a constant. she wondered if they would ever find their way back to those days or if they were lost forever.
her thoughts drifted to matt, who had once been her closest friend. she remembered the times they spent together, talking about everything and nothing, sharing secrets and dreams. there was a time when they could laugh about anything, when their conversations felt like an escape from their problems. they had a bond that seemed unbreakable, a connection that made the world feel smaller and kinder.
