LES || matt sturniolo

𝟎𝟐𝟓. it's your fault

CHAPTER 025 -
╰┈➤ ' it's your fault ' ೃ⁀➷
「 real life 」

─ real life ☾

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" chris's voice echoes through the room, causing matt to instinctively straighten up. as the door clicks shut, chris rises from the couch and takes purposeful strides towards matt, the thud of his footsteps echoing loudly against the wooden floor as nick follows behind him, but stays silent.

matt's initial response is a subtle eye roll, his eyebrows furrowing with irritation. he dismisses chris's outburst as another one of his baseless accusations, (just like all the times chris caused an argument because he mistakenly thought matt drank his last pepsi.) frustrated and already in a foul mood from the events of the day, matt tries to sidestep chris. the day had taken a sharp turn for the worse when vivienne, after agreeing to meet him, never showed up. his annoyance mounts as he recalls waiting for an hour after school, only to be left without an explanation or apology. it seemed she was now ghosting him. "i don't have the energy for this, chris," matt mutters under his breath.

with a sharp movement, chris's hand lands on matt's shoulder, exerting pressure as he forcefully pushes him back towards the door. "you're not walking away from me, matt," he asserts, releasing his grip but continuing to glare at matt. "i thought you were going to make things better!"

"what the fuck are you talking about?" matt reaches out to push chris backwards. the confusing remarks were too much for him and only served to add to his frustration.

"you know what I'm talking about!" chris's voice rose in exasperation as he threw his hands in the air. "vivienne..." he paused, clearing his throat before continuing, "you said you were gonna make things better with vivienne."

matt leaned against the door, his arms folded. "yeah, well that didn't go as planned," he admitted, looking off in embarrassment. the next few words were barely a mutter, "she ghosted me."

chris let out an amused scoff, but his expression betrayed his true feelings - he seemed incredibly angry. "so you decide to go ruin her life? because, well done, it worked," he said sharply.

pondering over chris's words, matt muttered to himself and leaned forward from the door, unfolding his arms. a strong, inexplicable feeling of dread intensified in his gut, possibly linked to chris's accusation. as he blinked, chris disappeared back into the living room, only to return moments later, clutching his phone tightly. the phone was already unlocked and illuminated, displaying something on the screen that matt couldn't quite make out until it was shoved into his chest.

"put it on the table when you're done," chris demands, his face initially stern but then softening, his lips forming a frown. "i thought the threats and your toughness were just a cover for how you really felt. i didn't think you'd actually go as far as doing something like this. i must not know you as well as I thought," he mumbles before walking off.

nick casually leans against the doorway, his arms crossed as chris angrily shoves past him. despite chris's obvious anger, nick's expression is one of sympathy as he watches him storm by. his eyes briefly flicker matt and then to the floor, and he lets out a defeated sigh. with a resigned but determined look, he pushes himself off the door and follows chris.

matt's eyes widen, and he swallows deeply. he doesn't fully grasp what chris meant, but it still stings. his own brothers were seriously mad at him. slowly, he removes the phone from his chest and stares down at it.

the contents of the post, including the likes, comments, and the fact that everything is under his account, have the potential to push him into a downward emotional spiral. looking back, chris's anger, the bad feeling, and vivienne's sudden ghosting suddenly made sense. however, the one thing that still puzzles him is that he never even made this particular post. as he gently sits chris's phone down on the shelf besides him, he begins to pat down his own clothes. where was his phone?

the rush of emotions hit him like a tidal wave, but the two strongest were panic and anger.

matt gritted his teeth and bit down on his bottom lip, trying to calm the chaos of thoughts flooding his mind. he felt an overwhelming urge to lash out, but he knew it wouldn't solve anything. running his hands down his face in despair, he finally pulled himself together and sprang into action. he had checked his phone when he woke up, in the car, and in class, but then he realized something. lunch. he didn't have his phone at lunch. cursing himself mentally, matt realized that in his eagerness to talk to vivienne again, he had forgotten to pick up his phone from the cafeteria – one of the busiest places in school where anyone could have taken it, or perhaps even pointed it out to him.

he had two options, wait until tomorrow and see if it's there or go now and risk sneaking into the school after hours to see if it's there.

the decision didn't last long. his legs took him towards the door and before he knew it he was climbing into his car. his car window was cracked open in the slightest, weird. he hadn't opened his window today, or had he? at this point he seriously can't remember anything. he gazes through the black tinted window and can make out the outline of something resting on his seat. he opens the door in urgency and there it was, the phone, his phone. no, he couldn't of left it here something had to been going on.

his gaze wanders down to the footwell, a squared, paper note lays there. clearly his phone and whatever this note was had been slipped in by someone. he hesitantly reaches down for it and turns it over.

it's your fault

the three words haunted him, taunting his mind relentlessly. whoever had taken his phone must have been the one to post the photos, must have known the password, and must have been aware of those photos. there was only one person who had both the opportunity and the motive to carry out such a deceitful act.

and perhaps, deep down, he couldn't ignore the possibility that it was his fault.

evie speaks
okay well i think we all know who did it😬😬