Heartburn (Matt Tuck/OFC)

Chapter 15

Arial's Pov

Two weeks had gone by since my incident, and the therapist I was seeing told Padge I wasn't mentally stable enough to socially interact with anybody yet, meaning school was definitely out of the picture until I was "better".  

I didn't need some stranger in a funky suit telling my brother what I should and shouldn't do. As experienced as this guy supposedly was, he was wrong about me. 

There was nothing I needed more than to talk to my friends, to feel a bit more normal, even just a little. But Padge was obviously going to take the therapist's recommendations and keep me home a while longer.

Padge rarely left my side, and I felt terrible for it. Padge was dealing with his own demons at the time, the unknown cause of his overdose still present in the way he acted. I knew he could barely handle whatever he was dealing with, let alone try to help me with what I was going through, he tried so hard but I could tell he was struggling.

Matt on the other hand was still going to school, though he would always hurry home to check on both Padge and I.

Disgustingly enough, I still wanted to continue with our friends with benefits deal.  

But we didn't get any time alone anymore, and my therapist also thought I wasn't mentally stable enough for things of that sort either, so that was another no-go.

Cody, Sam, and Nat visited me several times. Cody kept his distance, making it obvious that he still liked me, and Sam and Nat kept me in on all of the usual high-school gossip. They let me know that Lacey had spread some nasty rumors about me, & how she wouldn't shut up about how much she adored Matt.  

My heart immediately sank when I heard they were becoming more than friends. Maybe it was just another rumor, but maybe it wasn't. 

I mean, Matt and I weren't together, we were nothing but friends with benefits, and Lacey, well Lacey wasn't ugly, and I knew she was totally two-faced and was super sweet around boys she liked. And Matt, while he wasn't at all the long term relationship type, he definitely liked dating around sometimes. 

"Apparently they're a thing now." Sam told me after another week of me not going to school and missing out on everything.

"A-Are you sure?" I asked not sure of whether I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry or break everything I could get my hands on or both.

"Babes, she's in the living room with him as we speak." Nat whispered

I clenched my fists and inhaled sharply.

"Matt and I are just friends.....,we're just friends." I whispered mostly to myself.

I didn't need this right now.....I couldn't possibly take it. 

Just then Padge walked into the room holding a small paper in his hands. 

"The therapist, he says you should start going to school now....but.." 

He paused for a moment and sighed, looking down at the small paper.

"He says you're clinically depressed, and he wants to give you Prozac." he said frowning at me.

"Oh." I said realizing what the problem was. Padge was recovering from an addiction to those things, and now I would have to take them.

"Padge, I'm not going to take them. I-I can do this on my own, I'll be fine without them, I promise. Please focus on yourself, just.....just please get better." I said running towards him and nearly knocking him over as I wrapped my small arms around his torso. I squeezed my eyes shut and hugged him as tight as I could.