Seafoam //Completed//

Chapter 14

"I don't get it. Everything was going great!" Matty lay on Lulu's bed, hugging her pillow tightly while she sat on the floor next to him, wrapped in a fluffy towel, her face inches from his. The frustration rang clear in his voice as he looked up to the ceiling. When they had gotten to Lulu's house, her heart in her mouth, dreading going in and seeing her father again, she was relieved to see his car was missing. Matty hadn't spoken a word the whole ride over, except to ask her if she wanted the heater on when he saw her shivering from the cold. Using the excuse that she didn't want to be alone, she invited him up, knowing full well he needed her as much as she needed him in that moment.

It felt almost like before, when they were kids, and Matty would sleep over. They would stay up the entire night talking about everything under the sun, except everything that was going on in her home, in order to distract Lulu. They were never afraid of being too loud because they always spoke in whispers. That way, their talks always remained between the two of them, a secret kept from the entire world. It made Lulu feel as if she held the stars in her hands when Matty confided in her; a treasure whispered just for her. He was the best distraction; his voice, the best excuse to not sleep.

"I just don't get it," he murmured, his voice breaking.

"I'm so sorry, Matty," was the best she could say as he poured his frustrations out. Turning her head to his, she noticed a single tear trek towards his hair as he continued to look up to her ceiling, which was littered with glow in the dark stars. They shone in the darkness of her bedroom, fading to a light green as the moon made her entrance through the window.

He quickly wiped it away and just shook his head.

"You can't seriously tell me that you were completely unaware that they were hooking up, though," she said. "How does someone miss that?" she asked bewildered. The shock of seeing Gemma with Liam was still just as fresh as the pain in her knuckles. This weekend had been catastrophic, neither hearts nor bones intact.

"They weren't!" he exclaimed. "At least, I never knew that they were," he huffed, as he strained to remember. "I never even saw her talk to him at school. They don't run in the same crowd." This was true. Though everyone usually got along well with everyone else, there were some exceptions. Liam was the type of guy who always looked down on what he called "basic people," people who didn't have his daddy's connections and money. Gemma was your typical girl next door. Liam's type of girl was definitely someone more conspicuous, like Selene. Not like Gemma.

"Remember Friday?" Matty offered. "When I left to talk to Gemma?"

How could I forget, she seethed silently at the memory. Nodding, she lay her head back and shut her eyes, waiting for him to continue.

"She was giving me an answer."

"Answer?" she questioned.

"Right, I never got a chance to tell you since we haven't been spending a lot of time together lately—I'm sorry about that by the way," he nudged her head with his and she smiled a little but kept her eyes closed. "Anyway," he sighed, "I asked Gemma to Homecoming. That night, she came to tell me she was going to be out of town. I guess we now know that was a load of crap."

Lulu didn't say anything and they remained in a steady silence until she started to wonder if he had fallen asleep until he spoke again. "Where were you anyway?" he asked, catching her by surprise.

"When?"

"I came back for you, Friday. The last I saw of you, you were with that girl. Zac's girlfriend, whatshername."

"Selene?"

"Right. One minute you were with her, and when I went back outside, you were gone."