Face To Call Home (Love Came In #1) ✔️

Chapter 26

Mature content

I woke up with a dry mouth and pounding in my head, with the side of the bed next to me empty. I sleepily opened my eyes and realized what had woken me up.

Loud shouting could be heard from downstairs and I realized, with a sleepy look at my clock, that it was only 3 am. The arguing toned down and I could hear heavy footsteps climbing up the stairs and then it started. A loud banging on my door,  sounding hopeless and determined if that was possible.

"Brooke." Matt's muffled voice reached me in my groggy state. "Bo, please, please can we talk."

I swallowed the grief gathered in my throat and slowly sat up. On my bedside table there was a jug and a glass of water with a box of anvils next to it, as if I was hungover. I had to smile slightly at the gesture.

My mind was brought back to the present as the banging consistently went on, getting weaker and weaker. Somehow the pain was muted in me, that familiar numbness taking over.

I stood up and walked to the door, sliding down against it, the fists stopping as they realized the weight on the other side. I could hear Matt crouch down and imagined that his head was leaning against the door, facing it.

"Bo." His voice sounded broken, but that didn't even make me sad, not even a little. "Bo I'm so sorry. I never ever should have said those things, and I never would have, it's just... there's just no excuse for it." There was a moment of silence.

"I hate myself for what I said, and I left because I couldn't bear to..I couldn't bear to be here and see you both in pain and not do something about it. I'm sorry Brooke. I'm so, so sorry and I hate myself for everything I've done and said to you." I could hear him inhale deep. "I hope you can forgive me." He paused again. I stared at the ceiling without really seeing anything, listening to his words.

"Bo?" Matt's voice cracked. My heart broke a little.

I stood up slowly and paused for a second, then opened the door. Light streamed into the dark room and I registered the fact that my father was standing at the bottom of the stairs and Cole behind him, leaning against the sofa.

I looked at Matt. His large frame was almost hunched and he still sat on the floor on his knees. I crouched down again and just stared at his broken look, the small scars on his face, the invisible and visible ones.

Without a word I reached out and hugged him, my arms wrapping around his neck. At the end of the day he was still my brother, a stupid and stubborn boy but my family.

He let out a breath and hugged me tight and I felt his tears on my shirt. My eyes met my dad's, who looked relieved and pained at the same time, and then Cole's, who smiled tightly at me.

******

Matt and I talked for a while. He told me that although the army thing was spontaneous at that time two years ago he's still going to continue to serve actively in the future. We talked about his years in service, we talked about mom a little and he constantly asked for my forgiveness, every few minutes.

I didn't understand his anger and I didn't understand how he must have felt to have said all those things to me. He had more scars than I could fathom, but Matt had always been like that. Matt had always been the stronger one, the one not as protected as I was from the bad things of the world.

I told him to get some sleep because it had been an exhausting day for everyone, and then dragged Cole up the stairs to my room because he hadn't slept either.

I knew that Matt and Cole had argued but he wouldn't tell me what he had said or what Matt had said, only that they had sorted their shit out.

I had to scoff a little, lying there in the dark on my bed with him. They were best friends and you're telling me they 'sorted their shit' in one yelling match?