02. matthew

Why'd I let her see that. And why'd I call her my sisters friend. I know Morgan is so much more than that to me and if anything, she's like a sister to me. I knew I needed to apologize again but Morgan's already left and I hope she didn't tell Hailey what she saw.

Morgan and I met when she first came to my house. She was kind of awkward but in a cute way. Ever since then she's been super nice to me and always asks how my football practices are going.

"Kids, dinner!" Mom yells from the kitchen

"Okay!" I respond, getting my sister from her room too and bringing her downstairs.

"Hey mom said-" I say but she interrupts me.

"I get it! Can you leave me alone now?" Hailey never reacts this way. Maybe she heard about me and Kaitlyn making out on the couch.

"What's wrong?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Nothing. Can't you take a hint? I've already been asked to be left alone but here you are still talking to me. Go away." She responds.

Okay, I guess.

When I go downstairs for dinner, mom asks where Hailey is. I tell her and she calls my sister again.

"Hailey, come downstairs for dinner please!"

"OKAY I'M WALKING DOWN THE STAIRS." Hailey yells as she stomps her feet. I don't know what's gotten into her.

As we all sit down at the table, mom passes around the lasagna dish.

"Thanks mom, this looks amazing." I say.

"You're welcome." She responds as she smiles. "So, how was everyone's day?"

"It was good," I respond "the hockey team had a practice today. It was pretty tiring but worth it. I also got a 92 on my Physics test."

"That's great! Good job! What about you, Hailey?" Mom asks.

"You know, the usual." She says, dragging her fork around her uneaten plate of lasagna.

"How about this instead then. What was the best part of your day?" She says.

"Uhh let me see. Not much I guess. Morgan came over after school." She says, glaring at me when she said after school.

What did I do?

As I grab another slice of lasagna, Hailey says she has to go to the bathroom, and before my parents can excuse her, she stormed off.

"Matty, do you know if she's upset?" Mom asked, looking concerned.

"I think she's mad at me. I don't know what I did wrong, though." I still can't think of anything I could've done to make her so mad.

When she comes back from that bathroom, she starts eating her lasagna. She won't look at me at all.

"So, Hailey. What did you and Morgan-" I say before getting interrupted, again.

"Why do you care Matthew? She's not your friend." Now I know why she's mad. This must have something to do with Morgan.

"Did you and Morgan get into a fight or something?" I ask.

"No. Stop assuming everything."

"I'm sorry, you just seem upset." I say. I hope she'll tell me what's wrong.

"Well I'm not. So you can stop bringing up my best friend, you're basically in love with her at this point." Hailey's voice starts to get louder.

"I'm not in love with her! She's our friend."

"Our friend? She's my friend, not yours. So you can stop stealing her attention now." She walks off angrily.

"Is that was this is about?" I yell as she stomps up the stairs.

"Okay then just walk up the stairs and stomp! Morgan wouldn't like to hear this." I say again.

"Morgan won't know because you're not her friend!" She reminds me.

I'm in my bedroom playing video games. I'm currently winning. Nothing can take my focus off of it. Except for Morgan. Something about what happened today. I'm still confused but I think Hailey's jealous that I talk to Morgan too. But what was I supposed to do? She practically lives here. Not to mention, she also walked in on me and Kaitlyn. Was I not supposed to apologize? Ugh, Hailey's friends are so confusing.

I look at my phone. No messages.

I'll play another game then.

Right as I'm about to start playing, I receive a text.

Text sent at 10:22 PM from "Morgan": Hey I'm sorry again for walking in on you and your girlfriend today.

Text sent at 10:23 PM: Don't worry about it. She's not my girlfriend either, haha.

My heart breaks a bit as I read that text. Kaitlyn and I have been a "thing" for about a month, and when I asked her out, she said she didn't want to put a label on it.

Text deleted.

Text sent at 10:25 PM: Don't worry about it, you're like a sister to me so it's chill.

Text read at 10:26 PM

Is she mad at me too? I don't know what to do. I contemplate wether I should text her again or leave it at that. Whatever, I guess.

My phone buzzes again.

Text sent at 10:39 PM from "Kaitlyn ❤️": Hey Matt. I'm sorry.

I pick up the phone.

Text sent at 10:39 PM: What do you mean?

Text sent at 10:41 PM from "Kaitlyn ❤️": You have been so sweet to me. I am so thankful for the moments we've spent together, but I think we should stop seeing each other.

I just put my phone on my desk and leave the house to go on a walk. I don't really know where I'm going, but I'm going somewhere. I grab my shoes, tie them up, and step outside.

I start walking and take some deep breaths. I've always found they helped me. I used to be an anxious kid and have practiced deep breathing for as long as I can remember.

The first person I think of is Morgan. My current sister is mad at me, so I'll go see the second closest person.

As I walk over to her house, it starts to rain. I think about what just happened. I can't believe she broke up with me so quickly. I mean, I knew she never stayed with the guys she talked with for long, but she usually was with them for longer than a month. She wasn't my first girlfriend either. I've dated other people. I guess there was just something special about her. She treated me differently than all my past relationships.

Kaitlyn did something. I can't really explain what, but she always caught my attention. She was never following the crowd, buying the latest shoes, crushed on the same person, did her hair the same way everyone else did. She just did her own thing and made it work.

I always never fully had her attention. It didn't pull me away from her, but just made me want to talk to her more. Most people, not just girls, love when I talk to them.

When I see Morgan's house and walk up the front steps. I stare at her front door as I think about what I'm going to say to explain why I'm here.

"Just tell her exactly what happened." I think to myself.

No, that's stupid.

"Maybe just tell her I'm upset?" I stop and think about that for a second before moving onto the next thought.

Before I can even knock, the door opens.

"Hi." I say, rain dripping from my hair.

"Hey."