Chapter One
767 Words
It's 2:06 a.m. when I wake up from my semi-deep sleep. The first real night of summer is cool and silent. The guys all left around midnight and the only thing now disturbing the silence is my brother's continuous snore.
I swear that if he wasn't related to me, I'd have stuffed a pair of his hideous socks into his mouth to shut him up.
I pull on my lime green uggs and quietly make my way out of my bedroom. The floorboards creak as I sneak across the hallway and go downstairs.
I come down to the kitchen most nights when I can't sleep. Food is something that I've always found comfort in. I leave the lights off and make my way to the silver fridge. I scan its contents before settling on just a glass of milk and chocolate chip cookies from the jar on the countertop.
I pour milk from the carton and as I turn around, I find Matt standing in the doorway. His dark hair is messy and his eyes are small from sleep.
I gasp in surprise and keep a tight grip on my glass before I can drop it.
"s**t, you scared me," I say with irritation. If there's one thing I hate, it's people sneaking up on me, even if it's unintentional.
"I never mean to," he says sullenly and slips his hands into his jeans pockets. "I can't sleep."
I look down and then I look back up and lift my glass of milk. "Do you want some?"
He gives me a ghost of a smile, but the words that come out of his mouth next aren't nice. "What are we three-years-old now?"
I scowl. "Maybe you should have some. I mean it might make you a bit more tolerable."
Matt raises his eyebrows. "You have a big mouth."
"So do you, " I point out
He smiles. "Sorry. I'm not really very friendly."
My face etches into a stunned expression. "You don't say."
"I said sorry," he says. "And yes, I would like some milk."
I pour Matt a glass of milk and place the plate of chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the counter between us. Just like that, all the rules that Daniel wrote down have dissolved in my head.
"Are you going to sit or just stand there?" Matt asks after a few silent moments.
I feel the heat creep into my cheeks and quickly get onto the barstool.
"Why can't you sleep?" I ask as I nervously swing my legs back and forth.
As much as Daniel wanted me to stay away from his friends, they never really gave any attention to my existence. I suppose I was just one of the other girls at school. It's not like Matt and I would talk again, right? One conversation couldn't hurt anyone.
He lifts one broad should. "Nightmares. What about you?"
"I just couldn't sleep," I say.
Matt nods as if he understands. "So you're Kelsey, right?"
"Yeah."
He takes a sip of his milk. "And you're Dany's baby sister?"
I let a chuckle slip. "Who else would I be?"
Matt smiles and lifts his glass to his lips and drains the rest of the milk. And then he stands up and leans forward and whispers, "And you're also the one that was watching me earlier."
My face burns with embarrassment. "I'm sorry about that," I apologise and quickly move over to the sink with our glasses.
I'm hoping that he'll just go away, but I can feel his warm presence behind me. "It's cool."
"I'm not supposed to be talking to you," I tell him, as I rinse out the glasses.
Matt chuckles softly. "Why not?"
"It's a strict rule that Daniel and I have."
He comes and stands beside me. "I'm not sure I want to abide by these rules. Not when I can stand here and admire your horrible choice of uggs."
I fold my arms across my chest. "My uggs are cute."
Matt chuckles. "There's nothing cute about uggs that look like puke. It reminds me of Barney. And that is scary."
"You know what's scary is the fact that you know Barney and the fact that you don't know that Barney is purple, " I say in a hushed voice.
"Are you always a smartass?"
"Why, would you prefer talking to a dumbass?" I challenge.
"Oh yeah. This one is a total smartass. I don't like smartasses."
"Well prepare to be ignored," I say with a smile and leave the kitchen.
I slip back into my room with my heart beating at a steady pace once again. That little encounter...what the frack was that all about?
I kick off my shoes and jump into bed, too tired to think about anything. Too tired to think of Matt Hudson again.
- Writer
