Hard to Figure Out

In the bedroom, Matt was quick to strip down to his boxers and crawl into bed. He'd gotten so used to being mostly alone that entertaining people, even his family, absolutely exhausted him. Matt was nearly asleep when Payton finally came to bed and he stirred only enough to turn over and throw his arm over her waist.

He was sleeping quite well the next morning when Payton's alarm jolted him awake. Matt huffed and closed his eyes again. He wasn't ready to get out of bed. "Mmm, I don't want to get up," Matt mumbled. He sighed. He needed to get up, though, because he definitely needed a shower before they went anywhere today. Groaning loudly, Matt swung his legs over the side of the bed, casting a narrow-eyed glance at Payton's clock. "God, it's too early to be up when we don't even have to be at work," he whined. Huffing, he pushed to his feet, grumbling as he set about grabbing clean clothes to take a shower.

In the bedroom, Matt was quick to strip down to his boxers and crawl into bed. He'd gotten so used to being mostly alone that entertaining people, even his family, absolutely exhausted him. Matt was nearly asleep when Payton finally came to bed and he stirred only enough to turn over and throw his arm over her waist.

He was sleeping quite well the next morning when Payton's alarm jolted him awake. Matt huffed and closed his eyes again. He wasn't ready to get out of bed. "Mmm, I don't want to get up," Matt mumbled. He sighed. He needed to get up, though, because he definitely needed a shower before they went anywhere today. Groaning loudly, Matt swung his legs over the side of the bed, casting a narrow-eyed glance at Payton's clock. "God, it's too early to be up when we don't even have to be at work," he whined. Huffing, he pushed to his feet, grumbling as he set about grabbing clean clothes to take a shower.

All of her tension seemed to disappear when Matt rolled over and wrapped Payton in his arms. She was still beating herself up over what had happened but this little action felt like it was him forgiving her for what she had done, even if he had told her that he wasn't really angry with her. Her stomach churned even as she thought about it, cuddled up to Matt and falling asleep shortly after. When her alarm went off, Payton groaned as she reached out to smack the snooze button on her alarm.

She pouted when Matt started to speak, looking up to him through barely opened eyes. Payton reached up to rub the sleep from them as she stretched her arms above her head. She couldn't help her little grin when Matt stood first, cacooning herself back into the blankets. "That sounds great. You take a shower first while I rest just a bit longer," she murmured, already quick to start drifting off to sleep. Payton reluctantly pulled herself out of the bed when her alarm went off for a second time, knowing that Matt wouldn't be much longer in the shower.

Matt shot a playful look back at Payton as he headed to the bathroom. It was her idea to invite his parents out, she should be the one getting up first while he slept in a little. As he was climbing out of the shower, Matt heard Payton's alarm go off again and he couldn't help but smirk to himself. She would definitely be getting out of bed now. "Alright, up and at 'em," he shouted, walking back into the bedroom. He tossed his dirty towel and clothes into Payton's clothes hamper. He should probably do her next load of laundry since at least seventy-five percent of it was his.

Once Payton was in the shower, Matt wasted no time in flopping down onto the bed. It turned out to be a bad idea because it only took a few minutes before he was dozing off again. He wished he could just crawl back into bed and go back to sleep, but he knew his parents and sister would be here in about fifteen minutes or so. Matt jolted awake when Payton stepped back into the room, groaning as he rubbed his hands over his face. "God, I wanna go back to bed," he whined. The thought of entertaining his family all day absolutely exhausted him but he was too nice to turn them away, especially after how excited his mother had been last night. He was still a little irritated that Payton hadn't asked him before she invited them out, but deep down Matt knew she was just trying to help him.

As much as Payton wanted to completely ignore the pit that had formed in her stomach while she was in the shower, she knew that she couldn't. She was going to have to approach it and she knew that it would just eat at her for the rest of the day if she didn't do it before Matt's family showed up. She had been relieved when Bailey hadn't come home last night, likely having stayed at her own boyfriend's house for the evening. Payton took a bit longer in the shower than she normally would have been she dressed and pulled her hair back, heading toward her bedroom a bit sluggishly.

Payton cleared her throat when Matt woke, hesitating for a moment before she moved to sit on the edge of her bed. She started to pick at the edge of her shirt, look to the left, to the right, anywhere that wasn't directly at Matt. "I'm... sorry. About inviting your family out. I swear that if I had known it would make you as uncomfortable as it did, I would never have done it. Or at least I would have talked to you about it first," Payton knew that she was starting to ramble but she couldn't seem to stop. Letting out a sigh, Payton reached up to rub her cheek. "I just... just thought that it would be good for you. For them. You've all been through so much that I just thought that bringing you back together would be the right thing to do."

Matt knew something was bothering Payton just by the way she carried herself as she sat down on the bed. She wouldn't even look at him, which told him what was on her mind before she even said a word. He sighed as he listened to her, sitting up before he moved over to sit next to her. "You don't have to be sorry," Matt said. "I mean, yeah, I wish you would've asked me before you invited them out. It would've given me a chance to...prepare. I haven't seen them in two years and just springing them on me like that was a little overwhelming, I'll admit."

Matt heard a car door open and shut somewhere in the parking lot and he wouldn't be surprised if it was his parents and sister. Who else would be moving around at eight fifteen in the morning? Most people who had to work were at work by now. "Honestly Payton...I've always felt like my parents and Amy would be better off without me in their life. Well, ever since I went to prison. And that's why I didn't tell them where I was going. I still love them but I didn't want them to have to worry about me." Just as Matt suspected, a few seconds later, there was a knock at the door. "Looks like we've got company," Matt said, starting towards the front door.

"I just..." Payton trailed off, biting back a sigh. She gave a shrug of her shoulders, wishing she could properly explain herself to Matt. He was taking it as well as he could be at this point but she still felt like he was put off by it. Trying to shake the feeling when a knock sounded at the door, Payton made a mental note to thank Bailey for staying away from their apartment the night before. She could only imagine how things would have gone down with Bailey there the night before, with how she never quite kept her thoughts to herself.

She pushed to her feet, brushing her pants off. Payton forced an uneasy smile to her face as she started for the door. She opened the door, slipping out of it before Matt's family could start inside. There was no point in lingering, what with all they had to see and do today. Payton cleared her throat, glancing toward Matt's mother with a small smile. "I was thinking we could go to the cafe that Matt and I had our first date at for breakfast. There's tons of yummy pastries and whatnot," she commented with a nod. "Not the healthiest but you guys are on a mini vacation so you can splurge," she teased, causing Matt's mother to laugh as she nodded her head in agreement.

Matt expected to linger in the living room for at least a few minutes, so when Payton immediately slipped outside, he was surprised. But he didn't say anything, not wanting to add any more tension to the situation. He followed after Payton, letting his mother and sister hug him before walking with Payton to her car. She knew the town a little better than he did, so he figured she would be the one to drive and show his family around town. Dropping into the passenger seat, Matt sighed as he fastened his seatbelt and sank into the seat.

When they arrived at the little cafe, Matt found himself sitting between his mother and sister. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he knew he would regret it if he didn't eat something and his years in prison had left him used to the routine of eating three times a day, or at least having a meal in front of him three times a day. "I think I'll just have a breakfast sandwich, save my appetite for lunch," Matt said. "Or maybe a snack. I'm not sure what Payton has planned. She knows the place better than I do."

There was tension that wasn't quite thick enough that you'd need a knife to cut as Payton drove Matt toward the cafe but it was still enough to leave her feeling uncomfortable. She didn't say anything, not wanting to tip Matt in the wrong direction when they had such a long day ahead of them. She hoped that by the end of it, Matt might just be in a better mood. She sat opposite of Matt in the cafe, quiet as his family started speaking almost immediately. They were all excited to be here, to see Matt and to know that he was doing good for himself. It warmed her heart to see how happy they were.

"Oh... I was planning to take you guys up to the two waterfalls nearby. It's an hour longer hike that's mostly easy..." Payton trailed off, chewing on the inside of her lip. "So long as that's alright with everyone. Then I was just going to show you all the neat little shops around. THere's a ton of restaurants so whenever we're hungry, we can drop into one," Payton said with a small shrug of her shoulders. "I don't have too much of a plan after that but if there's anything anyone wants to do.." she trailed off, an idea popping into her mind almost as soon as she finished speaking. "We could always go whitewater rafting tomorrow. Matt and I both have tomorrow off so if you'd like..." she trailed off, looking around before turning her attention to Matt. Her suggestions were simply that and at the end of the day, Matt had the final say. She hadn't exactly said that to his family but it seemed like they had all agreed to that as well. None of them wanted to push Matt away.

"White water rafting?" Matt repeated, surprised to even hear the suggestion leave Payton's mouth. "I think you're trying to kill us, Payton." He tried to pull it off as a joke, but his tone didn't quite meet his intentions. "Maybe something a little less strenuous. Like bowling. I haven't been bowling in awhile." In all honesty, Matt didn't really care what they did. He was admittedly happy to see his family after two years, but in a way he almost felt cornered and he hated that. It made him feel like he was back in prison again, without a choice as to what happened to him. "But I'm fine with a hike today, if that's what you want."

Matt fell silent until the waitress stepped over to take their orders. He decided on the breakfast burrito, thinking he needed something substantial on his stomach if they were going hiking. He certainly wasn't out of shape but he doubted even his body could handle the physical activity of a hike on an empty stomach. "You think we should change before we go hiking?" Matt asked. He looked around at everyone, seeing that they weren't really dressed for a hike. Especially his mother, who was wearing one of her nicer pairs of open-toed sandals.

Payton's face fell slightly when her suggestion didn't go over as well as she had hoped. She had thought it would be a fun idea to get them all together but if Matt didn't want to, that was totally fine as well. She nodded, chewing on the inside of her lip as the waitress appeared. SHe was thankful for the break in the conversation, not wanting to keep the attention on her whatsoever. She opted for waffles for her breakfast, thanking the waitress as she turned to leave the table.

Looking at the empty space in front of her, Payton only looked up when Matt spoke to her. She offered a slight shake of her head, forcing back a sigh. "We don't have to go hiking. We can go bowling and maybe to a movie or something. That way we don't have to get changed or anything," she said with a shrug of her shoulder. She didn't want to upset Matt or his family. "That way we stay close to town so if we get tired or bored or anything, we can switch up our plan," Payton was quick to recover, knowing how Matt's mother could be if she thought Payton was getting down on herself. "How's that sound?"

Matt could tell that Payton was disappeared when he was less than thrilled with her plans to go white water rafting. He wasn't trying to shoot down all of her ideas and he hated seeing her upset. And he hadn't even really meant to shoot down her plans to go hiking but she seemed to take it that way. "That sounds like a great idea, babe," Matt said, reaching over to squeeze her knee. He figured the least he could do was to be on board with her new idea, especially since it was essentially his. "We can just go hiking tomorrow if you wanted."

When the food came, Matt fell silent. Even two years after his release from prison, he was still used to not speaking during meals because in prison, they weren't allowed to speak at meal times. And even though he'd slowly gotten used to talking again, sometimes he was still afraid that he would be reprimanded. He didn't say a word until he became aware of his mother talking to him. "Uh, I work at the same restaurant as Payton," he said, realizing she'd asked him about work. "I bus tables and things like that. It's not glamorous, but it's not like I could ask for a lot as a convicted felon."

Payton didn't want to push Matt when he was already upset with her. SHe was afraid that she would go to sleep tonight and wake up in the morning to find that Matt had disappeared. She would have no way to get ahold of him again if he didn't want to be found. A pit formed in her stomach at the thought. Biting back a sigh, Payton nodded at Matt's suggestion. "Sure. Yeah. Tomorrow, uh, tomorrow sounds good... that way we can all be ready and just head out early. We won't get too hot during our hike and we can work up a nice appetite for lunch," she spoke, knowing she was probably just voicing his thoughts.

Looking up from her plate of food, Payton smile at Matt's mom. "He says that like he isn't putting in work. He's always so willing to help out around the restaurant that I think Chef will end up promoting him. Maybe bring him back into the kitchen," she paused as she shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, it's not a guarantee but Chef likes hardworkers and if Matt's anything, he's a hardworker," she said, giving Matt a pointed look. "Don't try to pretend you're not."

Matt wasn't entirely sure what to say as Payton started to speak. He was admittedly flattered by her praise but he didn't exactly feel like it was warranted. He just did what he could to help out around the restaurant, it wasn't anything special. When Payton gave him that pointed look, Matt raised his hands into the air. "Alright, alright, I won't say anything," Matt said and his sister laughed.

"So...I guess we're going bowling now?" Matt asked, following Payton as they all left the little cafe. "I mean, I don't know. Payton is the lady with the plans." Matt's mom said they would just follow the two of them wherever they were going so Matt just shrugged before he walked back to Payton's car. Ultimately it was really upset to her, because she knew the town and what there was to do here better than he did.