Your Cheating Heart Will Be the Death of You

He dropped the bloody golf club and collapsed to his knees. What had he done? How could he have made such a terrible mistake? How the fuck did he mistake her for her sister? Now, because of this, his best friend of twenty years and his girlfriend lay bleeding to death on the basement floor.

Rewind...

Matt sat in the back lounge of the bus with his head in his hands mumbling to himself as Zacky, Jimmy, and Johnny joined him.

"What's up dude?" Zacky asked as he plopped down beside him.

"Val man. She hasn't answered her fucking phone for two goddamn days." he replied.

"Isn't she away on some camping trip with Michelle or something?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, but she should have a signal man. Maybe I should try Michelle." he said as he looked through his contacts, finding her name, then pressing the send button.

When Michelle answered, Matt asked her why Val wasn't answering her phone.

"What do you mean, you don't know? She's with you! You should know!" Matt wailed into the phone.

"She's not with me Matt. Why would she be? I'm in Colorado helping Kenya with a photo shoot." Michelle replied in a confused tone.

The guys saw the rage on Matt's face and took that as their cue to leave him alone.

"She told me two days ago that you two were going on some camping trip together!" he yelled.

"Matt, you need to stop yelling at me and calm down. I honestly do not have a clue about any camping trip. As a matter of fact, I haven't talked to Val since last week when we got back from visiting you and Brian on the road." she said.

"So, she fucking lied to me?!" he spat.

"It appears so Matt. I'm sorry. I wish I could be more helpful." Michelle said apologetically.

"It's not your fault Chelle. Do me a favor. If you do happen to talk to her, don't mention this to her. I need to find out what the fuck is going on, and doubt I will if she knows I know she's lied to me." he continued.

"Sure thing Matt. I hope you find out what's going on with her."

After hanging up with Michelle, he tried Val again. Still no answer. He let out a loud sigh of disgust and threw his phone across the lounge, shattering it into several pieces. Brian came running in to see what was going on.

"Dude, what the fuck is going on?" he asked as he noticed Matt's broken phone on the floor.

"Val is lying to me Brian. I think she may be cheating on me." he answered as he dropped back onto the couch.

"That's nuts! She loves you! Why would she cheat on you? Maybe there's something else going on?" Brian reasoned, trying to sound reassuring, although he wasn't too sure he believed it wasn't true himself.

"Maybe dude. Things just aren't adding up though. Why would she tell me she's camping with Michelle when she's away helping with a photo shoot?"

"I don't know, but you shouldn't jump to conclusions until you can at least talk to Val." Brian answered, as he picked up the broken phone and it's parts.

"I know, but still, she lied." Matt sighed before taking the phone from Brian and storming off toward the front of the bus.

For the next few days, Matt continued to call Val with no response. He even had all the guys try and they too, got nothing. Zacky had talked to Gena, and she'd seen her earlier in the week at the salon, but said she didn't mention anything in particular about Matt or why she was ignoring him.

Matt was finding it more and more difficult to concentrate on the tour as he worried about what was going on. The more he thought about it, the madder he got. It was starting to spill over onto the rest of the guys as well. He had blackened Johnny's eye for spilling a beer on an old magazine, and punched Jimmy in the stomach for eating the last of the Capn Crunch. Brian and Zacky had somehow managed to steer clear of his anger, but were growing weary of the situation. Together, they decided to pull him aside and try to talk to him.

"Dude, you really need to get a fucking grip." Zacky said as the three men sat down in the venue's backstage area after their last show.

"She's cheating. I know it." Matt said, sounding defeated.

"You don't know that. She may be planning something and knows she'll spill it if she talks to you. Then the surprise would be ruined." Zacky said reassuringly.

"Yeah man. Your birthday is in a few days and we'll be home then. Maybe she's got something planned." Brian added.

"I hope you guys are right. Matt sighed. "Maybe I am just over reacting."

Brian and Zacky nodded, then the three men made their way out to the bus. Once there, Matt apologized to everyone for the way he'd been acting the past few days. Everyone nodded and told him all was forgiven. They were in for an eight hour drive, so they all retreated to their bunks to get some much needed sleep.

When the bus pulled into the depot the next morning, all the girls were there, Gena, Lacey, Leana, Michelle, and even Val. They were in a huddle with huge smiles on their faces when each of the guys stepped off the bus.

When Matt saw Val, his entire body stiffened as he attempted to suppress the rage the he could feel building from the bottom of his stomach.

"Matt!" Val yelled as she ran toward him, arms opening wide as she got closer. "I have something to tell you baby!"

He stopped her before she had a chance to embrace him, which really didn't surprise her.

"I know, I know. I shouldn't have ignored your calls baby, but I had to." she said, looking at him sheepishly.

"You had to?!" he spat angrily as everyone's attention turned to the couple.

"Calm down and let me explain."

"It better be fucking good!" he spat again.

"Matt, um, I'm, uh, I'm pregnant. I found out a few days ago and couldn't figure out how to tell you, so I lied about the camping trip. I just wish I hadn't failed so miserably and remembered to include Michelle in on the plan." she said, almost whispering.

"You're pregnant?!" Matt exclaimed as his expression softened and he threw his arms around her, pulling her tightly into his chest.

The others cheered, then surrounded them offering congratulations, as well as I-told-you-so's before they all went their separate ways.

When they got home, Matt and Val sat together on the couch talking about the baby.

"Do you know how far along you are?" he asked.

"We'll find out on Friday. They're going to do an ultrasound then." she answered.

"I can't believe I'm going to be a dad." he grinned before kissing her temple.

"Yeah." she sighed.

Matt could tell Val seemed less than thrilled about the baby, but decided it was probably just nervousness. He held her for a few minutes, then she pulled away.

"You hungry?" she asked.

"Only for you." he grinned before pulling her into an animalistic kiss.

"Matt stop! I'm not in the mood!" she exclaimed, pulling away.

"You're not in the mood?! We haven't seen each other for almost two weeks and you're not in the mood?!" he exclaimed in horror.

"No, not in the mood. Must be the pregnancy hormones." she shrugged.

"Must be. I've never known you not to be in the mood." he laughed.

"Yeah right! So, are you hungry?" she asked again with no expression on her face.

"Yeah, kinda. We had a shitty burrito for breakfast, so real food would be fantastic."

"Eggs and bacon?"

"Whatever you feel like babe." he smiled as he watched her disappear into the kitchen.

Matt sat on the couch daydreaming for a few minutes before deciding to carry his bags up to the bedroom. Once there, he dropped them on the bed and started unpacking, throwing the dirty laundry in the floor. Once he'd put everything away, he picked up the dirty stuff and dropped it down the laundry shoot in the hallway. He then went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. When he walked out of the bathroom, he put on a pair of shorts then noticed something sticking out from under the bed. He knelt down, picking up a condom wrapper. He stood there rubbing his chin wondering exactly how long it had been there. Was it his? Was it someone else's? Once again, doubts poured into his mind. He put the wrapper in his bedside table, deciding to think about it for awhile before jumping to conclusions. As he turned toward the door, Val walked in.

"I wondered where you'd gone off to. Food's ready." she smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the stairs.

He let her lead him down the stairs to the kitchen, where they took their seats opposite each other at the table. They ate in silence for the most part, except for some small talk here and there. Matt knew she wasn't acting right. She was being distant and seemed to only be going through the motions. Then, there was that condom wrapper. He had the sickening feeling that his initial reaction on the bus was true. She's cheating. That's all he could think about. Then he thought about the baby. Was there really one, or was she making it up? If it's true, is it his? All these things went through his mind causing him to completely zone out until he was pulled from his thoughts by Val. She was placing light kisses on his neck and nibbling his earlobes. He looked at her, then instinctively pulled her into his lap.

"I'm in the mood now." she grinned seductively as she continued to kiss his neck.

Matt picked her up and carried her upstairs to the bedroom, then tossed her on the bed.

"So, this is how it's going to be now?" he asked as he crawled on top of her. "One minute you're cold, next you're hot?"

"I guess so." she giggled as he ripped off her shirt, then her bra.

"Well then, I guess I better take advantage of the moment." he growled as he tugged her shorts and panties down in one swift motion, then slipped off his shorts before ramming his hard cock into her.

After having what can only be described as wild monkey sex, Matt collapsed on the bed beside Val, then pulled her into his chest. She sighed with contentment as she traced around his tattoos with her index finger.

"That was amazing." she said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. I'm surprised the neighbors didn't call the cops." Matt chuckled.

Silence.

"Val, is something wrong?"

"No. Why?"

"You're just not acting like yourself is all. You haven't asked me about the rest of the tour or about anything that may have happened since I saw you last." he stated as he lightly pushed her to the side before sitting up on the bed.

"I'm fine Matt. Just have a lot on my mind is all." she replied as she sat up, then straddled his hips.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Just girl stuff, plus the baby. I'm fine, just a little out of sorts is all." she said as she pecked his lips, then got off the bed and redressed.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to go meet Audrina. I almost forgot I'd promised her I'd help her pick out a dress for some premiere she's been invited to." she said as she fixed her hair.

"Today? You have to go today?!" Matt exclaimed.

"Yes Matthew, today. I'm sorry, but it's the only day she's free. I won't be long." she said as she walked out of the bedroom.

"So much for alone time." he muttered before falling back on the pillows.

See, the thing is this, as long as the guys have been doing this, there's always been one post tour rule. It's a rule Val came up with. That rule is that the first two days the guys are home, they will spend it with their girls and no one else. Val just broke her own rule to go shopping. And once again, Matt's head wandered off to that place called mistrust. He couldn't help but think something was going on. He decided that he was going to confront her about the condom wrapper when she got home. If anything, he'd hopefully find out the truth. He got up and went down to the living room to wait. He paced back and forth in front of the couch, glaring at the condom wrapper laying there on the coffee table, for what seemed like hours. He had finally sat down when Val came home, shopping bags in hand.

"Matt I'm back!" she called as she pushed the front door closed with her foot.

"Good. Put that shit down and sit the fuck down!" he snarled, unable to control his anger.

"Babe, what's wrong?" she asked with wide eyes as she did exactly what he said.

"This!" he said as he threw the condom wrapper in her lap.

"Um, where'd this come from?" Val asked, looking at him through clueless eyes.

"It was on the floor by the bed! OUR BED! And I damn well know it's not been laying there for three fucking months!" he barked.

"You don't think? Wait, are you accusing me of something here?" she asked as tears formed in her eyes.

"You can't be fucking serious! How stupid do you think I am Val?! Besides our housekeeper, you and I are the only ones that ever go in OUR bedroom!"

"No, that's not true." she said, causing him to glare at her.

"Oh really? So someone has been in there? In our bed?!" he spat.

"Yes. Michelle." she said.

"What?!"

"I came home yesterday and found her in our bed with Devon."

"The pool guy?!" Matt asked loudly. Val nodded. "So you're telling me that your fucking sister was fucking our pool guy in our fucking bed?! She's fucking cheating on Brian?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying Matt. I'd never do that to you. I wish I had found this myself, then we wouldn't be having this conversation!" she cried as she threw the condom wrapper back at him, then dropped her head into her hands.

Matt stood there looking at her. He wanted to believe her, but at the same time, he wasn't sure Michelle would do that to Brian. He took a deep breath then knelt down by the chair, cupping Val's face in his hands.

“Val, I want to believe you, I really do. The thing is, you’ve been acting so strange today, not to mention the things that have gone on the past few days. I may be over reacting here, but I feel like you’re not being completely honest with me.” he said, much calmer.

“Matt, I just found out I’m pregnant, my sister is cheating on her boyfriend, and my hormones are raging! Of course I’m acting strange! But, I AM NOT CHEATING ON YOU!” she said, progressively getting louder.

“I believe you.” he said as he looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry I doubted you. I love you Valary.”

“Matt, I love you too. You’re the only man I want, the only man I’ve ever wanted.” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

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Over the next few weeks, everything between Matt and Val went back to normal, or at least that’s how it appeared. Deep down, Matt still had suspicions about Val. Suspicions that weren’t unwarranted. He’d woken up several nights to find she wasn’t in bed, so he’d gone downstairs to check on her, only to find her in the kitchen talking quietly on the phone. She never saw him, nor did he let her know he was there. He’d just go back to bed and wait for her to come back, pretending to be asleep as she’d carefully get back under the covers. Tonight though, things changed.

“Matt.” Val whispered.

“Yeah baby?” he mumbled as he woke from his sleep.

“Michelle just called. She and Brian had a terrible fight and she asked me if I’d come over. She’s really upset.”

“I’ll go with you.” he said as he started to get up.

“No! She just wants me. Brian isn’t there, he left. You go back to sleep. I’ll try not to be too long.” she said, kissing him on the forehead.

Matt wasn’t awake enough to really comprehend what had just happened, so he rolled over, falling back to sleep. He slept about two hours before waking up again. Val wasn’t in bed, probably not back yet. He got up and made his way downstairs, then looked in the garage. He car wasn’t there. He decided to call her and make sure everything was ok. He had remembered her saying that Michelle and Brian had had a fight and he’d left and Michelle needed her. When he didn’t get an answer, he got dressed, then headed over to Brian’s house.

When he got there, sure enough, Val’s car was in the driveway. He got out and walked up to the door and knocked. No answer. He noticed the lights were on, even though it was two in the morning. After knocking again, and still no answer, he got the spare key from it’s hiding place and let himself in. He didn’t see anyone in the living room or the kitchen, but noticed the basement door was ajar. He went downstairs looking for signs of life, then he heard it. Whispers and moans were coming from the game room. Matt slowly turned the knob on the door, opening it quietly. His eyes widened in horror at the sight before him. There on the pool table, laid Brian on his back with a blonde straddling him, a blonde that looked like Val, riding him for all she was worth.

Rage flew through Matt as he noticed Brian’s golf clubs leaning against the wall. He pulled one from the bag and swung, making contact with the side of her head, knocking her in a bloody mess to the floor. As Brian sat up quickly on the table, he yelled for Matt to stop just as the he swung again, cracking him upside the head, knocking him off the table as well.

When Matt looked down at the bodies on the floor, he dropped the bloody golf club and fell to his knees. He looked at his best friend of twenty years and his girlfriend, yes Michelle, as they both lay there bleeding to death on the floor. The last time he saw her, she had brown hair, but now if was the same color as Val’s. He had mistaken her for Val! What had he done? Panic took over as a loud scream filled the air.

“OH MY GOD MATT! WHAT HAVE YOU FUCKING DONE?!” Val screamed as she collapsed beside her bleeding sister.

He sat there, paralyzed, unable to move as Val somehow regained her senses and checked them each for a pulse.

“CALL 911!” she screeched, before slapping him across the face, causing him to snap out of his catatonic state. “MATT!”

He shook his head and dialed his phone.

Within minutes, paramedics had arrived. Brian had regained consciousness, but Michelle was still unresponsive. The police arrived shortly there after, taking Matt into custody. Somehow amidst all the chaos, Benji Madden had shown up. He helped Val into his car and they followed the ambulance to the hospital, calling the rest of the band on the way. Once they had arrived, Val received some devastating news. Her twin, Michelle, had coded in the ambulance and had been pronounced dead on arrival. Brian however, was still responding, but was currently unable to talk. Benji tried to comfort Val while they awaited news of Brian’s condition. The other members of the band filed into the hospital’s waiting room.

“What the fuck happened!?” Jimmy exclaimed.

“Matt. He went psycho and killed Michelle and tried to kill Brian.” Benji answered.

“What?! Why?!” Zacky exclaimed.

“I, I don’t know.” Val cried before burying her face into Benji’s chest.

“The cops arrested him and hauled him off before I could find out.” Benji added.

“He wouldn’t just snap for no reason.” Johnny said as he got up and headed to the door.

“Where are you going?” Zacky asked.

“To the police station. Gonna see if I can see him.”

“I’m going with you.” Zacky said.

“I’ll stay here and let you know what we find out about Brian.” Jimmy said as he sat down across from Val and Benji.

When they got to the police station, Johnny somehow managed to talk them into letting them see Matt. Once they had talked to him and he told them what happened, they called Jimmy, then Larry so he could get him a lawyer. Jimmy didn’t have any news on Brian, so the two of them headed back to the hospital to wait with the others. When they got there, Brian’s dad and step mom were there, along with Val and Michelle’s parents.

After about an hour of waiting, the doctor finally came out to talk to everyone. He told them Brian was lucky, because apparently, he had had enough time to react and was only grazed by the golf club. He would make a full recovery, with no permanent damage. Everyone was relieved to hear this, although it didn’t change the grief they all felt over the loss of Michelle.

The hospital kept Brian overnight for observation, then released him. He ended up staying at Zacky’s because his house had been closed off as a crime scene. The police only allowed him in to get some clothes, Pinkly, and some necessity items before they sealed it up completely. It would remain sealed until the forensic team had gathered all their evidence.

********************************************************************************************************

The day of Michelle’s funeral was also the day the story hit the media. The funeral was a spectacle as reporters from all over lined up around the cemetery trying to get pictures of Brian and Val, who of late, had been attached to Benji’s arm. Turns out Matt wasn’t wrong. Val had indeed been cheating on him, with Benji. This is a guy that Matt and the rest of the band had trusted, and this is how he repaid them.

Several months passed by and Val had delivered a beautiful baby boy that was the spitting image of a Madden. Matt’s trial had started as well. She, along with Brian, had been called to testify. Brian hadn’t seen Matt since that fateful night in his basement, but he longed to visit him. Of course, he wasn’t allowed to because he was a witness for the prosecution.

From the start, Brian stood firm that he did not blame Matt for anything that happened that night. He felt his actions were caused by great duress and hated that he had to testify against his best friend. He made his feelings known while on the witness stand, which deemed him a hostile witness, which in the end, helped Matt’s case immensely. Val’s testimony really had no bearing on the case since she’d only come in after the incident had happened. It did come out while she was testifying that she’d gone to Brian’s to meet Benji, unaware he and Michelle were even home. They’d been upstairs in one of the guest room going at it when they heard Brian yell.

After both sides rested their case, Matt’s fate was left to the a jury. After two days of deliberation, they found him guilty of murder by means of temporary insanity. He was sentenced to two years in a local rehab to undergo psychiatric counseling, then upon his release, he’d be required to complete five years of out patient therapy.

*********************************************************************************************************

For the next two years, Brian visited Matt regularly, as well as the rest of the band. Val and Benji had parted ways about a year after Brandon was born, but they maintained a friendly relationship and shared custody of their son. She’d also started visiting Matt once he decided he could stand the sight of her. Also, his therapist thought it would be good for him and her. Things seemed to be going ok between them, at least they were civil. It wasn’t exactly like old times, but it was getting there, slowly.

About two months before Matt was to be released, Brian called Val and invited her to lunch. They hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms, but they were working on it, talking from time to time. After all, they had been friends for many years, not to mention the “family” connection. He picked her up and they headed to Tuna Town for lunch.

“So, I got Matt’s new place all set up for him finally. You want me to take you up to see it after we finish here?” Brian asked Val as they ate dessert.

“I’d love to see it, so long as you don’t think he’d mind.” she answered.

“Nah. Besides, I think you two are well on your way back to each other.” he grinned.

“I don’t know about that Brian. I don’t have to meet Benji to pick up Brandon until five, so we can go. Just make sure we’re back by 4:30.” she said.

“Cool. I’ll get the check and we’ll head up.” Brian said as he got the waiter’s attention.

On the way up the mountain, they talked about the future and what was going to happen with the band once Matt was free. Val talked about Brandon and how he was excelling at just shy of two years of age. As they wound around the curvy mountainside, they finally came to a gravel driveway. When they pulled in, Val saw the modest house that sat just along the tree line.

“Wow, this is the place we looked at a few years ago.” she said as she climbed out of the car. “It’s still so beautiful.”

“I know. Plus it’s secluded and will give Matt some privacy.” Brian said as he got out of the car.

Val followed Brian into the house where he’d filled it with things from Matt’s storage unit, making it homey. She walked through the kitchen in awe at how well Brian had done.

“You’ve done a great job Brian. He’ll love this.” she smiled as she made her way to the door that lead to the back yard.

“Thanks. Let me show you the back. I got it landscaped and had a hot tub put in.” he said, opening the door.

They walked outside and Val’s eyes took everything in. She walked off the small deck, noticing a large hole in the ground.

“What’s this for?” she asked pointing at the hole, as Brian came up behind her.

“You.” he growled as he held a gun to the back of her head.

“Brian, wha, what are you doing?” she stammered as tears started to fall down her face.

“Sending you to hell. If not for you, you sneaky, cheating bitch, none of the shit that went down in the last two and a half years would’ve even happened.” he said as he pulled the trigger.

He watched as her lifeless body fell to the ground, then he rolled her into the grave. After filling in the hole, he went inside and cleaned himself up, then drove back to town. Once he got closer to Huntington, he made a call.

“It’s done.” he said, then hung up.

On the other end of the line, a satisfied grin crept across Matt’s face. In two months he’d be released with a fresh start, and no old used up baggage. He hung the phone up, then stretched out on his bed, falling into a calm, peaceful sleep.