Don't Go

"I can't believe yeh! Yeh cheatin' son of a whore," Matty glared at Victoria. "I hate yeh."

She looked at him wide-eyed. He huffed and turned away from her, arms crossed. Victoria bbit the inside of her cheek and put the game controller on the ground. Matty took games too serious. This was the fifth time in a row that she won. She didn't even know what she was doing. All she did was press buttons, hoping for the best. They sat in silence for a while, the game's music repeated itself three times. Oli had gone to get them dinner, since Matty didn't know what actual food was. The only things Matty had was snacks and candy. Oh, cereal, too. He must have gotten over the silence because he huffed again.

"I take it back," he grabbed her hand. "Yeh not a cheatin' son of a whore… I still hate yeh."

Victoria cracked a smile. "I hate you, too."

She squeezed his hand before letting it go. She laid her head on his shoulder and began playing with her hair.

"Yeh beautiful, Vicky," Matty sighed. "Any guy would be lucky ta have yeh. Forget about Tom. Yeh only hurtin' yehself more."

Victoria shrugged awkwardly. "I don't know him. I don't care what he does. I wasn't even thinking about the guy."

Matty's mouth opened, but he couldn't say anything as Oli walked in. He held a McDonalds bag in one hand and two grocery bags in the other. Matty stood and grabbed the McDonalds bag. Victoria laughed and decided to help Oli in the kitchen. Matty's apartment was a decent size; two bedrooms two baths. The spare room was where he kept all his drum gear and storage - things that didn't belong anywhere. A tattooed hand appeared in her line of sight. Her brows rose.

"What?" She asked.

Oli answered with, "Yeh blanked out. What yeh thinkin' about?"

"Nothing."

Oli made a face, not really believing her. But, he let her be. She looked in the bags, seeing veggie patties, buns, condiments, and lettuce. Oli grabbed two plates and made the burger. He placed it in the microwave.

"What made yeh decide ta go vegetarian?" Oli pulled out a plate and handed it to her.

It was hot; she placed it down before giving him an answer. "I feel healthy. And, I'm not killing animals."

Oli didn't say anything. He seemed to be fighting himself internally. She grabbed her plate and made her way to the small dining table Matty had. Matty was already digging into his fries and burgers. Victoria scrunched up her nose as she sat next to him.

"How can yeh eat tha'?" Matty asked.

"How can you eat that?" she retorted.

He shrugged. "It's natural. We're carnivores, hence tha canines."

Matty opened his mouth and pointed. Oli snorted loudly as he sat down. Victoria smiled and shook her head, hair falling in her face. She tried blowing it out of her face.

"Just eat yeh food," Oli bit into his burger. "Yeh spewin' out chunks of yeh nasty burger."

Victoria's lips curved into a smile. These men were like children. They didn't know the time or place to argue. It was always funny, if not a bit rude. Matty stuck out his tongue, half chewed fries laid there. Victoria pushed at his arm, scrunching up her nose.

"You're disgusting!" She moved from her seat to the next one over.

Matty pouted. She shook her head, biting into her burger. Victoria's eyes flickered to Matty's face before going back to her food. She was not going to fall for that. She fell for it when he asked her to model for Oli. And, it wasn't going to happen now. But, she couldn't help but look up. He was still pouting, asking for forgiveness. She sighed. There was no getting out of this. He would end up pouting all night, not even touching his food.

"It's fine, Matty," she smiled. "Just eat. It's okay."

His eyes narrowed and he seemed to be thinking. Matty shrugged it off and began eating again. Victoria looked at the man next to her from under her lashes. She was glad he and his brother looked nothing alike. If they had, she didn't know what she'd do. She didn’t want to think about the kiss. But it was there, burned in the back of her mind.

"Is somefing wrong?" Oli's voice was low. "Yeh haven't touched yeh food in about five minutes."

Victoria looked up surprised. Matty and Oli were already done, leaving her with a half eaten veggie burger. She felt her cheeks grow warm.

"No, nothing is wrong," She offered a smile.

Oli didn't seem to buy it. "Wha' were yeh thinkin' about?"

The lie came easy to her. "About how I'll beat Matty in the game again.'

That made the two men laugh. She gave them a tight smile, feeling so guilty. She should have just told them. But, she was so embarrassed. Embarrassed that she even let that happen; embarrassed that it was her first real kiss; embarrassed she told Tom to forget about it. That one hurt her the most. She told him to forget it ever happened, and here she was, thinking about it. Victoria beat herself mentally as she tried to finish her burger. It was cold. There was no taste anymore. It felt dry as she swallowed it. It was an empty feeling, something just hitting her stomach. The men talked loudly, though not loud enough to tear Victoria from her conflicting thoughts.

Yes, there was an attraction she felt with Tom. No, she didn't want to act on it. Why? Because there was nothing to act upon. She didn't know what to do. But, she wanted to scream and kick and sleep forever. Victoria didn't know she was crying until she saw Matty's brown eyes in her line of view. With his rough thumbs, he wiped the tears away. It made her cry harder.

"Hey, hey," Matty looked her in the eyes. "Shh, don’t cry. Wha's wrong, love?"

She felt Oli's warm fingers intertwine with hers as she answered. "I don't know."



Sunlight hit Victoria's face, causing her to groan. She rolled over and hit a warm body. Her eyes opened. She came face-to-face with Matty. His mouth hung open, his eyes were shut, and he snored. Loud. Victoria sat up and ran a hand through her hair. She felt like crap. She could feel her dried tears on her face. She finally noticed Oli was sleeping to the other side of her.

Victoria thought back to the night before. She felt like a child. She had cried for absolutely no reason. It made her feel weak. A yawn escaped Oli's lips. She watched as he moved a tattooed hand and scratched his head. He turned over and opened his eyes a crack.

"Good mornin'," Oli yawned again.

She smiled. "Morning."

"Are yeh okay? Yeh kind of freaked me out last night."

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she laid back down. "I don't know what got into me."

His hazel eyes stared into Victoria's blue ones. She could see him struggling with something to say. Mouth opening and slightly closing, Oli looked like a fish out of water.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

Oliver sat up. "I'm thinkin' of how ta word this… Yeh shouldn't cry, Vicky. If it's about Tom, it ain't worth yeh time. He ain't worth yeh time. Not at all. Yeh deserve someone that cares about yeh."

His eyes flashed down to Matty. She figured he meant that she should get with Matty. But, as she looked at the big-eared man next to her, she didn't feel butterflies, her heart didn't skip a beat, he didn't capture her attention, he didn't occupy her mind. She frowned, wishing ti were Matty in her head instead of Tom. Thing would be simpler. Victoria had noticed the looks Matty gave her. But, it was after he was told about her past. She felt that he pitied her, that his feelings weren't true. His mind was just clouded.

And, that made Victoria feel even worse.