Two Vibrant Hearts

“Kid, get up.” Gayle commanded as she shoved at my arm. I scowled to myself, since Gayle couldn’t see my face.

“Just leave me here to die.” I moaned, not emotionally strong enough to deal with Gayle’s bullshit today.

A few days ago, my guesses rang true about hitting hard when, after a few hours of Xbox with Jimmy, I had literally fell into the fetal position from pain. I was never one to take break ups with boyfriends lightly, and just how everything had happened between Matt and I made the break up hurt just as much as it did with my first, and only, boyfriend of four years back in Nebraska. Luckily Jimmy was there to hold me, but soon enough I sent him home because it was just going to get uglier and I didn’t want him to be around me. Reluctantly, Jimmy left with Johnny, leaving Emma and I alone. Emma being… well, Emma, she invited Gayle over to take care of me, since Emma hated being around a crying me with a fire-y passion. On the first day, Gayle was more than gentle with me; but now it had been about five days, and she was getting sick of my refusal to move or eat or socialize. She’d only been around the first and second day, but Emma kept her updated. I had a strong feeling that today she was determined to get me up. I was right.

“Kid, I am done with your bullshit, get the fuck up.” Gayle repeated, her voice harder. She shoved me again, this time with more force. I glared into the pillow and kept myself from throwing a punch at her.

“Gayle, I swear to God you shove me one more time I will punch you in the stomach.” I growled. I heard Gayle stand up, but I knew the fight had only just begun.

“Jessica Renee-“

“Do not call me Jessica.” I spat, turning my head to look at her. She gave me a smug look, which only fueled my anger.

“That’s your name though.” She sneered, looking irritated and proud that she was pissing me off.

“No it’s not.” I said through my teeth.

“Oh, so you mean your name is Kid now?” She chuckled humorlessly, irritation clear in her voice. I continued to glare at her and she raised her eyebrows. “Why is that? Is it because it’s the nickname Matt gave you?”

“It was Jimmy that gave me that nickname.” I snarled, lunging myself at her. She let out a squeal as I pinned her to the floor, my anger taking over me.

“Calm the fuck down, you bitch.” Gayle yelled, seething. I tightened my grip on the sides of her shoulders and slammed her against the floor. She stared up at me with rage and before I even knew what was happening, my head snapped to the side from the impact of her slapping at me. I stared at her in shock and she shoved me off. I held my hand to my cheek as I sat myself on the side of the couch, glaring daggers at Gayle. She returned the looked and rubbed the back of her head. We sat silently for a few minutes as our temper lowered and soon disappeared. Gayle glanced at me apologetically and pursed her lips. “I’m sorry for slapping you.”

“I know.” I whispered, not ready to forgive her. That bitch could hit, though.

“I only did it because I’m trying to help you.” She explained. I glared at her and she put her hands up in defense. “Kid, you’ve been laying around your house for five days without moving. That’s not healthy, even if you are going through a break up.”

“Well what exactly am I supposed to do, Gayle?” I snapped, anger rising in me again. She looked at me softly and waited until my anger disappeared again and I relaxed my body.

“You need to talk to him.” Gayle said quietly. I looked at her in disbelief and her hands went up once again. “It’s been five days; Matt has to be a little bit calmed down by now.”

“I don’t know Gayle; if he wanted to talk to me by now he would have called me.” I mumbled, looking at my hands.

“Listen, he’s going to talk to you whether he likes it or not.” Gayle stated, sitting up straight. I looked at her through my bangs and she smirked.

“How?” I asked incredulously.

“Just go to his house and refuse to leave until he listens to you.” Gayle suggested. I raised my eyebrow and gave her wary look.

“He’d probably just force me into my car himself.” I muttered, ready to just give up this crazy thought of hers and go back to wallowing.

“Then have one of the guys drive you.” Gayle continued. I shook my head.

“I don’t want him to get angry with them. There’s no need to go and ruin their friendship over a girl.” I protested. Gayle sighed exasperatedly and shifted her weight.

“Then I’ll drive you. He doesn’t know my car and my windows are tinted.” Gayle said. I looked up at her and was about to decline once again when she shot a glare at me. “Kid, it’s going to work. Now get yourself pretty, because you are going to talk to him.”

“I hate you sometimes.” I grumbled quietly, standing up and trudging towards my bedroom. Gayle gave me a smug look and smiled in victory.

“I know.” Gayle chirped. I went through my clothes and grimaced to myself.

“Scratch that,” I called. “I actually hate you all the time, I just put up with you because you’re the only other girl friend I have.”

“No one ever said you had to like me, sweet cheeks.” Gayle replied, walking into the bedroom. “Now quit stalling. I’ll do your hair and makeup.”

“Great, I get to look fancy for when I get totally denied again,” I said, my voice full of sarcasm. Gayle glowered at me and I pursed my lips, changing for the first time in a few days. I picked my Avenged Sevenfold v-neck and acid-wash skinny jeans and black converse. After I was changed, I allowed myself to become Gayle’s Barbie doll as she straightened my hair and did my make-up. Once she was done, I couldn’t help but admire how well she was able to work with my blotchy face and frizzy hair.

“You look adorable. Now let’s go.” Gayle said, her voice cheery. She pulled me along with her, but I stopped to grab a sweatshirt. Once I had my arms through the sleeves, Gayle once again grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my apartment and down the flight of stairs to the parking lot. She threw me into the passenger seat and then slid herself into the driver’s seat. It was silent as she drove to Matt’s house, and I couldn’t help but feel horrified out of my mind. Matt was just going to yell at me and I was going to be stuck walking home, which was about half an hour on foot. Gayle noticed my melancholy and tapped my leg lightly. I looked at her and she gave me a hopeful smile. “Don’t worry, Kid. You’re too cute to stay mad at. Just tell him the whole story and he’ll understand.”

“I sure hope he does.” I said quietly. Gayle slowed down as we neared his house, and my stomach flipped. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“You’ll do fine.” Gayle assured me. She stopped in front of the house, but I was frozen.

“How will he know I’m here? I don’t want to go knock on his door.” I said quietly, my fear of initiating conversations taking over me. Gayle looked at the house and suddenly smirked. I looked back and noticed what she was staring at; his bedroom curtains were pulled back a little bit.

“Oh, I think he already knows you’re here.” Gayle stated, shoving at my arm. I opened the door and began stepping out, looking back at her with wide eyes. “You’ll do great. Good luck!” With that, I shut the door and she sped off. I looked back at the house and the curtains were no longer pulled back, indicating that he saw it was me. I awkwardly began walking towards his house and stopped at the edge of his lawn when the door swung open. A very irritated-looking Matt stepped out of his house and walked to the edge of his grass, staring death glares at me.

“What are you doing here?” He spat. I shifted awkwardly, trying to find what to say. Matt continued to glare at me, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited. After a few minutes of awkward silence I bit my lip and pulled my gaze from his grass to him.

“I wanted to talk to you about what happened.” I said quietly, hoping it was loud enough for Matt to hear. It obviously was, because anger flashed across his face.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Matt snapped. I pushed back tears and stood straight, trying to show him that I meant business.

“Yes there is.” I replied, my voice louder and stronger. His eyebrows rose and I continued to stand tall, trying to look tougher than I felt. “You have yet to let me explain the whole story.”

“I already know the whole story.” Matt snarled. Irritation flashed over me and I sent him a glare.

“No. You think you know the whole story.” I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest as well. Shock crossed his face for a brief second before he composed himself and went back to looking angry. “But news flash, the great and powerful M. Shadows doesn’t know everything.”

“Oh really?” He questioned, looking taken back. I nodded and he chuckled humorlessly. “Fine then. Tell me, oh great Kid, what did happen five days ago?”

“Zach came over to help, key word being help, me plan a date for you.” I began, the day’s memories flooding into my mind. “I didn’t know what to do other than wanting to take you to the cliff. Yes, Zach showed me the cliff, but I was the one that wanted to take you. Together Zach and I planned out the date, but the cliff, and even the whole damn idea of taking you on a date to show my appreciation, was all my idea.”

“… It was?” Matt asked, his strong outer shell slowly breaking apart. I nodded and he pursed his lips. He opened his mouth a few times, looking like he wanted to say something, but he’d always shut his mouth. After a minute of that I sighed.

“You don’t have to say anything.” I said, my voice softer. Matt’s face softened a little and I gave him a small smile.

“I… uh… I’m sorry, Kid.” Matt finally admitted. I nodded and smiled. He smiled back and our stances loosening. It was quiet for a few minutes before Matt looked at me with curiosity. “Who was it that dropped you off? That wasn’t Emma’s or one of the guys’ cars.”

“Shit,” I whispered quietly to myself. I forgot Gayle was Matt’s ex-girlfriend. And I forgot how he felt about her. Matt continued to stare at me and I took a deep breath, knowing that shit was going to happen again. There went my hope that things were back to normal. “Uh… that was Gayle.”

“…Gayle?” Matt repeated, anger flashing over his face once again. I nodded guiltily and Matt’s body tensed up. “As in my ex-girlfriend?”

“That’s the one,” I replied, my voice shaky. Matt looked like he was about to explode.

“And why the fuck was she the one that dropped you off?” Matt questioned, taking a step onto his grass. I shifted awkwardly, desperately wanting to just erase this part of the conversation and pull him into a hug.

“Because… we’re friends.” I admitted, looking down. I didn’t think it was physically possible for Matt to get any more red than he already was, but I was poorly mistaken. “And I thought if I had anyone else drop me off this wouldn’t work.”

“Well, it sure as hell didn’t work.” Matt growled, his body slowly starting to shake from anger. I stepped back a little and looked down. “How long has this gone on?”

“About a month.” I answered. I didn’t look up at Matt; I didn’t have to. I already knew he’d be even angrier with me for keeping it from him.

“Even when you knew about us?” Matt accused, causing me to look up at him. He looked almost as hurt as he did angry. I widened my eyes and shook my head vigorously.

“No-no. She only told me a week ago.” I stuttered. I almost slapped myself in the face when I realized that I hadn’t told him about Gayle at the restaurant, which he probably realized too.

“Oh, so you mean you lied five days ago straight to my face about hanging out with her?” Matt spat.

“No, I-“

“Was it just you and Emma together that night you guys stayed home?” Matt asked through clenched teeth. I looked down in guilt. “Was it?”

“No, Gayle was there.” I sighed.

“Do you know what that demon did to me?” Matt seethed. My head shot up and I looked at him with wide eyes. He noticed my shock and he raised his eyebrows.

“What she did to you?” I asked, recalling what Gayle had told me. Matt gave me a look and scoffed loudly.

“Let me guess, she told you different.” Matt stated. I nodded and he rolled his eyes. “Wow, what a bitch. What’d she tell you?”

“That-uh, you thought she was cheating, so you beat up the dude you thought she was cheating with and had the rest of the guys trash her car.” I explained, watching as he looked even more angry and incredulous.

“And you believe her?” Matt questioned. I pursed my lips.

“I-I don’t know exactly.” I answered truthfully. Matt laughed humorlessly and took another step towards me.

“Well you want to know what actually happened?” Matt hissed. I nodded a little and he smirked a little. “Senior year I found out she was cheating on me for the last six months of our relationship. Zach walked in on her and she begged him not to tell me, but of course he did. So when I confronted her about it, she chose the other guy. She was right about what I did though; I beat the dude up and all of us trashed her car. But she deserved it.”

“… Wow.” I answered, not knowing what else to say.

“Yeah. Wow.” Matt repeated, staring at me angrily. “You know, I actually thought that things were going to get fixed today.”

“They are-“

“No. They’re not. You may have fixed the date, but you still lied to me about being friends with Gayle. And on top of that, you almost believed her bullshit side of the story.” Matt spat harshly at me. I flinched, but he didn’t care. “I seriously am done with you now. You befriended the only other girl that got close enough to making me have any sort of feelings, and you didn’t even tell me.”

“Matt, I tried-“

“But you didn’t. And that’s all that matters.” Matt said, and I knew he was serious. He really was done with me. There was most likely little to no chance that I’d get Matt to forgive me for this. Once Matt realized I had caught on to this fact, he stood up, his face going blank, but his eyes were hard. “Now go.”

With that, he walked back into his house, leaving me speechless outside. Thunder rumbled and rain started falling. I pulled out my phone and began walking in the direction of Brian’s house, feeling absolutely numb.

“Brian, can you pick me up? I’m at Matt’s walking towards your house.” I mumbled, not giving him time to ask as I hung up immediately after. I put my hood up and began my trek towards Brian’s the rain pouring down over me.