Strawberry Fields Forever

Matt mentally cursed himself as they arrived at the lawyer’s office. He was close to thirty minutes late. On the drive, he’d explained Amelie where to pick up the kids and how to get back to the house. He yawned as she brought the car to a halt. “Thank you so much again. I had a great night with you.”

He then chuckled as her cheeks turned red, realizing how dirty it sounded. "I meant that... differently." They laughed. “And thanks for doing this for me. It might be long, I don’t know. Feel free to eat and drink whatever you want and if you’d like, just go to the guest room for a nap.” She offered him a smile.

He got out of the car and rubbed his eyes. Awake, I need to be awake now! “Oh, and one more thing,” he shouted as she turned around the car, “don’t let them play hairdresser, River fucked up Cash’s hair cut too many times.” She nodded and then drove away, waving him goodbye.

Matt felt like a schoolboy caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to do as he climbed up the stairs to their lawyer, Howard King. His cheeks felt hot and he didn't need to look into the mirror decorating the staircase to know they were a deep crimson red.

He hoped Brian didn’t see who he was with. He was under no illusions his brother-in-law would not give him a lengthy talk about who he was supposed to be seeing. Matt had definitely enjoyed himself last night. He might be right about what he would say, but Matt didn't want to hear it. He just couldn't - not after having so much fun last night.

Amelie was nice to be with. She made it so easy to confide in her. Matt told her things he doubted Zack or Brian knew. They were great listeners and friends, but when he talked to Amelie, he had a feeling that she was genuinely interested and more understanding than anyone he knew. She understood the complexity of what he was saying, she understood the connection to those things Matt left unspoken.

And her smile... Matt still hadn't fully come down from his high. He knocked on Howard’s door and took a deep breath before he entered, bracing himself for a lengthy cross-examination by Brian. He knew questions on his whereabouts would be shot and he would have to answer them. And he sucked at lying. When he entered the room however, they seemed agitated. They didn’t even notice him standing here.

“Uh, guys?” Matt made himself felt.

“Dude,” Johnny screamed, “they’re fucking suing us!” Matt didn’t understand. He thought Warner Bros and them had finally come to an agreement. Howard, a bald, bearded gentleman in his mid-fifties, motioned toward the fourth and empty seat. Matt slumped into it, knowing he had a long day ahead of him. He also knew that having had zero sleep last night would not make it any easier for him.

Three cups of coffee and two espressos later, they were finally released. Howard had informed them in detail about his next move, advising them what to tell the media and which details to leave out. It surprised Matt to see over four hours had passed. He yawned as the fresh air hit his face after such a long time in Howard's office.

“Brian, can you give me a ride home?” he asked. Having said that, he mentally cursed himself. Great. Now Brian knew he didn’t come by car.
“Dude, where did you sleep last night?” Matt’s thoughts raced a million miles a second. “Amy’s,” he replied, just in time for it to still sound somewhat credible. Amy was Matt’s younger sister. Brian threw him a disfavoring look. He didn’t buy it. Luckily, he didn’t say anything.

They drove the short distance to Matt’s house in silence. “Listen, don’t freak out when you get home. The guys and I are gonna come over later to clean up, okay?” Brian looked uncomfortable as he said it. Matt felt his jaw clench. He knew exactly how his house must look. Even worse, it was what Amelie saw when she got there. Great...

Brian sensed his anger. “Dude I said we were coming. All of us. You don’t have to clean up. You can open a can of beer and watch us clean, I mean it.” As if that was the problem, Matt thought bitterly.

“Don’t come. My sons have lice. I’ll deal with it,” he grunted, partly also because he hoped Amelie would stay a little after he returned. If Brian saw her, he’d freak out. And then try to lay her, but first he’d freak out.
“God, please don’t come near me,” Brian joked. Matt was too tired to argue. The prospect of hours of cleaning after one of the famous Casa de Sanders Parties, one, that he didn't even attend this time, didn't make it better.

“Whatever, I’ll call you soon. Say thanks to Michelle for babysitting last night. Are we rehearsing on Saturday?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Brian replied, “but I think Zack said something about an appointment, so we might need to reschedule.”
“Yeah, call me. Thanks for the ride.”

Matt got out of the car, not even waiting for Brian’s response.
He unlocked the front door and made a mental note to put the spare key Amelie used back under the garden gnome aptly named Johnny. Their bass player was the smallest and youngest of the five original band members, which automatically made him subject of all jokes. Those jokes reached their peak some ten years ago when he was dating a redhead named Zoey who stood a solid 10 inches taller than him.

Matt knew all of his bandmates from high school. Johnny was a freshman when they graduated, but they still got to know each other through a tutoring program. Looking back, it was the right decision to leave his punk band and form Avenged Sevenfold with his best friends.

He wasn’t only thinking about the success they had but the way they grew close and supported each other, how well they went together musically and the wild nights they all shared. Those were the golden days.

And then, Matt thought with a frown, Jimmy died. Jimmy had been the band’s first drummer and the glue that kept them all together. While some of the band mates tended to fight when they had to spend a lot of time together, no-one ever grew tired of “the Rev”. Ever since he died in late 2009, their friendship had not been the same.

The band had been practicing with a new drummer, Brooks, for about a year now. He added great to their music and the writing process was a lot easier with him than with the drummer they had before. Still, he preferred not to come to their parties. He was fun to be with, but he was a mere business arrangement. He might be a very good one, but he was still a business arrangement.

And then Val died. Matt swallowed as he thought about her again. Her death marked the beginning of the end. While his friends continued to party without ever sobering up, primarily to get over her death, all of a sudden Matt had responsibilities. He was required to work like an adult and to neglect his friends for his sons’ benefit.

With that came a gradual, but remarkable process of drifting apart. Matt hated it, but he felt there was nothing he could do. The distance between his two duties had become unbridgeable.
He dreaded the day he would finally have to face that his best friends had become mere acquaintances, but he knew it would come anyway.

Matt was startled at the sight of his interior. It was nothing like he’d expected it. There were no empty beer cans, no empty bottles or broken glasses. In fact, it looked cleaner than it ever had. Oh no, Matt thought, did Amelie clean all that…? He needed to find her.

He checked the guest bedroom first, but it was untouched. The children weren’t in their room and neither was Amelie. Was she out? Did she take them grocery shopping? Suddenly really tired, Matt opened the door to his bedroom, hoping to take a nap before they returned. What he saw then, made him stop dead in his tracks.

Right in his bed on Val’s side laid Amelie, soundly asleep. She must have confused his bedroom with the guest bedroom, Matt thought. His oldest was cuddled into her side and Cash was lying right on her stomach. They, too, were sleeping.

Amelie’s blond hair was spread out on Val’s pillow. It looked just like silk. Matt had come home to this sight countless times, but for the first time it was someone other than his wife.
He clenched his jaw and pressed his eyes closed to refrain from crying. Then he granted himself one last look before heading outside.

He opened the door to his guest bedroom and lied down. His tears started to fall freely and he let them, knowing there was absolutely no way he would stop them.

Notes

Hey guys, UPDATE :) Hope you like it :) Have a nice weekend. Thanks so much for your encouraging words.