Chapter 2
Matt work early the next morning. He struggled for a minute to remember what had happened. His head was pounding and he thought he might throw up. He looked round the room. There were clothes all over the bedroom floor. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. Then he noticed that, not only were his clothes on the floor, but someone else's too. Then it all came back to him. How he had gone to the bar to get away from everyone, how he had drunk a lot of vodka, how Harriet and Luke and showed up and how Harriet had insisted on taking Matt back home.
He turned over and noticed that he was alone. He got up and slowly made his way down the stairs.
XxXxXxXx
Harriet sat in Matt's kitchen staring into her cup of coffee. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there. She gripped her full cup of coffee, which had slowly turned from boiling hot to stone cold, but she hadn't noticed. Her phone rang for what felt like the millioneth time in the last ten minutes. She briefly glanced at the caller ID. Luke's name flashed on the screen. She put her phone back down and stared back into her coffee. How could she have done it? How could she have slept with Matt? She was with Luke. She cared about Luke, he was a great guy. But did she love him? She didn't know. Deep down, she knew that she loved Matt and breaking up with him had torn her apart. Yet, everyone thought she was the bad one because she ended it with him. Didn't they realise that she had been just as hurt as Matt had? She knew she loved Matt, but she didn't want to admit it. She knew that both of them would end up getting hurt again, and maybe next time it would be too much for their friendship to recover from. She couldn't stand the thought of not being friends with Matt. "It's better this way" she thought sadly to herself.
"Hey" she jumped when she heard a voice behind her.
"Hey" she smiled at Matt. "How are you feeling?"
Matt grinned sheepishly. "My head hurts."
"Yeah, I bet it does. Do you want some coffee?"
"Yes please."
Harriet stood up and busied herself getting the coffee so that Matt didn't see the tears that stung her eyes. When she had managed to compose herself, she sat down at the table with Matt. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, both of them waiting for the other one to talk first.
Eventually, Matt said, "So…are you going to talk to Luke about what happened last night?"
Harriet looked down, not knowing what to say.
"Harri?" Matt said gently.
Harriet looked up. "No" she said firmly. "It's best if we just forget this ever happened."
"What?!" Matt said, stunned.
"Matthew, last night never happened. I've moved on and you should too."
Harriet couldn't believe that those words were coming out of her mouth. She loved Matt. She had never loved anyone as much as she loved him. Luke didn't even come close, but she knew that this was for the best.
"Harri, how could you say that? I told you that I loved you and then you slept with me. How can you pretend that you don't feel the same?"
"I don't Matt" Harriet replied, doing her best to sound convincing. She saw the hurt look in Matt's eyes, she could almost hear his heart splitting in two. She couldn't believe what she had just said. She hadn't moved on. She knew it would take years for that to happen, but she had to push him away. Getting involved with him again would have disastrous consequences, she was sure about that. She knew that if she and Matt were to rekindle their relationship, it would end with one or both of them getting hurt. Harriet couldn't let her heart get broken again. With Luke, she felt safe. They didn't argue. He went to church. He didn't criticise her half as much as Matt did. But did she love him? She thought she did, but was it just as a friend or something more? She knew that she was in love with Matt and that working with him and not being able to hold him close to her was tearing her apart, but she had to protect her badly damaged heart. Matt wasn't going to change. She was sure that they would get on much better as friends. If they tried to get together again and it didn't work out and she lost him altogether, she didn't think she'd be able to cope. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Matt. She knew that he would thank her for this in the long run. As the tears that stung her eyes threatened to fall, she stood up and tipped away her second cup of coffee. She washed the cup up then turned to Matt and said, "I think it's best if I go." Matt sat in silence as Harriet walked back up the stairs to get dressed.
XxXxXxXx
"Suzanne, where's Matt?" Asked Danny.
"He's not in yet" Suzanne replied.
"I wonder where he is?" Danny thought to himself. It wasn't like Matt to be late. He walked into Matt's office and sat on the couch waiting for him. A few minutes later, Matt walked in.
"What are you doing here?" Matt asked.
"Wondering where you were" Danny replied. "What's going on Matt? You haven't been yourself lately and now you're late for work."
"Nothing's going on" Matt replied. He hated lying to his best friend, but it was better than telling him the truth because if Danny knew what was really going on then he knew that he would have to face up to the reality of what was happening.
Danny knew that Matt was lying. He knew Matt better than anyone. He could tell when something was bothering him.
"Matt, why don't you tell me the truth?"
"I am" Matt said, trying to sound convincing.
Danny raised his eyebrows. "Matty…"
"Danny, did you just come here to lecture me? Because I really don't have time for this. I have a show to write."
"Firstly, I'm not lecturing you, and secondly, it's only Monday. There's plenty of time to talk if there's anything that you want to share with me."
Matt started getting impatient.
"Danny, I've told you, there's nothing wrong. I'm fine."
"Ok, ok, you win" Danny sighed. "I'll be in my office if you feel you need to talk."
Matt didn't look up from his laptop. Danny sighed again and walked out of Matt's office. "Keep an eye on him" he muttered to Suzanne as he passed her desk.
"Ok Danny."
XxXxXxXx
Matt couldn't concentrate. All he kept thinking about was Harriet and what she had reduced him to. He poured a few more pills into his mouth and swallowed some vodka. Everyone would be better off without him, especially Harriet. She could really get on with her life then.
Matt stood up and walked out the door.
"I'm just popping out to get some fresh air" he said to Suzanne as he passed, not bothering to wait for a reply.
He stopped walking when he reached the door going up to the roof. He walked through it and up the stairs.
XxXxXxXx
Harriet and just seen Matt go up through the door leading to the roof. She was about to follow him when something made her stop. She was probably the last person he wanted to see right now after what had happened the last time they were together.
She waited a couple of minutes before deciding to follow him up. Her instincts told her that something wasn't quite right. She didn't know what was wrong, but she was going to find out.
She pulled open the door and walked up the stairs leading to the roof. She reached the top, and took a deep breath. She opened the door at the top and screamed.
