Chapter 38, enjoy! Another character resurfacing this chapter because why not bring more characters into this mess.

A knock echoed through Lorraine Saracen's home Monday afternoon. Matt was still passed out from his night of drinking, so Lydia answered the door.

"Hello," She greeted Landry Clarke who was standing on Lorraine's porch.

"Hi, I'm Landry Clarke, Matt's friend. I'm here to see Matt," He told her, he was still as awkward as he was in high school.

"He's still asleep in his room," Lydia reported.

"I'll go wake him up," Landry decided. What grown man sleeps past noon? He wondered. "Matt," He said as he knocked on his bedroom door.

"He's a heavy sleeper, you may have to really bang on it," Lydia stated. Landry knocked even louder as he called his name again.

"No wonder he didn't answer my call, he's dead asleep." Landry finally decided to go in Matt's room and wake him up. "Matt, it's like 1:30. Get out of bed," He loudly instructed his friend. He noticed a couple beer bottles littered on the nightstand and the fact that Matt wreaked of alcohol. "Matt," He stated again as he began to rock his shoulder back and forth. Finally, Matt woke up from his intoxicated slumber.

"Landry?" Matt mumbled in his raspy morning voice. As his old high school buddy sat up in bed, something was off about him. His facial hair was long and unkept, his hair was medium length and messily laid atop his head. This wasn't the clean kept Matt Saracen from high school. His room was an disorganized pig sty, beer cans and bottles littered the floor and dresser and there were clothes haphazardly thrown in a pile in the corner of the room.

"Hey buddy," Landry replied. "You sleeping in or something?"

"What time is it?" Matt asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"1:30 in the afternoon," Landry replied. Matt looked at him and squeezed his eyes shut, the light making his head throb. "Are you hungover?"

"No, I'm not hungover," Matt replied, somewhat agitated.

"Are you sure cause you kinda-"

"I'm not!" Matt insisted.

"Let's go get something to eat," Landry suggested. "On second throught, go take a shower you smell like booze."

"I'm not hung over," Matt stated yet again.

"Definitely not, you just can't look into the light and you found a new cologne that smells like booze," Landry stated sarcastically. "Seriously, go take a shower then I've gotta go set up my band equipment at Buddy's, and you're coming with me."

Once the shower was running and Matt was inside, Landry searched in Lorraine's small house for the nurse, who he found in the kitchen.

"Uh Lydia, was it?" He asked, having forgot her name.

"Yeah," Sh replied with a smile.

"Is Matt alright?"

"If by alright you mean locks himself in his room after about 3, makes constant trips to the store and returns with a brown paper sack he puts in his room, sleeping past noon, and smells of alcohol, then yes he's fine," Lydia answered.

"Every day?"

"Not the going to the store part, but everything else, just about."

"Damn," Landry responded."Chicago did a number on him."

"I think it was a girl."

"What?" Landry asked, confused.

"When he came, he was telling his grandma about this girl who dumped him," Lydia explained. "Jessica or someone."

"Julie?"

"Yeah, that's it. Her dad was a coach or something."

"He was our high school football coach."

"Maybe he lost his job too, I don't really know."

"Wow, Julie dumped him," Landry stated in disbelief. "I mean it kinda explains the drinking. But my mom saw him the other day and said he seemed fine."

"He's good at hiding it, he think I don't know he drinks all night, but he leaves the empty bottles and cans in his room them leaves the door open during the day."

"I'm going to take him with my for the day, maybe set him straight," Landry told Lydia when he heard the water in the shower shut off.

Hope you enjoyed!