My Best Friend's Brother | ✔

08. matthew

I wake up the next morning, feeling better than I was the day before. It did not take time for me to get up. I woke up at 6:25, before Hailey. I headed to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and went to go change into a t-shirt and sweats. After spending more time than I should've, I decided on wearing grey sweatpants and a plain blue t-shirt. It fit slightly tight on me, but I thought that it looked good.

When I went back into the bathroom, Hailey was in there.

"Go away I'm about to shower." She says.

"Fine, just let me grab my hairbrush." I respond, opening the drawer that separates my sister and my sinks. I head back to my room and look into my phone camera, creating a middle part in my hair.

When I go downstairs for breakfast, my mom looks surprised to see me.

"Good morning." I say.

"Good morning Matty. You're up early this morning."

I chuckle quietly before saying, "Yeah. I was going to make some scrambled eggs and toast. You want some?"

"Yes, please."

I open the fridge and grab out four eggs. I put them in a bowl and start mixing. My mom used to call me "her little chef" when I was younger since all I used to do was make her snacks. Her favourite has always been crackers and cheese with grape juice.

While I am putting the eggs on the fryer, I hear Hailey come down the stairs.

"Why didn't you offer me any?" She asks sarcastically, with a fake frown on her face.

"Real funny," I reply, "I know you're allergic to eggs."

The first time Hailey tried eggs, she had an allergic reaction to them. She's always been upset whenever she would see someone eating something with eggs, since she felt like she was missing out. That's something I've always known about her, she's afraid of missing out on something.

I put the eggs on a plate and butter the toast. I bring the plates and two glasses of milk over to the couch where my mom is sitting.

"Thanks, Matty." She says.

"Of course." I reply.

We eat in silence for a while until my sister comes over with the extra toast I left. She decided to drown them in the crunchy peanut butter that only she likes. She sits down with us and my mother discusses with her about if she's put any thought to college.

"I mean yeah, but I'm not sure where I want to go. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna stay local, though." She says.

"That's great sweetie. It will be nice to have one of my children local. I'm so sad my boy is leaving us!" My mom says, starting to fake cry as she comes in for a hug.

"Hey, mom. It's okay." I reassure her, "I'll be back over Thanksgiving."

I am moving to Cambridge in August to attend Harvard. It's quite far from Colorado, so I'd really be on my own for the first time. I don't know how my mom will hold back her tears the day I move out. It's always been me, my mom, and my sister. My dad left when I was ten. We've gotten over it by now, but I still hate him for what he did to my mother.

He left her feeling alone for the majority of their marriage. He would sometimes come home late, super drunk. I would hear him yell at her while I sat at the top of the stairs, with the house phone in my hand, in case if she needed help. That's when I started to get angry with him, and myself for letting this go on and not telling anyone, but I didn't know what to do. I was just a kid.

"Hailey, have you seen my AirPods?" I ask.

"No. You probably left them in your room." She replies.

After finishing my breakfast, I go upstairs to look for them.