Chapter 4
“Shane,” Matt said as he rushed into a bar, the 3rd one he’d check.
Shane quickly turned around, his eyes bloodshot and swollen.
“Hey man,” Matt said sitting on the empty stool next to him.
Shane nodded acknowledging his presence, then took another sip of his beer.
“You ok?” Matt asked.
Shane shrugged, still not speaking.
“Emily said you guys got in an argument,” Matt explained, “She’s worried about you.”
“Uh-huh,” Shane said looking down at the bar.
“Do you wanna tell me what happened?” Matt asked.
“Not really,” Shane said, his voice showed annoyance.
“Ok, well you want me to give you a ride back to Em’s?” Matt asked.
“No, but you go ahead,” Shane said, then mumbled something so low Matt couldn’t make it out.
“What’d you say?” Matt questioned.
“No nothing forget it,” Shane said taking another gulp of his drink.
Matt shrugged it off, “Em is really worried about you. Can I just drop you off there?” Shane stood up angrily and quickly, looking like he would topple over.
“Fine, I’ll go with you.” Shane said standing up angrily and quickly, looking like he would topple over. He handed the bartender some money.
“You ready?” Matt asked.
“Whatever man,” Shane said following Matt out of the bar.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Matt and Shane sat quietly in the car, the radio played lightly. Matt looked over at Shane quickly; he looked so tired and upset.
“You sure you don’t want to tell me what happened?” Matt asked quietly, not taking his eyes off the road.
“Nah,” Shane said shaking his head, “it’s something Em and I gotta work out by ourselves.”
Matt nodded, “that’s understandable.”
They drove a little longer in silence, the radio softly playing a Pearl Jam song Matt liked.
“Can I ask you a question though?” Shane asked suddenly breaking the silence.
“Sure,” Matt said quickly.
“How do you feel about Emily?” Shane asked, “I mean really feel about her?”
Matt sighed, “How do I feel about her? I love her so much Shane, but it’s nothing more than a friendship, you know that. Em and I have been friends forever, we’re just really close.”
“It’s never been more than a friendship?” Shane questioned, his eyes studying Matt’s face.
“It never has,” Matt told him honestly. He tried to figure out if what happened earlier in his bedroom was more than friendship… he didn’t even know what to think about that.
“Have you ever wished it were?” Shane asked, his eyes still staring at Matt’s face.
“I… I can’t really answer that one,” Matt said thoughtfully, “at times I have wished that she and I were together, but I would never act on that. I know how much you guys mean to each other. I know how much you love her, and how much she loves you. I would never want to take that from you two. I’m happy for you guys.”
Shane smiled at him, “You’re a good friend, you know that?”
Matt grinned, “Well, I try.”
“If we ever did break up, or something happened to me, I want you to know that I’d be ok with you 2 being together. I’d actually be happy for you two.”
Matt smiled at his friend, “Come on Shane, you two are going to be together for a long time. But thanks.”
“I hope so,” Shane said resting his head against the backrest and closing his eyes.
Matt steered through the twisting roads, his eyes never leaving the road. What happened next seemed to be one big blur.
The lights of an oncoming car blinded him as it came straight for them.
“Shit,” Matt screamed trying to move the car out of the way of the oncoming car, but without luck.
Matt heard the metal slam against each metal, he jolted forward, pain shot threw his body. He heard screaming. Was that him or Shane? Or both? He felt a warm liquid trickle down his forehead. He heard the scream of pain and panic again… then everything went black.
Chapter 5
Chapter 3