I Don't Love You

Matt woke up lying on his disgustingly dirty bathroom floor. Jeremy and he had drunk both cases of beer the night before. His head was pounding and body aching. He fell onto his back and looked up and slowly opened his eyes.

Shit! He thought and jumped up. He soon regretted the fast movements when his face met up with the porcelain god again. He flushed his vomit then slowly moved to the sink and washed his face then looked at himself in the mirror. His temporarily relieved problems all coming back to him. He made his way into the shower and washed up. By the time he got out he remembered work again.

He looked at his clock by his bed it said it was 2:00. He had to be at work at 2:30.

“Fuck” he yelled as he grabbed his clothes and put them on fast. It would take at least 30 minutes to even get to work. Let alone get dressed what if there was traffic.

“Damn it” he muttered almost falling down trying to get his pants on. He hopped out of his bedroom door trying to get his shoes on. He looked over at Jeremy who was sitting on the couch eating lucky charms.

“Why aren’t you ready for work?” matt said almost falling over, luckily for him the wall caught him.

“ummmmm cause its Sunday. I mean matt I know we have days to make up but… yea I’m not going on in Sunday,” Jeremy said laughing a little at Matt’s grimace. “awww come sit down. I’m watching invader zim!” Jeremy said with a big smile at Matt. Matt dropped the shoe that was in his hand and kicked off the one he had half on his foot.

“Damn it!” matt groaned as he plopped down on the old couch. Jeremy looked over at matt.

“Hey I need to go to the store. We have jack shit in there. Wanna come with me?” Jeremy asked him.

“ehh let me get out of my uniform… Stupid grrrr…” Matt grumbled as he walked back into his bedroom.

Jeremy got up and put his bowl into the sink. He looked down at the sink full of dirty dishes and beer cans. He grabbed the trashcan and started pitching all the beer cans that were around the counters and in the sink. Opening the dishwasher he took a step back.

“What the hell. That stinks like ass,” Jeremy said plugging his noise and pulling out the tray. All the dishes had not been rinsed. They had caked on old food all over them. Jeremy put all the other dishes in and put a ton of soap in it, he closed it then locked it.

“hmmm how long should I set it… pots and pans. That’s what I’ll set it at,” he said to himself, as he turned it on. He looked up and saw matt standing watching him.

“Come on Martha Stewart lets go,” matt laughed at Jeremy, who gave matt a dirty look. Then closed the door behind him and locked it.

“So what do we need?” matt asked.

“ummmm everything,” Jeremy said. “I don’t know matt. We have no real food or anything to drink. And I need toilet paper for my bathroom.”

“Yea me too,” matt said. “ To Wal-Mart!!!” matt yelled they laughed lightly as they made their way to the car.

“You seem to be a little happier today matt”

“ehhh just trying not to think to much jer. Still really cant believe it happened,” matt said the mood growing a bit somber.

“ehh soon enough you will be your old self. You just watch. I mean hell I haven’t heard your damned guitar in about 3 weeks. I hate to say it I miss it a little,” Jeremy said. They both laughed. Matt continued to drive. He thought about his guitar. He loved to play music. He loved it more then anything. He used to have a band and go out playing in clubs. Once he had this guy from a record company interested in him. But Maria thought it was stupid. So did his parents. “It is just a hobby,” they would say. “You cant live off of that.” but he wanted to more then anything.
He pulled into his parking space and both men got out and walked into the store. They both got a cart.

“ok you go get TP and pop. I will go get the meat and potatoes,” Jeremy said as he grabbed himself and winked at matt.

“OH baby don’t tease me!” matt laughed

“You know you want it Matty boy! Roooaaarrr come get it!!” Jeremy laughed as they went their separate ways.

Matt speed walked a bit then jumped on the back of his cart and rolled a little ways.
When he almost fell off backwards he jumped off and got his cool back. He walked over to the paper section and picked up some TP and some paper plates then he was walking back to the pop when he heard a woman’s voice call “Matt!” he turned and looked around. There must have been another matt in the store he thought.

“Matt!” the voice came again. Matt just kept walking and he stopped in front of the huge isle of nothing but pop. He bent down to get a 24 pack of dr. pepper when he stood up there was a woman about 5foot 6 inches. She was average to a little above average weight. She had brown long hair and blue eyes.

“Matt?” the girl said

“Yea?” matt said looking at her.

“You don’t remember me do you?”

“I’m sorry I don’t. Who are you?” matt said feeling so rude.

“Kindergarten through 10th grade… best friends… met on the monkey bars every day… ring any bells?” the girl said smiling at him.

“Lacee?” matt said in amazement

“Yep its me” she said smiling at him. Matt grabbed her and gave her a bear hug.

“I haven’t seen you in forever! How have you been? What’s been going on in your life? Wow I can’t believe its you Lacee!” matt said after putting her down.

“well things have be alright with me. Not great but not bad.” Lacee said to him

“Really? I missed you so much. I wrote… but every letter got sent back.” Matt said to her

“yea we ended up going to a different house. I figured you had forgotten about me fast.
I mean you had sports and all the girls were all over you.” Lacee said.

“ I am never too busy for you Lacee. You were my best friend. I would have given all of that up to help you out. To talk to you.” Matt said.

“Lacee are you ready yet?” a man yelled at her from another isle.

“Yea Hun I’m coming,” she yelled back. “I have to go matt he cant see me talking to you. I’ll talk to you later ok?”

“Ok Lacee… here is my number give me a call alright,” matt said as he scribbled his number on a piece of the cardboard box the pop came in and gave it to her. She grabbed a 2 littler of Pepsi and ran off. A man came up and she walked right beside him. matt could hear him ask her “what took you so long?”

“ohh just some assholes standing talking in front of where I needed. Sorry” he heard Lacee say. Matt wondered why she couldn’t be seen with him. He wondered who that was. Lacee and him had always been friend. Until her dad got a job in LA. They had to move in the middle of their sophomore year. He really missed her. He didn’t ever think he would see her again. This brought up his spirits a bit.
He wondered around a bit picking up some pudding and milk and a few other things he wanted. He spotted Jeremy. “Hey sexy!” matt said as he came up to Jeremy.

“Hey baby!” Jeremy said back to him. “You ready to head out?”

“Yea I think I spent enough money. Are we goin halves?” matt asked

“Yep like usual” Jeremy said. They threw everything into one cart and walked over to the check out. Matt looked over and he saw Lacee and that man. He looked angry with her. She looked a bit scared. He grabbed her by the arm and looked like he was yelling at her. He was too far away to tell what she was saying. Matt wanted to go over there and say something but he stopped himself. He didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t want to put his nose where it didn’t belong. If she needed him she would call him… wouldn’t she?

“Matt come on. Your holding up the line.” Jeremy said

“Alright Jer.” Matt said to him they checked out and took the groceries to the car. Matt and Jeremy put them into the car and then got in. matt started to drive off.

“Hey Jeremy”

“Yea?”

“Do you remember Lacee… you know that girl that lived down the street from me?”

“ohh that girl who was in love with you?” Jeremy said

“She was not. We were just good friends,”

“What ever matt. She loved you… What about her?”

“I saw her in there. She looked so different.” Matt said

“Oh really. How is she?”

“We didn’t get to talk much. Some guy called for her and she said she couldn’t let him see her with me.”

“What?”

“Yea weird right? I don’t know. Then I saw him grab her later. I have a bad feeling about it.”

“Is it her boyfriend or husband?”

“ I don’t know she didn’t tell me.” Matt said as they pulled into their parking lot and carried the groceries in. slowly the groceries got put away. Jeremy opened the dishwasher.

“Shit it didn’t all come off,” He mumbled and put more soap in and started it back up. “That should do it,” he stated as he walked into the living room and sat down in “his” chair.
Matt lay on the couch and watched ghost busters with Jeremy.

“You pick the gayest shit to watch Jer.” Matt said to him

“Shut up fudge packer I do not!” Jeremy defended “ghost busters is a classic. It rocks!”

“riiiight!” matt said sarcastically. When the phone rang matt pulled himself off the couch and grabbed the phone

“Pizza Hut how may I help you” he said trying not to laugh.

“umm is matt there?” a woman said sounds like she was about to cry.

“Yea this is me… what’s wrong?” matt said.