Dad took the snacks from him and put them in the cupboard, where he was putting away the rest of the food. “It was so nice of Rosie to take you to the hospital. I wanted to thank her.”
Matt’s heart tore a little more. She’d come through for him in a big way. And he dumped her.
But hehadto. She’d understand later that he’d freed her.
“I think Livvy said something to her.”
“Good. Her friends are so nice. They take good care of her, and they’ve taken good care of you, too.” Mom turned around and patted his cheek.
And just like that, he was over having his parents around.
Clearing his throat, he eyed the time on the microwave. “When do you guys need to get on the road?”
“Just as soon as I finish this prepping. Now take it easy, and don’t forget your follow-up appointment next week. I still can’t believe I forgot about your annual check-up with your cardiologist. We should have planned for you to come home.”
“It slipped my mind, too, Mom. I’m an adult, it’s my responsibility, not yours.”
“Don’t bother telling your mom not to worry, Matt. It doesn’t work.” Dad patted him on the shoulder, then drew him in for a hug. “We’re just glad you’re okay.”
Matt nodded against his father’s shoulder, then turned to hug his mom goodbye. “Drive safe.”
“We will. Let Olivia know if you need anything, okay?”
“Will do. Love you.”
“Love you too, son.” And then he was locking the deadbolt and drawing the chain behind them. Matt breathed a sigh of relief and sank into the couch. He wasn’t sure what was more stressful. The incident or dealing with his parents.
R2D2’s beep sounded out, alerting him of a text message. It was Keith.
Keith: Hey man! You up for some Battlefront 2? We need another man for the squadron.
Matt: I’ll be there in a few.
He had all his homework for the week done and submitted. Nothing was stopping him from shooting down some spaceships. And he hadn’t seen the guys in a week since he hadn’t been allowed to work.
Matt settled his headphones on his ears and loaded up the game on his PS4 and logged into Discord on his laptop. Keith, Evan, and Damir were all instantly in his ear.
“Hey, Matt, my man! How you feelin’?” Asked Evan.
Damir was next. “When are you coming back?”
Matt smiled for the first time since before the incident. “Next week, but I’m on light duty only.”
“What the hell happened?” Keith piped up. “You looked like shit.”
He cringed; thankful the guys couldn’t see him right now. “When I was born, I had to have heart surgery. And apparently it bit me in the ass.”
“Seriously? Dude, that sucks.”
“I’ll be alright. The doctor said it could take up to six weeks to feel fully normal again. And I have to follow up with a cardiologist. But it’ll be okay. I had some help this week.”
“Rosie staying with you?” Keith’s tone was suggestive.
“No, uh …” Crap. “My parents came up for the week.”
“How is Rosie? We haven’t seen her online.” Damir sounded purely curious.
“I, uh, I broke it off.” Matt picked his preferred ship, Black One, for the first round.
