When Matthew sees me, he releases the girl and a frightened look spreads across his face.

His hands were on her waist, seemingly gripping her pretty tight.

"Lucy," he whispers, turning to me. I take a few seconds of the silence to realize what must have been happening here, turning my body numb. He begins to walk towards me, so back myself into the door, unable to turn around and open it. 

He comes close, walking slowly and cautiously. I can't seem to blink or close my eyes, completely caught off guard by this situation. I take a second to look at the girl Matthew was holding, and i recognize her face right away. 

It's her. My mind immediately flashes back to when me and Michael were in my room about three years ago or so, flipping through pages of another tabloid magazine. 

Images of them together plastered all over. She looks at me with a mysterious look, and i'm unable to figure out if its kind or vicious.

"Wha-" i breathe out, my nauseous body struggling to hold itself up.

"What is going on?" my unsteady voice trembles, as i look into Matthew's guilty eyes. 

"This isn't what it looks like," his speaks with wide eyes, placing his hands on either side of my shoulders. My cheeks are still stiff with dried tears, and i open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. 

She walks up to the two of us, stopping right at the door.  "I'll see you later Matthew," she says before she walks out with her long legs.

"Please, i can explain," he holds my hands so tight that it hurts.

"Explain what?" i say weakly, "Explain how for about ten seconds ago you were all over your ex girlfriend?" he seems almost panicked, his wide eyes almost scaring me. 

"No, please Lucy, i was pushing her away," he holds my hand against his chest, and i feel his rapid heartbeat. 

"What? Why?" my confusion growing stronger by the second, i just wish i had stayed at Jack's.

"She..." he begins before interrupting himself by look down at the ground right before me.

"She kissed me," he admits and my heart falls to the ground. I stare at him, and silence fills the air for a minute as i process. She kissed him, right before i walked in. 

"Did you kiss her back?" Even though i'm terrified of the answer, i decide to ask anyways. I have to know.

"N- No i didn't, i pushed her away, that's when you walked in," He calms down a bit while he's explaining, and i can feel my racing heart slow down too.

"But why was she here?" a million questions enter my mind and i'm unsure of which to ask first.

"I don't know! I haven't seen her since..." he speaks loudly before whispering the last sentence, lowering his head. 

"Since when?" i insist, clenching my fist together to seem determined.

"Since... Right before we met," he confesses. 

"What? Right before the party?" my voice cracks and i feel Matthew gripping me tighter, moving his hands to my cheek, bringing me close. 

"Yes... I broke up with her right before the party, which is why i was leaving early, before i bumped into you," his eyes flare with intensity, and i struggle not to melt into them. 

"You mean to say that you broke up with your girlfriend a few hours before you met me? I thought you broke up years ago," my brow furrows without me noticing, and i feel a growing headache.

"We did, but then we started... hanging out again a month ago or so," he struggles to find the right words to say, and i pull my hand from his grip. 

"I think i want to go," i say, feeling my dry throat sting. He inhales sharply when he hears me.

"No, no please, just please sit down and let me explain," something about the desperation in his eyes and the guilt in his voice makes me want to hear him out. So i breathe deeply before walking past him, into the living room.

...

He rests his elbows on his knees, his hands together as he reaches the end of his story.  They had been in a secret relationship for two months, but broke up before the party. Actually, he broke up with her, and she apparently wasn't happy with it. He saw her in a bar when he went out to clear his head, when I couldn't find him in the middle of the night, when i woke up and he was gone.

"I had completely forgotten about... her. From the moment i met you, you're the only one that existed to me, and i hadn't thought about her till i saw her at Riffs," he hasn't looked me in the eyes since he started to explain, likely because he feels guilty. 

"What did she mean she would see you soon," i ask, reminded of her sentence right when she left.

"I told her she had to leave, but i also said that i would explain why i didn't return her calls or texts," he nods, closing his eyes. 

"Lucy, please know that i have no feelings for her and... I love you, only you" he runs his sweaty palms against his pants. 

"Matthew... I don't know what to think," i admit, bewildered by his story. If he is so quick to dismiss her, what will happen when shit hits the fan with us? I'm calmed by the thought of what has happened ever since we met.

Shit has hit the fan literally every day, and he still loves me, and i him. 

"Lucy, you still haven't told me why you came here, is something wrong?" he grabs my hand, holding it tightly.

"Yeah, well... I had a fight with Jack again" i sigh before looking down at our hands, a small smile appearing on my face. But still, i feel anxious and almost nauseous, reminded of our fight.

"I told him i love you, and he didn't like that very much," even though its upsetting, i release a small laugh. Matthew moves closer, embracing me with his arms, and i lean back on his chest.

"He told me quote; get your head out of a hole and snap back to fucking reality," i feel bad laughing, but it's the only way not to truly face it. But i don't hear Matthew laughing, at all.

"I hope you don't think that's what this is," he intertwines his fingers with mine, and i stare at them, the sun gleaming through them. 

"Personally i haven't felt anything more real," i say, reassuring him that Jack isn't getting to me. He kisses the back of my head and we just sit there, looking at the view and enjoying each others company. 

We sit there for about half an hour, and i began to feel hungry, so he started making dinner, and i went into the bedroom to take a nap. 

But i can't fall asleep. I keep thinking about the photo that leaked, and how it my life went crumbling down after everybody found out. I have thought about this way to much, but it's still unbelievable to me that Michael would something like that. 

And Jack.

I don't think Jack will ever be okay with Matthew and I, and i can't imagine my life without either of them. The way it feels right now, i have to choose to be a good sister and break it off with Matthew, come home to Jack and apologize. 

But just thinking about never being with Matthew again makes my stomach twist. I can't imagine my life without him either, even though he just came into it. 

My phone goes off, and thinking its my alarm, i grab it and tap the screen. But it wasn't the alarm, it was a call from Michael.

"Hello?" I hear from the other line when i bring it up to my ear. 

"Hi..." his voice makes me shudder, only thinking of him sending the photo to TMZ.

"Why are you calling me?"

  "I'm gonna try once more, try to make you listen to me," he seems very determined, mixed with anger. but i can't imagine how he could be angry at anyone about this, it's all his fault?

"If you dismiss me again, i won't ever bother or talk to you ever again," his voice breaks, and it sounds like he's crying.

"I can't imagine what you would want to say to me, Michael" i try to put up a tough front, ignoring the brewing feelings ready to explode. 

"I never sent in the photo Lucy, i don't know what else i can say for you to believe it," 

"Michael, i wish i could believe you... But you're the only one who could have sent it in. I would never sent in the photo for obvious reasons, and Matthew would have risked a lawsuit and his career death, he couldn't have sent it in either" 

There's no chance for me to get some sleep now, so i get up and walk into the kitchen, the phone still in hand.  "Then someone else did it, i have spent five days feeling guilty for something i didn't do, goodbye Lucy," he doesn't give me a chance to respond, he hangs up and i'm left with the continuous beep, and it's all i can hear as Matthew lays the food on the table.

"Who was that?" Matthew asks, finding the utensils. 

"Michael," i say and he freezes?

"I thought i told you never to speak to him again," he scoffs, walking around the table, getting close to me.

"I answered by accident, and i did owe him the chance to explain himself," 

"And what did he say?" he stares intensely into my eyes. 

"Nothing i believed," i close my eyes and lean in for a kiss.

...

I finally stop tossing and turning in bed, to get up and go into the living room to make tea. I realize the TV hasn't been shut off, but right before i press off, the news reporter switches to a different story where i see my face.

"You might remember this photo of Matthew Espinosa locking lips with an underage girl, and that it was her best friend who leaked it, according to a screenshot of a mail he sent to TMZ. However, it seems that this screenshot, is a fake. The young man's email account was cropped into the picture, and just now people are beginning to notice. He also came out with a statement, pressing on that he is completely innocent"

I feel my legs give in and i fall back on the couch. If it wasn't Michael, then...

Who sent in the photo?

___________

Hey guys !
Who do you think sent in the photo of Matthew and Lucy kissing to TMZ? Do you think Michael is still somehow responsible? Let me know <3

- Sam