The Assistant (Matt Sturniolo)

21

As I walked under the glow of the street lamp, my body grew colder with each step. The only relief I found in the rain, was how it numbed the sting and throbs in my body.

My feet squeak along the wooden floor, leaving invisible puddles in their wake as the warmth thawed at my frozen body. I dropped my bag at the door and kicked off my shoes. Walking across the room and into the kitchen, I'm unbeknownst to the movement of my body.

My eyes fix themselves to a spot on the wall, staying there and not moving.

Click.

Thud.

"Hey, I'm just stopping by to grab something I forgot. Guys really don't have hair straighteners, I realised after I'd left" Holly's joke poke through my hazy bubble. "Y/N. Wait...what the hell happened to you? Why are you bleeding?" She yelled, standing in front of me. Her warm hands felt nice on my cheeks.

"I'm fine, it's old" I said, meeting her eyes after she turned my head to look at her.

"You're not fine, Y/N. You have a gash in your scalp and a cut on your lips. Did someone do this to you?"

"No, I fell. You know how clumsy I am" I answered, hoping she'd believe me. I cleared my throat and went over to the boiled kettle.

"You're the worst liar- you always have been and you always will be. Now, I'm not leaving , until you tell me what happened, Y/N. Wait- you stay here and don't move a muscle" She pointed at me, raising her eyebrow at me.

I picked up the kettle, pouring the water into my blue mug, watching the water mix with the tea bag.

"Come here" Holly ordered. I turned around as she gently forced me to the kitchen island. "Sit"

"I'm not a dog, Holly"

"I don't care, sit down and let me take care of you" she said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. My gaze followed her hand as she reached for the bottle of peroxide and the cotton pads. "Are you going to tell me what happened or what?"

Putting the bottle down, she pushed my hair back from my face and ran the pad across my forehead. I sucked in a breath, wincing at the stinging on my forehead.

"Y/N?" She sighed, glaring into my eyes. My lips don't move. A sadness hung in her eyes. She ran the pad across my head a few more times, before discarding it. "Have I told you that you're the most stubborn person I've ever met?"

The next pad was inches away from my face when the tears began to fall down my cheeks out of nowhere. My eyes close in defeat. Holly's face crumbled up as she threw away the pad, pulling me into her chest.

"It's okay" She hummed against my hair. "Everything's going to be okay, Y/N"

If only I could believe that too.

~

My alarm clock rang too quickly the next day, waking me from a frown at having to leave my dream.

I stumbled out of bed and go through my morning routine. My Tuesday was a blur of coffee, emails, lists and a dread of doing the rest of the files. With a new album and sneakily watching more Netflix, I got through the day with Holly's soup and cookies.

I decided to call it a day at five in the afternoon. Hiding away files and stacks of empty ones, I tidy up my desk and put back everything where it was this morning, before heading out. When I picked up my purse, I spot Matt walking in my direction. I sighed as he arrived at my desk.

"Did you drop something?" He asked, without a greeting and bent down to pick something up off the floor. My eyes follow his eyebrows furrowing together at the white envelope. "It's addressed to me, I wonder what it is"