matthew-petracca

[matthew-petracca]

Matt felt like he had done nothing but work the last few weeks. His hospital shifts were long and draining, and he felt like he really only had time to sleep during his time off. Matt, being the extrovert he was, hated times like these. He needed to get out and socialize. He needed to talk to people that weren’t overworked nurses and stressed out parents of patients. He needed to dick around and let loose. So when he discovered that he and Elliot were going to have a rare shared night off together, he knew the pair had to do something. 

Matt met Elliot and immediately made a connection with him. Despite working in separate departments, they crossed paths more than enough, and quickly developed a strong bond, even though it was often just Matt complaining in sign language across a hallway. Matt felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Elliot. “Where’s the kid? You know I only want to hang out with you if Sawyer is around,” he signed jokingly. “Whatever, at least I can get you wasted tonight.”

Who: @matthew-petracca Where: level up

There were some people that came into Elliot's life that he knew would be incredibly important to him and from the moment he had met Matt, he knew the other man fell right into that category. The two of them had hit it off almost right away and it felt like only in a matter of months he had became one of Elliot's best friends. One of the rare people that could pull out the more chaotic and goofy side of him, a side Elliot felt like he didn't get to show off a lot of the time. Feeling like he always needed to be more serious, needed to prove himself.

He had no idea how it had happened but him and Matt had both ended up with time away from work on the same day. And one thing he had been working on since becoming a dad was balancing being a parent while also still being himself. Knowing how important it was to not lose a sense of who he was just because he was now raising a baby. Thankfully he had so many people in his corner, so many helping hands, and with Sawyer in good hands for the evening, he had made plans to meet Matt at Level Up. He pulled the door open, stepping into the warmth from the cold. Letting his eyes scan over the small crowd of people, finally landing on Matt. Making his way over, Elliot clasped a hand on his shoulder in greeting, a wide grin on his face.

[matthew-petracca]

Matt finally had a night to catch up with himself. The last week at work completely wiped him out, leaving his home life a mess. When he would come home from his shifts, his dirty clothes ended up on the floor, dishes would get thrown in the sink, he’d take a quick shower, and then he’d stumble into bed with his cat. Now that it was his weekend, he was left staring at the shambles he created the last five days. Thankfully it wasn’t dirty, just a mess. He was a mess, but that was just his life right now. And he finally had some time to get himself together, so he put on some generic pop music and started with the dishes. 

He wasn’t sure how long it had been exactly, but he found his groove, and cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom, and had moved on to clearing out the laundry strewn across the floor. He was pulled out of his trance by a knock on his door, causing him to jump, and stumble over a pair of shoes he had yet to pick up. “Fuck,” he mumbled to himself, regathering himself, and kicking the shoes out of the way. He wondered if his downstairs neighbors could hear the amount of times he tripped. Maybe he’d get a letter from the landlord one day that someone complained about random loud thudding followed by strings of expletives. 

As Matt made his way to the door, his cat began walking figure eights between his legs, meowing and nestling up to him. Not wanting to trip again Matt picked up the cat and finished the short walk to his door. “Now who could this be?” He asked the cat in a baby voice, and opened the door. 

He was met with Santiago, standing there with a blood soaked kitchen towel around his finger. “Bro, what the fuck happened to you?” He asked incredulously. Before Santiago could respond, Matt moved out of the doorway, inviting him in. He contemplated making a joke about borrowing a cup of sugar, but figured that wouldn’t be appreciated in this moment. “Go sit on the couch, I’ll get my first aid kit,” he said, turning on his heels and heading for the linen closet. “Sorry about the mess, I’ve been a lazy shit this week.”

𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: skyline lofts, unit 903. 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: monday, 10th of feb. 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿: @matthew-petracca

Santiago stood outside unit 903, his breath even, his patience less so. His attention was fixed on the deepening shade of crimson seeping through the kitchen towel wrapped around his finger. It had started as a slow bloom, petal-thin and harmless, but now it bled through in angry swirls, warm and insistent against his skin.

He exhaled sharply, tilting his head forward to rest against the doorframe. This was what happened when you tried to slice a cucumber with sleep-deprived hands and a mind too tangled to focus. The blade had been sharp - Japanese steel, a gift from some well-meaning investor. It had met his skin with such cruel efficiency that for a second, he hadn't even felt it, just saw the clean line open up before the pain came rushing in, hot and pulsing.

The emergency room had been an option. It still was. But the idea of sitting beneath flickering fluorescent lights, surrounded by the sick and the suffering, waiting hours for a doctor who didn’t give a damn about a hotelier with a non-life-threating knife wound? He wasn’t that desperate. Not yet.

Instead, he'd ended up here - Matt’s place.

Sure, Matt dealt with kids, but a stitch was a stitch, right? Santiago had no illusions about his own charm - it was a business tool, honed and effective when used with the right people - but he wasn’t above looking a little pathetic if it meant skipping a four-hour wait. Lifting his uninjured hand, he knocked, three firm raps against the door. Then, a pause. The kind that stretched just long enough for self-doubt to creep in. Maybe this was a bad idea.

[matthew-petracca]

Name: Matthew "Matt" Petracca

GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cis male, He/Him

AGE & BIRTHDAY: 34, December 19

OCCUPATION: Pediatric surgical resident

RESIDENCE: The Loft District, Skyline Lofts 

THREE POSITIVE TRAITS: Outgoing, funny, intelligent

THREE NEGATIVE TRAITS: immature, absent minded, unreliable 

Biography: tw: divorce, cancer

Matt grew up in Florida with his younger sister. He has a pretty normal childhood. He was close with his sister, who he was always over protective of. His mom was a dental hygienist and his father worked a boring office job and they fought constantly, but didn’t get a divorce until their kids were grown and out of college.

Matt was a smart kid, too smart for his own good. From a young age, he was bored and started acting out in class just to entertain himself. He was constantly getting in trouble in elementary school for trying to crack jokes and disrupting the class. He was labeled a problem child until the third grade when a teacher even considered that he wasn’t a dumb kid, he was just bored and couldn’t sit still. He ended up getting tested and being diagnosed with ADHD. After that, he was still the class clown, but at least he was able to sit still.

He excelled in high school, when he was finally able to take classes that challenged him enough to keep his brain occupied. And it was in his sophomore year honors english class that he met his first girlfriend. Despite Matt being the class clown that was friends with everyone, he was still awkward as hell when it came to girls. He asked her to go to the homecoming game with him, which was awkward and uncomfortable, considering neither of them knew anything about football, nor did they care about it. Thankfully, neither of them knew how to admit they didn’t want a second date, so they went on another one. This time it was to a bookstore, a place they were both comfortable in. What was only supposed to be an hour, turned into hours of them browsing the aisles of the bookstore, laughing and talking.

When it was time to go to college, Matt got into the University of Pennsylvania, with the plan to go premed. His girlfriend went to school in New York, and despite the fact that most high school couples didn’t make it past Thanksgiving break, the pair managed to make it work. It wasn’t uncommon for them to find the cheapest bus they could and see each other every few weekends, even if they spent the majority of the weekend studying together.

In college, Matt was a social butterfly, joining clubs and going out on weekends. He made friends everywhere he went, something that is still true today.

After graduating with honors, Matt took a year off to apply to medical school, and to focus on getting married to his high school sweetheart. They had a small wedding, promising each other they would have a bigger wedding to renew their vows once they both finished their schooling and had some money. Unfortunately their marriage didn’t last. Matt went to medical school in Massachusetts, and his wife wanted to stay in New York for grad school. They weren’t in a place where they could put their relationship first, unfortunately. And despite how much they loved each other, it wasn’t enough and they filed for divorce before their first anniversary.

Heartbroken from his divorce, he made his way through his first year of medical school. He was experiencing health issues, but he assumed it was stress from school and divorce, and told himself it would all clear up once his break rolled around. Unfortunately it didn’t and his sister forced him to go to a doctor to get checked out. After a whole slew of tests, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. As a result, he took a year off of medical school to undergo treatment and recover. Thankfully, he has been in remission ever since.

Matt has found his home in Chicago and he hopes to stay once his residency is complete. Thanks to his outgoing and friendly personality, he was able to make tons of friends, even though his job doesn’t always allow him to see them. And although he isn’t always the most present friend, he is the most loyal. He will drop everything for those he cares about, and do anything for them. And he’s sorry he didn’t respond to your text three days ago, he wasn’t ignoring you, he just forgot. When he has free time he is usually exploring the city, making conversation with anyone who is willing, and befriending the few people in town he hasn’t already.

[matthew-petracca]

[matthew-petracca]

Berkeley students are fucking done lol