My Devil

"Fine Y/N but-" you hung up, you'd apologise to him later but right now you were running through the streets, your boots, a favoured but worn pair of black combat-style boots splashing in the puddles on the sidewalk. Your hair and skin and clothes were getting soaked but you didn't care, your heart in your throat as you ran, barging through people but barely a second glance to turn back and yell sorry at strangers.

It felt like an age, but it must have taken no more than ten minutes of hard running to get to the right block. The rain had gotten heavier and dripped off the tip of your nose as you searched for the right building. You slowed, skidding in the water, to a stop as you frantically searched the numbers on the walls. You repeated the number under your breath over and over, spitting out the rainwater that entered in the place of your words. "Y/N?!" called a voice and you spun to see a woman, in the porchway of a block of apartments waving at you. You peered through the rain and your hand slipped into your bag and pulled out the pepper spray Matt had once given you. Your thumb ready to press to defend yourself. "Are you Y/N?" she asked as you approached the bottom of the steps to the raised porch and you nodded stiffly. You were running on adrenaline "Claire?" You asked and she nodded in return. "You need to come inside, we can't talk here" she said.

"Who are you? Why should I trust you?" you pushed your dripping hair out of your face as you looked up at her and she shook her head in frustration. "Look I get it, but you need to come inside... at least come closer" she instructed when you didn't move. You squinted through the rain at her face, from what you could make out in the dim light of the porch her face seemed concerned, her brow furrowed together but lips tight in frustration. Her eyes weren't looking at you, but rather looking up and down the street as if she was scanning for something.

"Matt's gonna kill me" you mumbled to yourself and against all reason stepped onto the porch. Your vision was no longer clouded by rain you could see her more clearly. Her face, for all its concern and..., was that fear behind her eyes, looked kind. It was only now, close up you could see the laugh lines in her skin, and the blue medical gloves on her hands. "Listen" she said in a hushed tone and she handed you an ID badge. "My name is Claire, I'm a nurse." You looked over the ID, it was a security staff pass for the hospital and seemed genuine. Not that you had any idea what a real one looked like but you handed it back to her all the same. "Why am I here Claire? Why did you have Matt's cell?"

"Matt came to me because he needed my help" she began, her tone lowering even more "but he's been asking for you and this time I couldn't say no" you frowned and your heart began to race. Was Matt having an affair? What was this? "I'm gonna take you to see him, but you need to prepare yourself, he's in a seriously rough shape" she warned before opening the building door and stepping inside, holding it open for you to follow. "Why should I trust you?" you ask and Claire shook her head.

"You have no reason to trust me, other than my ID, my word and Matt's name" she said, "anything else will have to wait until we're upstairs."

Your heart was in your mouth, your hand still tucked in your bag and you were unaware that your feet were already moving into the building and following Claire up the stairs to her fourth-floor apartment. It wasn't until she paused outside her apartment door that you realised and mentally kicked yourself for following this random woman. "Prepare yourself" she warned again and pushed open the door.

You thought that you could have been prepared for anything that was behind that door: an armed man, a gang, Matt simply bruised from falling off a curb or something. But no.

Lying there, on the couch in the middle of the room was Matt. Unconscious and covered almost head to toe in blood, several white bandage patches on his torso, legs and arms exposed as he was nude bar his underwear. "The hell!?" You cried and ran across the room, dropping your bag on the floor, forgetting the protection inside it as you skidded to your knees in front of Matt and began pushing his dark hair out of his face, matted with blood and wet from the rain. You vaguely heard the door to the apartment shut behind Claire as she followed you inside. Tears were streaming from your eyes as you rubbed Matt's shoulders and cheeks and begged for him to look at you. You pressed your ear to his chest when he didn't even stir; searching for any sign of life. There was a low, and steady thump of his heart in his chest, he was alive, but what on earth had happened, this was no fell off a curb accident. You looked up from his chest to look for Claire, searching for answers but blinded by your own tears. Claire sighed as she looked down at you from where she stood and peeled her gloves off. "I don't understand" was all you could whisper to her as you took his strong hand in yours and held it to your lips for a gentle kiss. "Y/N" Claire soothed and her face smoothed and she knelt down to you, carefully taking you by the arm "let me make you a drink, and I can explain" she promised. You yanked your arm out of her grip and held fast onto Matt. "No, you tell me what the hell happened, now or I call the cops"