𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 → 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑜 𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒

chapter twenty five

"Hi Harry," she said as she approached, "have you seen Elina?" Eden swallowed hard as he shook his head. Perhaps Elina's fear had got the better of her, but she wanted to make sure she was all right. She set off again and, being tall enough, searched for her in the crowd of students.

"Elina, where are you?" whispered Eden. She crossed a corridor back to the Astronomy Tower and finally saw her. "Elina!" She ran towards her and her best friend turned round. Eden stopped, unsure of what she saw. "Elina?"

The Hufflepuff made a gurgling sound and staggered back, one hand around her open throat where blood was pouring out. Eden rushed at her, holding her back before she collapsed, screaming and trying to alert someone.

"Elina! I'm here, I... HELP ME!" Eden closed her eyes as Elina coughed, blood splattering across her face as she tried to speak. "No, don't talk, you need to keep your strength up." Eden raised her head, her screams had alerted some of the students and shouts were scattered through the growing crowd.

"Jo...shua," Elina said. She lay dying in Eden's arms and the redhead shook her head, refusing to lose anyone else. She held her until she stopped moving and Eden let out a sob.

"No, no, no, Elina, look at me, Elina!" Eden shook her, but Elina didn't move. Her eyes were empty. Dumbledore came running and other teachers tried to push the students away. Eden refused to move, she grabbed Elina, screaming in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Take her to Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore said.

Eden felt arms grab her and she began to struggle, refusing to let go of Elina. She had no friends, she had nothing. Joshua was dead, Elina was dead and Eden was all that was left.

"Stop, stop, Eden." Mattheo's voice popped into her head and when she realised it was him trying to grab her, she tried even harder to resist. "Eden, stop!" This time Mattheo's voice was a whisper in her ear and she found herself in his arms. She cried and he held her, pulling her away from Elina.

Mattheo walked past the infirmary but didn't stop and went up the stairs to the bathroom, which he locked. He undressed Eden and placed her in the bath before washing the blood from her face, neck and hands. Eden hugged her knees to her chest and cried some more. She let Mattheo take care of her, washing her then wrapping her in a towel and he held her against him before lifting her face to wipe her blades.

"You need to calm down," Mattheo said. Eden pushed him away and snapped back to reality. She didn't want him and she backed away.

"Calm down?" she shouted. "My best friends are dead and..." Eden seemed to think and looked at Mattheo. "Where have you been? You weren't in class and Elina had her throat cut, she didn't cut it herself!"

The redhead saw the grief, anger and disappointment mixed in Mattheo's eyes, but Elina had said Joshua's name before she died. Perhaps she was trying to warn Eden that Joshua's death was no accident.

"Did you do it? Did you kill her? Mattheo, is that you?" cried Eden. "I trusted you, I told you about the ring, you're an heir and your father is Voldemort."

"Eden ... I ... no, no, I ..." Mattheo felt his voice break and Eden was surprised to see tears rolling down his cheeks.

"How can I trust you? You're a bad person, you're a ..." Eden stopped and lowered her eyes.

"Say it, say what you think." Mattheo wiped away his tears angrily and Eden opened her mouth.

"A monster," she breathed. Eden gasped as Mattheo hit the mirror, screaming. The glass shattered and the shards fell on Eden's bare feet. Mattheo's fist began to bleed and she stepped back, terrified.

"You always thought so, didn't you?" shouted Mattheo as he approached. Eden backed away and slammed into the wall. "You think I'm like him, you think I could hurt you?"

Eden gasped as he slammed his fist against the wall next to her head and she felt her legs start to shake.

"You're scaring me, stop it," Eden said. Despite everything, she put her hands on his cheeks to calm him down and it seemed to work. Mattheo fell to his knees and started to cry, grabbing Eden's waist and burying his face in the towel.

"Forgive me, I beg you," Mattheo said. "I'm not like him, Eden, please."

Eden heard the pain in his voice and felt guilty. He'd always wanted to show that he wasn't like his father, and she'd thrown it in his face that he was exactly like him. She knelt down and took him in her arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mattheo. You're not like him, I was angry, you're not a monster," Eden said. She couldn't help loving him and cried again. Mattheo's injured hand stained the towel and Eden stood up, making Mattheo stand up again and she put his fist under the water.

"I'm sorry, I... I don't think you're guilty. I trust you, I believe you, Mattheo," Eden breathed.

Mattheo looked up, his long lashes wet with tears. He felt so bad, he wanted so much to tell her the truth, but he couldn't. Eden bandaged his hand and looked at him, worried.

"I hate you," she said. "But I love you too much to see you get hurt. My best friend has just died and I don't want our history to get in the way of that, not now. I have to think of Elina. Not us."

Mattheo nodded and cleared his throat, embarrassed that he'd cried. Eden pursed her lips and hid to put on an outfit she always kept in a locker in the bathroom, then turned back to Mattheo.

"Maybe Elina was right, maybe Joshua didn't fall by accident, and if she was right, someone is after the heirs, Mattheo. That means you or I will be next." Eden shivered, she didn't want to die and she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Mattheo approached and gently placed his hands on the redhead's cheeks.

"I won't let anyone hurt you. I swear on my life, Eden, that no one will ever touch you." Mattheo was so convincing that Eden nodded, wanting to believe him. He pulled her to him and she hugged him, not knowing that the person who would hurt her most was none other than the one who had just promised to protect her.