D I L E M M A x Mattheo Riddle

bloody knuckles

    Vivienne Leclair
Mattheo Riddle is as my door.

I wish I could tell him to go away. That would be the easier option. The option that causes me the least amount of trouble.

But I can't.

I swing my feet over my bed and let my legs carry me to the door, swinging it open as fast as I can.

My eyes widen as I see Mattheo standing there, looking like he just got hit by a bus.

His hair is all out of place, his shirt is ripped, and he's covered in blood, with cuts all over his hands.

"Mattheo!" I shout, and pull him into a hug. "Are you alright?"

Electricity crackles within me just from his touch. My heart feels like it was set ablaze, and every hint of sadness I had is now disintegrating as I hold Mattheo.

Even though he looks like a mess, he still smells like himself. Expensive cologne, whiskey, and a hint of cigarette smoke.

I breathe in his scent until he looks down at me and responds, "I'm fine. Most of it's not my blood."

I giggle softly and exhale, relieved. "Thank you... for beating Cormac up. I was really fed up with him. It's like he was raised by animals."

He laughs. "And I'd do it over and over if it means protecting you."

I pull away from the hug. I don't really know what to say, so I just send him a warm smile.

"Come on, I'll get you cleaned up." I say, leading him to the bathroom.

I drag him inside the bathroom. His face has a solemn expression and I can tell that he's hurt, but he's trying to hide it.

"I know you're in pain. You don't have to hide it from me."

I open up my cabinet and take out my first aid kid. My mother gave it to me years ago, and I've only ever had to use it a few times.

"I'm not hurt." Mattheo scoffs. "Cormac's got it a thousand times worse."

My expression immediately drops and I give him a blank stare. It's very on brand for Mattheo to not admit he's hurt.

"Not hurt, huh?" I ask, grabbing a hold of his knuckles and opening up the rubbing alcohol.

I take a cotton round and put the rubbing alcohol on it, and then put it a on his knuckles.

"Ah! Fuck, Vivienne!" He shouts, pulling his hands away from me. I jolt backwards, startled at his outburst.

I figured the son of the Dark Lord could handle a bit of rubbing alcohol. I guess I was wrong.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" For some reason unbeknownst to me, tears begin to well in my eyes. He's scaring me, and I can see the anger present in his face.

I back away from him very slowly, fully ready to run away from him if needed.

He looks down at me and his expression softens after he sees the tears in my eyes. "Viv... I didn't mean to-" He runs his hands through his hair. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. You just caught me off guard."

I sigh and try to regather my composure.

I take another look at his bloody and bruised knuckles. "Can I continue cleaning them?" I say, motioning to his hands.

He nods his head and I walk over to the counter, hoisting myself up and sitting down next to the sink.

I'm sitting on the counter with my legs off the edge, and I pull on Mattheo's arm to move him close to me, bringing him in between my legs.