Coffee Shop Soundtrack (Marianas Trench)

Chapter Twenty

Josh stared at his phone in confusion. Matt couldn’t be serious, he couldn’t have just lied about all that. How else could he explain all those bruises? All those marks? He frowned and dialled back.

“Your call cannot be taken at the moment because this person’s phone is currently unavailable. Please try again later.” The monotone voice left Josh even more bewildered than before. He frowned and sat up from his position on the bed, checking the number again only to find the same monotone response. He clicked his tongue angrily and ran his hands through his hair. Something was up, and Josh was going to find out as soon as possible.

The next day, Matt wasn’t at university. Josh spent the day alone and upset, not concentrating in his lectures because he was too busy thinking about what could have happened to Matt.

It took two full weeks of sitting alone in music class and no calls or texts to realise that there was most definitely a problem. Ian had tried to convince Josh the younger boy got the flu or something, and the tall man dumbly went along with it. Two Fridays after he’d got that phone call, he decided to stop by at Ian’s house on the way home. Kira was there too, writing on Ian’s laptop. She answered the door and Ian brought Josh a cup of coffee almost as soon as he entered the apartment.

“I don’t know what to do, man. He just called me and told me we couldn’t be friends anymore, but that can’t be it.” Josh gratefully took the coffee and braved a sip of the scorching liquid.

“Hey, didn’t you say his friend lives in this apartment complex?” Kira said.

“Yeah, Mike. Why?”

“Go ask him if something’s up. But be discreet, alright Ramsay?”

But Josh was already out the door and rushing down to the doorbells to find if there was a Mike on the register. Sure enough Mr Michael Ayley lived in the flat two floors above Ian, and Josh took the stairs to save time from the faulty lift. He knocked twice on the door and took a step back sheepishly. Mike answered pretty quickly. His face showed confusion as he tried to remember who this person was and then his eyes lit up with comprehension.

“Josh, right?”

“Yeah, and you must be Mike.” Josh smiled and Mike smiled warmly back. “Sorry to intrude, my friend Ian lives a couple floors below. I needed to talk to you... I was just wondering, I, uh... I got a weird call from Matt a few nights ago and I was wondering if you knew anything about it?”

Mike’s eyes widened. “You got a call too?” He stepped aside and motioned for Josh to enter the apartment. He shut the door behind him and Josh courteously looked around.

“I was just making coffee, do you want something?” Mike asked from the kitchen.

“A coffee would be great, thanks.”

He sat in the living room and waited for Mike to return with two steaming mugs in his hands.

“Something about not being able to be friends anymore?” Mike asked.

“Yeah. He said he was in love with Tyler.” Josh said, sighing. “But the last time I checked, that wasn’t exactly true. Right?”

“Don’t worry, I know everything. At least I thought I did.” Mike crinkled his nose up. “He told me everything Tyler did was a lie. But that doesn’t explain anything.”

“I know. He... he told me about everything. He said you know as well. It’s alright.” Josh smiled humourlessly. “I’m worried about him.”

Mike scratched the back of his neck and sighed. “I’d go over and intervene, but we don’t know about where Tyler is. I can’t get in touch with his phone.”

“Me neither. I don’t think he would have lied to uslike that, Mike.”

Matt sat on the bed, thinking. His eyes were sore from crying, and his arms were sore with new bruises and fresh cuts and god, he regretted it. He regretted everything but was thankful for it at the same time, because he knew he deserved it. Now there were locks from the outside of the door as well as the inside. Matt had nothing to do. He relied on Tyler completely now, and it was horrible. There was no landline, he had no mobile, and there was no way of contacting anyone. He’d go on his laptop to talk to someone, anyone, but Tyler had changed the password to get onto the internet. He was literally isolated.

“I’m in a fucking prison.” He muttered, picking at his fingernail beds. He got up out of bed, rubbing his eyes absently and heading over to the window. He watched as the people went about their business, free to go wherever. He sighed, and made the bed neatly. Might as well do cleaning to avoid doing nothing. He’d done it all yesterday. But he was so god damn bored. He headed to the bathroom and pulled some of the chemicals from under the sink.

“Maybe it would be better if I just killed myself.” He murmured, tracing fingertips across still semi-bleeding cuts. He’d been thinking about this – suicide – a lot recently. It made sense. His life was already a living hell. He might as well. Tyler wouldn’t care. Mike and Josh wouldn’t find out. It would be bliss; being able to get away from this place. Right?

He shuddered as he breathed in deeply, staring at his own reflection in the mirror. He was disgusting, worthless. Tyler didn’t love him. Not even his remaining family loved him. He was a failure and it was a waste for him to be alive. He sucked in another breath and looked down at his shaking hands, staring at the bottle he held. This would be alright. It would be okay and he wouldn’t have to go through this anymore. He twisted off the cap, but was stopped by the door slamming shut. He sighed, and put the bottle back on the shelf. Later, he’d do it. It would be fine.

“Matt?” Tyler called, and Matt exited the bathroom. Within seconds he was pressed up against the wall, Tyler’s hands wandering the length of his neck.

“I was hoping you’d be here.” He purred, and Matt wanted to walk away, a sincere sense of claustrophobia taking over. But, considering he was stuck in place, he just sighed exasperatedly.

“Well, it’s not like you let me anywhere else.” He said bravely. Tyler slapped him hard, and he shut his mouth.

“You don’t know what I could do to you, brat. I suggest you shut your mouth and let me kiss you before I fucking kill your whiny ass.”

“I don’t-” He said quickly, trying to protest but was interrupted by Tyler’s lips on his own, the boy desperately shoving his tongue in Matt’s mouth and grinding his hips down hard on Matt’s own, and it took the Matt all he could not to yell out in agitation. He could taste the alcohol on his breath as Tyler pulled the guitarist’s hands up to place them on his own tattooed hips. Matt did so, not wanting to cause an argument. He was in for a long night.

He awoke early, as usual, and looked over to where Tyler lay. He was calm in his sleep, like the boy Matt once fell in love with. Now neither of them loved each other and Tyler was still holding onto the boy like a child to a toy. Matt sighed and untangled himself from Tyler’s grip, quickly grabbing some clothes and stepping into the shower. He hissed as the hot water touched his open wounds, but after a while the stinging became a little more bearable. When he got out the shower, he put on some sweatpants and an old sweater. He headed to the kitchen to make breakfast for Tyler when he woke up.

“Like a fuckin’ slave.” He muttered to himself as he cracked an egg into a frying pan.

 A/N: Can we get to at least 4K views and 70 likes by Christmas? We've only got four days left!