Chapter 22 part 1
Matias
After leaving Officer Hinton alone in the alley where Samuel had gone missing Matias made his way towards Penny Drive, a small neighborhood not too far from where he was.
The whole way there he took twists and turns to go around crowed roads while also avoiding anywhere completely deserted. He didn't want large groups of people staring at him in fear, but he also wasn't big on being alone. Not with nobody to witness anything that may happen.
Luckily, everyone he passed didn't pay any attention to him. He was able to get to the house he was looking for without anyone causing a scene or being frightened.
Now, however, he was tasked with a much more difficult goal. He needed to speak to the person in the house.
He tried to break the process into steps to make it all seem easier.
Knock on the door.
Wait.
Explain when door is opened.
Ask about Meera.
It was supposed to be a simple process. A short interaction that couldn't possibly escalate to anything more.
And so he knocked.
At first fear took over his arm, not knocking hard enough to be heard from the inside.
The second time he knocked harder, worried that he knocked in a too hard, threatening way. He couldn't know until the door was opened though.
And so he waited. He waited for what felt like an eternity. He could feel his palms sweating and the muscles in his legs aching as if the weight of his body was suddenly too much to bear.
Finally, the door was cracked open, and an eye peeking out.
The eye got wider, staring in unbelief at the man outside the door, before the door was slammed shut.
Matias sighed. He knew people wouldn't open the door for him anymore, knowing that he was the villain, but he thought she might be different. He thought she might have trusted him enough.
"Lexi, come on" he shouted, "I'm not going to hurt you or anything"
Nothing happened. The road behind him had cleared and he was alone.
He knocked harder, trying not to sound aggressive.
"What do you need?" A voice suddenly shouted from the other side of the door. Not sounding particularly upset, but also not sounding at all joyful.
Matias perked up. He had at least gotten a response.
"Lexi, please just listen to me, I'm trying to.. well I'm trying to help find the hero but.." he rambled, panicked.
No matter where he tried to start his explanation he always ended up with something Lexi didn't know about and only made him sound more like a villain.
"It's a long story" he finally announced. "Please, I'll explain if you just let me in"
Lexi didn't respond.
Matias, not knowing what to say or do, only stood in front of the door. He fidgeted with his hands and bit on his lip, but even after many minutes passed he got no response.
That was until a faint cry came from the other side of the door.
Matias started to ask if she was okay, but didn't get the chance.
"Why would you do all those things" Lexi mumbled as her quiet cries turned into sobs, "how can you do all those awful things and then act like nothing happened"
Matias opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. He knew he was innocent, but how could he explain that to Lexi? How could he get her to listen?
"You were my friend" she spat, her voice turning cold. "Do you know how it feels to find out someone you were so close with committed all those crimes? Do you know what it's like to find out you've been talking to a murderer for years while thinking the two of you were close?!"
Matias felt his heart ache. He couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of betrayal she must've felt when she saw his face on the news. It still didn't make her words hurt less though.
He could hear her breathing ragged, heavy breaths from the other side of the door.
Finally, he spoke up, as gently as he could.
"Lexi, please listen to me" he said soothingly. "I didn't commit those crimes. I'm not a murderer"
Lexi sniffed from the other side of the door, but said nothing.
"I'll explain everything, I promise, I just need you to trust me. I didn't hurt or kill anyone" he continued to explain, begging Lexi to believe him.
"How do I know you're not lying. I don't imagine a murderer would admit their guilt as soon as it's mentioned" Lexi defended stubbornly.
Matias had always somewhat admired how tough Lexi could be—he thought it kept her safe, in a way— but now he couldn't help but he annoyed at her stubbornness.
"You're right" he sighed "but truly, I didn't do anything" he defended for what felt like the millionth time.
Lexi remained quiet.
"If you'll listen, I can tell you what happened. You can decide if you want to believe me or not after you know the whole story" he pleaded.
Once again it was silent.
A cyclist rode by quickly, not even bothering to glance in Matias's direction.
"Fine" Lexi abruptly spoke.
Matias signed in relief. He didn't know what he'd do if Lexi abandoned him at a time like this.
And so he told her the story. He started from him running from gang members in the alley years ago and worked his way through the years, not leaving out any detail.
Finally, after nearly ten minuets, he finished the annoyingly long explanation, stopping the story when he got to the part of him being in prison.
Lexi didn't say a word the whole time. She was so quiet Matias had begun to think she had left, retreating further back into her house and away from the door.
That was until he heard a click and the door was opened wide.
On the other side of the door stood Lexi, gripping onto the door knob tightly.
Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks had turned a rosy pink. Her hair was greasy and looked like it hadn't been washed for a week, though the messy bun it was put up in made it look a bit cleaner.
"Lexi" Matias whispered in contentment.
She smiled weakly back at Matias, releasing the door knob. She sniffled and rubbed her eye, making herself seem in even worse condition.
"I'm so sorry" Matias quivered.
He felt weird seeing Lexi like this and allowing her to see him like this. Their friendship had always been based off of jokes, or playfulness, or anything non-serious. Now that they were each in awful condition and Lexi was crying before him, Matias couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
Lexi shook her head and averted her gaze to the ground.
"I owe you an apology, not the other way around" she said sternly, despite the tears still pooling in her eyes.
"How about we call it even?" Matias jokingly suggested after a moment.
Lexi laughed lightly.
"Sure"
The two went into Lexi's house together, Lexi leading Matias to the living room couch.
Matias had never actually been into Lexi's home before, he only even knew where it was because Lexi insisted on them walking together one day about a year ago. It was a miracle he remembered where it was.
Lexi left the room and came back after a minutes with two glasses of ice water in her hands.
She handed one to Matias and sat her own down on a coffee table before joining Matias on the couch.
"So" she began, looking at Matias expectantly.
Matias cleared his throat, waiting for the right words to say to pop into his mind.
When Matias didn't talk for a long moment, Lexi started instead.
"Why are you here?" She asked quickly.
Matias looked back up at her with a puzzled look.
"Not that I mind it or anything, but surely you have a reason" Lexi corrected, sounding less abrasive.
Matias nodded slowly, still waiting for words to piece together in his mind.
When he had no ideas after another few seconds, he started speaking without much of a plan.
"You saw the news right? About Meera?" He asked.
Lexi grimaced, but nodded nonetheless.
"Well, Sa-.. the hero, is missing. I'm not sure if it's on the news or.."
She nodded, "it's got everyone scared out of their minds. Most people aren't even going to work"
Matias hummed in response.
"Well, I guess enough of the officers trusted me, and they let me out so I could try and help find him" he explained, searching Lexi's face for any sign of disapproval.
Lexi looked at Matias attentively, waiting for him to keep going. When he remained silent, she spoke up.
"So what does that have to do with me?" She asked politely, "if you need a place to stay or something like that I'd be glad to"
"No, not that" Matias interrupted.
His gaze shifted to the table in front of them and the took a deep breath.
"It's nothing huge , really. I just needed to know if you might know where she lives, or if you've seen where she goes after work?" He questioned a bit desperately.
He had never seen Meera go anywhere after work and didn't talk to her enough to know anywhere she had a sliver of a chance going to.
Lexi, however, was much more open to talking to people, especially at the shop. Meera didn't talk much to anyone, but if anyone knew her enough to know where she might be, it was Lexi.
"I don't think so" she answered after thinking for only a second.
Matias felt his eye twitch and his palms begin to sweat more than they already were.
"You haven't even seen a road she might've went down after her shift?" Matias persisted.
Lexi looked at the ceiling in thought.
Matias silently prayed that Lexi knew something. Even a general direction of where she might live would be helpful.
She finally looked back down at Matias and sighed.
"There was once when she accidentally left her apron on, a few years ago" Lexi began, "it took me a minute to realize so I had to practically chase her down the street and around the corner" she smiled only slightly at the memory.
Matias followed along, nodding.
"She went the way off of Greenlake and when I caught up to her she looked like the was turning into an alleyway, but I just brushed it off at the time" she finished, her hands fidgeting in her lap.
Matias perked up.
"What alleyway? Where was it specifically?"
Lexi seemed taken aback by his eagerness, but explained the location anyways.
When she was done, and Matias was sure he understood where exactly it was, he stood up quickly and fast-walked to the door, saying his goodbyes as he went. Suddenly overwhelmed with his urge to assure Samuel was okay.
"Matias!" Lexi shouted, following close behind him.
Matias stopped, only a few feet in front of the door, and spun around to face her.
"Matias" she sighed, crossing her arms tight over her chest. "Be safe, there's all kinds of people who are angry at you and.." she took a breath, "I just don't want you getting into more trouble, okay?"
Matias half-smiled back at her.
"Of course"
The two stood there for another few seconds, Matias both eager to leave and begging himself to stay.
Suddenly, without a moment's hesitation, Lexi took one large step towards Matias and wrapped her arms around him.
Her embrace was both strong and gentle, clearly acknowledging all the wounds Matias had gained since fighting the new villain—Meera.
Matias soon returned the favor, reaching over Lexi's shoulders and holding her tightly.
The two pulled away from each other and stood for no more than a second before Lexi began speaking.
"You never would've let me do that before" she laughed, then became more serious. "Don't get yourself into too much trouble, okay?"
Matias nodded.
"Alright then, get out of here. Go find the hero"
The two shared a knowing smile before Matias finally turned his back to her and left without saying another word.
Once the door clicked behind him the rush and worry from knowing Samuel was missing all came back at once. He could only pray that the alleyway Lexi had told him about was actually useful in some way.
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Reunion chapter soon?????