Chapter 29 part 1
Matias
In short, Matias's day so far had sucked.
He woke up disturbed and panicked from a ridiculous nightmare— which included from Guzantee threatening him all the way back to the woman he was forced to kill before he and Samuel even really met— and then had to pretend like nothing had even happened.
He had, admittedly, been dense and even a bit awkward towards Samuel since he woke up. But in all fairness, Samuel was acting strange too.
Matias had caught him staring multiple times and he was being even more distant that Matias himself. The only relief from this behavior is when Samuel went to get groceries earlier that day—which was definitely needed considering the empty kitchen.
Now it was evening and Matias and Samuel were sat on the couch while Ellie slept in her room.
They were sitting far apart with an entire cushion between them. A movie was on the TV, but Matias hadn't paid it the least bit of attention.
All he could think about was how Samuel kept shifting awkwardly and how he hadn't stopped fidgeting with his hands since they sat down. Matias considered speaking up, but what would he say?
A light flashed on the screen and Samuel flinched slightly, making Matias glance over.
He tried to reassure himself. He did his best to think rationally. Surely they were close enough for Matias to ask what was going on. They had kissed for christs sake.
He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again without making a sound.
He tried again, hesitating, but managing a soft whisper. "Are you alright?"
Samuel's head snapped over like he had been waiting for something to draw his eyes away from the television. His eyes had purple bags beneath them and his hair was a bit messy, but Matias felt his heart speed up nonetheless.
"Yeah" Samuel mumbled in response.
Matias watched as Samuel hesitantly turned back to the TV, a silent sigh leaving his lips.
He watched for a bit longer, observing Samuels obvious concern, before he pulled his eyes away.
They didn't stay away for long though.
"Matias"
And his head was turned right back and his eyes locked back onto Samuels. Samuel seemed to gain the slightest bit of confidence, his eyebrows furrowing with determination.
But that determination didn't take long to fade. His face grew soft and his eyes grew worried. His posture stiffened and he sat up straighter.
"Yes?" Matias responded, trying to usher Samuel into continuing.
Samuel continued to pinch at his hands and his legs shifted as he couldn't sit still. The sight made Matias feel beyond upset, wondering what he could've done to cause this kind of anxiety.
"I'm sorry.. I've just.." Samuel began, and faltered.
Matias stayed silent, but gave Samuel a look of encouragement.
"I should've told you this sooner" he mumbled, his eyes traveling to the couch cushion between them.
Matias once again didn't speak. He wanted to, of course. He didn't, however, have a single clue as to what he would say. He was terrified of making things worse as is, and speaking could make that all the more possible.
Curiosity spiked through his vains, but he tried to hide the eager look on his face.
"I'm sorry, I really should've have kept this to myself" Samuel muttered again, his voice growing more and more anxious. "Before you showed up.. in the alley"
Matias scooted gradually closer to Samuel, but still left half a cushion between them. He let his hand rest close to Samuels side, but didn't dare touch him.
Samuel had tears welling in his eyes and his cheeks had gone red. The sight alone make Matias want to hug him and tell him everything was okay. But, of course, he stayed still. And he stayed silent. And he didn't move.
"Guzantee told me how he was involved in all this.. and he explained some thing" he looked away, "that I don't think you know about yet"
By now Matias's heart was ready to leap out of his chest and his lungs felt like they had shrunk. He had subconsciously begun to bite his lip, unaware he was even doing it.
He watched as Samuel took a long, deep breath.
"You told me that Guzantee's men were chasing you down because you stole from him"
Matias nodded. His curiosity was worse than ever and his nerves were out of control. He struggled to keep calm, but continued to let Samuel take his time.
"Well.. he told me that wasn't exactly how it went" Samuel babbled on.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Matias pushed, finally getting the nerve to speak up.
Samuel leaned back and looked away, but continued nonetheless.
"It's kind of frustrating. You might want to-"
"I'm fine, go ahead" Matias interrupted.
He felt like if he waited any longer he would explode. He didn't blame Samuel for his hesitation, but the annoyance didn't go away.
"Well he stared with explaining how the new villain was like his daughter, something about taking her from an abusive household"
Samuel looked at Matias for some sign of approval, but got nothing.
"He said she already had her powers, but he like.. trained her, I guess" he questioned his own memory.
Matias's head was spinning. No matter how much time passed, the shock of Meera being the new villain would never go away. Not to mention that the whole time her and Guzantee of all people were close.
"And then he went into how the hero and villain thing started"
Matias looked deep into Samuels eyes. He couldn't bring himself to care what he must've looked like from Samuels perspective, but he knew he wasn't looking away.
"Guzantee, he, uh," Samuel stuttered.
Matias resisted the urge to tell him to just spit it out.
"After you stole from him, he had some guys.. stalk you"
Matias's eyes went wide and his jaw clenched so hard his teeth began to ache. He hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary at the time. How could he have not noticed?
The longer he thought about it, the more sense it made. He was practically always high. Not to mention the extent of drugs he took, both day and night.
"Fuck" he exhaled sharply.
He looked down at his hands, which were now locked on to each other strongly. The room felt humid and every small thing, like a hair falling from in his face or his shirt getting stuck on the couch, drove him insane.
When he finally looked up Samuel was staring back at him, a patient and almost scared expression on his face.
"Sorry" Matias whispered harshly. "Go on"
Samuel nodded slowly, but waited a few more seconds before actually speaking.
"They saw you use your powers, and Guzantee figured it'd be a pretty good opportunity to get back at you"
Samuel, once again, looked at Matias for a sign to continue. Matias, however, had his eyes glued to the couch.
"The guy that chased you in the alley, the day that you became "the villain", he was payed to do it. They intentionally chased you onto the sidewalk"
If Matias thought he was mad before, then he was furious now.
Samuel softened his voice and spoke with more consideration that Matias had ever heard before. "They knew you'd use your powers. They wanted this to happen"
Matias's hands squeezed together so tight it hurt. His face had gone blank, not moving a muscle.
Every event from the last few years replayed in his head. Every fight, every injury, every news report talking about how evil he was. It was all part of Guzantee's sick plan.
"Matias" Samuel faltered.
He reached a hand out to grab onto Matias's, but Matias jerked away without thinking.
Their eyes met and Matias couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt. Samuel was just trying to help. He was just trying to give some kind of comfort.
But that wasn't what Matias wanted. He wanted to go back and prevent this from happening. He wanted to figure out Guzantee's plan sooner and stop all this. If anything, he wanted to find Guzantee here and now just to beat the life out of him.
But, of course, he didn't. He only kept staring right into Samuels pupil, imagining all the ways things could've gone differently.
"I'm sorry" he choked, "I just need a second"
He knew he needed much more than that, but stayed silent and averted his gaze.
He needed to know things would be okay. He needed some hope that there was a way out of this fucked up situation.
He needed to give Guzantee a nice strong punch in the face.
But instead he simply stood up silently and made his way to the bathroom.
Samuel didn't say a word as he walked off, and Matias was partially grateful for it. He didn't know how he would respond to anything said to him right now.
Once in the bathroom he locked the door behind him and went up to the sink.
He gripped the edges so hard his knuckles turned white and he heard a few fingers pop.
Above the sink he stared into his own eyes, facing himself in the reflection.
His grey eyes appeared as dull and emotionless as ever, despite the anger he was feeling. His eyebrows were furrowed, but seemed just a bit too relaxed, a bit too calm. His lip was curved up and went into his mouth and between his teeth.
He released his lip and almost immediately a dab of deep red came dripping slowly down his chin.
The red clashed with his overly pale skin, matching with his black hair and making him seem like some kind of vampire.
He took a deep breath and let his face relax. He hated how similar he looked compared to before.
He hated how he couldn't express all the anger and guilt he was feeling. He just looked neutral.
He put a small grin on his face, but it appeared lopsided and annoyed.
A scoff escaped his lips without even thinking about it.
If he was angry he seemed normal, if he was happy he seemed awkward— unusual, he had been told— and if he was simply resting his face everyone seemed to think he was pissed off.
He couldn't win.
No matter what, someone would always come out above him.
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Don't we just love Guzantee