ROGUE

18 : A Visitor

Your POV

I woke up in a clinical white room which I had seen way too many times to mistake it for anything else. I remember all those times in the past when I really thought it was all over, and then I'd wake up in hospital with Jason there to comfort me. However, this time, it was obviously different.
Jason had been replaced by a doctor who immediately decided to shine a blinding light into my eyes as soon as he realised I was conscious. A dark-skinned male police officer was also sat on the bedside chair, dressed in blue and constantly looking at me with his features twisted with sympathy. Something about him felt oddly familiar, and when he noticed me staring, he smiled softly and nodded.

"She may have a concussion and asking too many questions could confuse her," The doctor said to the officer, continuing to study me and make me feel slightly uncomfortable. "I suggest waiting until she's over the shock and completely stable."

I groggily reached up and swatted the doctors hand away from my face and sent him an immediate look of disapproval. "I'm s-stable right now." I said, furrowing my eyebrows and familiarising myself with my surroundings.

The officer next to me chuckled lowly. "I think we'll be alright, doc. I'll take it from here." He said as he casually reached for his clipboard and pen which was resting on the beside table. The doctor seemed to glare at the officer for a second, but then he simply shook his head and pulled off his stretchy blue gloves before exiting the room without another word.
The man next to me wasted no time to speak, and he leaned forward and gave me a reassuring look. "That was quite a beating you took, Miss Y/L/n." He said softly. "But luckily, your injuries aren't as bad as expected. Do you mind telling me what happened?"

I inhaled a shaky breath and closed my eyes. I didn't want to explain all the small details because I simply didn't care. I didn't care what was going to happen to me and I didn't care what was going to happen to Sam. That's just how it went. Emotion was something that was almost foreign to me now, and the only thing I could actually feel was grief. "I came home late and my boyfriend didn't like it, he accused me of cheating and we had an argument. He ended up punching me and I hit my head. Then I passed out." I shrugged and forced a smile. "But nothing hurts. I'm fine."
My heart hurts, I am not fine.

The officer nodded and scribbled something down onto his clipboard. "Is this the first time something like this has happened?" He asked, failing to make eye contact with me.

I felt too physically and emotionally exhausted to explain every other abusive scenario, so I subtly sighed and shook my head. "No, this is the first time."

The officer looked back up at me and I felt his eyes drilling into mine, eventually when he spoke, I suddenly felt vulnerable and intimidated. "Are you telling the truth, Miss?"

My breath hitched. "Yes."

The officer continued to stare for a moment, eyes narrowing and desperately trying to read mine, but then he let out a heavy sigh and continued to write. "Alright, Miss. This is enough to go on for now, but we will need to ask more questions when you're feeling up to it. In the meantime, you have a visitor. Get well soon." He said as he stood up from his chair and brushed off his uniform before heading towards the door.

My eyebrow instantly cocked up curiously. "A visitor?" But by the time my words carried through the air, the cop had already gone and my question was left unanswered. "Who the hell wants to visit m - "

The door swung open again almost as soon as it had shut closed. A tall man stood in the doorway and my body instantly became useless. It was a man I thought I would never see again, and tears collected in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks before I even knew I was crying. A soft smile grew on his plump lips and sympathy coloured in his dark brown eyes. When he spoke, the famous British accent had never sounded so beautiful to me, and all I wanted to do was get out of bed and hug him.
"It's been far too long, Y/n."

"Matt." I whispered, watching him closely as he approached the side of the bed and gently sat down on the end, he reached for my hand and held it tightly in his, rubbing small circles on my skin as I tried my best to choke back a sob.

"Shh, it's alright. It's gonna be alright now, okay?" He comforted, tilting his head and angling his eyebrows emotionally. "Please don't cry, Y/n. You're gonna make me cry."

I didn't know why Matt was here, or how he was here - but I was so glad that he was, and a small part of me somehow felt connected again. "I'm sorry," I whimpered, propping myself up onto my elbows. "I've just missed you so much... All of you."

Matt stared at me for a few seconds before blinking hard and sniffling slightly. "Fucking hell, Y/n, we've all missed you too." His voice cracked and his smile grew warmer and realer. "Things just haven't been the same... And look at what a mess you've got yourself into without us." Matt laughed through his silent tears and gestured to me, which made me chuckle softly and roll my eyes.

"Well I would've called." I said.

Matt shrugged and suddenly looked slightly disappointed. "So why didn't you?" He asked gently, tightening his grip on my hand for extra support. "If we found out what was happening to you sooner, then this shit would've stopped months ago."

I sighed and shrugged awkwardly. "I didn't think you'd want to hear from me." I snivelled, using my free hand to wipe my tear-stained cheeks.

Matt raised his eyebrows and looked stunned. "Are you joking? You're family to us, Y/n. You're always going to be family to us. Families don't abandon each other."

The burning sensation behind my eyes intensified and I couldn't help but imagine what things should've been like right now.
It should've been Jason and I, as a family.
But instead, we abandoned each other and I lost him.
"So, this was you?" I asked, gesturing to the clinical room. "You found out what Sam was doing to me and rescued me?"

Matt's lips once again curved into a gentle smile and he shrugged casually. "Well... I wouldn't take all the credit. I wasn't the one who found out about it." He said.

"Oh, who did?"

He chuckled unintentionally and my face twisted with an undeniable look of confusion. "Who do you think?" He toyed.

I furrowed my eyebrows further. "Alara?"

Matt's features coloured with an emotion that I simply couldn't read, and his signature look of cockiness was suddenly replaced with uncertainty. "Wow, you really do have a concussion." He forced a laugh and studied my dumbfound expression. But when he figured out that I wasn't intending to say anything else, his jaw suddenly fell open in some sort of realisation. "Holy fucking shit." He muttered to himself.

"What?" I asked. "Matt, why are you suddenly acting so weird?"

"Y/n," He said, staring at me intensely with wild and almost frightened eyes. "You don't um... did you go to Jason's memorial today?"

My breath hitched at the sound of Jason's name and my heart pounded. "Yeah, I did." I said quietly. "Why? What's going on?"

Matt looked oddly distraught.
"Um..." He rubbed the back of his neck and he was undeniably bothered by something, but I couldn't work out what and it was beginning to frighten me.

"Matt, what's going on?" I pleaded, repeating myself desperately.

When his dark eyes locked with mine, they were filled with confusion and something that almost looked like betrayal. It took him a while to piece together a sentence inside his head, but when he did, his voice sounded far away and my heart was pounding so hard against my chest that I felt as if it was going to come out.

"I think there's something you should know..."

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