sharp knife of a short life (Marco)

[Deleted]

He should have never been over there. He was out of their life, for good this time. After all, his parents were back together. That made it pretty obvious that he would never have to deal with Jonathan again. So what happened? Why was he here, unconscious and hooked up to machines and IV's? What had brought him back inside that terrible house? In a word, Marissa. He had told her everything. All the secrets that were supposed to be buried deep within the foundation of the Ryker house were spilled in one setting when Matt and Marissa were finally able to spend the night together. The boy had started to cry, and from there it was a matter of moments until the girl knew exactly what her boyfriend had been dealing with. It was supposed to be a way of escaping, a way of venting. If he knew what she was going to try, he never would have done it. How was he supposed to know that the man had put up bail and gotten out of jail? Better yet, how was he supposed to know that Marissa was going to take a gun belonging to her father's body guard and go to Jonathan's house and try to shoot him? He couldn't.

But she hadn't succeeded, either. It didn't take much for Jonathan to take the gun, and force her to give Matt a call. And as soon as he knew where she was, he had rushed to the house, if only to offer himself up to Jonathan in exchange for her freedom. He knew what would happen if she was forced to the basement. And he wasn't going to let that happen to her. Not Marissa. She was perfect. She was so innocent and sweet. She never deserved it, not any of it. He didn't know how he was going to do it, but Matt knew he had to save her.

It was a struggle he wasn't prepared for. He had been struck with a chain, and when they finally saw a window of opportunity to leave, he refused to. He was furious. In the back of his mind, Matt knew that he never stood a chance against the older man. Still, he stayed to fight. It was that last strike, coming from the baseball bat, that put him here. Matt lost the feeling in his legs, just before he passed out. And it was only Marissa that got him help. She had called 9-1-1. That was six hours ago.

It was getting towards three am when Matt's eyes finally fluttered open. So much had happened while he was unconscious. The paramedics had taken him straight to the OR, as his parents were called. And what Matt was about to find out, was nothing that he was going to want to hear. His spine had been damaged beyond repair. The boy would never walk again. Sixteen years old, and he would be imprisoned in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Disoriented at first, Matt looked around. The machines, the tubes, they intimidated the boy. They were never a sign of anything good. He sat in the hospital bed in silence for just a moment before a nurse walked in. "Hey, look who's awake." His eyes narrowed as he watched her. The sarcasm that would normally escape his lips was contained for once. He didn't say a word. She walked over to his IV, injected some medicine in it, then looked at him once more. "That should help with the pain. If it's ok, I'm going to tell your family that you're awake and can have visitors. Is that ok?"

Blinking, he nodded. Matt wanted nothing more than to see his dad. He felt like a very small boy right now, and he was scared and worried and fuck, he still couldn't feel his damned legs. As she walked out, he rubbed his face with the hand that carried the IV. Part of him wanted to know where Marissa was, just to make sure that she was safe. Then again, part of him didn't care. He looked towards the window, peering out into the darkness before he heard the door open once more.