~I Was Rescued~
{Chapter Three}
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I felt guilty that night, but I realized something that next day.
I got up. I showered, got dressed, and I headed for the restaurant, looking quite spiffy. The restaurant owner seemed a bit off, but the food was delicious and the coffee was quality. A young man caught my eye. He got yelled at many times while I was there. But instead of crying or pleading, he looked him in the eyes with intense hatred, or looked away entirely, frozen with fear. I knew that look as I had seen it on my own face when I looked in the mirror. It made me feel as though I could talk to him.
I know that sounds odd, but it's true. I felt I'd never have the courage too, though.
But that day I discovered two things. My new favorite restaurant, and my future mission.
I had found some motivation to do something special. Tino was pleased that I wanted ro help people and helped me start a small local help group for those who needed help. Advice, a simple chat. Whatever they needed that they couldn't get somewhere else.
I stopped showing up at that restaurant for a while as it got so busy with some of the people I helped. But of all the calls and emails and visits I held I never saw him. It bugged me. When things slowed down a bit I returned for a cup of coffee at the restaurant. It might've been wrong to assume that he had a serious problem, but in most cases my intuition was right. He wasn't there that day.
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"Hello again Mathias. How's my favorite customer? You ready to order?" The owner asked me. I smiled and gave the answer of coffee and questions. "Alright. What do you want to ask then?"
"I was just wondering where that boy was today. The one with the short, light hair? And the blue eyes."
"Oh well. That's my nephew, Lukas. He was sick today. I let him rest." He answered. Something about him felt off.
"Well I hope he recovers soon." I responded.
"Thank you. Your coffee will be right out."
After that I came in everyday for coffee, but he didn't show up again for two weeks. He came out early that morning with an angrier expression than usual.
"Can I get you something?" The sass from Lukas was off the charts.
"Just some coffee. Lukas, was it? How are you feeling?" He paused and glanced around.
"I-I don't see why you care... but I'm fine."
"I only ask since you've been gone for two weeks."
"I just didn't feel like working."
"Because you were sick?" He paused, and his eyes widened a little.
"Umm... yeah. Sick. But I'm fine now." He murmured. I just smiled and watched him get my coffee. "Enjoy..."
"Wait! Why don't you sit down and join me. Take a break. After all you just got back to work from being pretty sick." He glared at me.
"I'm not on break, and you're nosy. I don't need one." He shifted back to the defensive and looked off emotionlessly to the floor.
"Alright, maybe when you're feeling better." Lukas's face flushed and he turned away in a huff.
"I just won't serve you then." I smiled.
His answer and his uncle's were conflicting. The ease with how he accepted the other option was familiar. A young boy some time ago had the same demeanor, and ease of acceptance. His eyes screamed out what he could not. I knew there had been something up the moment I saw him. Let's just say I was especially determined to figure him out.
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"Excuse me, I'd like to request your nephew to be my waiter. He is great at service, and so polite." The owner raised an eyebrow, but didn't question me on that statement.
"Of course, I'll be right back with him. I'm sure he'd be honored."
A moment later Lukas was dragged over. When his uncle grabbed his arm, he seemed to freak out a bit, and I was sure I saw a wince.
"Hello again, sir." The owner wandered off to deal with some other customer, as Lukas greeted me.
"Hello," I replied," I'd like two cups of coffee."
"Two? That's a bit much for one person, at least all at once." I responded with a goofy smile. He left and came back with two coffees. "There, satisfied?"
"Actually I'd like you to sit down. You can't ignore me, so you might as well!" I urged, gesturing to the seat across from me. He sat and crossed his arms.
"Fine, but I'm blaming you if I get in trouble."
"Wouldn't be blaming if it is my fault."
"What do you want. Try not to waste a lot of my time at least." I nodded.
"Right. I just wanted to talk to you. You're normally avoiding everyone. But there is something about you that bugs me. And I don't mean that you bother me. Something surrounding you bothers me. You don't have to talk to me, not right now. But you can feel free to anytime. I see something is wrong. I see it in lots of people. And trust me it's easier to see when you've been through something similar yourself. Maybe one day I'll tell you."
"You want to make my life a living hell? Well, do you? Because you shouldn't be sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. There is no reason for you to help me. You can't help me. Now, stop requesting me!" Lukas stood and walked off down a back hallway.
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I sighed feeling defeated, paid, and left that day. I couldn't stop as much as I tried. As many people as I had helped, it ate at me that he didn't want help. When I told Tino, he said that I was heading somewhere dangerous, and unless he showed signs soon of opening up, I should get out of there. I agreed with him, after all I helped people to feel good about life. Not pull myself into another slump.
It took so long for me to get him to open up. But the day came when he looked on the verge of tears, his uncle shamelessly screaming at him. I couldn't take it, seeing his broken heart shatter even more, and scatter on the floor. It was too much.
I puffed out my chest and straightened my tie. I went to correct hia uncle and I wanted to punch hin so bad. I kept my voice soft but harsh in its echo. When I was finished I glanced to Lukas, who looked... his dace was indescribable. A mix of emotions that couldn't be explained.
He cane over to serve me, after I had coreected his uncle, and he smiled. He smiled for only a moment, but it was a smile of gratitude. It was endearing. I knew the words that followed meant no ill will. When he started to open up, that started the beginning of the rest of my life.
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P.S: I will always be grateful to you, dear. I know how long it's taken you to share your life with me. I'm so glad you came to that door. That you bothered me to no end. There is no-one else I would rather have shared the Beginning of the rest of my life with. I love you! ~Darling
I held the birthday gift letter in my clutches for a long time. I'm glad I was rescued from my own despair and trauma. That way, Lukas had the chance to truly live. The journey was long, and sometimes it was arduous. But there was no other journey I would want to have taken. Now we shall share the end of the rest of our life together, nothing left to say but I love you. Because we both know what we've been through. We both know what we mean to each other. More importantly, we both lived a real grim fairytale together, except we rescued it together from the cruel author and gave it a happy ending. One where no one has to scream out, "Rescue me!", but one where everyone can say they had already been rescued. And that was the only thing they'd ever need.
A/n: Hello, cupcakes! So, I was told when Rescue Me finished that I should write a prequel type thing explaining Mathias's motivation and what his life had been like before Lukas. I thought of this all in one day, so hopefully it's sufficient. I know it's really short, but I didn't imagine it being too long to begin with, and all events in his life were explained here without going to far back. I hope the shift of perspective isn't too jarring, and I hope you enjoyed. See you sometime soon, and thank you for reading. :3 ~Hetaliancupcake