Chapter 7: The End and Friends

Mathew woke up in Arthur's arms with the proud prince bawling over him. Somehow Mathew convinced Arthur to let go of him and seeing as he had been unable to stand due to dizziness he made sure Arthur would fix the door not looking him in the eye.

"I'm not leaving you!" He snapped his blazing green eyes filling with tears again.

"She'll hurt me….." Mathew admitted quietly and his suspicions of Arthur knowing were confirmed when Arthur didn't protest and quickly produced the tools needed to attach the door back to the hinges (luckily that was the only damage to the door) never leaving Mathew out of his sight for more than a minute.

Mathew didn't do anything though, just sat feeling shame and guilt and confusion and sadness…and everything just everything. It just crashed down on the teenager and he cried silently each tear burning him as they ran down the scratches on his face.

Arthur scooped Mathew up and carried him princess style to the top of the stairs. Mathew didn't protest feeling he had no right to, whatever Arthur would do to him Mathew deserved.

All Arthur did was lay him gently down still within eye shot as he fixed the door. He then went even further and cleaned the blood all over the stairs.

"Sorry…." Mathew whispered.

"You damn well better be…..if you ever do something like this again…..just don't….." Arthur finished choking on his words and Mathew was unsure if he was going to hit him or hug him. He did neither he just picked Mathew up and laid him down in his bed staying by his side till the boy passed out, being quite dizzy.

When Mathew woke up Arthur was gone. Fear consumed him until he saw the first gift Arthur had ever given him on the chair by his bed where Arthur had been. Mathew picked up the pieces of the sweater and hugged it tightly crying into it. Apologizing over and over again to the empty room.

Mathew's mother didn't come back that day but she did come back the next. It was another bad night or it would have been but the scratches on his face set Mathew's mother off so much she canceled the evening plans and pounded on Mathew until she got bored and went to bed. She announced she was going out much later that night after making Mathew scrub all the floors.

"I won't be back till morning, I need to go make up for our losses…..You worthless brat…..How dare you, claw at your face you know how important your face is. How do you expect me to sell that? Tomorrow we are going to cover it properly and you're going to earn double what you usually do. In a month the duke is coming back so soon we'll be living well!" she finished brightening up at the prospect.

Then seeing Mathew shivering in fear she scowled, threw on a fancy dress, and grabbed her purse and a bottle of wine and left.

Mathew was left alone at night. An extremely rare occurrence. All he could think about doing was to go see Arthur. So he did. He had to know how angry Arthur was, if Arthur would ever want to see him again.

Mathew tried not to think about how both cases were bad. How there was no hope for him. How he desperately wanted to rip the stitches off and slowly ooze away.

He had waited too long but Mathew didn't want to do it in the beginning of the day, he wanted it to be too late when his mother got back, for her to pay by finding him. He wanted to see if she cried over him or not before he passed on. He wanted to know what expression she would show. He greatly wanted to see her expression. He didn't want to see Arthur's

But he did. He saw the pain, saw the concern. Mathew didn't even consider the possibility of Arthur finding him, or him barging into his apartment. For whatever reason Arthur cared about Mathew and even though Mathew didn't understand, it was enough to make him hold off. For now.

He waited for a while wondering if he should really go downstairs at 11pm? But he did and knocked softly at Arthur's door knowing he'd leave if it didn't open. But as almost always it did.

"….HI…."

"Come in," came the curt reply, yes Arthur was definitely still mad. Mathew entered cautiously his head down.

"Arthur….."

"Mathew this is the end….." Mathew looked up his eyes wide in fear in regret and sadness. Arthur must have been waiting to see this because he sighed and continued.

"…..of the lies…" Mathew hated that he was relieved by this. Hated how scared he had been when Arthur had said it was the end. Mathew knew it was the end, if Arthur was done with him Mathew would just succeed in disappearing this time.

So why was he happy? Why was he crying over this? He struggled with the mix of emotions but all he could utter was,

"Why? Why do you care?" It wasn't so much that he was expecting a reason he just didn't know what else to say so everything he felt was just summed up to why! Mathew had so many whys.

"Because were friends….." Mathew looked at the green eyes, looking for some proof it was true and at the same time hoping Arthur would start laughing say there was no reason and throw Mathew out. But he didn't Arthur's eyes were narrowed in dead seriousness and in 100% sincerity.

Mathew nodded it was all he could do. Arthur stretched out his hand and Mathew took it hating how his first thought when Arthur stood up and pulled Mathew to his feet was that he would lead Mathew to his bed.

He….he did….well his bedroom but it was enough to make Mathew fall to his knees screaming in hysterics screaming no coherent words just screaming the pain that had been building up for years just pouring out and not stopping.

. . .

Arthur felt awful for making Mathew cry, but he assumed it was just because Mathew thought Arthur was still mad. Arthur still was but not at Mathew how could he be mad at the lad when he knew what was going on and did nothing like a coward?

No Arthur was mad at himself, hated himself, and the wench called Mary (he didn't want to think of her as Mathew's mother) but he didn't blame not hate Mathew at all. He desperately tried to calm the wailing hysteric boy his heart clenching in deep deep sorrow.

"shhhhhh Mathew….look I need to show you something….I need to show you how I knew….about your mother," the lad looked up his face flushed red his eyebrows scrunched up in pain. Arthur resisted the urge to cry if he did he wouldn't got through with showing Mathew the vent.

He had no way of knowing how Mathew would react. Would he be mad, relieved, sad, betrayed? Arthur just knew he had to show Mathew had to explain.

Mathew followed hesitantly. He still didn't trust Arthur and that pang almost made Arthur reconsider but he led Mathew to the corner of his room. He noticed Mathew kept glancing at the bed and wondered if the boy was that tired. Arthur opened the closet door and lit a candle revealing the chair and the vent.

Mathew just looked confused so Arthur took a deep breath and explained. How he came to hear the yelling. How at first he thought it was a wife yelling at her husband. Then hearing the child's scream and hearing Mattie. Mathews face went through several emotions. Anger than sadness then shame then betrayal but by the time Arthur was down Mathew just shook his head.

"I should have told you…but you were right…if you confronted me, I would have run. I'm scared Arthur," he whispered and allowed Arthur to embrace him. Holding the boy tightly Arthur whispered of a better tomorrow unsure how sure he was of it. But when he said he would save Mathew he meant it. Mathew knew it because for once Mathew hugged him back and cried into Arthur's shoulders.

"I never thought I would hear those words!" Mathew sobbed what he was exactly feeling unknown to Arthur but he took the fact the lad was still here to be a good thing.

They stayed like that for a long while and Mathew finally pulled away his face glowing red.

"Sorry for destroying your gifts," he cried and it was such a bizarre thing to apologize for after all the trouble the boy had caused Arthur that he started laughing hysterically.

"Lad be sorry for trying to destroy yourself, things can be replaced, you can't be," Arthur said then blushed and quickly walked out the room. What mushy shit was he spouting? It was true but still…the fact Mathew was the most important thing in Arthur's life made him feel weird.

Mathew came into the living room a while later and they both drank tea. Their relationship would never be the same but maybe that was ok.

Arthur didn't ask why Mathew was still here even when 3 am came about. Because quite frankly he didn't care. Quite frankly he didn't want Mathew to leave. They were definitely friends. But could Arthur protect him? How was Arthur going to save his friend? How was he going to save his irreplaceable Mathew? If Arthur only knew what was to come he would have runaway with the lad even if it was against Mathew's wishes. But Arthur didn't know the future, all he did know was it would take a lot of persuasion before Mathew would leave his mother.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading my story so far I hope you have been enjoying it. Don't forget to review.