I'm sorry all. My life got all complicated and I just didn't have the motivation for this story, but here's the long awaited chapter. You may throw rotten fruit at me at will. – Chocolate-Sugarcube
Rachel: Aww :3 we all love mimi anyway :D anyway heres the chapter we owe you all lol. please leave a review... also i will warn this contains heavy gore X.X misa wrote it not me.
Matt's mind eventually cleared, and he opened his eyes to the dim light of a streetlamp outside his window.
He groaned from the pain in his head and tried to raise his hand to it, then realised that his entire body felt numb and heavy. He glared at the light coming through the window, 'Damn it, Mello, did you have to leave me curtains open?' He cursed mentally. After a few attempts, he reached up to rub his eyes with the back of his hand. , briefly panicking when he didn't recognise the room. Upon looking around, he realised that the room was in a hospital, and, after a moment of panicking, that Mello was at the window with her back to him. He smiled, relieved that she was safe. He managed eventually managed to salivate enough to call her name, though his voice sounded weak and strained. She let out a gasp as she turned to him, her eyes lit up at his voice. She quickly walked to him, and gently flung her arms around him, kissing his cheeks and forehead delightedly as she gushed relieved words. "Matt! You're okay, I'm so happy! I was worried about you." She sat on the side of the bed, her arms still around him, and she gazed up at him, almost fearful.
"I was scared you'd leave me here…"
Matt chuckled then winced at the pain in his chest. "I'd never leave you, you know that." He tentatively wrapped a weak arm around her, "Mel, what exactly happened to me?"
She paled, then opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, then began to speak. "Well, you know about Rod and everything right?" She spoke nervously, and glanced at him, then took a sudden interest in the white bed cover.
"S-Since what happened to Rod, you know they've been trying to track me down…"
Matt nodded and held her tighter, his strength returning now he was awake.
"I think t-they were aiming for me and things d-didn't go all too w-well."
Her voice shook and tears wetted her sooty eyelashes.. "I-I'm sorry, Mattie!"
She cried out tearfully. Matt smiled, wiping her wet mascara-laden tears with the corner of the bed cover. She was always so sweet; even if someone was trying to kill her, she was more concerned about him than herself.
"Hey, I always did say I'd protect you forever, so I guess taking a bullet for you comes under that category!" He grinned childishly. Mello slowly returned his grin with a small smile, "I'm still sorry…" she mumbled.
"I'm okay, Mel, see?" He smiled, then coughed and winced again at the pain. "Uh, almost anyway." He muttered, and then smiled brightly, "so how long have I been out for?"
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and then sighed. "Only several hours, it's 3am. They checked you over and operated, then you were asleep for about five hours."
He sat quietly for a moment pensively then grinned up at her, suddenly enthralled. "Do I have a scar?"
She frowned at him, "and I thought you were actually going to say something serious. I don't know, I've kind of been busy worrying that you might die!"
He raised an eyebrow, teasing her. "But don't you spend like ninety percent of your life checking me out?"
She groaned indignantly, "You're so stupid sometimes, Matt. I've been here since seven because I was scared you'd die and now you're being mean to me."
He smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist, affectionately nuzzling her. "I'm glad you're okay." Mello sighed and resigned herself to his childishness. She kissed his forehead and stroked her hand through his hair for a few moments. "Well, the doctor said you can leave here in the morning, so if you don't need me, I think I'll go home for a few hours for sleep and some food, and I'll even bring you a new shirt when I come back."
She stood up from the bed, and then picked up her bag and shouldered it. Matt nodded, but muttered that he wanted to keep her safe. She turned back to him and smiled, "but you need to get some sleep, and I'd just prevent you from getting that." She kissed him chastely as she left.
He laid back and stared around empty the room, smirking to himself as he wondered if he'd have scars to show off at school.
He wasn't alone for long, however, as a young-looking nurse walked in, distracting him from counting the tacky, greying flowers on the one papered wall. She smiled at him as she glanced down at her clipboard as she sat down on the chair beside the bed. "Okay, Mr Jeevas, I'm going to do a few things then I'll let you get some more sleep. I just need to take your blood pressure, check those stitches of yours, and then see if you need any more medication." He smiled back faintly, though her constant smile annoyed him. "So, which would you like to do first?" She asked, and he only shrugged then held out his arm for her to test his blood pressure. He looked out at the stars, and wondered about Near. He wondered if she cared how he was, or even if she knew what was happening. He couldn't believe how she'd used him, and then abandoned him. After the nurse finished tasting, she took a few notes, then smiled to him again. "I'd like to see your chest now, okay?"
He gave her a charmingly goofy smile, "you can see anything you want." He winked teasingly, and she giggled. He lifted his shirt, and the nurse gently examined the wound. "The stitches have taken well, and there's no infection, so it will heal quickly, but you'll have a scar there." She got a stethoscope out, and pressed it against his chest, "take a deep breath, please." He shivered at the cold metal, but did as she asked. After a few breaths, she put the stethoscope away, and made another note on her clipboard. "Good, thank you. Do you need any more pain medicine?" He grinned and nodded, "finally, dope me up nurse!"
After giving him the medicine, she got up to leave. "Hey, nurse, did I get any other visitors?"
The nurse thought for a moment, "oh yes, a young girl who fell asleep in the waiting room. She looked so exhausted that we thought we'd leave her until you were available. I'll send her up when I finish my rounds." She said with another smile then left him alone to wonder. For the next half an hour, he went through all the girls he thought might visit him. Mika, who was always trying to flirt with him, Rani, who he sometimes gamed with, Mello's friend Lana who hung out with them sometimes, Nessy, who sat next to him in quite a few classes…
Then, there was a knock on the door, and Near tentatively stepped into the room, and shut it behind her.
"Hello, Matt." He blushed deeply,and looked at the horrible wallpaper again, "Near! What're you doing here?"
He looked up at the grey-eyed girl that had haunted his mind since he'd met her, that had used him, hurt him, and then simply walked away. She sat in the chair, bending one leg against her chest, slipping off the shoe from that foot, and raising her hand to twirl her downy hair between her fingers.
"Just because Matt is ignoring me, that isn't a reason that I shouldn't check he's okay, and I brought something to make him feel better."
She pulled out a handheld consol from her gray coat's pocket, "I doubted you'd have one of these, and I didn't think Matt would be able to sleep. I also find it difficult to sleep in these kinds of situations."
He looked at the consol, then back up at her in her faded, very loose jeans, and quilted coat. "You didn't have to," he said after she'd handed it to him. He smiled to her, "thanks. I wasn't avoiding you, I swear, I was just…" His voice trailed off as he realised he didn't know what to tell her. "Matt is avoiding me because he's with Mello. I've been avoiding Matt a little also."
He looked at her then to the game. "You didn't have to" he said as she handed it to him. "Thank you near." He smiled and blushed again. "I wasn't avoiding you I swear I was just." He stopped he couldn't tell her what he felt.
"Matt was avoiding me because he's with Mello. I have been avoiding Matt a bit also." She stood and began to walk to the door, "well, since Matt doesn't want to talk to me at the moment, I should go."
"No!" He cried out, suddenly sitting up despite the pain in his chest. He winced as pain shot through him, but looked up at her. "Near, wait, please."
Near turned back to him curiously, and wrapped her coat tighter around herself. "What more does Matt want?"
"I want you." He felt pathetic as he laid back and gazed up at her. He couldn't help how he needed her, "I want to see you smile, cry, everything." He reached out to her, silently begging her to stay. "Matt is with Mello." She said simply, opening the door. "Near, please!" He pleased, "please, don't leave."
"What does Matt want? There's school in only a few hours."
He looked deep into her near-dead eyes, "Near, just kiss me once more, please?" She thought for a moment, and softly said, "if Matt wants," before leaning down and stiffly pressing her lips to his. He pulled her closer with a hand in her hair, returning her kiss with vigour. When she stood back up, he kept his grasp in her hair. "Near, I need you, I-I love you." She just stared down at him and turned away to walk to the door. "Is that it, Matt?" He shook his head, exasperated. "I almost died, and all I wanted was to be able to tell you that. Yes, that's it."
Near nodded then went to leave, but turned her head back to look at him. "Perhaps, Matt should tell Mello this before telling me." She said, returning his stunned look with a blank stare.
"Y-you mean, when I'm not with Mello…" Near played with a strand of her hair as she turned away, "perhaps after Matt tells Mello," She said and left without another word.
He watched her leave with his heart fluttering.
"Perhaps after I…" He smiled at the door she'd just left through. If he could only be free of Mello's controlling relationship, he would be able to be with the girl of his dreams.
After several hours passed of playing the game Near had given him, there was another knock on the door. Matt looked up at Mello as she sauntered in and threw a T-shirt at him.
"Hey, they said you can leave whenever you're ready, so hurry up and let's go."
He smiled at her and pulled on the shirt. "Okay, let's get out of here."
She returned his smile and wrapped her arm around him gently when he'd stood up. Matt was glad it didn't hurt as much as it did last time she'd visited, "whenever you're ready then." He nodded and took an unsteady step and almost fell back onto the bed, but Mello steadied him and kissed his cheek softly. "Mel, I-I gotta talk to you."
Mello glanced at him, then nodded, "Okay, but let's get you home first. I made you breakfast, and if we don't get home soon, it'll get cold."
He smiled a little, and nodded.
Once they'd got home, with him occasionally stumbling, and her supporting him caringly, she sat him down into the battered lounge chair, and he sighed, closing his eyes, he groaned. "Man, I feel completely drained."
Mello handed him a plate of food, and sat on to coffee table, crossing her knees and smiling at him. She was truly beautiful, but he was in love with Near. "So, Mattie," She said and flicked her blonde hair out of her face, "What did you want to tell me, hm?" He placed the plate down and bit his lip. "M-Mello, I don't know how to tell you this." He paused and looked up into her cerulean eyes. "I think I'm in love with Near." He muttered, shutting his eyes and waiting for the almost inevitable slap. He heard her drop her glass, "N-Near?" He refused to open his eyes, but nodded, "I think I've loved her since I met her."
After a few moments, he timidly opened his eyes to see Mello's face almost blank, but her eyes had lost the spark they'd held only a moment before. "I-… okay."
She stuttered, staring at the broken glass on the floor, and the liquid from it seeping through the carpet. "I'm sorry, Mel. I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen, and well, now, things have changed. "
Mello stood up, and walked into the next room. Matt just sat and waited, not sure what would happen next. A few minutes later, she returned with a bag. "I'm going home. We can talk about this tomorrow."
She said quietly, her face still almost entirely clear of emotion, closer to Near's than her own usually impulsively superfluously changing expressions. He walked to her, grabbing her arm to stop her, "wait, Mello. You can't go home, it's dangerous, you know that. Please, you're my friend, I can't let you do that."
She shook him off easily, "I'm going home now."
He sank down onto the chair again, throwing his head back in despair at what had happened. "What have I done? What do I do now?" He muttered to himself, should he go crawling back to Mello again? No, he couldn't do that again, he was free now. Near, he should call her, right?
He decided to go outside for a walk to vent his frustration. After he locked the door, he turned to his car, forgetting for a moment that it hadn't worked, walked to it and sat down. He then remembered that it hadn't been working, but decided to try the key anyway. The car stuttered, and then coughed into life. "Son of a-!" He shouted, nearly punching the car, then deciding that if it worked, he may as well keep it working.
He drove to the address Near had told him she lived at before, hoping she hadn't lied to him, and banged on the front door. After a few minutes, a dishevelled Near answered the door in a white dressing gown. She looked stunned for a moment then her expression cooled, "Matt?"
"Hey snowflake," he leant casually on the doorframe, trying to disguise the pain in his chest from merely standing.
"What is matt doing at my door?" She curled her fingers around her hair and looked up at him curiously. "I came to see you, Near, or is that not allowed?"
He pouted playfully, teasing her. She stepped aside out of the doorway silently, offering him entrance to the house. "Nice place!" He whistled and glanced back at Near, who nodded in acknowledgement.
"Thank you. It's my grandfather's, though he's out right now." She led him into a lounge with walls full of pictures, certificates, trophies, and other various decor. "Would matt like to sit down?" She asked, gazing at him with her doe-eyes. He turned and wrapped his arms around her tightly, "I did it Near... I really did it!" He nuzzled her neck lovingly but Near tilted her head away. She looked faintly surprised, "Matt is no longer with Mello?"
"That's right," he whispered, stroking her cheek lovingly and she leant slightly into his hand, looking up at him with curious eyes.
"I see," she pulled away and sat down, gesturing for him to sit with her. "Why does Matt want to be with me so much?" She twisted her hair around her fingers, "you're beautiful, charming and smart. You attract my attention in a way no one ever has." He said, stroking her hair again. Keeping his hands off her was too much of a challenge right now.
"But Matt doesn't know anything about me, does he?"
Matt smirked and prepared to prove her wrong. "You are smart, you keep to yourself if possible, and you like video games- especially the ones we played at my house when you stayed over. You like toys, and simple things make you bored easily, you like things that make you think." He recited everything he'd learnt about her so far, not quite realising how little that was until he said it, and decided to say another thing to finish off the list, "and when I look at you, I see an angel." He didn't care how cheesy it sounded, he needed to prove to her how much he loved her. Near sighed softly and stood, removing her hand from his, "I'm going to make some tea." She looked at him blankly for a few moments, before asking him if he wanted a drink. He shook his head and looked at her confused, of all the things to ask, why this? "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, but the water in the kettle will be cold if I don't use it soon." She said as she glided out of the room gracefully. Matt watched, smiling and studying the decoration on the walls. "I told her, but will she take me?"
He turned his head when Near returned with a teacup and sat beside him, placing the cup down on the side table next to her. Matt's arms rested on the back of the sofa, and he urged to wrap it around her. "So, what do you think, Near?"
"Well, I suppose I do need to tell Matt something." She muttered, looking even paler than she usually did.
"What is it?" He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner then jumping, ruining the moment, when his phone buzzed.
"Just a text, hold on a moment." He took his phone out and glanced at it, the text was from Mello so he naturally opened it. "Matt. sorry 4 what happened, u've been a super friend to me... thnx 4 everything"
He bit his lip in thought, did this mean Mello no longer wanted to be friends? He sighed and brushed it off, looking at Near again. "So what did you want to tell me?"
"Is that anything important?" She gestured to his phone.
"I guess Mello doesn't want to be my friend anymore." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. The text was annoying him, why was Mello suddenly closing off? He mentally slapped himself. He did dump her after all. He got up abruptly, deciding to go talk to Mello, something just didn't feel right. "I've got to go see Mello, I've got a bad feeling about this text. Come with me?"
Near stood up to join him then glanced at her attire. "I think I should dress first. Perhaps if Matt goes ahead, I'll meet him there?"
Matt nodded, kissing her cheek before leaving and driving to Mello's. "Please don't have done anything stupid Mel," He thought as he skipped through two red lights. He reached her apartment complex and ran up the stairs at a speed that even surprised ran to her door, hammering on it. "Miheal Kheel! Open up right now!" He yelled. He heard a crash inside the house and he panicked, "Mello! I swear to God- He yelled again, banging harder, until the door suddenly opened andMello stood in the doorway "M-Matt?"
He folded his arms, "What the hell was that text about, huh? You had me worried sick!"
It was obvious to him she'd been crying a lot, her makeup had run and her hair was a mess, probably from her tantrums where she'd tugged on it. "Why don't you come in and we'll talk?"
He stepped inside when she let him and she led him to her room. "So did you tell her yet?" He nodded his head and she sighed, "oh, I'll make this quick then, shall I?" She said and pointed to the bed. "Sit!"
He sat down and she folded her arms. "Do you have anything with you Matt?"
He emptied his pockets onto the bed, "Just my phone- Oh, and uh," He paused and pulled an unused condom out his pocket. "This. Why?"
Mello shrugged, "just wondering." She said, walking to her desk. "So where's Princess Near?"
She sneered, mocking the other female. "She's following me from behind, she'll be her soon, but this isn't about her. Do you not want to be friends anymore?"
She gazed at him with a sadistic grin, "well Mattie, there is one way we can be friends. You love me right Mattie? We're friends... Best friends, right?"
He nodded, "Yes, we are best friends."
She smirked and opened the desk draw, bringing out her prized sawn off shotgun. "We could be best friends forever, Mattie." She lay down next to him, fluttering her long eyelashes. "So what's your choice?"
He paled and stood up, backing away from her. "Mello, are you fucking kidding me?"
"C'mon Mattie, you and me, best friends forever! You can use mine since you left yours at home."
"What do you want me to do? Shoot you then myself?" He asked, growing angry. What the hell was going on in her mind?
"Not exactly," she grinned and pressed the gun to her throat, the barrel of it between her breasts in a mock parody of a much different act. "I can do myself, then you follow, that's fair right?"
"What? This is- Mello! You're psychotic!" He backed away then jumped when he heard the front door. 'Oh no, Near.' He thought.
"Oh! That's your new friend, right.? She stood up, grinning and holding the shotgun behind her back. She swung to door open, and Near stood calmly in a white dress. Matt tried to make eye contact with her, mouthing 'run' but she barely glanced at him, instead she smirked at the other women and Mello glared her down.
"You're evidently feeling better, Mello." Near said calmly as Mello grabbed her arm and pulled her into the flat. Matt grabbed Near, holding her behind him protectively. "Mello! This is idiotic, let us both go."
A shock coursed through him when Near pulled away from Matt, giving him a cold stare. "What does Matt want? Mello and I are talking."
He froze, was Near in on this? "What? Near, I don't- You- you're both in on this?"
Mello smirked as Near sighed, "Matt, we can talk later. So, Mello, what's going on?" She sat down on the bed perfectly and casually poised, looking mockingly up at Mello. By this point, Matt had simply sunk back against the wall, in pain, exhausted and confused. "So, what do you say Near? Care to join us?" She pointed the gun at her own throat again.
Near smiled daringly, "You do it, Mello, go on." She gestured to the shotgun, ignoring Matt's protests of this being crazy and for Mello to put the gun down. Matt noticed Mello growing angry, her eyes narrowed and her teeth bared, " Both of you! Shut the fuck up! If you either say one more fucking word, I'm going to blow your damn heads off!" She yelled, flicking the gun between them both, gritting her bared teeth in anger. She put two fingers into her mouth, biting down until Matt swore he could see blood. She released them, wiping blood and spit across her jeans, then began to smirk again.
Near stood calmly, "Why don't you do yours, Mello? Then we can take turns at Russian roulette afterwards." She stood and walked to Mello. She glared at Near and pointed the gun at the other girl's head. Near smiled at Mello and covered Mello's trigger hand with her own when she was close enough. "If you really want to shoot me, go ahead." Near raised her eyebrows, Matt's heart was jumping in his chest. Near couldn't die, not now. Mello glared and slapped Near, cocking the gun. "Shut up Near, you arrogant, soulless, worthless little fucking bitch." She hissed and slapped Near again.
Near smirked again, almost scarily, "so, Mello, how many of those adjectives count for you too?" She curled her hand into her own hair; her smirk was a rare sight that scared Matt, she looked as mad as Mello. Mello was shocked, opening her mouth to make a comeback but growled instead, "I hate you."
"The feeling is quite mutual. Now are you doing this or are we wasting our time here? If we are, I would like to leave, as Matt and I need to talk," Near said in her monotone voice.
Mello smirked and sauntered over to Matt. "Over me already, Mattie? Already moving onto the child-whore?" Near's face was pained for a moment, but she quickly covered it, though Mello had already picked up on the change. "Oh yes, I know all about Nadia, you fucktoy." She turned back to Near, who's head was bowed, then she turned her face back to Mello, her bored expression back again. "What else do you want to waste my time with? Really, I pity you for having nothing better to use on me."
"I'm sure you know plenty about me by now, since you creep around Matt. Do you know Rod protected Yagami?" She continued to grin at the other woman, "he helped him get away with everything, all those murders and rapes."
Near glanced to Matt, he looked ready to collapse, but continued to glare angrily to Mello. Near was shaking slightly, he noticed. Mello grinned, stroking the shotgun as she looked at them both.
"So, how are we going to do this?"
"This is insane, Mello."
Mello hissed and smacked him in the face with the gun, "I told you to shut up! I hate you, both of you!"
Matt smirked, something he could use to get himself and Near free. "Alright then Mello, I guess I'll leave." He turned to leave and felt someone clasp his arm. He turned, hoping it was Near, clinging to him for protection. Instead, Mello was clasping onto him, her wide eyes looking pleadingly up at him, "Mattie wouldn't leave me, I need you and you know I do!" She wrapped her arms around him, embracing him tightly. "You wouldn't leave me, right?" She fluttered her eyelashes again.
"Didn't you just say you hate me?" He stroked her face, even as he felt his skin crawl coming into willing contact with her. The cold metal of the gun touched his arm and made him shiver. "If you don't hate me, give me that gun, and we can do something else, okay? We can forget about this, and move on."
Mello grinned, sticking her tongue out and touching it against his finger, and spoke as he fought the urge to pull away from her. "No. I like my idea, I want to go first but you have to promise you will too." She leant forward and kissed him, the gun pressed between them. He tried his best to return the kiss, but horror ran deep in his veins now. "Promise me?" She begged, pulling away.
Near stepped forward again, blank as ever, "Matt doesn't have to-" Mello backhandedly slapped her across the face, turning her pale cheeks pink with the force, and Near collapsed backwards.
He flinched, wanting more than anything to tend to Near, but knowing it would most likely get them both hurt more. "Alright, I promise to go after you Mel. Trust me." He gave her his signature smile, even though he was horrified. Mello grinned and kissed him again, before bowing her head to mutter a prayer. He stood next to her, observing her sullen, flushed face. "You know we don't have to do this, Mel."
She turned her head back to him, her eyes now glinting psychotically. "No! We do, it's our destiny to be together, forever and everything will be perfect! You'll see, it'll be perfect," She smiled lovingly at him and closed her eyes, inserting the shotgun into her mouth. He immediately let himself collapse, clinging to Near's still body, his eyes glued to the scene in front of him. He could see Mello's eyes move under her eyelids; he wondered what was going through her mind, silently begged her to stop, knowing all the time she wouldn't.
Warning: This gore scene is based off real life images of gun suicide; do not read if you're easily disturbed or nauseated.
Then, like the full-stop at the end of a sentence, the gunshot rent the air with a near deafening sound and a proud certainty of destruction. In an explosion of gore, he and Near were sprayed with a thick mixture of blood, tissue, and various warm human remains too sickening to think much on. He swore he heard a shriek from Mello as the bullet ripped through her. The force of it had cracked her skull, leaving a bloodied mess where her face had been. Red stains darkened her light hair, as more of the blood spilled over the bone of her now permanently open jaw, left lax as the last strand of connective muscle stretched and split after the shock of the bullet. He pulled away from Near, retching and crying.
"Oh god… Oh God... Holy fuck..." he forced out between spasms of vomiting. The contents of his stomach had collided with Mello's steadily leaking blood, pooling together to form a sickly orange colour Matt could only imagine bubbling from the mouth hell itself. Near had regained consciousness, her eyes wide and a hand pressed tightly over her mouth her other hand tugged at her hair so tightly the strands came out in her fingers. Mello had fallen back; the remains of her head met the wall, what was left of her once neatly fitted organs now draped onto the floor, tissue untangling from bone, a stark white beneath the red. The shining barrel of the gun lay still and silent amongst the stew of skin and organs, blood sliding mockingly off the metal while he and Near stood, the horror in their faces obscured in the spatter of blood and sticky debris.
Graphic gore over.
He grabbed Near as soon as he had finished throwing up, pulling her close to him. "Oh God, Near, I'm so sorry. Fuck.. I should have told you to stay at home." She hid her face in his neck, "You would be dead otherwise."
She muttered, he wondered how she could stay monotonous after that experience. "I-I should keep my promise.."
He glanced at the gun in the carnage. "I should-" He gestured to it, remembering his promise to Mello. He looked away from Near. "I'm sorry, Near. I really do love you, but," he sighed and tried to brush her off him. "Matt does realise Mello was inside, and now she is dead, she will have no idea if Matt follows her and keeps his promise or not."
He closed his eyes, standing and stepping away from her. The stench of corpse had already started to fill the room. "I have to do as I promised, Near. She died for her and I to be together."
Near stood also, as he bent, taking the gun from the corpse of his best friend, his stomach turning again as he did. He raised it to his mouth, shaking as he tried to find the trigger. He could almost taste Mello. "Matt,"
There was more emotion in that one word than he'd ever heard from her collective speech since he'd known her. "N-Near…"
Her voice faltered. "I-I'm-" She held out her hand for the gun. "Matt, please give it to me."
He ignored her, his mouth felt stuck, dry as he tried to find the courage to insert it into his mouth. "I-I'm pregnant."
He felt as though the world had stopped around him. Near moved closer, her small hands taking the gun from his hands, laying it on the bed and taking her mobile out of her pocket. She guided Matt to the bed as she dialled 999, and spoke quickly. She sat with him, one of her hands on her abdomen covered by his, the other in her hair as usual, twisting and pulling as ever. The last thing he remembered was Near gazing thoughtfully at Mello's corpse, then the shock overcame him, and he lost consciousness.