Charlotte walked back to Matt's apartment after her appointment with her divorce lawyer. She was in complete disarray, unable to comprehend what had just happened. She moved through New York City, arms folded over her chest and gaze darting round. She half expected someone to jump out at her and tell her that it was a surprise, that she wasn't actually safe. But no one came. She adjusted her satchel on her shoulder and moved a hand to her cheek, feeling the swelling and glancing into a shop's window. She knew she looked a sight. No amount of makeup was going to conceal the bruises and her split lip, but they were healing. They would heal and in time she'd forget they had been there, just like she hoped she could do with her husband.
Coming back to Matt's apartment, she figured that she should at least cook that evening considering what he'd done for her. She stopped off at the supermarket and used the last fifty-dollar bill she had to buy ingredients. Carrying them back in the brown paper bag, she fiddled with the lock on his door and stepped into the empty apartment. Hitting the light switch, she moved to the kitchen, depositing the brown bags and then throwing her satchel to the side.
She set about pulling her coat off and getting to work, tugging her hair into a ponytail with the scrunchie she had around her wrist. She tugged the ingredients out and started cooking, remembering the recipe off by heart. She moved around the kitchen, finding out where Matt kept his things through trial and error, opening drawers and cupboards. She was just about to put the cheese into the pan when she heard her phone vibrate.
Moving to it, she picked it up and saw that a deposit had been made in her bank. Swiping onto it, she shook her head slowly. This couldn't be. He'd actually done it. He'd done it and he was going to leave her alone. Had she really won? Had she really managed to get the upper hand over him? She looked at her bank balance and gave up on cooking for a moment, heading to a dining chair and sitting on it. Placing her phone on the table, she kept staring at the number, hand covering her mouth and eyes wide.
And then she smiled. For the first time in a long time, she let a genuine smile form on her face and she laughed loudly, feeling the weight finally moving from her shoulders.
…
Matt walked back into his apartment block, cane in front of him as he headed up the stairs towards his apartment. He smelt it before he even came to the door, his nostrils flaring and his stomach suddenly grumbling. He realised then that he hadn't even had anything to eat since breakfast, skipping lunch to catch up on work. He heard it then, the familiar sound of Billy Joel's voice entering his ears. His lips picked up because he knew that she had to be in a good mood. What had happened to make her cook her favourite meal and sing her favourite songs?
Pushing his key into the lock, he opened the door and stepped inside. Locking it behind him, he left his cane by the door and shrugged out of his coat, hanging it up next to her own, fingers brushing the soft material of her coat.
"Matty?" she called his name and he heard her footsteps echo through the apartment.
She poked her head around the corner, looking to the door as she turned the music down on his old radio. She saw him remove his glasses, folding them up and setting them down onto the sideboard.
"You seem happy," Matt commented and he moved further into the kitchen. "If the Billy Joel songs and the fact that mac-and-cheese is in the oven is anything to go by."
"I am happy," Charlotte promised him and she headed to the kitchen again and Matt followed her. He could almost image her smiling, longing to run his thumb over her lips and make sure that was the case. He just wanted to hold her to him and relish in her happiness like it used to be. "And you don't mind me cooking, do you?"
"I seem to remember you were quite a good cook so no objections from me here," he promised her, going to the fridge and grabbing a beer. "So…are you going to tell me why you're so happy or are you going to make me guess?"
"Jonathan signed the divorce papers," she said to him and Matt's mouth dropped open slightly. He placed his bottle down, forgetting about it as he turned in her direction. She was stirring the sauce in the pan, continuously whisking it so that it didn't curdle.
"He signed them?" Matt checked with her and she nodded her head quickly.
"He signed them and he gave me more than I thought he would….ten million dollars, Matt. He gave me ten million dollars."
"What the hell?"
"I know," Charlotte said. "I don't understand it either, but he did it. Josie said that he did it last night and that he didn't want to drag this out. Maybe it worked? Maybe the photos and the evidence against him worked? I don't know, but this is a good thing, right? It's good that he's out of my life now."
"Yeah," Matt agreed with her, nodding his head as she took the sauce off the heat and poured it into the dish filled with macaroni. He leant back against the worktop and folded his arms, tugging on his toe and undoing his top button. Charlotte dropped the empty pan in the sink and glanced to him, brow arched.
"Just yeah?" she questioned, hoping that she might get something more out of him.
"Well, you know that I think it's a great thing," Matt said to her. "But this is your husband we're talking about. He's a narcissist…he's controlling…and now he's willing to let you go? I am happy for you, Lottie, of course I am. The issue is that I can't help but think he has an ulterior motive."
He could sense her deflation then as she turned the music off and left the dish on the side, not bothering to put it in the oven just yet. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she folded her arms over her chest, crumpling the simple blue dress she wore over her thick tights.
"You really think that he'll come back?" she asked from Matt and he could hear the tone of fear underneath everything else. "But why would he?"
"I don't know, but I just think that this is out of character. The man I spoke to yesterday in the church…the things he said about you…I just don't understand why he would let you go."
"Because he knows that I will never want him?" she suggested from him. "Because he knows that I can release those photos and ruin him? He cares so much more about his public image than me, Matt. If he thought that tossing me to the side could get him into the White House then he would. I…I was just something he could use…I kept him entertained when he needed me to, but he'd never put aside his ambition for me."
"You seriously think that?"
"I know that."
"Then screw him. Screw him for ever making you feel that you're not good enough."
"Easier said than done, Matty," Charlotte said, smiling sadly over to him. "But I don't care. I just want to imagine that this is it. We're done and it's over."
"I just want you to be careful, okay? A man like that can never be trusted."
"I know," Charlotte promised him on that point. "And I will never trust him again, but I'm not going to live my life in fear of him coming after me. He's already had so much power over me…I'm not going to let him ruin the rest of my life."
"You know…you're stronger than you think you are."
"I'm really not. If anything I'm a coward. I should have stood up to him years ago."
She grabbed the dish and opened the oven door, placing it inside and setting a timer on the worktop. Matt shook his head firmly.
"You're no coward, Lottie," he promised her on that point. "You've been through so much…most people wouldn't be able to understand it. You never have to think that you're a coward."
"I don't know…I was scared most of the time-"
"-Being scared is not the same as being a coward," Matt interrupted her. "I don't want to hear you talk like that because you're…you have no idea how strong you really are to come out against your husband and testify against him after what he's done."
"Well, I don't really want to spend the night talking about him," Charlotte said, completely deflecting from Matt praising her. She wasn't used to it. She'd gotten so used to being told that she worthless that being told anything different just felt so strange to her. "I'd rather you tell me all about your day at work and this case that you and Foggy are working on."
"You'd really rather listen to me tell you about negligence?" he asked from her.
"Sure, try me," she responded and he finished pulling the bottle lid off his beer. Charlotte moved past him and went into the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water. "I mean, it can't be that dull, can it?"
"I guess it depends how dull you think it is."
"I'll be the judge of that."
And so Matt followed her to the sofa and sat down, talking to her about his day and the case that they were working on. She sat and listened, occasionally sipping on her water and asking him questions when she didn't understand what exactly was happening. She seemed to listen and be interested and, for the first time in a long time, Matt couldn't help but think of how normal it all felt. He almost felt like a normal man, sat explaining his day and talking about mundane things like work.
"I mean…you won that case on a loophole, right?" Charlotte checked with him once he had finished explaining. "That man deserved compensation…he had breathing difficulties…how could he not win?"
"I know and I agree," Matt told her. "You can see that's why I hate it, right? I hate how innocent people suffer because of some technicalities. It doesn't make me feel good about myself…and I know that's a pretty vain thing to say, but it doesn't. I want to help people. I just want to help people and being at that firm…that's never going to happen."
"Then it sounds to me like you know what you need to do," Charlotte told him.
"Yeah, I think so too," he agreed and glanced down, gaze moving over his lap. Charlotte picked up on the expression that flickered over his face and she left her own water bottle on the coffee table. She moved a hand to his arm and he turned to face her. She glanced into his dark eyes as she shifted closer to him and he felt the heat from her body, the soft sweet smell of her perfume getting closer.
"You're nervous," she said to him, not asking him but telling him.
"I forget that you can read me like an open book sometimes," he said.
"You had the same expression on your face the day you left for college," she said. "Knowing what you want to do, but having a moment of hesitation. It's only natural. These are big life events."
"If we do decide to branch out then I know it's going to be tough. We'll have no contacts…no offices…barely any money. We might not be able to work and I don't want to drag Foggy down…but I do want him with me."
"You know, if money is a worry then-"
"-Absolutely not, I know where you're going with this," Matt interrupted her, voice firm and strong. She kept hold of his arm, squeezing it firmly.
"Matty, come on," she pleaded with him. "What the hell would I do with ten million dollars anyway? Besides, it's not like I'm just going to give you it. I'll just give you some money if you really need it…but you are letting me repay you for everything you bought me the last few days."
"No, I am not."
"You know that I can just hide money in your apartment and you'll never find it, right?" she checked with him and his lips curved upwards at hearing her as she stood up, hand moving over his shoulders and she went back into the kitchen. He turned on the sofa to face her, his sightless gaze following her movements as she pulled out cutlery and plates.
"Using the fact that I'm blind against me? That's a low move, Ms Daniels."
She chuckled again and he smelt her shampoo as she flipped her hair back. "Ms Daniels? Haven't been called that in a while."
"Well, you've always been Charlotte Daniels to me. Sounds better than Jonas."
"I'll have to get used to it again, I guess," she said with a thoughtful nod of her head. "And yes, to answer your question, I will use it against you because it's the only way I can actually get what I want in this situation and you know I am nothing if not stubborn."
Matt scoffed. "Caused me plenty of headaches through the years," he admitted.
"Right back at you," she retorted and he heard her open the oven door and grab the dish, the smell of cheese taking over and his mouth watered. He stood up and offered to help her, but she insisted it was fine and so he sat down at the dining table, listening to her as she dished up. Sitting down across from him, she set the food down and Matt picked up his fork.
"This smells delicious, Lottie."
"Remember when we used to make it on Saturday nights and just watch films?" she asked from him and he smiled, taking a mouthful as Charlotte stood back up and grabbed their drinks. "They were my favourite nights."
"And then I'd bring cheesecake," Matt said and he heard her moan around her fork.
"That cheesecake was the best. Where was it from? Jenny's? Is she still going?"
"Moved further out of Hell's Kitchen, but I still go there from time to time on a Friday night," Matt said and Charlotte watched him, smiling softly and bowing her head slowly. Her lips remained arched and she wondered if he had always been so sentimental. She took another bite of the macaroni and then a sip of water.
Before she could say anything, she heard her phone begin to vibrate. Apologising, she stood up and answered the call. Matt listened in, lowering his fork to the side of his plate.
"Hello?"
"Mrs Jonas, it's Josie."
"Oh…hi…is something wrong?" Charlotte asked, leaning against the worktop.
"Well, not for you. The divorce is going ahead and he's still willing to sign all of the papers, but…you won't need to testify against him. The case has been dropped."
Charlotte was silent, blood pumping into her ears. Matt turned his head over his shoulder and listened even more intently to her heartbeat. It was escalating.
"What do you mean the case has been dropped?"
"The three girls have claimed that they made the entire story up. The prosecution has dropped the case…there's no evidence…and now they're refusing to testify. There's no case to answer. Your husband is going to go free. I expect for this to be all over the news by tomorrow morning so prepare yourself."
"But…why?" Charlotte asked, voice firm. "Why would they drop out? I don't understand. I met them. They were determined to get justice."
"I have no idea, Mrs Jonas, but the fact is that there's no case…and I'd suggest you just let it go, okay?"
"Why?" Charlotte asked, brows furrowed.
"Because it would be for the best. I have to go, but I'll be in touch with the papers."
Josie hung up before Charlotte could say anything. She lowered her phone and looked to the blank screen. "You heard all that, didn't you?" she checked with Matt.
He stood up and moved over to her, sensing that she was apprehensive. She hadn't been expecting this. She knew that the trial was rigged, but she'd hoped that there might be a way around it. But this was just too much. What had happened? What had Jonathan done?
"All of it," he confirmed.
"What the hell is going on?" Charlotte whispered, placing her phone down. "He must have done something to them. He has to have done something to get them to keep quiet…threatened them…because they were so determined to go to court. They wanted to be heard. Jessica…Marie…Becca…for all of them to have backed out? Is no one going to think that this looks suspicious?"
"I agree and it does," Matt said. "But you know that your husband is in bed with some horrible people. The chances are that they got to them…forced them to stay silent because they need your husband for some reason."
"But the trial was rigged anyway," she said.
"But his reputation would have been shreds. We all know that politicians can win court cases, but as soon as they lose the people's confidence…they become a lame duck. This makes your husband look innocent."
"But people have to know that he's clearly blackmailed those girls," Charlotte responded. "I need to find out what's happening-"
"-Whoa, whoa, whoa," Matt exclaimed, moving to stand in front of her, hands grabbing her upper arms to stop her from going anywhere as she tried to push by him, but he remained firm. "You are going nowhere near him. What do you think he would do? You think that he'd openly admit to threatening those girls? No. You're not going to get anything out of him and, even if you did, you think he'd let you go to the police with that information? We need to be smart, okay?"
"He can't just worm his way out of trouble, Matt," Charlotte said.
"And he's not going to, but you charging over there isn't going to get any results," Matt said to her. "Let me investigate, okay? I snuck over there before and I can do it again."
"Are you crazy?"
"Jury's out," he said, but he knew that his joking wasn't going to make her smile. He sighed. "Listen, Lottie, it's not exactly going to be difficult for me, okay? I can get in and out without being seen. You know that I can do it."
"I'd rather not test that theory."
"I'll be fine, I promise," Matt said to her, lifting a hand up to her cheek and cupping it softly in his fingers. "Let me do this and we'll work on a way to get the truth exposed together."
"Fine, but I'm coming with you."
"Lottie-"
"-I will wait outside if I have to, but I'm not just sitting here and letting you go alone. Understand?"
He let out a deep breath and shook his head. "You're not going to back down on this, are you?"
"Not a chance," she said to him, taking his hand from her cheek and squeezing it firmly before heading to grab her coat. Matt closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He guessed that this was as good as he was going to get from her.
Macy's Bar
Charlotte held onto Jonathan's hand as they stepped into the bar together. Jonathan wrinkled his nose, suspecting that he would rather be anywhere else than this place. It wasn't exactly high end, but he knew that Matthew Murdock wasn't exactly a man with class like him. From what he'd heard, he was an aspiring lawyer. He had ambition, clearly, something that Charlotte seemed to lack.
"You don't need to be so nervous, you know?" Jonathan said, glancing down to Charlotte.
She had spent an hour of her afternoon in front of her wardrobe, trying to find an appropriate outfit. She didn't know why she was so bothered. They were just going to a bar. It wasn't as if they were going a fancy gala or an expensive restaurant. But she had chosen a short black dress with capped sleeves and a low neckline, slipping into a pair of heels and curling her hair. The worst part was that she didn't know if she had made the effort for Jonathan or for Matt. Did a part of her want to make him jealous? Did she want him to regret the fact that he'd never chosen her? It wasn't as if he could see her, but she hoped that he could smell the expensive perfume she'd sprayed and the passionfruit body butter she'd lathered on herself after her bath.
"I just want you both to get on," Charlotte said to him with a shrug of her shoulders. "Matt's my best friend."
"Who hasn't exactly been in your life much for the last month," Jonathan pointed out.
"He's been busy, Jonathan," Charlotte said to him with a shake of her head. She was annoyed at Matt's distance recently, but she still defended him. She hated that she did that. "Anyway, they're at the bar…I can see Foggy."
Foggy waved over to her and she lifted her hand up, acknowledging him. Jonathan pressed a hand to the small of her back and guided her forwards, moving through the bustling crowds. Matt was stood next to him, cane resting by the bar and glasses on his eyes.
"Charlotte! Long time no see!" Foggy was the one to exclaim and she embraced him warmly.
"I've missed you, Foggy. How are things going?"
"As well as they can be," Foggy responded. "Classes are hard and Punjabi is proving to be quite a difficult language."
"Well, when you take a language just to impress a girl, that's what happens," Matt chimed in and Charlotte went to embrace him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding tightly to her as Jonathan noted his grip. "Hey, Lottie."
"Matty," she responded, the atmosphere between the two of them slightly awkward. She had no desire for it to be that way, but ever since they'd drifted apart, it hadn't been the same. "This is Jonathan…Jonathan…this is Foggy and this is Matt."
"The infamous Foggy. I've heard so much about you," Jonathan said, offering him his hand. He shook it firmly and Foggy chuckled.
"All good I hope."
"Mostly," Jonathan said, his tone teasing and Foggy chuckled before the older man turned to Matt. "And of course, I've heard so much about you Matthew."
"Likewise," Matt responded, holding his hand out and Jonathan took hold of it, shaking it firmly, eyeing the man with a smirk on his face. Matt was wearing a black sweater and jeans that looked threadbare. Jonathan, on the other hand, had opted for dark slacks and a blue shirt tucked into it.
"We just ordered some beers," Foggy said. "What can we get you?"
"I'll just have a white wine."
"I'll have the same," Charlotte said and she let Foggy try and catch the barkeeper's attention to order the drinks. Jonathan insisted on paying for them, Matt smelling the expensive leather wallet that he pulled out from his trousers. Foggy handed everyone their drinks and they moved over to a small corner of the bar, Charlotte leading Matt out of instinct as Foggy spoke with Jonathan.
"You're wearing…the dress," Matt suddenly commented and Charlotte shrugged as they headed on over to the table, keeping behind Foggy and Jonathan. Their voices remained low as Charlotte sipped on her wine on the walk.
"What dress?"
"The dress you wore the last time you came to this bar," he said.
"Am I?" she asked, looking down to it and playing ignorant. But he knew that she was playing ignorant. "I hadn't noticed."
"Really?"
"Really," she responded.
He could remember it. He could remember his hands slipping down the zipper at the back and peeling it from her after they'd had too much to drink. He could remember his hands roaming over the velvet material as they walked back to his dorm and he pushed her up against the wall and kissed her, unable to resist her after spending most of the night listening to his classmates talking to her, some of them trying to flirt with her.
"Baby, let me just grab you a chair," Jonathan said as they came to the table and she watched him ask the table closest to them if he could take the chair. He thanked them as he took it and she sat down in it, letting him push it under the table as he sat next to her, drinks in front of them on the sticky table.
"So, Charlotte, Matt was telling me that you were looking into art school," Foggy began conversation.
He was wearing a green jumper over light blue jeans, his hair long and coming down to the nape of his neck. He leant back in his chair, holding the bottle of beer between his hands, glancing down to it intently. Charlotte nodded her head.
"I've been looking into it," she said to him with a nod of her head.
"Charlotte's very talented," Jonathan concurred, arm slipping around her waist. "Have you seen her stuff?"
"I have," Foggy said with a nod. "And Matt won't stop going on about how great she is."
"Even though you can't see it?" Jonathan asked and there was a moment of awkward silence. Jonathan's lips curved upwards and Charlotte looked down to her white wine on the table. "What? You can't be sensitive about that."
"I'm not," Matt responded. "I just know that she's good. Everyone's said it and she…well…she's too modest to blow her own trumpet. I'm sure you know that about her by now."
"Oh, I do," Jonathan said, eyes glaring at Matt and Foggy looked between the two men, sensing the atmosphere between them. Charlotte could sense it too. She coughed into her fist and Foggy took over conversation again.
"Jonathan, what is it that you do?" he asked and Charlotte listened to him as he began telling Foggy all about his politics degree and master's course. He told him how he was interning at the mayor's office two days a week. Charlotte listened to him talk with vigour, clearly enjoying the discussion of politics.
"And you both want to be lawyers?" Jonathan checked, finishing off his first glass of wine.
"Yeah, well, you know, my mom wanted me to be a butcher," Foggy said. "But I told her that law was the thing for me. Turns out that it's alright. It's quite difficult…and the classes are intense…but we're looking for firms where we can intern after we've graduated."
"So what type of law do you want to go into?"
"We're open to ideas," Foggy declared.
"Is that so? Because I know that my dad has some connections at some of the top law firms in the city."
"Really?" Foggy asked.
"That's nice of you, but I think we'd rather get in on our own merit."
Jonathan chuckled. "In this city, Matthew, it's not always what you know but who you know."
"Well, I guess that's how you get by in politics, but we prefer a different route," Matt retorted and Charlotte bit down on her tongue, knowing that this was not going well. She'd been stupid to think that they'd be able to get on. Why had she even thought that would have been possible?
"Jonathan was just trying to help, Matty," Charlotte said, trying to soften him.
"Well, we're fine," Matt said, head turning in her direction as she tried to resist the urge to kick him under the table.
"But thanks for the offer," Foggy said.
"Anytime," Jonathan replied. "Anyway, you must be getting ready to break up for the Christmas holidays? Do you have any plans?"
"Just going back to my parents," Foggy said with a shrug. "What about you guys? Matt said that you usually spend Christmas together, Charlotte."
Charlotte nodded. "Yeah, we usually do," she agreed on that point. "I mean, the drawback to being orphans is that we have no family to celebrate with…so we usually just buy in wine…chocolate…and watch Christmas films the entire day."
"Sounds quite dull, darling," Jonathan said to her. "Nowhere near like how we'll spend it this year."
Matt's brows furrowed. "You're not going to be here?" he questioned her.
"Well, I was going to mention that Jonathan has offered to take me to the Hamptons with his family," she said and Matt's teeth ground together at hearing her. "But I said that I'd talk to you first because I know that we spend it together and I didn't want to make any decision without you."
"It's fine," Matt said. "I might see if Elektra is here this Christmas anyway."
"Your girlfriend?" Jonathan checked.
"Yeah, we've been dating for…" he trailed off.
"Three and a half months," Charlotte answered for him and he turned his face in her direction once more as she looked to him and wished that she could see his hazel eyes behind the glasses. "But if you're sure then that would be great, Matty."
"Fine with me," Matt said to her with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Glad we've got that sorted," Jonathan said.
"Well, Christmas is great, isn't it?" Foggy quickly interjected and they all agreed. "I'm just going to head to the bathroom." He stood up and headed over to the bar as Jonathan's grip around Charlotte's waist increased. Matt listened to her breathing increase and his brows knitted together. He wondered just what was going on as Jonathan continued talking, blabbering on about his work. But Matt's attention was not on him.
He was listening as Charlotte's breathing sped up, her heart racing. He could feel her getting warmer and then he smelt it. He wanted to lunge across the table and grab Jonathan. He wanted to fling him off of her and tell him that he had no right to be with Charlotte.
Charlotte tried to keep her breathing under control as Jonathan remained calm and collected, his hand on her thigh, fingers between her legs and toying with her. She felt her cheeks blush as she looked around, making sure no one was watching. Grabbing hold of his wrist, she tried to pull him away from her, unable to believe that Matt didn't know what was going on. She shifted in her chair as his hand moved down to her knee and she tried to adjust her underwear under her dress.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Matt suddenly said and he stood up, walking off, cane in front of him.
He went slowly, listening in as Charlotte berated Jonathan.
"What the hell was that?" she demanded to know from her boyfriend.
"Just having a bit of fun, baby," he said to her. "Come on, it's not as if Matty can see and I've been thinking about you all day…sat there in that dress…is it any wonder I'm struggling to keep my hands off of you?"
"He might not be able to see, but he's not an idiot and that was rude," Charlotte said, not listening to his excuses. She didn't have any time for them. Looking to him, she glared at him and Jonathan chuckled, hand going to her cheek.
"You're adorable when you're angry."
"You're not charming your way out of this so easily," she responded to him, voice holding firm and he rolled his eyes at hearing her. "I'm serious, Jonathan. That…that was humiliating."
"You didn't complain when I dragged you into the closet at the governor's mansion the other night."
"Because that wasn't in front of my best friend," she retorted. "Can you just not do that again. Please?"
Matt scoffed. She shouldn't have to say please. And Matt got a sense that Jonathan knew exactly what he was doing. Finally coming to the bathroom, he bumped into Foggy in the small corridor, leaving Charlotte and Jonathan to their argument.
"Hey, you alright?" Foggy asked.
Matt grunted and headed to the sink. The bathroom was thankfully empty. "What do you think of him?" Matt asked, dodging Foggy's question.
Foggy shrugged and went to lean against the wall as Matt splashed his face with cold water, removing his glasses before he did it. "He seems a bit smarmy to me," Foggy decided to say. "I don't really see Charlotte with someone like him, but…well…she seems to be happy enough."
"You think?"
"She keeps smiling at him and you should see the dress she's wearing," Foggy said and Matt wanted to believe that was for him, not for her boyfriend. "I guess she's happy, but why don't you just ask her? She is your best friend."
"Things are complicated between us."
"Yeah, I picked up on the tension," Foggy snorted. "What is it with you two? One minute I find her in your bed and the next you're telling me that you're just friends."
"Because we are just friends."
"Then why do you look agitated? I hate to say it, Matty, but you're looking pretty jealous," Foggy said and Matt grunted as he wiped his face dry and put his glasses back on, grip tightening on his cane. "If you want her-"
"-I don't."
"Yes, you do, but for some reason you're too much of an idiot to admit it," Foggy said. "I know that you say things are going great with Elektra, but how come anytime Charlotte comes round you lose all ability to think rationally? And please don't even bother to deny it…just figure stuff out before it's too late, okay?"
Matt didn't argue with him anymore. Instead, he stood up straight and just left the bathroom, Foggy following him. Heading back to the table, Matt didn't even have time to sit down before Jonathan was on to him.
"Another drink?" Jonathan checked.
"Oh, sure," Foggy said and sat down.
"Excellent. Matthew, I'm sure you can give me a hand."
"I don't mind," Charlotte quickly said.
"No, I'm sure Matthew won't mind," Jonathan said and Matthew just nodded.
He walked with Jonathan back to the bar, standing at one end of it and waiting patiently to get served.
"I wanted to apologise for earlier, Murdock," Jonathan said to him, voice low so that no one could hear them. He didn't need any of this getting back to Charlotte. "But you should know that Charlotte…well…she's quite something and it's hard to resist her."
"No idea what you're talking about," Matt said, pleading ignorant.
"Of course not," Jonathan said. "You know, it's weird. You two claim to be friends, but you've hardly been pleasant to me all evening…makes me think that maybe there's a green-eyed monster somewhere inside of you."
"Last time I checked, I hadn't gone through intense gamma radiation," Matt said dryly and Jonathan chuckled at him. "But I'm fine. There's nothing going on between us."
"Doesn't mean you wish otherwise," Jonathan declared. "I'd get it. She's quite the minx, not that you can see her…but trust me, you missed out."
"Does she know how crude you are?" Matt asked and Jonathan chuckled again.
"Well, I usually reserve it for the bedroom. You know that she loves dirty talk? Can't control herself whenever I'm around…I think maybe she has daddy issues, you know? The way she wants me to dominate her is like nothing I've seen before."
Matt shook his head, hand curling into a fist. Was he trying to get a rise out of him? Was this what he wanted? Because he knew he was lying. Matt had spent time with Charlotte, both intimately and as friends. He knew her and he knew what she liked.
"You're not going to get a rise out of me if that's what you're trying to do."
"Really?" Jonathan wondered, stepping closer to him. "Because your hands have been clenched and your teeth grinding together since we got here. So just tell me, Murdock. Just tell me that you want what I have."
"Is that all she is to you? Is she some kind of game?"
"I like knowing that I've won something someone else wants…and I want you to know that you have no chance of getting with her. She's mine now. Trust me, she's mine in every single way you can imagine…I'm sure you can still smell her on me, can't you, Murdock? My sweet, dirty, little whore."
It was then when Matt lashed out, unable to control himself any longer. He lunged for Jonathan, grabbing him by his collar and bending him back onto the bar, glasses smashing around him as Matt punched him in the jaw, dropping his cane. His glasses fell from his face as Jonathan grunted in pain. He tried to push Matt from him as people shrieked loudly, the two of them wrestling each other through the bar, knocking chairs over, glasses smashing around them onto the floor.
Charlotte stood up quickly as soon as the first punch landed, rushing over to the two of them as Foggy followed, wondering if he'd ever seen Matt so angry in his life. Somehow, Jonathan got Matt to the door as the bartender told them to take it outside, both of them staggering onto the sidewalk, clearly bemused with the punches that had landed and taking a moment to gather themselves. Matt reached for Jonathan again, ducking his punch and landing his own against his chest.
"Matty! Stop it!" Charlotte shouted.
But Matt wasn't stopping. He was knelt over Jonathan, his fists repeatedly hitting against his face. It was like he couldn't stop. There was nothing inside of him that could stop him, except for one thing and she was tugging on his elbow, trying to get him off of her boyfriend.
"Matt! Get the hell off of him!" she yelled at him.
"Jesus Christ," Foggy exclaimed, grabbing Matt's other arm and pulling him back.
"Jonathan…shit…Jonathan, are you alright?" Charlotte asked, kneeling by him and looking at his face. His lip was split, cuts on his face and swelling already forming. She moved her hands over her mouth, unable to believe that Matt was capable of something like this. She knew he had an anger inside of him. She'd seen it when he had stopped her from being bullied, but this was next level. She moved her hands to Jonathan's shoulders and he coughed, spitting blood onto the pavement next to him.
Foggy kept hold of Matt, refusing to let him go as the man in his hold gasped loudly for breath.
"I'm fine," Jonathan promised her.
She nodded her head and he remained on the ground, gathering his breath as Matt turned his attention to her.
"Lottie, he-"
"-Don't you dare fucking Lottie me!" she roared at him and moved to her feet, going to him and pushing his shoulders. "What the hell were you thinking? Why do you have to ruin everything? Why do you have to be such an asshole?"
"He was talking about you, Lottie," Matt said, trying to grab her, Foggy taking a step back. But she wasn't having it. She was pushing back at him, tears streaming down her face, heartrate erratic. "He was…the things he was saying…"
"Baby, he's lying," Jonathan said and moved to his feet, grunting in pain. "He just went mad. He's unstable."
"You know that's not who I am," Matt said to her as he took hold of her upper arms, longing for her to look into his eyes as his gaze darted around. "Lottie, you know who I am. You know-"
"-I thought I did," she interrupted him. "But recently I don't know who you are. You're curt with me…sharp…hardly return my calls…and tonight you've been nothing but an asshole."
"I've been the asshole?" Matt asked from her. "I wasn't the one with my hands between your legs in the middle of the bar."
Charlotte went silent then, embarrassed that he had actually confirmed he knew what had been going on. Matt moved quickly, hands grabbing hold of her cheeks, cupping them tenderly as he lowered his forehead to hers. "You deserve better than this piece of shit. You deserve someone who respects you…loves you for who you are…not him…you shouldn't be with him. You know that."
"And you think you know what's best for me, do you?" she demanded from him. "Because you've hardly been able to talk to me since you started dating Elektra. You stand here and judge me, but you have no right. After the way you've behaved you have no right to judge me ever again."
"Lottie, please," Matt pleaded with her and she moved his hands from her cheeks, lowering them back down to his sides. "Don't go with him."
"Stay away from me, Matt," she said and he heard her grab hold of Jonathan, the other man groaning and grunting in her grip as she helped him to stand up and walk away.
"Charlotte-"
"-I mean it, Matt," Charlotte snapped back at him, turning her head over her shoulder and watching him. "Leave me alone. I don't want to see you…not after this."
"No-"
"-Leave her," Foggy was the one to interrupt, grabbing Matt's arm. But Matt didn't even put up a fight. He just stood there and listened to her walk away with him, knowing that he had blown it completely.
…
"Promise me that you're not going to go and do anything stupid."
"Like what?"
"Like going after your husband and finding out what's happened."
"I can't. He's in Chicago," Charlotte commented.
Their expedition had been fruitless the night before. They had gotten to his house and he hadn't been there. He'd been on a flight to Chicago. Charlotte had no idea why and they hadn't stuck around to find out. They'd gone back to Matt's apartment and had spent most of the night hypothesising before going to bed and getting around six hours of sleep. The next morning, Charlotte was dressed in her Matt's Columbia sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. Matt was pulling his tie on, ready to go to work for the day.
"That doesn't mean you won't try to do something."
"I'm going to spend the day finding somewhere to live, Matt. I won't go after Jonathan."
"Promise me."
"I promise," she said and he nodded his head, happy with that.
"And you don't need to rush to find somewhere to live, you know?" he replied, shrugging his satchel over his body after he'd put his coat on. She stood by the door, arms folded and observing him. "I mean, it's quite nice having someone here."
"You could always get a roommate."
"I don't know many people who would put up with me being moody in the morning."
"Yeah…and chances are they might want to do some decorating here too…get some artwork…paint the walls…I mean, even a TV would be nice."
"I can get you a TV."
"I don't want you to get me a TV, Matt," she replied.
"And I don't really want you out there while your husband is plotting something…so if a TV will keep you here then I'll buy you a TV. Hell, you can have a massive flat screen one if it works," he said and he heard her laugh, his own lips turning up after a moment and he stepped towards her. Lifting his hand to her cheek, he stroked his fingers through her hair softly. It felt so soft under his fingertips.
"Throw in a DVD player and I might be convinced," she said to him, taking hold of his wrist, running her thumb over his skin softly.
"Done," he said to her and she watched him for a few moments, eyes darting over his face.
"Go to work, Matty," she urged him. "I'll be here when you get home."
"Okay," he said and he didn't know if it was out of instinct, but he moved to her and pecked her on the forehead, kissing her tenderly and hearing her breath hitch as she leaned into him. He pulled away, hand dropping from her cheek and she let go of his wrist. He wondered if he had gone too far, but judging from the way she tried to move closer, he didn't think he had. "See you tonight, Lottie."
"Yeah…have a good day," she said and he darted out of the door quickly.
Charlotte waited until she was certain that he'd gone before she unlocked her phone. She moved to call the number she had saved under an alias. Jessica Lewis. She was one of Jonathan's victims and Charlotte had given her her number in case she ever needed to talk. And she had. One night at two in the morning while Jonathan had been sleeping, Charlotte had spoken to her. She'd asked about the nightmares. Did they ever go away? How did you make them stop?
She heard the phone ring and she figured that she wasn't going to pick up, but then the phone clicked.
"I can't talk to you," Jessica hissed.
"I know, but I just needed to make sure you were alright," Charlotte said to her.
"I'm fine, but we can't have this conversation," Jessica responded.
"What has he done to you? Whatever it is, I can help. We can-"
"-No. There's nothing that you can do," Jessica said, voice lowering. "I need to go, but please don't call me again. Thank you…for everything…but we're done now."
She hung up before Charlotte could convince her otherwise. Sighing loudly, she didn't know what else to do. She could try and find her and talk to her in person, but she didn't know how that would work. Would it work? She didn't know, but she knew that she had to get out of the apartment. She pulled her red coat on over Matt's sweatshirt and headed on downstairs, taking his spare key and her phone and bag with her.
Coming to the sidewalk, she was going to find the subway to take her further into the city, but she had no time to descend the steps. As she turned the corner, a car pulled up. It was a big black SUV, one that Jonathan used to be chauffeured around in. But the man in the back seat wasn't Jonathan. She busied herself with her phone, thumb slipping onto Matt's number.
"Mrs Jonas?" he questioned.
"Who's asking?" she wondered as she turned to see him with the window rolled down.
He had a smarmy smile on his face, neat cut hair and glasses on the end of his nose. He opened the door and motioned to the seat he had slid across to leave space. "May I have a word?"
"I don't get into cars with strangers, no matter how nice they ask," she responded.
"Then how about I rephrase that," he said and then she saw him move his hand into his pocket, pulling the gun out. "Get in the car, Mrs Jonas."
She wondered if he was bluffing, but as soon as she heard the safety lock click off, she knew he wasn't. Looking down the street, she wondered if she could make a run for it. But there was a chance others could get hurt if she tried. She shook her head, knowing that she was going to regret it, but her options were limited. She pressed dial on Matt's number and locked the phone, slipping it into her pocket and ready for whatever was coming her way.
...
A/N: Things are getting more intense - any ideas who the guy is? Please do let me know if you're reading, your reviews keep me going and I love to know your thoughts/anything you want to see. Reviews always appreciated!