Overdue
Click!
Matt yanked down on the cold chain from his dangling light bulb, a dimly lit guest room was revealed under the rotting darkness of the shadows. The room was small, brownish; and it had the feeling and smell of a cheap motel room.
Matt sighed "Sorry it's not very clean but it's the best I could do on such short notice".
Inside the guest room were 2 small sized spare beds, one blow up air mattress, and a sleeping bag. Sonic and the others entered the room, a little disgusted by the mess but otherwise grateful, Matt sighed softly.
Sonic nodded "This ain't so bad Matt, we'll be able to chill in here no prob. Sally and Bunnie can take the beds, I'll take the bag and Tails can have the mattress".
The gang nodded and seemingly agreed upon those rules. Tingling drops of heated sweat dribbled off Matt's shaky brow, his dark hair was scratched feverishly by his even shakier hands.
The human blurted out "Actually I was going to give Sally my bed".
Matt covered his mouth and slowly tried to breathe. The princess blinked at the human in confusion, Matt's eyes and body seemed utterly racked with pain and stress.
Sally shook her head "No Matt it's fine, really, there's no need to do that. We are after all your guests".
But still Matt insisted "Don't be crazy, you're a princess, I wouldn't be much of a gentlemen now would I princess? Please, by all means, just take it".
Sonic crossed his arms as he watched Matt, the man seemed unable to remain still. Luscious locks of red hair were brushed away from Sally's diamond blue eyes; those eyes pierced into Matt's soul like crystal blue daggers, digging deeper and harder with each passing second, Matt couldn't get them out of his mind.
"All right then, thank you Matt" Sally said.
Matt relaxed a little "My pleasure your highness".
Sally lightly laughed "Please, call me Sally, I insist".
Casually nodding to her request, Matt nodded and headed off to the bathroom and shutting the door.
Bunnie blinked "He's twitchier then a stray cat in a doghouse, mah stars".
Sonic nodded to Bunnie, he too was worried about Matt's unstable behavior.
Tails curiously asked "You don't think he's dangerous do you?".
Sally shook her head "No Tails, I think were fine. I think Matt just needs a little rest, that's all. As a matter of fact I think we could all use a good night's rest. Tomorrow morning, we'll formulate a plan and try and find our way back home".
The hedgehog nodded as the others slowly got into their beds.
Hours later……
Mumbling groans escaped Matt's bewildered face, his eyes flexed open and shut, frantically closing and opening in his midst of his shivering nightmares. Matt gasped as he jerked open from his bed, panting, and covered with sweat.
Matt began to mumble "I don't see anyone, I don't see anyone, I don't see anyone".
The human jumped from his bed and entered the bathroom in a mad dash. Sputtering globs of water filled up Matt's paper cup as he threw open his medicine cabinet, a row of prescribed pill containers lined the cabinet's walls. Matt grabbed a couple containers and unscrewed their caps off frantically.
Matt bit his lip nervously "Just forget, just forget all about it".
Matt gulped down chunks of falling pills, swallowing chunks of water to wash them all down. Minutes passed in the bathroom as utter silence chilled Matt's trembling ears and limbs. Tension filled muscles slowly relaxed as Matt took a heavy sigh of relief. The drugs from the containers had finally taken affect and calmed Matt down. Slowly closing up the cabinet, Matt turned back towards his bed as he wiped his face clean.
Sonic blinked "Craving a late night chili dog Matt?".
Matt gasped "GAH".
Frightened by Sonic's appearance, Matt dropped one of his pill containers on the ground. The container rolled over towards Sonic's red sneakers. The blue hedgehog picked up the tube and examined it, Matt pleaded for him not to look at it
Sonic rose a blue eyebrow "Lexapro, prescribed by Doctor Ferrier. Designed to advocate depression, anxiety, and paranoia?".
Matt yanked the bottle back "I would rather you hadn't seen that".
Sonic frowned "Look Matt I'm no doctor, and I know your world's medicine is gonna be much wackier compared to mine. But I don't need a PHD to tell me that you don't look so hot, what's the matter?".
Matt shook his head "You don't understand".
Sonic smirked "Try me, we are room mates after all".
Matt half laughed "Even so, this is something that you don't need to worry about. I just……need a little release that's all".
"From what?" Sonic asked.
Matt paused a moment before answering "Life, the world, people or rather……lack there of".
The hedgehog teen blinked as he saw Matt tightly grabbing his right arm, his eyes and sunken face shaking with inner sorrow. Matt almost seemed sickened by talking about this subject. Sonic blinked as he saw something shiny inside the bathroom, the hedgehog curiously pushed open the door.
Sonic asked "Hey, what's that shiny thing in the bath tub?".
"No, stay away from there" Matt shouted.
But by the time Matt had reached the door, Sonic had already pushed it open. Inside the bathtub were thousands of beer bottles, cans, and liquor bottles. Drained alcohol and drops of expired booze were smeared all over the crowded tub. Sonic's eyes widened, Matt suddenly slammed the door shut.
Matt pleaded "Please go back to bed now, I'm sure you guys got a lot of work ahead of you tomorrow, so you'd better get some sleep".
The over exhausted human slowly staggered back to his bed without another word spoken, his eyes and face were lost in a drug filled dream. Sonic wanted so badly to try and say something, however as Matt passed the hedgehog's quills, he realized that now wasn't the time to talk. Matt entered the family room and headed towards the couch, but Sonic called out to him right before he flopped down upon the cushions.
Sonic asked "Matt, one quick question and don't worry, it's not about the bathroom. I was just curious, how'd you get those spare beds so fast? Did someone used to stay here with you?".
Matt paused before answering "Good night Sonic".
Dark hair bounced across the cushion pillows as Matt closed his eyes and went to sleep on his family room couch. Sonic regretfully nodded to Matt's words and went to bed, closing the guest room door and slipping into the sleeping bag. But still, the hedgehog's mind couldn't help but wonder.
Sonic sighed "Something tells me our little visit to this place has been overdue, LONG overdue".
To be continued……