Without You

Author's Note: I'm going on vacation after this chapter, so don't expect any updates until I get back from California. I'll be back on the 18th of June, till then, enjoy!

"Look, look, I can see his eyes moving"

"Darling get over here, he's waking up"

"Matt, Matt, can you hear me bro?"

Those familiar voice rang like faint church bells in the wake of Matt's blurry, static coated eyes, he felt like he was staring at a bunch of blurry shadows on a snowy TV screen. Matt slowly rose up and blinked his eyes; a throbbing pain rang loudly inside his head.

Matt groaned "Oh good god my head, it feels like someone's doing the polka in there".

Tails blinked "What's a polka?".

The human shook his head "Ugh, forget it; you're better off not knowing. Say uh, are we, are we back inside my home?".

Matt looked around with crackling tension rippling underneath his aching bones, turning to look around and notice the walls of his dreary home. Matt rubbed his throbbing temple and sighed. The last memory that came to Matt's mind was trying to outrun the security guards from that toy store.

Sally looked to Matt "We brought you back inside after you passed out in the car, you gave us quite a scare there Matt".

Bunnie nodded "Sure did sugar, we didn't know what happened to you. Y'all feeling any better?".

Matt grumbled a bit "Well my back is killing me, my head feels like shit, and I got a nasty taste in my mouth, but other then that, peachy".

Sonic and the others reluctantly hanged their heads and stared at their shoes, something was bothering them. The furry creatures were bothered by the remark Matt made about the fowl taste in his mouth.

"Uh guys, what's wrong? You, you didn't get photographed or anything while I was out, did you?" Matt asked.

Tails shook his head "No Matt, its n-n-nothing like that. It's just……something else".

Matt blinked "Well what then?".

Sonic sighed "Matt, who's Billy and Trina?".

Matt's eyes flashed wide open and like a scream echoing from the shadows of death, it chilled the very bones in Matt's body. Those 2 names unleashed a parade of painful memories stinging into Matt's brain like pins and needles. Matt jumped away from Sonic and the others, a look of shock and absolute terror boiled fiercely in his gray eyes as he stared at them coldly.

"How the hell do you know about them?" Matt demanded.

CLINK!

The clattering sound of a small object rolling around the ground caught Matt's attention; it fell out of Sally's vest pocket. Matt bent down and picked up the object before examining it closely.

Matt frowned "This was empty, now it's full, it wasn't full before. Anyone here knowing about where the NOT empty thing here is?".

Tails blinked "Uh can you say that again?".

Sonic sighed "Matt, when you blacked out in the car, we didn't know what to do. We shook you and yelled as loud as we could but you didn't wake up. We got seriously wigged and thought you might be sick so".

Princess Sally butted in "So we went through your pockets and we found that container, it's some type of medicinal tablet container".

"I KNOW WHAT IT IS, j-j-j-j-just get to the part where you learned those names" Matt said.

The blue hedgehog gulped "Well, we read the tube and it said it was prescribed by a Doctor Ferrier. Sally and I walked around and asked where we could find this guy and they lead us to this place called uh……uh a farma?".

Bunnie giggled "Pharmacy sugar hog".

Sonic nodded "Right, anyway we found the doc and asked him to refill the tube, it was an emergency we told him. When he saw us he asked me and Bunnie if we were this……Billy and Trina".

Matt's face was cold and damp, the sweat dribbled off his frowning face like a dab of dew on a sprouting plant leaf. Sonic and the others remained eerily silent. The room was lively and energetic as a funeral home, Matt nervously asked Sonic and the others to continue, almost dreading their response.

Tails coughed "I think the doctor might have confused us for Billy and Trina, but he gave us the medicine anyway. The doctor said that family is always the most important thing in life".

Sally sighed "We were wondering if you could explain to us a bit more about you're heritage, like you're family and relatives".

Matt coldly replied "I have none to speak of, now let's drop the subject. I need to lie down".

Sally tried to tell Matt they were only trying to help, but Matt had already turned his back on her and was angrily storming into his bedroom. Sonic frowned and rushed up to Matt, grabbing his dark coat sleeve and yanking back on Matt's arm.

"Yo, what's you're malfunction buddy?" Sonic said.

Matt snapped "Back the hell off, I told you that this discussion is over".

Sonic shook his spiny, blue head "Oh no it's not, not by a long shot. There's something you covering up and it's stinking worse then Robuttnick's under pants. Who's Billy and Trina?".

Matt shouted back "None of you're god damn business and it NEVER will be".

Sonic yanked harder "What aren't you telling us? Come on Matt, I thought we were friends".

Sally called to Sonic "Please stop, let him go Sonic, it's his choice".

The hedgehog refused "He's hiding something and I want to know what".

Matt's face started to turn red, the human snarled and tried to tear away his arm from Sonic.

"Drop it right now or I swear to god" Matt started.

Sonic screamed "Enough is enough, TELL US WHO THEY ARE".

WHAM!

The bitter human grabbed Sonic and screamed like a wounded animal, his neck and hands bulged with bright red skin and throbbing veins. Matt smacked Sonic away from him and glared a pair of hate filled eyes at the bothersome blue hedgehog. Matt's heart was about to explode, the rage was burning him up from the inside like a nuclear reactor.

Matt shouted "My kids, okay they were my god damn kids. Are you freaking happy you smart ass, spiny piece of shit? Huh? Are you happy you son of a".

Matt stopped himself before cursing further and grabbed his head.

"Oh mah stars" Bunnie gasped.

Sonic and the others stood in silence as they watched Matt vent and scream out his anger. Frustration, rage, violence, all of these things were clawing from the surface and exploding within the tormented heart and soul of the poor, poor human known as Matt Barson. Matt's face was red and savage, the hatred of his lonely, broken heart was fueling him like cocaine injections.

Sonic gasped "That's who the rain coats were from, and the extra beds, and when the doctor saw us he must have thought".

"It's been 3 months now" Matt said.

Matt's years of pent up frustration and bitter loneliness had finally been cracked, the shell was broken. The memories of Matt's long lost children were rushing back into his mind like waterfalls. Matt felt it was time he could finally speak, to finally tell someone else, to tell someone other then himself his story of pain, misery, and heart ache. The true story of Matt.

Matt began "When I was in high school, I wasn't the most popular guy in the school, I wasn't the dorkiest though either, hell I wasn't even with the squids. I was in a middle class all my own with no one to bother and no one to be bothered by. That was until I met Clara, my future girlfriend and eventually bride to be. When I was with her, everything just seemed better.

There were no worries, no problems, no troubles, nothing could rain on our parade and nothing could destroy our happiness. About a year after we were married we tried to have a child, we succeeded in Trina, my daughter. Clara was more distant with me and spent more time with Trina then anyone else. But I figured it was just a phase, the children are always more important.

When Trina turned 4 we tried to have another, then Billy was born, more distant, more lack of attention. As time went by I barely ever saw Clara anymore, she was always out late or drunk or coming home with different clothes and smelling funny. Eventually I got fed up with it and followed her one night. I snuck out after the kids were asleep, I followed Clara to her car.

There was a guy waiting there for her, a guy I'd never seen before. Turns out Clara had been waiting for the kids and I to go to sleep so she could make sure no one would know she met up with this guy, Gary is his name. Clara had been cheating on me for some time now, purposely dumping the kids on me so she could skip work and shirk her duties just so she could see Gary.

When I confronted her about it, she made up this bull shit story saying I treated her wrong and we filed for divorce. We managed to get joint custody of the kids, but only if I agreed by Clara's rules, Clara's times, and Clara's schedule, that along with the endless court and lawyer fees were too much. I couldn't take it anymore……so I turned to drinking……and medication.

I originally took antidepressants to calm my nerves, I've been this way all my life, with the jumping and the shaking. Anyways, long story short, my obsession with prescription medicine and booze binging soiled my credibility and the judge deemed me an unworthy parent and dissolved the joint custody clause. I was never to go near Clara or my kids ever again.

That's why (starts to cry) that's why I have their coats and beds and stuff……because it's all I've got left. I can't talk to them, see them, go near them, she even put a restraining order on me. I mean can you BELIEVE that, I mean, were talking about my boy and my little girl, my kids, they're still, they're still my babies and I just……I just".

Matt's words became muffled by the pouring tears that screamed from his sorrow filled eyes, his hands trembled like chattering teeth. Tears continued to slip and slide down Matt's sorrow soaked face, acting like his heart had been violently ripped out again and again and again. Sonic walked towards Matt and wrapped his arms around him, Sally and the others did the same.

Sonic whispered "Were here Matt, were here, were here for you".

To be continued……