Hey all, sorry for the very long wait, but so much was happening. Well here is he next chapter, hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 4: Truth

Hospital

In the hospital it had been about two hours since Matt was brought in and no one had said anything about his condition except that he was stable and was being examined and x-rayed.

Jen was pacing around the lobby with Carey. Zack and Cody were reading some of the out of date magazines in the waiting room, and feeling a lot better since the nurse gave him the pill. She had come back a while ago and gave him a clean bill of health. Then a door to the back of the hospital opened and a single nurse walked out and over to Jen and Carey.

"Mrs. Mesman" the nurse asked.

"Yes," Jen answered quickly "I am Jennifer Mesman."

"Your son is done being examined and has been moved to a room. You can go see him if you want, it is room 345." she said looking at the group before her, all their eyes widening and joy filling their faces as they ran off to Matt's room.

When they arrived at the correct room Jen opened the door and saw Matt lying on a bed in a hospital gown asleep.

After everyone had entered the room Jen closed the door and walked over to her sleeping son. His head was wrapped up and only one eye was uncovered along with his nose and mouth. Zack and Cody went up to the left side of the bed while Jen and Carey on the right side, all looking down at him, Jen took his hand.

After a few minutes alone in silence the door to the room opened up and the doctor walked in.

"Hello" he said "I am Dr. Laurence, I was the one who examined you son."

"Oh, what's wrong with my baby" Jen asked in a shaky voice.

"Matt here will be fine, he is stable and the bleeding has stopped," Dr. Laurence said in a confidant and reassuring voice, "but we still don't have a good idea what caused this to happen."

This made Jen eyes widen "What? You don't know how this could happen" She said worried now.

"No, I mean we have an idea but it is only one idea," Dr. Laurence explained "we think that it had something to do with some suppressed memories, something must have triggered them to resurface and a migraine resulted and we think that lead to the old wound reopening."

When he finished it was a shock to everyone. Jen was not as surprised, she looked at her son and then at the twins who didn't understand half of what the doctor had said. You were right, it was time to tell them the truth about everything. I should have know, you are always right about things like this Jen thought to herself.

A few minutes after the doctor left, Jen noticed Matt's eyes twitch, and begin to open. She turned to the Martins and said "Guys he is waking up."

They heard and hurried over and sat around Matt's bed. Matt slowly opened his eyes, everything was bleary for a moment, and he saw rough outlines of what he thought were people around him. After a few seconds his eyes adjusted and he saw out of one eye his mom, and friends standing around him.

"M-mom" Matt managed to say, still weak from the ordeal "where am I, what happened," he asked looking around the hospital room.

They all told him what happened, each telling what happened and finishing for the others. Matt sat in shock feeling his bandaged face and tracing the line of the scar on his face through the wrapping, it still hurt a bit but not much.

"So it wasn't a dream" Matt said quietly, then suddenly his head hurt again, he could feel his brain throbbing and more memories resurfacing. "Mom" he said in pain, as Carey went for a nurse, and the twins just stood their not know what to do.

Jen reached into her bag and pulled out Bucket, Matt's stuffed warn bear, she quickly handed it to him. As soon as he had hold of the bear he hugged it tight and buried his face into it, as he did this his head felt well, but some mild pain was there.

"Matt, are you alright?" Zack and Cody both asked in unison, confused as how a bear calmed him down so quickly.

Carey returned with a nurse who rushed over to Matt and began to examine him. "Well he experienced a minor migraine it would appear" the nurse said calmly, "nothing to worry about, I will get him some painkillers and that should help."

As she left Matt gave his mom a look she knew all to well, it was time for the truth to be told, she got up and asked Carey to leave the boys alone for a while. She said they had something important to talk about, and she would fill her in elsewhere. They both walked out as the nurse walked in with the painkiller. When she left she closed the door and Matt turned to Zack and Cody and gave a big sigh.

After taking the painkiller he again looked at the twins and thought about what he was going to say. It had been so long since he had told anyone his secret and it was always difficult at first.

"Zack, Cody, there is something I need to tell you now," Matt said with a great sigh looking at both of the twins as a confused look was stretched across their faces "the first day I moved to the Tipton, I know that you wanted to ask about my scar but you never did."

"Well it didn't seem like a good first thing to say and we didn't want to pry" Cody said quickly sounding a little embarrassed.

"Its okay, I am used to the question, and I am okay with what happed" Matt said "and I knew I was going to have to tell you guys sooner or later."

"Tell us what?" Zack asked

"That my father was the cause of this scar" Matt said point to his face scar.

"This scar, you mean there are others" Cody said looking and sounding shocked.

"Yeah" Matt said undoing his hospital gown, still dressed from the waste down, "he left me with many memories, etched into my skin" as the front of the gown fell to the bed his scared and battered body was revealed. It was full of scars, burn marks, welts, permanent bruises, deep gashes and many other indescribable wounds that littered his body leaving very little untouched smooth skin.

Both Zack and Cody were stunned, they were speechless, even when trying to comment or say anything all that came out was air. After a few seconds of silences, Zack becomes physically ill and rushes to the near trash can and throws up. After he gets up that was the kick needed to start the conversation again.

"Are you ok" Matt said, with worry in his eyes "I am sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier, but I wanted to make sure I could trust you, and now I am sure."

"Matt, you know you can tell us anything" Cody said "we are your friends you can trust us with anything."

"Yeah I know but this is information that I do not give out all the time" Matt said looking at Cody with his uncovered eye "I would like not to remember it until I am sure you are ready."

"Makes sense," Zack adds "I can see how you would not want to repeat such painful memories on a daily basis."

"Right Zack" Matt said, a little surprised, he had never seen Zack so companionate and understanding before, he knew he could trust them and that was the last shred he needed.

"It all started six years ago, when I was about five, my father was nice and happy till the day he was laid off from work and the bills began to pile up" Matt began his mind racing with memories "my mom worked nights so she never knew when he started drinking and, and beating me…"

Over the next three hours Matt told the twins everything that had happened to him, he didn't spend to much time on details just the basics. He told them all the horrible things his father had ever done to him, the whippings for taking out his anger, the beatings with fists, feet and any other handy item which he did when ever Matt did anything remotely wrong, the burns for seemingly no reason, the cutting with all sorts of knifes, and other random kinds of torture.

Everything he told the twins made their faces cringe and looks of disgust sympathy and anger fill them. But when he got to the part about his mom finding out and his father trying to kill him and shattering his left leg, which they did see the long two foot scar from where it was reconstructed.

While in the hall Jen was telling Carey the same things, as Matt was telling Zack and Cody, but her story was more on what happened afterwards. On the trials, and the one year since it had ended, and all the good times they had had. She also told Carey about a strange gift Matt seemed to have acquired from the ordeal.

"It's almost like he can see into the future sometimes, and he has a air around him that seems to make him so likable and calming to others" Jen said to Carey, which ended her tale, Carey was speechless, hundreds of thoughts in her head, how would her boys react to this? Would it change their friendship? Would it effect anything?

But in the end after it was time for Matt to be released, his head still wrapped up, as they left smiles stretched across all their faces as they walked to Carey's car and filed in. Soon laughter followed and they were all happy once more, like nothing ever happened, life was never going to be the same after the truth was told.

Thanks for reading, now please review, they are very helpful good or otherwise.