I do NOT own Death Note!

okay so I wrote it faster then I thought I would...I hadnt planned a chapter like this but I'm happy with it. Forbiddensoul562 expressed a desire to have some more explination for why Matt did what he did...so this chapter is dedicated to her. Thanks for all the great reviews hun... To everyone who didnt like the last chapter...i know...it was evil...it was MelloxMatt and this is a MelloxNear story...but it served a purpose! next chapter...UBER FLUFF!!


Chapter 13 – A Broken Heart

Roger woke with a start. He could have sworn he heard something, some noise that woke him. He stood slowly, groaning softly from the stiff muscles sleeping on his couch had caused. He walked to the bedroom door and opened it slowly. He could just make out Mello's form on the bed in the soft, early morning light filtering in through the curtains.

Breathing a sigh of relief that Mello was still asleep, he closed the door. Visiting hours at the hospital weren't until 9am. Roger looked at his watch, it was only a little past 6am. He walked across the room and picked up his keys from the table beside the door, locking the door on his way out. He wanted to talk to Matt again. He wanted to tell him the damage he had done. He was still unsure of what to do about the boy. Being an orphanage, he couldn't send Matt home to his family for a while as punishment like he would if it had been a boarding school. Matt had no family at all, like most of the boys in Whammy House.

Matt had always been a good boy. He never got into trouble, even though he hung around with Mello, who was always getting into trouble. He was intelligent, quick to learn, got good grades. When he wasn't with Mello he always had his hands on one of his game systems, Roger was always renting new games because he finished them so quickly. Roger couldn't think how a boy like Matt could almost kill someone simply because he was a rival for someone's love.

Roger ran his fingers through his hair when he reached Matt's door. He just didn't know what to do. He unlocked the door and closed it softly behind him. Matt was sitting in a chair by one of the windows, his knees drawn up to his chest, staring out at the morning light. Roger walked across the room and pulled up the other chair to sit next to him. Matt didn't show any sign of even knowing he was there.

Roger sat and put his elbows on his knees. "Matt, you hurt Near badly. We need to talk about what this means for your future at Whammy House."

"I don't care." Matt's voice was harsh from hours of crying. He didn't take his eyes off the trees in the distance.

"You don't care that you hurt Near? Or you don't care about what happens to you?"

"Both. I don't care about anything anymore."

"You care about Mello don't you?"

Matt flinched at the name and turned defeated eyes to Roger. "Why are you here? To remind me that my life means nothing?"

Roger sighed and sat back in the chair, folding his hands in his lap. "You are an intelligent boy, Matt. Your life can be anything you want it to be."

Matt closed his eyes, tears falling as he turned back to the window. "Not without him."

Roger nodded and decided to change the subject. "Near is very seriously injured. It may be a while before he is well enough to return home. I cant even begin to think of a punishment severe enough for what you have done, Matt. If you were in my position, what would you do?"

"Kill me and let the pain end." Matt pulled himself tighter into a ball and turned away from Roger to rest his head on the side of the chair.

"Killing you will not solve anything. But something must be done."

"There is nothing you can do, short of killing me, that will punish me worse then I already have been."

"How so?"

"I have nothing. I have nobody. All I had in my life was Mello. All I had was the hope that one day he could love me as much as I love him. Near took Mello from me. He took away the only good thing I had. I don't even have that small bit of hope to hang onto."

"You are still a child, Matt. Mello isn't the only one in the world who you could love. Everyone deserves to love someone who will love them back."

"But I love him. I don't want anyone else. Why cant you understand that? He has been the only one since my parents died who meant anything to me, the only one who cared about me in return." Matt closed his eyes took in a deep sob of a breath. "I love him so much, Roger. Why doesn't he love me? I did everything for him. And who does he choose? Near of all people. Mello used to sit in here with me and rant for hours about how much he hated Near after L would force them to spend time even in the same room. I did everything for him, Roger. When he was sick, I would sleep with him so he wouldn't be alone if he needed something. I would hold his hair back while he threw up and then help him to bed before going back and cleaning up the mess. I would help him bathe himself when he could barely sit up all those times he had the flu. I would sit on his bed and feed him soup when he was too sick to feed himself. I'm the one who used to steal food for him when he was locked in his room when he got in trouble. I'm the one whose room he came to when he had nightmares and didn't want to sleep alone. I take care of him. Why doesn't he love me back?"

"Matt, sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. I know you love him, but he has only ever seen you as his friend. His only friend, his best friend, but still just his friend. Maybe he couldn't love you because your friendship meant to much to him to risk losing."

"He doesn't even want to be friends anymore."

"Mello cares about Near, and you hurt him. Did you really think he would?"

"I just wanted Near to stay away from him. I know how badly I hurt him, Mello told me. But I don't care. He took away my life. He deserves what I did to him."

"When did Mello tell you about Near?" Roger watch Matt curiously. He knew Mello had still been asleep in his room last night. At least he thought he did.

"Last night. Why didn't he just kill me and get it over with? Why did he have to do something to hurt me so much?"

Roger slid out of his chair and knelt in front of Matt. He took his arms and turned him to look at him. "Matt, Mello was asleep in my bedroom last night. The doctor at the hospital gave him a sedative after he stitched up his knees. Do not lie to me about him being here."

Matt's eyes spilled over again and his body started to shake softly. "Mello needed stitches? Why? What happened to him?"

"He knelt in the glass when he found Near. If Mello was really in here, Matt, you need to tell me. What did he do to you?"

Matt shook his head and looked back out the window. "Nothing. He wasn't here. It was probably just a dream."

Roger sighed and let go of the boys arms. "Matt, you are to be confined to your room for three months. You will be allowed to leave only when an escort comes to take you to and from your classes. You will eat your meals in here and you will not be given back your video games until your time has been served. Perhaps the solitude and silence and will allow you to think about what you have done and realize how wrong you were."

Roger stood and touched Matt's head softly before leaving the room and locking the door again. He looked at his watch, almost 7am. Shaking his head in frustration and confusion, he turned to go to the kitchen and get breakfast for himself and Mello.