Mcsm Season 3 - Battered and Bruised

Chapter 3 - The Letter

It was the next morning and my first thought was to check on Romeo. He'd been staying in that guest room for quite a bit now, almost a week. Then again, I couldn't kick him out, he had nowhere to go!

I closed the door to my room and walked downstairs to see how he was doing. It was rather early in the morning, so I knew he'd still be asleep. He had told me that he wasn't much of a morning person.

I pushed open the door and to no surprise, he was still asleep. I looked out the window in his room as the sun rose. It shone right through the window and the light bounced off of a piece of paper.

With my interests piqued, I picked up the paper and began reading it. The letter said:

To Petra,

I apologize deeply for what I have done to you. I have hurt you in the past, and I regret all of it. Jesse is allowing me to stay in Beacontown, but I'm not sure for how long. Because of his kindness, I want to make myself a better person, starting with apologizing to all of the people I hurt, starting with you. It feels... easier to apologize to you since I see a lot of similarities between us and I feel as if you may understand better. I wish you the best on your adventure, and hopefully, you're able to read this wherever you are in the world right now.

Sincerely, RB

There was another one under it. I looked over to Romeo to see if he was waking up. He was still fast asleep. I picked up the next note. It read:

To Xara,

Xara, I'm so sorry. I know that you'll never forgive me for what I've done, but please, give me a chance and at least read this message. Jesse is allowing me to stay in Beacontown, but I'm not sure for how long. Because of his kindness, I want to make myself a better person, and of course, I must apologize to you. If you wish to rip up this message immediately after reading it, I accept that. You have no reason to forgive me, but as long as you know that I regret everything I've done to hurt you, that will be enough.

Yours truly, RB

Tears welled in my eyes as I read that. He was so genuinely sorry, too. Also, he thought I was going to kick him out of Beacontown soon? What!?

"Jesse put those down," A deep, raspy voice said from behind me. I jumped a bit.

 Romeo sat up on the bed. He had a look of fear and sadness, but it was masked by a blank stare. He stood up, snatching the two letters from my hands and grabbing the rest of the letters.

"Romeo, I'm so sorry, I was just curious," I said, "I didn't mean to get in your personal business."

Romeo sighed and started crying softly. I rushed to his side. He hugged the letters, making sure not to crush them. He set them down by his side and hugged his knees to his chest.

"I can't believe you read those," Romeo whimpered. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder.

"Romeo, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have gotten into your business like that," I said. 

"Did you... get very far...?" Romeo asked, a sense of anxiety in his voice. I shook my head.

"No, I only got through two. It's really nice of you to write those," I said. Romeo smiled at me.

"Thanks, Jesse, but it's the bare minimum," Romeo said, turning away from me. I stood up from his bed and walked to the door.

"I'll leave you alone for right now," I said, shutting the open door behind me.

~~

I hugged the letters tight to my chest as Jesse shut the door. I still can't believe I just left them out like that! I should have hidden them...

There wasn't much to do while I was healing, but I needed to leave this room. The room feels like it gets smaller and smaller every day.

I sat up and put the notes under some first aid supplies Radar gave me. I threw on an old hoodie that I took from a chest in the cabin while I was down there. It had a few holes in it, but it was comforting.

It was the hoodie Fred had gotten me for my 17th birthday. The hoodie was black with red sleeves. It had my admin symbol embroidered on the back of it. The hood was also red with black strings. He had hand-embroidered it for me. I'll always feel guilty about what I did to him, but the hoodie made me feel like there was still a part of him with me.

I dug my face into the hoodie before putting it on. It still smelled like him. God, I miss him, but it's all my fault that he's not here.

I walked out of the room after putting on the hoodie and headed for the door. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Romeo, I don't know if it's safe for you to go out there on your own," Jesse said from behind me, "I'm gonna stay with you to make sure that no one hurts you."

"Thank you, Jesse. I had almost forgotten that people out there want me dead," I mumbled. Jesse took my hand and led me out the door. My hand felt like it was burning when he grabbed it. It had cuts all over it and the bandage covering it didn't help.

Jesse let go, realizing that it was my bad hand. He began to just walk around Beacontown, motioning for me to be at his side. I was a bit taller than him, so I felt awkward. Jesse was around 5'7, and I'm 6'1.

After walking around for a bit, Jesse ran up to two people. I trailed behind, knowing that they were two people I had locked up.

"Hey Jesse, it's been a while!" A woman said. The woman's name was.... Stacy, I believe? I think the man next to her was a man named Stampy.

"Hey, guys! Don't freak out, but you remember The Admin?" Jesse said. I tensed up when he said the name I used to go by.

"Yes, why? Is he back?!" Stampy said with anxiety in his voice.

"No, but he's in Beacontown," Jesse said, gesturing for me to come up to the three of them. I did as he wanted.

"Hello," I muttered. Stacy's eyes widened.

"This is Romeo. He got pretty beat up a few days ago, so he's been staying with me for the past week or so," Jesse said.

"Wh-why? Isn't he, you know, dangerous?" Stampy asked shakily.

"I lost all of my powers back in the terminal about a year ago," I said. Stampy's face relaxed.

"Oh, that's good to hear, no offense," Stampy said. I shrugged as a way of saying 'none taken'.

"Is he gonna be staying in Beacontown?" Stacy asked. Jesse's face contorted.

"Well, only if he wants to. I'm leaving the choice up to him," Jesse said, looking up at me, "Well? Have you made a decision yet?"

"I- I uh, I didn't think you were going to let me stay..." I said. Jesse laughed.

"Of course I'm gonna let you stay!" Jesse stated, "Only if you'd like, of course."

"Well, uhm, in that case, sure!" I said. Jesse beamed at me.

"That's awesome!" Jesse said excitedly. I smiled softly back at him. Glad I could finally call a place home.