In Case of Rejection

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Matthew held his breath now, outside the main lobby, by the assembly front doors. He imagined the big machines they used for inspection, hurriedly rushed off to some storage closet. The big double doors were closed, and Matthew could hear a familiar quiet coming from behind the doors. He made the same mistake, looking for his watch and finding his bare wrist.

He shook his head in his frustration, and took in a deep breath. He peeked around the corner again. Still no one.

So Matthew rushed across the lobby, to the mysterious white doors, the biggest one of all, leading into Principal Evans's office. The long stairway up onto the stage.

He thought Jason must've been right. If there was anywhere Brick was waiting, he would be there. At least some of his men, hopefully Blues that would listen to him. Not just the stupid, impulsivity of the Bots. Real people. Or what's left of them, anyway.

He stood before the big white door and rested his hand over the handle. He took in another deep breath.

Now that he'd seen Brick, in the flesh, he thought he'd be less frightened by the thought of running into him again. But at this point in time, Matthew's anxiety had skyrocketed. He felt his nerves pulse through his hands and he shivered.

Before he could think more about it, he pulled on the handle and stepped into the light.

They roused to attention, all five of them. Matthew had to look fast to gather his bearings. He saw two men that were familiar from his time at Nerve Center first, mostly because they both rushed for either of his arms.

Once their big, muscled bodies had stopped obstructing his vision, he could see the rest of the office, just as well-kempt and sterile as it had been the few days before. Of course, more occupied.

At the back of the room stood Brick and the man he called Topher. Matthew saw another figure, just off to the side, slumped in one of the plastic chairs Matthew had waited in. His head hung low, and he looked almost unconscious. When he sniffed and sat up straighter to face Matthew, he knew he wasn't. 

It was Jason. His left eye was red and swollen, similar to the welt that Matthew had put on his chin. That wasn't Matthew's doing. Matthew's eyes traveled back to Brick, and he felt anger rise up in his chest. He wrinkled his nose, taking in a sharp, powerful breath.

"I wanted to talk to you," Matthew said, but Brick was already laughing.
"I knew you couldn't stay away," Brick said, with that awful snarling snark that Matthew hated. It made Matthew scrunch up his face again, almost like he couldn't take hearing it.

"Brick, I want you to listen to me," Matthew started, putting on his most authoritative tone. Brick raised a hand, and Matthew's words caught in his throat.

"Save it, Matthew," Brick said, closing his hand into a tight fist.

"Your friend here- Jason, right?" Brick asked. Jason nodded, slowly. Matthew looked back and forth between them, his brain trying to put together the pieces given to him. Either way, he felt the strongest feeling of slow-burning betrayal cutting through his thoughts.

"He's already told me," Brick finished, nodding definitively. Smugly. Matthew shook his head and ruffled his arms, trying to loosen the grip of the men at either side of him. He found it sort of comical the way they were restraining him, the seventeen year-old boy.

"What did he tell you?" Matthew asked, his nerves plateauing. He shook his arms out again, and the guy on his right tightened his grip.

"God, everything. Right, Jason?" Brick approached the boy, giving him a playful smack on the cheek. Jason turned his head away slightly, his gaze falling somewhere around Matthew's feet.