The Phantom's Hero

The Billionaire's Basement

"Avery, I meant it when I told you I loved you."

"I know, Simon. I love you too. Forever."

"Forever."

Simon tapped away at the keyboard of his computer as he blinked away sleep. The illumination of the screen the only source of light in the darkened room, save for a single lamp resting on his bedside table. His basement room, or as many would call a lair, had only a single rectangular window to the world outside. The small pane of frosted glass never able to give more than a few inches of light, leaving the room cold in more ways than one.

Everything in the room Simon had ensured to be metal, all cold to the touch and hard. The only soft items being his mattress and the unconscious woman now led atop it. Simon's eyes again drifted to her, and the bandage upon her head. The man easing at the sight of the still stark white fabric of the new bandage rather than the rich redness of her blood that had soaked through the last few.

He had removed her suit almost an hour earlier, sighing gratefully at the sight of the fitted tank top and shorts she had chosen to wear underneath. Despite her layers, Simon knew her limited clothing would be doing nothing to protect her against the stark chill of the room, so he sifted through his drawers for his favourite sweater. After quickly finding the item, he eased the woman into it before tucking her under his minimal bedcovers.

Once satisfied with her temperature level, Simon sank into his chair to continue his day job, choosing to roll up his sleeves and slide off his mask after an hour of zoned out typing. After another hour, he removed his boots, and after another, he finally allowed himself another glance at the woman on his bed. Her unconsciousness beginning to worry him as the setting of the sun cast an orange glow from the tiny rectangular window.

Rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, Simon bit his lip before sighing. "Please wake up," he whispered. "I want to tell you everything."

Biting the bullet, Simon took to google. He read through three of the offered pages after typing in "How to deal with a concussion" before he felt confident enough to check the till unconscious woman. Tentatively, he inched nearer to her with the light of his phone and gently lifted her eyelids to assess the dilation of her pupils, closing them when they responded normally.

"What am I going to do with you, birdie?" Simon muttered, a sad smile tugging on his lips. As he pulled away from Avery, silently declaring to himself that she was fine, his eyes drifted to his bedside table.

Upon it sat his most prized possession, their prom night photo. Simon picked up the photo and allowed his memories to shoot back to him as he rested back in his chair. The smile on her face had always filled him with warmth, and he yearned for her to hold him the way she had back then. Her hands on top of his as he gripped her waist and her nose crinkling slightly from the size of her smile. Her quirky actions and her smiles always managing to put a matching smile on his face.

She had said yes to being his prom date without hesitation, his best friend of ten years refusing him to go to the biggest night of the year without her. The duo coordinating everything in order to match, even going so far as to match their underwear as a private joke.

To match her pale skin and blonde hair, Simon had insisted the duo wear baby pink, the teenage boy excited to rep the colour many had insisted was for girls. He bought her a corsage of pink flowers and matching pink shoes, the boy happy to fund everything for his best friend.

When the day came, Avery, with Simon by her side, made one last visit to her foster mother's room before leaving, promising the woman that she would be back soon. Simon had brought the dying woman flowers, as he usually did when he visited the home. The petals matching the colour of Avery's dress. He swore to Avery that her mother would be there when she got back, both of them encouraging the girl to have fun.