𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞 || 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐱 𝐎𝐂

IV. Her brothers blind friend

Chapter 4

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"Ouch- Brothers blind best friend? Thought we where on a first name basis."

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The next few days went by, and Holly heard nothing from Matt. 

Sure the prospect of hearing nothing was upsetting, but what did she expect? She knew it was unlikely that she would hear anything from him after all that had happened, but still it stung. 

She ignored Foggy's calls after Christmas night, the idea of spending time with him only making it harder to keep Matt's secret at bay and out of sight and mind. She knew the two friends paid a pivotal role in the others life, and she wasn't willing to break that apart by sharing information that wasn't hers to share. 

Although Matt hadn't made an effort to reach out, it would be a lie to say that guilt wasn't seeping through his skin when he wakes up every morning. He thought about Holly a lot, which only made the idea of keeping her out of his life much worse. His guilt for what he had done was murky and grimy, adding toxins into his body and weight to his chest. Still, he had to keep Holly out of the mess he had gotten himself into-even if that meant avoiding her at all costs.

Holly just continued with her day to day activities. She would eat, sleep, and breath efficiency at the hospital which was a nice distraction from everything. After Christmas was always the ER's busiest times-fathers desperate attempts to unhook Christmas lights from the roof of their houses leading them straight into the ER with a broken arm. 

Still, there was only so long she could go without thinking about Matt.

"Morning Mr. James." Holly says with a chip in her voice as she walks over to the old man who is lying in his bed with his head facing down at the journal in front of him. He places the pen inside the page where he left off, closing the book before he turns his head at Holly with a smile. 

"Good morning, Holly." Mr. James voice echoed throughout the room as she made her way towards him. "I haven't seen you in a few days." He exclaimed.  "Claire told me someone broke into your apartment through your window, are you okay?"

Holly felt the bile building in the back of her throat again, why the fuck couldn't she lie without having that gut wrenching feeling build up in her body? "Yeah someone broke in. I wasn't home though, it was before I got off my shift." 

Mr. James lifted his sleeve as Holly took his arm in her hand. He shook his head with disappointment. "This city keeps getting worse and worse. Your lucky you weren't involved with that vigilante guy in the black mask. Authorities said he had beaten up a whole group of guys just a mile from your place!"

Holly gave Mr. James a small look, shaking her head before she proceeded to draw his blood. Something about keeping this whole ordeal a secret was beating her up from the inside out. She wanted to tell him everything, about how Matt was the man in the mask, how someone didn't break into her apartment while she was gone, and how she saved the mask man from dying on her ground-yet she couldn't. Instead, all she could do was nod along and pretend she wasn't involved. 

"Yeah I'm real glad I wasn't involved." She said, taking the needle from his skin as she patted down the spot on his arm with a cotton pad before bandaging it up. She stood up, finding it an urgent need to change the subject. "How are you feeling this morning?"