By My Side - Sam/Aomaris Fanfiction

22) Matthew

Over the next few weeks, Ronnie began to get more acquainted with Mika, Suzu, and Naomi. We didn't hang out with the three of them very often; apparently, they felt better about leaving me out now that I had a different friend to spend time with. It didn't bother me much. It was obvious from the start that I was way more similar to Ronnie than to Mika or either of her friends.

My life calmed down a fair bit after I met Ronnie. There wasn't long of school left, so study sessions became a weekly routine. It was pretty boring, for the most part. I could easily say that, although it was cliché, the best times of my life were the times I spent with Sam. I'd never trusted someone so much. The times I was alone with Sam were the only times I could truly be myself. I spent day after day masking my weirdness, but around him, I could just let loose. And he never once judged me for it or made a comment on it. In fact, at times he was just as weird as me. I could compete with him in a game and not have to worry about upsetting him, I could join forces with him and I didn't have to worry about him getting bored.

It wasn't just my life that was changing either. I could tell Erik was getting ever more infatuated with my sister, a fact that was obvious to everyone but him and Mika themselves. James began preparing himself for the election of CEO for Anderson Family Toys. A few days ago, I'd found my Grandfather's old study, along with an iris-protected laptop containing everything James would need to know as the CEO. Not long after that, Damien told me that not only was my Grandfather a warlock, but he was the very same warlock who helped the five incubi cross from the Abyssal Plains into the human world. It was a revelation I wasn't expecting, but not very surprised by, somehow. Damien showed me letters between him and my Grandfather, which sparked an idea in my head. It took a while to convince James, but after a couple of days, he conceded. I set to work, and in less than 24 hours I had mastered my Grandfather's handwriting. With this, I could write a letter proving that he had known James and his brothers. I included nothing else, just that James and his brothers were old family friends and that my Grandfather trusted them completely.

Damien spent most of his time in my Grandfather's study, poring over the research journals and old dusty tomes that crammed the bookshelves. I spent a fair amount of time in there with him, but my time was used looking at spellbooks and attempting to perform what I found in their pages, with the assistance of Damien. As a demon, he was more well-versed at tapping into magical energy than I was. We never tried anything dangerous, just simple levitation spells and things like that.

Matthew, as opposed to all his brothers, however, was beginning to concern me. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, he'd let someone know he was going out and would stay out until at least eleven o'clock. At first, no one questioned it. But as the routine became more and more obvious, we began to ask where he was going so often. He told us all he was going out to meet a friend of his, which I had no problem believing but I saw Damien frown. Matthew departed before he could ask any more questions.

It was just another Thursday night for the rest of us. James was, like usual, going over things for his election campaign in a small study upstairs. Erik was in his room, Mika was hanging out in her room with Suzu and Naomi, and Sam and I were in the living room where we'd had our first serious conversation, playing Zelda together. Or, more specifically, I was watching Sam play Breath of the Wild and being his personal tutorial. We heard the front door slam and I called out a greeting, but I got no response and instead just heard Matthew's feet on the stairs, which was very unusual. Normally he'd at least say hello back to me. Sam eyed me, having clearly noticed my concern.
"D'you mind if I go talk to him? Something must be up for him to just blank me like that."
"Sure, I don't mind," Sam replied. "If I get stuck I'll just wait for you to come back." I kissed Sam on the cheek and wandered upstairs, following the right corridor along until I reached the room Matthew shared with Damien. I wasn't entirely sure why they shared a room but it was up to them, at the end of the day. I knocked on the door softly.