Trapped in his cage

Chapter 17

Mellany

He is the first to speak:

"Mellany..."

"I don't want to hear what you have to say" I interrupt him, I don't want to hear any more lies or any more excuses.

"Princess, please."

"Don't call me princess!"

Matt sighs running a hand over his face, I look at him, I'm confused with my feelings. I want him to leave, but at the same time I don't want him to.

"Listen. I didn't tell you because I thought you did know" I raise an eyebrow. "It's the truth. It was only later that I realized Ethan hadn't told you anything about us."

I swallow. There are so many doubts in my head I don't even know which one to start with.

"What happened?"

My question doesn't catch him by surprise, but it does cause him to sigh and avert his eyes from me. Matt gulps, catches his breath as I watch him curiously.

I'm still mad at him. I'm still mad at everyone, but right now, I can't let go of the fact that he's the only one who's come looking for me. The only one who has cared about my reaction to the situation.

So I wait, patiently if a little scared. Until he finally speaks :

"Ethan and I have always been a bit impulsive. We've both had shitty parents. We've both had problems and have been forced to find ways to survive. We discovered these parties a few years ago, everyone was talking about them. We wanted to have fun so we went. After a few days we heard that the main purpose of all that was business" he looks at me sideways, giving me to understand that he wants me to listen carefully at what he is going to say next "In those parties there are drug transactions, forbidden information, weapons, loans. People with a lot of power and who are into illegal things go to that parties, they go there to take advantage of people like you and your friends. Like Ethan and me. People who think it's all about fun."

I'm really confused, but I don't say anything.

"That's when we met Dwayne. Your brother and I both knew how to ride motorcycles, so one day we heard about cage gigs and I wanted to give it a try. I was surprisingly good at it so they noticed me."

"They?"

"The bosses. The ones who run that whole place. The ones who control everything and let in..... monsters" Matt looks lost as he looks out front at the empty landscape. "Dwayne was the one who first invited us to the races. Ethan and I went, made friends, became acquaintances. And then, after a while, we wanted to do something big. I proposed to him to do a little business with Dwayne. Something to make more money than I was making from the cage and he was making from racing. Dwayne gave us money, said we had to close a deal with a buyer of his. I never asked the details. We just had to convince him that it would be good to invest in gambling and in those parties..."

"He had one part of the money and I had the other" his voice becomes almost a whisper, I feel as if it hurts him to be remembering everything. But I don't care, I need to know. And he owes me. "The day we were supposed to do the deal... I waited for him. He told me he'd go. But he didn't go. He didn't show up. I didn't find him, but Dwayne found me. I was never afraid of him, Mellany. Not when it came to me. Not even when they beat the shut out for me. I didn't care. With every punch I just thought about..."

"Ethan," I finish for him. He nods.

"And you" he confesses at last.

I raise both eyebrows, surprised. I wasn't expecting that confession.