Bruised

Chapter 23

He woke up with the ringing of his phone. "Matthew" his voice sounded sleepy "You know that if I'm calling you I do know that you are Matthew" even if he hadn't been able to identify the voice there was only one person that would say that "Why were you sleeping? Weren't you going to house hunting?" He looked at the clock, half past eight it showed.

"Stella" he tried to sound calm but it was hard "It's way too early." He paused to take a deep breathe "Not only for me but to contact anyone".

She wasn't willing to let him win though "You still need to get dressed anyway. We probably won't leave your house before 10. Get ready" And before he could yell at her for waking him up she hang up.

He made his way to the shower and took a look in the mirror, bruises barely showing and then he hurried, knowing Stella would show up soon enough.

They started looking on their own deciding soon enought that maybe a state agency would be way more productive. The whole process was exhausting and having lived his whole life in the same place didn't really help Matthew to choose, some houses were too big, others had a living room that wouldn't be able to handle parties, most of the apartments weren't really what he expected either, others were simply too expensive and there was no way that Matthew would pay such a high rent for a house that wasn't even close to his dreamhouse. It was clear that even the lady that was kindly giving them suggestions and coming with endless solutions was getting tired, not to say frustrated. At half past three none of them had had lunch neither had he reached any conclusion, hungry and feeling defeated he thanked the sweet lady and arranged another day.

"Harder than you thought?" Stella asked onced they made their way to Matt's motorcycle. "Way more, nothing feels like it you know, I don't see myself living in any of those places" She nodded already putting the helmet on, although she said it quite loud her "I know" sounded like a whisper, one that the blue-eyed boy couldn't hear. He made his way to the closest McDonalds as they had agreed before and used that well deserved time to relax.

Before he could tell half of the afternoon was already gone too and only then did Matt remembered he had agreed to meet Gaz at the club and he never stayed until late. "I'm really sorry Stella, I really have to go" her face was as hard to read as ever but he knew she wasn't upset "I can get you home if you want" he stated already standing up. "No need, seriously, I'm going to take a walk maybe go shopping or something. You can go" Matthew wasn't really sure but she insisted "You can go, I have time and the weather's nice so I'm going to enjoy it."

Scandal was fuller than usual and even though he tried to sneak inside everyone seemed to notice him. The thing was the championship he was fighting for was broadcasted online and apparently they had all seen it. Suddenly they were all clapping instead of training and their eyes were on him and not the punchbags. He was never the type to blush but he could actually feel his cheeks turning red. Before he could even think abou saying thank you he felt someone punch him in the arm "Gaz" he laughed mockingly punching him as well. "How are you kiddo?"

"You're everyone's hero now" Gaz said now that were walking to Matt's corner and everyone was training again. "I highly doubt that." Matthew stopped him "Besides it was only the first fight, I haven't won anything yet" The young kid kept on shaking his head "That's not true. At least you've earned everyone's respect" then he said he was going to get his gloves and a bottle of water and walked away.
Matthew put on his gloves and started throwing a few punches before the kid returned. It was funny and amuzing how Matt was able to forget every single problem he ever had once he step inside the 'gym'. Soon the kid was by his side again and all he asked for was for Matthew to teach him some new moves. "Please!" An unknown voice almost begged from behind them "You're literally the only person he'll accept to learn from" the kid was blushing "I'm Gabriel's father" they shook hands "Dad!" Gazz was more than embarassed. The man shared only a few more words with Matthew and then left laughing. " So.. Gabriel?" Matthew mocked "Gazz is better for the boxing" he said trying to change the subject "Where's the Zz from though?" he asked "Zachariah. I hate the name so everyone calls me Gazz now" Matthew noticed how uncomfortable he was and decided to let it go "We'll talk about it later then. Let's teach you how to fight" he laughed. 

Two hours had passed and Gazz had left already leaving Matthew focused and training like he should. He knew how in his next fights he wouldn't just need to be physically well but also mentally. He would simply need to be the best version of himself. Ever. After finishing training he decided to stop to speak with a few old friends and then they decided to go for a beer. It seemed like a good idea, although Matthew had brought his motorcycle the place they had talked about was close to his 'new' house so he would just drop it home and meet them. 

He only picked his phone when he went back home, a couple of beer, a hotdog and a few hours later. He had two missing calls from Stella which he didn't return for obvious reasons, being the strongest one the fact that it was 4 in the morning.

Once again he woke up with his phone ringing "Again?" he muttered picking up "You seriously have some issues Ste" she didn't answer "I can call you Ste can't I?" he  heard her clear her throat " Yeah sure" she said in a weird tone "Me and Joe were just wondering if you wanted to come to a party tomorrow. It's in Long Beach that's why I really wanted to talk to you. But Joe will be at your house in a few minutes, he'll tell you everything" her voice seemed to be cracking but he was on speakerphone so he couldn't really be sure about it.