Ever After -Completed-

Ever After Somehow

><Meg><

The kitchen was empty. 

But how could it be? I had fallen asleep here only a half hour ago. That couldn't have been a dream, could it? I remembered it so vividly; the tang of his guitar, Collin taping my head, once, before heading off to her room. He had kissed my forehead right before I closed my eyes, and the last thing I saw had been him pulling the blanket over me. And then, when Collin had woken me up about fifteen minutes later by accident, my head had been on Matt's shoulder. 

So where was he now? Had my stirring startled him out of his dreams? Maybe he just had to go. After all, we only started dating a few days ago. 

Though, to be fair, it felt like it had been years. And it had been...one. In the sense of knowing each other. I trusted him and the other guys as much as I trusted Collin. The cliche would be to say more...but honestly, not quite. And probably never. There's something about a best friend that's worth so much more than anything romantic, like the...love, I guess, that I felt for Matt. 

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my brain. I knew without looking that my hair was a mess from sleep, but I didn't bother to pat it down. I just needed a drink, and then I'd go to my room.

All the lights in the house were off, which I thoughts was strange. Usually Collin and I left one or two on just in case, but it was so dark that I felt a rush of anxiety going through me. 

No--that couldn't have been it. I was never afraid of the dark, even when I was younger. That was always Collin. There was something else going on, sending off these vibes. I couldn't stand not knowing what it was.

I turned on the light to the kitchen and froze.

"Mamma?"

"Matt?"

My mother lay on the floor, face down and frozen in a pool of deep, cherry red blood. A man leaned over her, wiping a knife on his shirt.   

Collin's hair covered her face, but I knew it was her. You didn't know someone for as long as I had without knowing their every feature. It just didn't happen. Someone leaned over him, wiping a kitchen knife on his jeans. His floppy brown hair was curled from laying on the couch. When he looked up, hazel eyes met mine. 

I remembered thinking, the first time I had kissed him, that I had been looking back at brown eyes thousands of time throughout my whole life. They never seemed beautiful. But his, his were like chocolate. But not just a Hershey bar, a fountain of the stuff. Shining and bright and wonderful. 

These eyes weren't bright. Not in the familiar way, at least. They glinted. They sucked in the light instead of pushing it back out.

"C-Collin? Matt, what are you doing?"

His voice came as if through a stream of water, "I'm just helping you, Meg. Don't you see? She wasn't good for you."

On the ground, my friend's hand twitched once and then stilled. 

I screamed, covering my mouth to stop the sound. It barely worked, and did nothing for my tears. "Matt, Matt please. What about Josh? What will he do? He's your best friend."

Matt stood, taking my hands in his. I was too scared to pull away. He, strangely, seemed normal. Sincere, even, loving. Except for those eyes. Those draining eyes. "I took care of him, too, see?" He nodded, far too casually, at the doorway behind him. Only then did I notice the blue haired boy laying in his own blood. "It's just you and me, Meg. Always."

Slowly, I nodded, wiping away the tears. "I...okay, Matt. Okay." 

He moved to hug me, pleasantly surprised that I actually agreed. Well he was distracted, I grabbed the knife from in his pocket. Closing my eyes, I shoved it into his back. 

Matt collapsed, blood gurgling out of his mouth. I kneeled beside him, clasping his hand against my chest. My dad was in prison. My mom was dead. Collin was dead. Josh was dead. Who knew where the hell Ian and Mike were. And now...this. I could've just said yes and meant it. I could've just lived. 

"I thought you loved me." He rasped, pulling his hand away. "Meg..."

His eyes slid shut and all I could do was cry as the darkness closed around me. 

///

"Meg?"

Someone was running their hands through my hair, a gesture that would be comforting at any time that wasn't now.

I pulled away, looking up. My heart raced to see that the person was Matt, and I had been laying on his chest. "N-no..." I whispered, putting my face in my hands. "How is this...what's going on? How is this possible? What is real?"

Matt pulled me back against him gently, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Shh, it's okay. You were just dreaming." He put his chin on my shoulder. 

"You-you killed Collin." I leaned against his chest and sobbed. "You took a knife and killed her. just like my mom. Just like my dad."

"I love you, Meg. You know I wouldn't do that."

"He loved me too."

Matt didn't say anything, and I knew he really couldn't. Instead, he held me a little tighter.