Hellcat

Chapter 49

The three of us moved up the stairs quickly, tired from the fighting and the many flights of stairs. I knew we had company on our tail. Why else would we be going up instead of down? We made it to a small room, a shorter set of spiral stairs leading to a landing with the roof access on the other end. Matt quickly closed the door behind us, putting a bar across it to lock it. Elektra started pacing as I leaned back against the wall, panting with exhaustion.

"I'm not gonna lie to you. There's a lot more coming," Matt told us. "One thing's for sure. We're gonna die," Elektra said, her bluntness not helpful at all. Matt paused, listening for a moment before turning his attention to me. "Do you wanna end it here... or on the roof?" he asked. "I've always liked the fresh air," Elektra responded even though it felt like he was only talking to me. I gave a small nod of agreement.

"Yeah, and I didn't see any clouds earlier. The stars are probably beautiful. Besides, this place is claustrophobic," I huffed out in response. Matt let out a small chuckle before turning for the stairs. I followed right behind him, Elektra's words sinking in. We were probably going to die tonight. All three of us, if Elektra had anything to say about it. If not, then just me and Matt. Death never scared me before, but the thought of losing Matt made the fear in my gut sharpen painfully.

Once on the landing, we were greeted by another set of stairs to the roof access door. "What's up there?" I asked as Matt listened. "Oh, Jesus," he muttered under his breath. I jumped slightly at the sound of banging coming from the door below us. "Too many to count. Armed, packing katanas, couple of longbows. More coming up from below. Same weapons," Matt informed us.

"I'd say we've to a couple of minutes before they break through that door," he added. Nodding, I leaned against the nearest wall, sliding down to the ground. My leg bounced with nerves as I took deep breaths to calm myself down. Now wasn't the time to panic. We had a job still to do. We had one hell of a fight ahead of us and I couldn't freak out. Taking one last deep breath, I nodded. "Okay, let's do it," I forced myself to say.

But before I could get up, Matt stopped me. "Wait, wait. Wait for one second. One second," he huffed out, crouching in front of me. "So, what if..." he paused, reaching up and pulling his helmet off. "What if... from now on, if... if we make it..." Matt paused again, wetting his lips before he continued. "No more being apart." I just stared at him with confused eyes for a moment.

"No more separate spaces. Just... just our own space." Realization clawed at my chest, making my throat constrict at his words. We had been so busy lately that I hadn't had time to tell him about what meeting Madame Gao had meant. "I... I can't. Madame Gao knows who I am. She knows I'm not dead. If she..." I trailed off, shaking my head as I tried to reign in the panic that tried to claw out of me. "If she tells my old boss about me, I'll have to leave. I'll have to run for the rest of my life."

Matt nodded, taking in my words before reaching out to rest his hand on my arm. "Okay, okay. Then I'll run with you. Wherever you go, I'll go. Because I remember that day in the park, too." It took me a moment to realize Matt meant that perfect day I had told Elektra about. "I remember us promising to always follow each other. And I will. Allison, I... I will follow you to the ends of the Earth – to Hell and back if I have to, because..."

The pause in Matt's hurried words made my stomach turn in a way that wasn't unpleasant. I was filled with curiosity. What reason could he give for wanting to leave everything he had ever known behind. "...because I love you."

Oh. That reason. If it was possible, my heart started pounding harder against my ribs. It was like my heart was a creature, trying to break from of the cage in my chest. "And you don't have to say it back. I don't... I don't want you to. Because I know you. I know everything about you, good and bad. And there isn't a moment in my life when I don't want you with me. What... whatever darkness you have inside you, I don't care. I want to spend every moment I can with you, as long as you'll have me."