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Rent Matthew
Chapter 24 – Reconciliation
Though Madeline's place had become his haven, Matthew knew he had to eventually return to the real world.
When he got back home, Jose was not around. Instead of grabbing his stuff and leaving, Matthew decided to stay. The kid showered and finished his homework, which helped keep his mind off of what was really bothering him. Then he dozed off from pure exhaustion.
Two hours later, after his employer didn’t respond to the door knocks, Jose entered. He came to apologize, but Matthew was already asleep. Not knowing what to do, Jose sat on the floor and silently watched the kid from the opposite side of the room.
In the middle of the night, Matthew woke up and was startled to see a figure slumped on the floor in an uncomfortable position. He didn’t know when Jose had entered and how long he had been in his room.
When Jose opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Matthew, who promptly hit him. The sudden strike was so hard that he had to hold his face. Jose grimaced from the blow but didn’t complain because he knew that he deserved it.
Though he still held a grudge, Matthew immediately regretted his action, especially when he saw Jose’s apologetic expression. After an awkward moment of silence, where he was kneeling beside his employee, Matthew gently pulled Jose’s hand away to inspect the damage. The injury was much worse than he intended.
“I didn’t mean to hit you that hard. Lemme get you a cold compress.”
When Matthew returned, he told Jose to sit still so he could treat the swollen face properly. He tried to be as gentle as possible.
“Does it hurt?”
Even though he was still in pain, Jose shook his head.
“Matt, I know what I did was unforgivable, but can you please not hate me? I’d rather you hit me a few more times than ignore me.”
Though the last few days weren’t a walk in the park for Matthew either, what he didn’t know was that they were torture for Jose.
"I’ve been thinking about what happened and I’m not sure what to do. I’m angry at what you did to me. At the same time, you’ve been a brother to me my whole life and I don’t wanna lose that either. I don’t hate you, Jose, but I need some time to sort out my feelings.”
“Matt, I’m really sorry.”
“I know you’re sorry. For now, don’t think about it too much, okay?”
Jose reluctantly nodded.
“How long have you been sitting here?” asked Matthew.
“I’m not sure. I came to apologize and saw you were already asleep. I wanted to wait for you but I got tired and must have fallen asleep.”
“You look tired. Let’s go to bed.”
Jose: “...”
Jose wasn’t sure what his employer was suggesting. Did Matthew want him to go back to his room or was the kid inviting him to stay?
Matthew got up and walked to his bed. Unexpectedly, he pulled his clothes off, then slipped under the covers. When he looked back, he saw Jose staring at him.
“What are you waiting for? Let’s go to sleep.”
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