MATTHEW'S POV
Rio brought me to the principal. Once mister Angelo saw the state I was in, he immediately ran over to me and wrapped my arm around his shoulder to avoid putting weight on my left ankle. When the soul protector saw I was in good hands, it jumped back into the portal.
"Martinez! What happened to you?" The principal asked when he helped me get inside the limousine. I winced as I accidentally used my left foot to hop inside.
Mister Angelo frowned. "Questions will be saved for later. I doubt the others will be finishing soon. I need to get you back to the mansion. You need medical attention." The principal closed the door and opened the one at the driver's seat. I kept inhaling and exhaling, hoping that it would at least lessen the pain a bit.
The engine started, and the limousine drove off.
Since I was the only one here, I had no one to talk to. Even though the principal was with me, the car felt so... Empty. Maybe it was because I usually had Samuel to chat with, sometimes Samantha or Ashley, but it was mostly the captain who stuck by my side. Now, I repaid Samuel's kindness by snapping at him. I felt stupid.
I looked at my hands that were caked with blood. The red liquid was turning into a maroon color. There was still a throbbing pain in my ankle, but since I was sitting, the pain decreased. There was no one to blame for my injuries but me. Samuel knew the dangers of fighting in the underworld alone. I didn't have the full experience and I also lack fatigue resistance so that was why I was in this car with a bleeding ankle. Samuel may have even seen this coming and insisted on going with me.
Samuel had good reasons for why he wanted to go with me, but I was too blinded by my own selfish reasons to see that, and this was my punishment.
Ten minutes later, we arrived at the mansion. The principal told me to stay in the limousine for awhile. He would be back with more help.
So, I was completely alone in the car now. I waited in silence, but my emotions were in chaos. It was like in my dream. I felt so pathetic - pitiful even. And I was helpless as of now with my ankle.
The principal came back with Zed and Kyle - the one who guarded the building with Ashley the other day.
Zed opened the car door for me and wrapped my arm around his shoulder. Kyle did the same with the other one. I was awkwardly hopping on one foot while the other was raised like a flamingo. After struggling to climb the stairs, we finally made it to my bedroom.
Kyle and Zed set me down on my bed. Zed stayed with me while Kyle said he would get the first-aid kit and left.
"What happened?" Zed questioned. Suddenly, I felt ashamed of my actions when I recalled what happened just about thirty minutes ago.
"A ventifio caught me off-guard." I averted Zed's eyes who seemed to bore unto me. I wouldn't blame him if he was judging me right now, I looked like a mess. Also, what kind of elite would be caught off-guard in an underworld where you needed to be wary? Only I could do that, and I wasn't proud of it.
Kyle came back holding a medium-sized kit. Zed opened it and inside were bandages, gauzes, tweezers, cleansing alcohol, disinfectants, and ointments.
Zed lifted my ankle and placed it on a soft pillow. He rolled the edge of my pants up to get it away from my wound. He sucked in a breath when he saw it. I grew worried.
"Yeah, it's not that bad..." He tried to assure me. "It's kind of deep though." Zed poured a small amount of alcohol on the scratches. I winced when the clear liquid came in contact with my ankle as it stung. Then, he sprayed a bit of disinfectant. Lastly, he wrapped the gauze around my wound. Now, my foot seemed heavier with layers of the gauze.
"There. Get some rest, Matthew. I'll talk to your captain about this."
Samuel popped into my mind. 'He'll be so mad once he sees me.'
Kyle and Zed exited my room. When they opened the door, the elites let out a surprised shriek when they found out they had been caught eavesdropping. It seemed they wanted to more about what happened to me.
Zed yelled out in an authoritative voice. "What are you doing? Get back to your rooms! Leave Matthew alone to rest. If I see anyone of my batch entering this room, you'll be sorry!"
After the threat of their captain, they scurried away in a hurry.
I realized the seriousness of the captain position. The elites under them should obey their orders, no matter what. Since I just defied Samuel, who was my captain, I was more screwed than I thought.
I spent about an hour of agony waiting in my room with a throbbing ankle, making it more agonizing. I took a peek at my ankle and saw the white gauze having blotches of red appearing in them. I sighed and leaned back on the headrest of my bed.
The room had lights on, but a ray from the moon barged in from my window and reached my ankle, right where my wound was. I felt a hot glow on my injury, I decided it was just probably because of the hot, summer, night air.
I jerked forward when a knock on my door was heard. I dreaded for them to come in. I wished they didn't come back for another minute or so. I wasn't prepared to face Samuel and receive a lecture from him, but I had no choice. I didn't want to seem like a coward.
I cleared my throat, hoping my voice wouldn't crack. "Come in."
Mister Angelo opened the door. Behind him were Samantha, Ashley, Zed, and of course, Samuel. At the sight of the blonde-haired boy, I looked down.
The three of them had concerned looks on their faces, except Samuel. He had an expressionless face. It was hard to read what he was feeling right now, but I think it was no doubt that he was disappointed and mad.
Ashley entered the room first. She took one, long look at me before raising her hand and smacking me upside the head.
"Ouch! What was that for?!" I asked, rubbing the area where she had hit me. Ashley put her hands on her waist and hissed. "How can you be so careless, getting hurt like this?! I thought you already know how to move around in the underworld?!"
"I do, it's just-" She raised a hand to stop me from talking, which I did because I didn't want to get hit again. "I don't wanna hear your excuses. Your wound better heal or else I'll inflict more than those creatures."
I shrunk in fear. Why did Ashley have to be scary?
Then, in contrast to her attitude just a second ago, she looked at my foot. She saw the red stains on it and wrinkled her nose. "Hopefully, all the blood has soaked up." She muttered.
Next was Samantha. She looked the most worried out of everyone. She rushed over to me and stood next to Ashley. "Matthew! A-Are you okay? Wait, n-no, that's a stupid q-question. But still..." She put her hand on top of mine. The action sent jolts of electricity in my stomach, and I could feel my cheeks getting warmer.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. It's only a flesh wound." I tried to wave it off, and I did so lamely. Samantha's gaze also trailed off to my foot. She gasped loudly when she saw the red dots on the gauze.
"Matthew..." She gripped my hand even tighter. Her warmth made me forget about the pain for a second. The sound of her voice left a fuzzy feeling in my chest.
Lastly, the person who I owed an apology stepped up. Samuel and I made eye contact. His gray orbs that usually shone with kindness and brilliance were devoid of any emotion. He didn't say anything. He simply turned to Zed who I didn't notice had entered my room.
"How's his injury?" Samuel spoke monotonously.
"It's a bit deep. But I think it should heal in about a week or two. Don't worry though, it won't leave any scars."
When Zed said the last word, a flicker of pain, sadness, guilt, and regret glassed over his eyes. Those four made him inhale deeply as if calming himself before he could do anything rashly. He went back to wearing his poker face, but his eyes looked like it was filled with sorrow.
"That's good. I'll trust you on this, Zed."
"Don't worry, man. I know my stuff."
Samuel chuckled. "That, you do."
Samuel and Zed fist-bumped each other.
The principal stepped forward and said to Samuel, "What are your orders to him, captain?"
I bit my lower lip when he shot me a look. I gripped the blanket in shame and remorse. Samuel bowed his head, thinking about things that he would bestow upon me. Whatever it was though, I would follow it. Not only because it was my captain's order, but I hoped it would also serve as an apology.
Samuel crossed his arms when he thought of something. "Matthew is to take a break from going into the underworld until his wounds fully heal. After it heals, I am to stay by his side for a few weeks until he is accustomed to the Night Fog Forest, and until I am convinced he can do fine by himself," He glanced at me. "Captain's order." He stressed out.
I sighed. 'Yeah, I deserve this. And I don't mean the special treatment.'
Great, now, Samuel thinks I needed to be looked after. Which I also think I really do. But it was the reason why I disobeyed his orders - I wanted to prove I was capable by myself and didn't want help, but it turned out to be the opposite.
I remembered the nightmare I had. 'You're a disgrace and a burden.'
I chuckled in my head, pitying myself. Those words were true. I wonder if mom somehow knew this would happen and was trying to save them from babysitting me? It hurts to know if she did.
I kept denying those harsh words they said to me in my dream, forcing myself to block them out. When in reality, I was an example of those words.
The principal nodded. "Very well. Do you hear that, Martinez?"
I nodded slowly, my eyes still refusing to meet Samuel's gaze. "It's settled. Okay, everyone. This night seemed to be a rather... eventful one. Let's give Martinez some space to rest."
All of them started to exit my room. Ashley patted me on my shoulder. And Samantha didn't want to let go of my hand. I ruffled the girl's hair which earned a whine from her. "I'm really fine, Samantha. You just came back from the underworld, you must be tired."
Samantha was about to say something, but she was interrupted by a yawn, proving my point. She shook her head. "B-But... I d-don't wanna leave you."
I gave her a wry smile. "I appreciate your concern, Samantha. Go to sleep... For me?"
Samantha puffed her cheeks before sighing. "O-Okay. Good n-night, Matthew."
"Good night."
Samantha left my room. Next was Zed and the principal. All of them went to their room. Except for Samuel.
The captain walked closer to me and inspected the wound. His eyes strict and his lips tugged into a frown. He mumbled something under his breath.
I tilted my head. "What?"
Samuel shook his head. "Nothing. Good night, Matthew."
After that vague reply, he turned around and started to walk away. I suddenly blurted out. "Wait!"
He stopped in his tracks. He didn't face me, but at least he stopped.
"I-I'm sorry." I whispered. If somehow this thing happens again, Then I wanted to apologize here and now before I lost my chance.
Samuel didn't say anything. Instead, he hurriedly spoke, "Get some rest, Matthew."
I heard my door close.
-
The next day came.
Since it was Sunday, I didn't bother getting up early. With my ankle, I had to be careful if I was going to toss and turn in sleep. In other words, I didn't get much rest.
I groaned as I stirred tiredly. I was forced to open my eyelids. I blinked rapidly to let my eyes adjust to my surroundings. I looked over to the clock and saw what time it was.
'11:30 in the morning.'
It was thirty minutes before noon. I missed breakfast. I tried to sit up. It was a bit hard because of my ankle. I stretched my arms and yawned. While I slept, my injury kept throbbing. Aside from that, my body felt refreshed, but my mind wasn't. I think I had a headache.
I stared at my left foot. 'How am I gonna walk down to the first floor?'
I shifted on my bed so my feet were dangling from my bed. I was about to stand on the floor when Ashley burst through my door holding a tray. I accidentally banged my ankle on the foot of my bed. I yelled out. "Ow!"
Ashley gave me a disapproving look. "What are you doing?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Um... I was about to stand up?"
Ashley narrowed her eyes at me. "Get back on the bed." I was about to say something when Ashley's glare intensified. I laid back on the bed out of sheer fear.
My eyes traveled to the tray Ashley was holding. It was food! My eyes lit up at the sight of the cuisine. There seemed to be a soup of some sort, with fish fillet covered in sauce on the side and some rice. I could tell the soup was still hot, as smoke rose from it. The aromatic smell of the soup mingled with the fish fillet. I noticed some greens that were submerged in the soup. Was that vegetable soup?
Ashley marched towards the bed and placed the tray in front of me. The smell of the food wafted through the air and filled my nostrils. I took a big sniff of the smell and my mouth watered. Ashley sat on the chair and placed the tray in front of me.
"Who made this? It smells good." I picked the spoon up and sipped the soup from it. "It tastes good too!"
"Samuel made it, as always." My face fell from when she mentioned his name. Even after everything yesterday, he still cooked me something.
'Samuel is a one-of-a-kind friend. I don't know how to properly repay his friendship. He saved me twice already and offered to cook my meals.'
I took a bite-sized portion of the fish fillet and popped it into my mouth. It tasted heavenly, with a crunchy outside because of the breading and a soft, hot inside. It indeed tasted good, but it left me in despondence.
'I don't deserve to be treated like this.'
I kept eating, unable to resist the delicious food that Samuel made any longer. Ashley only stared at me as I chewed to my heart's desire.
With one last gulp of the food - I wanted more though but I decided not to be greedy - I sighed in satisfaction. My stomach was filled with warmth because of the hot food that had been prepared.
"You glutton," Ashley teased. "You ate the whole thing. The plates and the bowl looked like it had been washed already, there's not a single grain of rice."
I involuntarily blushed in embarrassment. "It was delicious, okay? Don't judge me. No one can eat food and just leave a small portion of it."
Ashley shook her head. "Well, Samuel made it. So, I guess it's understandable."
I was quiet for a moment. When my voice came back, I asked the girl in front of me. "Is Samuel... Okay?"
She blinked. "Elaborate on the word 'okay'.
I fiddled with my fingers as I tried to find the correct words. "I mean... Is he still mad? Or just has a poker face in general?"
Ashley looked up, thinking about it. Then, she faced me again. "When I took the tray from him, he did seem a bit grim."
I leaned back and ruffled my head in frustration and guilt. "It's all my fault. If only I wasn't so stupid and had myself injured, Samuel wouldn't have to be so worried." I eyed my left ankle. I cursed inside my head.
Ashley narrowed her eyes at me. She brought her head closer and closer until I had to slightly move back because of how close we were.
"What exactly happened yesterday night, Martinez?"