the purge ○ matthew

26

26.

March 22, 2015

6:35 AM

Olivia Coleman

As Matthew and I quietly, and stealthily, entered the warehouse (which was poorly guarded), I couldn't help but notice the nervous expression on Matthew's face, and the fact that he was tensed up. He was always the brave one out of the both of us (it was well prominent), but at this moment, I don't know what's scaring him so much. Yeah, he does have a reason to be scared – but he had a reason to be scared those other times, too.

"If you held my hand any tighter, I swear you'd cut my blood circulation." I remarked quietly, referring to the very tight and firm grip that Matthew was applying to my hand as he held onto it. Matthew looked down at our hands and loosened it just a little bit.

"I'm sorry, Olivia. I just don't want to...lose you." he whispered back.

"I know that, Matthew. You've told me many times already – but nothing's going to happen to me. I'll stay with you the entire time." I pressed my lips on his cheek, earning a smile from him. But that smile instantly dropped when we heard voices. Matthew and I stopped in our tracks and hid behind a wall.

"The Purge is almost over!" I heard a man yell out in frustration and annoyance, and I heard staggered sobs from either Lauren or Cameron – or maybe we're at the wrong place, and the both of them were already gone for good. "Are you going to fucking talk, or am I going to have to force it out of you again?!"

It was silent after that, despite the staggered sobs. And then, there was a loud smack, in which I'm guessing was a slap across a face. The thought of getting hit that hard made me wince myself, and Matthew must have noticed because he pulled me closer to him and lifted our hands in the air, giving me a kiss on my hand.

"Tell me where he is!" Another smack was heard, and the more I grew curious as to what this man was talking about; who he was looking for; and who he was talking to. I wiggled out of my spot close to Matthew, and I peeked over the wall, and my eyes widened to see that there were three men – one in the centre, and the other two more to the side – and a girl and a boy tied up in a chair.

Lauren and Cameron.

"It's them, Matthew! They're tied up." I reported and my breathing hitched, and I felt the urge to cry. Because even though there was a great amount of distance between me and the two of them, I could still evidently see that they were badly harmed. "Matthew, when are we going to save them? They're getting hit!" I tried not to raise my voice.

"Sh, Olivia, we're going to save them, okay? We're going to save them." he cooed, trying to calm me down. I nodded, taking his word for it – but even then, assurance lacked in his voice, and I knew for a fact that Matthew didn't exactly have a plan in his head.

"Stop it! Stop hurting her! She doesn't know where he is – she's been here the whole damn time!" I heard Cameron yell out smartly, his voice quivering and hurt in his tone. It must have been Lauren getting harmed most this whole time, and I knew how that could affect Cameron – seeing his girlfriend getting hurt right in front of his eyes.

"Who the hell is this dude looking for, and why is he hurting Lauren and Cameron?!" I cried out to Matthew, who seemed even more tense than before.

"Olivia, stay here. I'm going over to them." Matthew instructed as serious as ever, letting go of my hand and cocking his gun so that it wasn't on safety mode anymore. I just nodded, knowing that I was no longer going to persuade him. He planted a kiss on my lips, resting his forehead on mine, and looking straight into my eyes. "I want you to know, Olivia, that you mean so much to me – and I don't want to lose you...ever. Please, just remember that." One more brief kiss was planted on my lips before Matthew took deep breaths, leaving our safe hiding spot and stealthily making his way over to those men.

I watched everything happen from the safety behind the wall, every step Matthew took making me even more nervous than before. I prayed to any god out there, hoping that the Purge would end quickly, and that everyone would be safe – especially Matthew, Lauren and Cameron. 

I'd rather have them safe than me.

"Don't me so smart with me, Dallas, because I can easily shoot a bullet through your brain. I can do it right now!" the dude angrily said, and he pulled out a gun from his pocket, resting it onto Cameron's forehead. I covered my mouth as tears welled my eyes, and I shook my head, my heart beating quickly.

"No!" Lauren yelled whilst trying to escape out of the ropes that tied her on the chair. Cameron looked directly at the dude, seemingly courageous, but I knew that he was terrified. I mean, how could you not?

Just before the dude could do anything to Cameron, Matthew revealed himself, lifting the gun up in the air and pointing it at the dude in front of Cameron. "Step back, Ansel, or I'll shoot a bullet through your brain." Matthew threatened, a grim look on his face.

Ansel stood up straighter, and when he turned to look at Matthew, he had a smirk on his face instead of a frightened look. "Matthew Espinosa," Ansel acknowledged, and I raised my eyebrows, my eyes widening slightly. How does this stranger know Matthew? "I see you've come to rescue your friends? Glad you got the hint that we took them."

"Why the hell would you expect them to know where I was?! You're still that same dumbass I remember when I left." Matthew lowly said, but I could still hear him well. When he left?

Ansel's smile dropped, and he looked at Matthew with an annoyed look on his face. He wasn't intimidated by the gun being pointed at him, and that was because his other two men were pointing their guns at Matthew. So, if Matthew shoots, he gets shot, as well. It's a lose-lose situation for him; if he doesn't shoot Ansel, then the more trouble would occur.

"W-why do you n-need Matthew, anyways?" cried Lauren, without confidence. Her voice was still shaking in trauma and fear. "H-he's done n-nothing wrong."

Matthew looked down at his shoes for a brief second; he was seemingly uncomfortable of what he was hearing. Why would he be uncomfortable with the truth? I'm not sure. But, is it even the truth? my mind asked, my curious side kicking in. I wish I could say yes, but I'm not even sure myself. I met Matthew less than a day ago, so I can't really say anything.

"Nothing wrong, babe?" Ansel laughed, looking at Lauren. Even from all the way over here, I saw Cameron tense up, hearing this dude call his girl 'babe' when only he could do that. "Do you even know Matthew?"

"I know him. Lauren's right; he's done nothing wrong." Cameron defended. Ansel looked at him, scoffed, then back to Matthew with an amused look on his face. I was so tempted to just stomp over there and interrogate this Ansel dude about what he was even doing, and what he means. Because right now, I was at the point where my confusion irked me.

"Ansel, we're not going to talk about this now." Matthew grumbled, and he glanced over to where I was.

"Well, why not, Espinosa? You finally got caught!" Ansel laughed, walking around the spot. Matthew made sure to point the gun towards Ansel wherever he went. By now, he was even tenser than before. "I cannot believe that he hasn't even told his best friend that he was part of our gang – just a couple of months ago. Can you believe that?" Ansel asked one of his other men, who just chuckled. He was that kind of dangerous guy; the playful kind, yet you wouldn't want to mess with him ever.

My mouth fell ajar right there, and without thinking at all, I stepped out of my hiding spot and stomped towards them and bellowed: "You were what, Matthew?!"

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