Waltzing With Fate

Mercy

I look at Matteo and he nods his head. I look at Aldric with a frown. I attempt to show him a sense of empathy, but I can't, so I don't. I punch him over and over again leaving his entire face covered in blood and his body covered in red marks that will soon turn to a purplish color like the bruises I left on him earlier.
I look at him and I watch as tears roll down his blood stained face.
"Aldric, you could have had a family. You could have had friends that cared for you, but you chose power over family. You chose power over a new beginning, and that was your downfall, that was when I lost any empathy that I had for you. My decision tonight was merciful, but don't take it as kindness because killing you would have been kind. Forcing you to live with the things that you have done is worse than anything that I could do to physically hurt you."
"Thank you," Aldric croaks out as his gaze drifts away from me down to the floor.
"Don't thank me because I have spared you, I haven't done anything but prolong the torture that you will endure as a result of your actions." As I say this I turn to Matteo and grab the hand that he offers me. He leads me out of the cell and into the hallway. He looks at me and pulls me into a tight embrace. I give into his embrace and wrap my arms around him in response. I rest my head against his chest and he rests his chin on top of my head. I feel the emotions taking over me and I feel the tears start to fall down my face. I feel him move his head and softly kiss the top of mine. His arms wrap around me even tighter as I cry into his chest. I turn my head to look up at him and I can see the hurt in his eyes. He looks down at me and he sends me a small empathetic smile, and his beautiful green eyes lock into mine. I hug him tighter and he does the same. We stand there like this for a few moments and I loosen my grip on him. He follows suit and we walk down the hallway and into the elevator.
We get to our rooms and I walk through my door to see Asher and Rose sitting on my bed.
"What did your uncle want with you and Matteo?" Asher asks me as he turns toward me.
"He wants us to partner up for missions."
"He wants you guys to partner up for missions?" Rose exclaims as I hear a knock at the door between mine and Matteo's rooms.
"Come on in Matteo," I yell so he can hear me. He walks in and he is wearing just a pair of black basketball shorts. Asher looks over at him and his gaze runs up and down Matteo's body.
"Damn," Asher says as Rose elbows him. Matteo glances over at me and then over at the other two.
"I'm guessing they were here when you got here?"
"Yeah, I kind of just wanted to get out of these bloody clothes and then crawl into my bed and watch a movie, but I guess not."
"We could all watch a movie," Asher proposes as he looks between Rose, Matteo, and I.
"I'm down to watch a movie if you guys are. Just let me change first." Everyone else nods in agreement and I walk to my closet to grab clothes. I grab a pair of black shorts and a blue sports bra, and put them on. I walk out of my closet and Matteo, Rose, and Asher are already under the blankets on my bed, and Rose has already picked a movie. I slide under the blankets next to Matteo and he smiles at me as I start to get comfortable. I prop the pillow that is behind me up against the headboard and rest my back against it. Rose pushes play on the movie and we sit and watch while we dig into the snacks in my cupboard and my mini fridge.
I glance over at Asher and Rose. Rose is wrapped in Asher's arms and her head is laying on his chest. They are both fast asleep even though the movie isn't over. I laugh quietly and Matteo joins me once he realizes what I'm laughing about.
"I don't think they are going to move any time soon." Matteo says as he looks between me and the two of them.
"Yeah, I don't think they are either, but I don't want to wake them so I'm going to go crash in Rose's room."
"Why don't you just take mine?"
"I couldn't do that to you," I say as I look at him.
"It's not a big deal. You would still have access to your room and we can watch more movies."
"Sure," I reply as I slide out from underneath the blankets on my bed. He follows suit and I open the door between our rooms and walk through it. I run into his room and I flop down on his bed as he shuts the door. He looks over at me and laughs. He walks over to his bed and climbs underneath the blankets. He hands me the remote and gestures to me to pick a movie. I scroll through and I pick a movie.
I snuggle further into the blankets and my eyes start to drift shut. I feel an arm slide around my shoulders and wrap around me. I feel myself being moved closer to Matteo and rest my head against his shoulder. He rests his head on mine and kisses the top of it. I open my eyes and look up at him.
"I thought you were asleep."
"I was almost asleep, but not completely."
"Sorry I woke you up,"
"It's okay, I'm not mad."
"Good," he says as he sends a small smile my way. I lay my head back on his chest and I move closer to him. He wraps his arms around me tighter and I feel myself start to get comfortable again. I hear the movie turn off and I hear the remote being set onto the table. He moves a little bit and wraps his other arm around me. I feel my eyes start to close and I drift of to sleep.