soft | murdock

23

"Turn here, I heard this hospital was good," I say, pushing Matt to make him take a left.

"Heard?" 

"Yup. I've never actually been there before. And I can't actually remember the last time I got a physical checkup," I explain, leading him through the front door. 

I finally convinced him to get a checkup to see if he has any extensive injuries that I wasn't aware of. He only agreed after I said I'd let him bring me to an old boxing ring while he worked out. I was probably going to take a nap while he beat up a punching bag, so I was okay with it. 

He still insisted on escorting me everywhere, which I was fine with, since it seemed to ease both our consciouses. I would be safe, and he wouldn't constantly be worrying about me.

Matt talked to the desk attendant while I sat down in the waiting room, grabbing a National Geographic magazine off of the coffee table in front of me. I was reading an article about the illegal poaching of ivory when Matt took the seat next to me. The hospital didn't seem very busy, and there were only a couple other people sitting in the waiting area with me. 

"They can get me in a half-hour," he said, pushing his glasses up on his nose and sitting down next to me. 

"Cool."

- 

"What do you mean 'I'm fine'!?" I say loudly, almost yelling, as Matt walks back into the lobby. He claims that he doesn't have any broken ribs, internal bleeding, or infections. 

"I got some x-rays, the physician checked my heart with his stethoscope, and he used the reflex hammer on my knee. I'm fine," he chirps, putting his hand on my back and guiding me out of the hospital. 

"Do you also have some sort of regenerative powers you'd like to tell me about?" I ask playfully, poking him in the chest as he chuckled. I mean, how else would he be okay? There's only so much I can do to patch him up when he gets beaten up.

"Do you want to order a pizza or something while we go back to the apartment and get my boxing gloves? We can pick it up before we go to the gym," Matt pipes up as we make our way back to the apartment.

"Sure," I said, pulling out my phone and speed-dialing the best pizza joint in the city. I promptly ordered a medium Hawaiian pizza and a salad, ending the call right when Matt unlocked the door to his apartment.

"I'll grab a couple things and then we'll leave," Matt says, walking over to a nearby closet and taking out a duffel bag. 

I walked over to my suitcase that was laid on the floor in front of the television and took a book out, as well as a thicker jacket in case it got cold later. Matt emerged from the bedroom, his formal clothing changed into a pair of basketball shorts and tank top. His duffel bag was slung over his shoulder, presumably containing a change of clothing for after he was done with his workout. He walked past me in long strides, making his way to the fridge and taking out a strawberry protein shake. 

"Ready to go?" he asks, slipping his feet into a pair of training shoes. 

"Yup," I reply, putting on my jacket and zipping it up.

We left the apartment and picked up the pizza, which smelled so good that I almost sneaked a slice. Matt lead us for a medium-length walk, about ten minutes, before we showed up on the steps of a broken-down, almost dilapidated building. 

"Fogwell's Gym" was written across the building and the window of the front door. The door creaked as Matt opened it, and he made no effort to try and find where the light switch was. I grunted slightly, flicking on the light switch. Of course he doesn't care for light, he's blind. 

"Well, feel free to do whatever you want. I'll just be over here beating up a punching bag," he explains, laying his walking stick against the wall.

I shrugged. I wasn't particularly impressed about the gym's condition, but I agreed to this, and there must be a chair somewhere in the building. 

Matt hooked up a punching bag to a rail that extended from the ceiling, while I found a fold-out chair to sit on. I sat contentedly down in the chair and opened the book, my fingers flipping to where I was in the book. 

The book was sci-fi, and interesting enough, but I had only read about fifteen pages before there was a deafening gunshot, which shook my bones and made the book fall from my fingers. 

I couldn't see Matt from here, and the only thing I could think about was if he was okay or not.

- 

Author's Note:

Hey guys, sorry about the filler chapter, I've been super busy lately even though I said I'd be updating more. I've had a little bit of writer's block, but it's getting better! For now, remember to leave a vote and/or a comment, and I'll update as soon as I can!