B213

“Gimme your purse!” The man yelled at her.

“I said gimme your purse!’ He yelled again.

“Ok ok1 here take it!” Haley was almost in tears. She shoved the purse into his hand.

“You! Boy! Gimme all you got.” The man shoved Haley to the ground to get to him.

“Nah.” Matthew said blatantly. The pulled back the hammer of the gun and stepped closer and closer until he was point blank. In one sweep, Matthew pushed the gun out of his face with his left hand and with his right flipped the knife open and sunk it deep into the man’s ribcage. The knife flashed and the number one appeared on the handle, but Matthew didn’t notice. He pulled the knife out and the man dropped to the ground in agony. Haley sat there in shock. He grabbed a napkin and wiped of the blood and folded it back up and returned it to his pocket. He stepped over the man and helped Haley up. Matthew took out his phone and dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency.”

“I need an ambulance, I just stabbed a man; he had a gun to my head.” He looked down to see the man reaching for the gun again and kicked it away.

“Where are you sir?” The operator replied.

“Montana Sub Shop on the corner of…” He pulled the phone away from his face and looked at Haley.

“Hemm and Town Street” She said in a shaky voice.

“Hemm and Town Street”

“An ambulance is on route, stay in the diner sir”

“Will do.” He said as he hung up the phone. He walked over to Haley and outstretched his hand, she reluctantly grabbed it and allowed him to help her up. He looked at the man.

“What’s your deal man? Why are you doing this?” The man was lying on the ground holding his stab wound, keeping pressure on it. Matthew bent down and put more pressure on the wound. The man winced but accepted the help. A waitress ran out with a first aid kit.

“I just needed some money, my kids are at home starving, I can’t find a job, I didn’t know what to do…am I gonna die?” He asked looking into Matthew’s eyes.

“No, I missed any organs, you’ll just need stitches.” Matthew opened up the kit with his free hand and took out some sterile gauze.

“Sit up.” He helped the man up and wrapped the gauze around his body tightly and put on a clip to hold it there. He wiped off his hands and pulled out his wallet.

“Next time, just ask, without the gun.” He pulled a blank check out and wrote $100,000 on it and signed it.

“Don’t spend it all in one place.” He helped the man wipe off his hands and gave him the check. The man was speechless.

“Th-thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Matthew stood up and turned to Haley, who was even more shocked then before.

“Oh, one more thing.” He pulled another blank check out and signed it.

“This is for the medical bills.” He turned and gave it to the man. The ambulance pulled up, followed by a police car. The officer asked him a few questions, like what happened, and then asked a few people for confirmation. The man was loaded up into the ambulance and gave Matthew one more thankful glance before the doors shut. Haley put her hand in Matthew’s.

“Thank you.” She said.

“But why didn’t you just give him the check in the first place?” She asked. Matthew almost missed the question; he was shocked from the hand holding.

“He would have been out on the street again if I hadn’t of done what I did.” He said. She kissed him on the cheek.

“You’re sweet. This isn’t the best first date I’ve ever been on.” Matthew’s head was spinning.

“But it’s not the worst.” She smiled as they watched the police and ambulance pull away. They walked back to the car.

“So where am I taking you?” She asked.

“The nearest bus stop will work.” She looked at him.

“No, I’m not gonna let you get on one of those things, I’ll be your ride until you get your license renewed.” Matthew shrugged and got in the car.

“If you insist, Parkway and 8th.” She looked at him with an astounded face.

“You’re kidding me! My apartment is right across the street! And that only thing on that corner is the luxury suites.” Matthew shrugged.

“Where did you get so much money anyway?” Haley asked as she started the car. Matthew sighed.

“Inheritance…” He said quietly. Haley held his hand.

“I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

“It’s alright, there’s no way you could have known.” Matthew said, shrugging.

“My parents died when I was young, car accident.”

“I’m sorry”

“I’ve come to terms with it.” She sighed as well and squeezed Matthew’s hand slightly. He knew she was lying. He saw her wipe a tear from her eye before it fell. They pulled out of the parking lot and got back onto the main road.

“I can tell you’re still pretty shaken up from what happened…” Matthew said.

“And it’s only four, is there anything you wanna do that will get your mind off of it?” He asked. He cared about this girl, even though they had just met that day, they’d already been through something substantial together.

“Well we could go play pool, and then maybe…” She blushed.

“Go back to your place?” she looked at him as they pulled up to a stop light. The surprises kept coming for Matthew.

“Yeah sure, if you’re sure.” Matthew said nodding. Haley nodded too. She turned and drove about 20 blocks before they pulled into another parking lot next to a place called “The Magic 8 Ball”.

“I love this place, I can always come here and unwind.” They got out of the car and walked through a side door. The place was nearly empty, aside from a few people sitting at the long bar on the opposite wall and few people scattered throughout the pool tables. One of the Bartenders waved at Haley slightly and began pouring two shots of whiskey and pulled out a cord and connected it to the radio. They walked over to the bar.

“Hey Haley, I assumed the usual, for you and your friend.” He placed the two shot glasses on the counter in front of them and took Haley’s Ipod from her hand.

“Thanks Duke.” The two picked up the glasses and touched them together lightly and knocked back the shots. The drinking age was 18 in this part of the city. They slammed the glasses onto the counter upside down.

“You look like you’re not new to this.” Haley said with a laugh.

“I used to be called King at my old school, wanna know why?” Matthew said. Haley sat in one of the stools and placed he chin in her hand and nodded.

“Well, the name pretty much explains it, I was the King of everything, no one could beat me at anything. I ruled the school.” Duke filled the glasses up again. They were gone almost as soon as they hit the counter.

“Well we’ll see about that tonight.” Haley said with a smile. Duke put up a billiards rack and two more shots. Haley grabbed the rack and the shot and downed it, Matthew followed suit. They walked over to a table.

“Seeing as how you’re the supposed ‘King’ I get break.” Matthew smirked and nodded as he placed the balls into the rack, striped balls after solid balls, 8 ball in the middle. Haley grabbed two cues and tossed him one as he took the rack off of the table. He caught it in his free hand. Haley bent over the table and hit the cue ball, breaking the pack flawlessly, sinking a striped ball. She nodded and took another shot, sinking another ball, then another, finally missing a shot. Matthew nodded his head, he was impressed.

“Nice, now lets see what we got here.” He looked over the table and saw his shots. He took on shot after the other, placing the cue ball exactly where he needed it for the next shot. He sunk six in total before missing his last shot before the eight ball. Haley grunted slightly in distraught. She sunk four more balls until she was left with the eight ball.

“Corner pocket.” She called the shot and missed it and sighed in aggravation. Matthew smirked.

“Game over.” He said, laughing. He took his final shot and sunk it and then sunk the eight ball.

“Well, good game, but you didn’t call it.” Haley said sticking out her tongue. Matthew sighed.

“I did it on purpose.” He said returning the out stuck tongue. They laughed and headed to the bar and returned the rack.

“That was quick.” Duke said, filling up two more shots.

“Well, what can I say, he’s the King.” Haley said with a smile.

“Make it a double.” She said.

“Whatever you say boss.” Duke smiled and poured two doubles and they knocked them back with ease. Haley was starting to feel a buzz, Matthew still need a few before he felt anything.

“I’ve got some whiskey at my place, we can head back and hang out there, I don’t want to drink to much then have to drive.” She said; Matthew nodded in agreement.

“Good point, then lets go!” He said standing up. Haley retrieved her Ipod and keys from Duke and laid two 20 dollar bills on the counter. Duke pushed the money back.

“On the house, it’s not everyday I see you with someone.” Duke said smiling. Haley put the money back in her purse.

“Thank you Duke.” She said in an almost snide tone. Duke laughed and they walked out the side door and to the car and got in.

“It’s a long ride, and I don’t wanna exhaust all conversation topics before tonight, wanna jam?” She spoke starting the car again.

“Sounds good to me.” He replied and she hooked up her Ipod and turned on the band ‘Dispatch’ and turned up her sound system. Matthew was impressed with the system and began rocking his head to the music. They drove for about 45 minutes in traffic before finally pulling into the apartment complex across the street from the luxury condos. They stepped out of the car.

“Hey, what’s your house number? You head up and I’ll be there in a bit, ok?”

“Alright, just hit 40.” Haley held up her two fingers again. Matthew turned and headed for the building on the other side of the street. He walked through the automatic sliding glass doors and into the lobby. The crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling. To the left and right were lavish waiting areas and elevators. Ahead was a large marble desk with a man in a suit standing behind it. Matthew held up a keycard and walked to the elevators and the man behind the desk nodded. Matthew pushed the button next to the elevator and the doors opened. He stepped in and pushed the number 40 on the panel. And the doors closed and the elevator began to rise. The subtle music that played in the elevator always annoyed him. So he took out his Ipod and headphones and listened to the same band they were listening to in the car ride over. When he got close to his room the Bluetooth on his Ipod turned on and connected to his speakers in his room. When the door opened he took out his headphones and stepped out in front of two huge doors. He waved the keycard over the front of the doors and the locked clicked open and he swung them open. When he stepped inside The General by Dispatch played over the speaker system. Ahead of him was a large window that he would look out at the city from; the view was breathtaking. He walked in, put his backpack down against the wall, and turned to the left passed the leather sectional and walked into the corner kitchen, with chrome appliances and a black marble counter. He grabbed a glass from an open cabinet and shut it and filled it with water from the tap with a touch of his finger. He walked over to the sectional and picked a shirt up off of it; besides that, the room was spotless. He pushed a button on the wall and the fire place underneath the TV clicked on and a fire roared. He stepped to the side and walked through a door into the bedroom, which was just as spotless. He folded the shirt and put it in the dresser next to the door. He walked out and grabbed his backpack and put it next to the bed. There was a small knock on the door. He walked out and looked at a mirror to check his hair, thick blonde and swaying to the right. He nodded in satisfaction and opened the door, what he saw left him speechless. There stood Haley, her hair in a long ponytail, her body covered by a small black dress, the skirt came down mid-thigh. In her hand she held two shot glasses and a huge bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey. She took notice of his surprise and laughed.

“Can I come in?” She asked with a smile on her face.

“Uh…” Matthew shook his head and stepped out of the way.

“Yeah come on in.” She stepped in and her jaw nearly dropped as she looked around the suite.

“I’ve never been up here before, this is beautiful.”

“It’s quaint, I like it.” Matthew said looking around.

“Quaint?” Haley questioned.

“This is wonderful, you’re crazy.” They laughed.

“My room at home was bigger then this growing up, but I kinda like the downsize.” He was under exaggerating, He had a whole floor to himself in a mansion. Haley could only stand there in awe, but she soon shook it off.

“Gimme a tour after a few drinks?” She asked. Holding up the bottle. Matthew nodded and showed her to the kitchen and dining area. She placed the bottle and glasses down and walked over to Matthew, who was grabbing a couple chairs and kissed him. Matthew almost dropped the chairs, but he tightened his grip.

“Wow.” He said with a small laugh, Haley giggled and took a chair and placed it at the table and sat down and crossed her legs. Matthew sat down beside her and poured the drinks. After taking one, Haley held up her glass.

“To the start of something beautiful.” They clicked the glasses together and threw back the shots.

“There’s really not much to this place, this is the main room.” He poured more liquor into the glasses and drank them.

“That door over there next to the couch is the bedroom, next to that is the bathroom.” He pointed behind him with his thumb.

“There’s the kitchen, and through that window is the balcony.” Haley laughed a little.

“Not the tour I was expecting, but it’ll work.” They laughed and drank another shot, followed by another, then another. They were getting drunk.

“So where did you live before you came here?”

“Wayland, my parents were filthy rich, so they lived in the hills, the rich neighborhood. They had a huge property there, and built a massive mansion on it.” Haley shook her head in disbelief.

“You’re full of it.” She laughed, she was getting buzzed again.

“I’m serious, my dad was a major businessman. He owned a lot of companies, well parts of them at least, but there were a lot of them.” Matthew said, backing up the story.

“What did your mom do?”

“Nothing, she didn’t need to do anything, she stayed home and took care of me.”

“What happened to them?” Matthew looked to the floor. Haley grabbed his hand. He choked back the tears.

“A man followed my dad home, he said he was one of his associates, but my dad had never seen him before in his life. Well my dad invited him in for dinner to talk about a big project the man had an idea for. At the dinner table he pulled out a gun and shot my mom and dad in front of me and just left me there, alone. I was about 15 then, just a freshman in high school. It took me what seemed like forever to be able to go out in public again. It changed me, I got involved with drugs and alcohol, for two years I threw parties at the mansion, I got kids drunk and higher then they’d ever been in their life.” A tear rolled down his cheek. Haley lifted his head and kissed him again.

“I’m sorry I asked, I didn’t know you were going to react like this. Come on, I’ve got something to keep your mind off of it.” They had another shot and she stood and led him to the bedroom. Before opening the door she turned and kissed him again and then opened it. She let him in first and he sat on the bed. Haley slipped off the dress and stepped out of her heels and shut the door.