Unknown Being

That night, around dinner time, Matt woke up in a hospital, groaning in pain. The first three people he saw for hours were his family, Cat and their parents huddled around the bed with anxious facial expressions.

"You're awake," Cat exclaimed. "Oh god, how do you feel?"

"Easy, hon," their dad said. "He's been through a lot. Give him some time to adjust." Cat mumbled an apology and stepped back a bit. "How are ya, son," he asked.

Matt replied, trying to ignore the grogginess he assumed was from drugs. His speech wasn't nearly as clear as usual. "My nose hurts like hell and my crotch…don't even get me started on that."

"Do you remember what happened," Cat asked quietly.

"More or less. I'm sure you heard the basics of the story already. Vince was being a jerk and he hit a nerve so I got pissed and hit him and I guess he had me out pretty soon."

"Matt, you know better than…" the teen cut his father off.

"Dad, he called my sister a slut," he exclaimed, livid. "Yeah, Vince called my sister a slut! Don't tell me I didn't have no reason to be angry! And he's not the type to be reasonable with words. I was not going to let him get away with calling my sister and best friend a slut! I don't care if he has reason to or not! It is wrong! I refuse to let him get away with that."

"Vince is in police custody," Cat said. "Everyone could hear the sirens coming and then leaving later. The building was evacuated like it would be for an emergency. I saw the police car and the ambulance. Long story short, he won't get away just yet."

Their father looked at his watch. "We'll be back tomorrow, son. It's late and you need rest. Try to not dwell on his words too much. It's going to be alright, Matt."

Everyone hugged Matt then they left. Matt sighed, knowing that he would be in the hospital for at least a day longer. He rolled his eyes, trying to get comfortable. I hate hospitals, he thought bitterly.

That night was full of nightmares about Vince doing terrible things to Cat; as a result, Matt didn't get much sleep at all that night. Nurses came in to check on him several times through the night but he didn't cooperate much, dismissing them and saying that he'd be okay. To his annoyance, they wouldn't believe him no matter how many times he said it.

The morning wasn't much better, except that he got to sleep in from not having to go to school. He was questioned about his nightmares, much to his displeasure. Little did he know that they were very important.

Notes