300
Tony
I woke up early, feeling a bit groggy. I stretched my arms and legs, trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep. I needed to be awake for this, to catch him. It had been a long night of waiting, but I hadn't been awake when he got back. Was he back yet? I got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen. I started to look for something for breakfast, but as I searched for something to eat, I heard a strange noise coming from Matt's room. I dashed from the kitchen. He was back, and he had a lot of fucking explaining to do. When had he gotten back?
I slowed to a stop as I heard a grunt. It sounded pained. Then something fell with a heavy thud.
"Fuck," he cursed, barely grasping. Something else clattered to the floor. “For fuck’s—”
"Matt?" I opened the door, my heart in my throat, but Matt was still standing. A thick book was on the floor, part of the things that were probably on the dresser had been swept to the ground, and in his hand was a potion glowing a bright white. My heart was racing.
Take it from him.
I darted forward, snatching it from him before he could try and hide it. He didn’t fight me. He just watched me, leaning against the dresser. His eyes seemed a little unfocused. He was flushed. While that was a better thing than before, he didn’t seem completely together. I looked down at the vial, not reading the paper label. It was unusually warm in my hand.
"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm. “What is this?”
He cocked his eyebrow and held out his hand. "I'm taking my medication.”
I tightened my grip on the vial, surprised that it didn’t break from the stress.
Break it.
“Why should I believe you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “You snuck out last night and came back with this? I thought—”
“Slow down before you have a fit,” Matt said, leaning back on the dresser. His eyes glinted. Was that his wolf or something else? He tilted his head. “Let’s backtrack, hm? If I was an addict, wouldn’t I be a bit more… irrational about getting it back? Despeate even? Do I look desperate to you?”
I swallowed. The urge to break it was still strong, but I didn’t want to just give into it. My head was pounding, and Matt was right. I knew what addiction looked like, didn’t I? I frowned. How did I know what addiction looked like? A woman’s face flashed through my mind, but I couldn’t place a name to her face. Who was she?
“No.”
“Do I even look upset?”
I swallowed and shook my head. The creeping feeling that we’d had this sort of conversation before was unsettling. I was the elder brother. The calm one under fire.
“I left, sure, but I thought you were asleep.”
“You didn’t leave a note.”
He shrugged. “I thought you’d text me if you were concerned. I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d freak out.”
“You were gone all night.”
“True.”
I set my jaw. “Where’d you go?”
“I went to sign up and attend some classes at the Black Moon Academy, and had dinner at a diner with a classmate.”
“A date?”
He pulled a face. “No.”
I frowned. What was that? That didn’t even sound like something Matt would be interested in. I shook my head. Disbelief was heavy, pushing through me along with the splitting headache.
"You're lying to me, Matt. I… You’re hiding something from me."
His gaze remained steady. He pushed off the dresser and stumbled to his closet. He pulled open a drawer and pulled out a stack of pages.
“Why would you hide it there?”
“With the rest of my records?” He asked wryly. “I don’t happen to have a safe, Tony.”
I blinked as he turned and handed the pages to me.
“Here. Take a look for yourself.”
He didn’t make a grab for the potion as I took the pages. My gut turning. I wanted to be skeptical, but the pages looked… official. The first was a registration page very much like a college’s. I didn’t recognize the codes or the class titled, but the information all made sense. The page beneath it was a prescription page.
I frowned. “Yellow Ridge Hospital.” I looked at him. “How… long have you been going there?”
“About the same time Ginevra got admitted,” he said. “They… Well, they’ve convinced me to start a treatment course, and it’s… been better.”
I bit my lip, looking at the vial. The label was printed clearly like human medications. I swallowed, reading it and recognizing it from the list.
Something clinked as he pulled out four other vials, one for each line on the prescription line.
“W-Why so many?”
Matt chuckled. “Because I’m an idiot.”
“I-It’s not typical for werewolves to get sick…”
“Not typical for them to have nosebleeds either.”
A pang of guilt went through me. Was this something he’d had since he was a kid? Something I didn’t? He was the younger twin. We were always told we were just a little different, even though we had so much in common. Had so much of Matt’s life been plagued with whatever was wrong with him, and I had never known? Was it just now getting worse because we were away from the pack?
I pushed that thought away. He hadn’t looked completely well since our father had come back. I offered the vial back.
“I-I…” I winced. “I’m paranoid.”
“And a worry wort, and on edge,” he took the vial and opened it. His lips tilted into a smile.
I sank onto the edge of the bed. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me…”
"You’re paranoid, a worry wort, and on edge,” Matt said. “Nothing’s changed. I appreciate you worrying about me though.”
I met Matt’s gaze. He grinned at me and took another vial, leaning against the dresser.
“Are they terrible?”
He shook his head. “One of them tastes like grapes. The rest are… sort flowery.”
I sighed. “I feel like a crazy person.”
“You are.”
I scowled at him. His eyes twinkled. “Since we’ve got some time before your mini wakes up, how’s work?”
I winced. “Apparently, there’s a meeting with our father and Cline at eleven.”
“Give them hell,” he said.
I nodded as he sat beside me and put his arm around me. “I don’t know if I tell you this enough… But I want you to know that… most of the time, you’re a pretty good guy.”
I scoffed. “Most of the time?”
He smiled. “Well, you’re rude, barely know how to say when you’re wrong, and rigid at least 20% of the time, but I know that’s just you and your hyper-vigilance at work.”
He leaned his head against mine. It felt a little bit like we were kids again.
“We’ve… seen too much, and so much pressure has been put on you… That’s not an excuse, but it’s something to be aware of, so give yourself some slack.”
“You sound a bit too serious. Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?”
He chuckled. “Let’s say being away from the pack has… done a lot for me. And you?”
I looked up. “Sometimes…”
I didn’t want to say it, but it was Matt. Aside from whatever I had told Ginevra, Matt knew everything about me.
“I wonder if it was a mistake, but I think of Quillan and Ginevra… And I hate myself for the thought.” I sighed. “And the fact that I can’t seem to be a rational person…”
“I would never say rationality outside of business was your strong suit. We all have our strengths.”
I sighed as he laughed, clearly amused.
“Potions don't really work well for werewolves usually,” I said. “A whole portion of my future business plans for the company are based on there being a giant market for it.”
“Giant? There aren’t that many werewolves in the world,” Matt said. “And these are general purpose and formulated for me.”
“Must have been expensive.”
He lifted a shoulder. “My brother’s a financial guru, I picked up a few things.”
I frowned. “Do you… plan to go find a job here in Black Moon, too?”
Or was he leaving? Something in my gut told me he was.
“I haven’t thought about it.”
“How are you paying for classes?”
“They’re free,” Matt said and shrugged. “Some program in the Black Moon. I’m not worried about it. Breakfast?”
“I–”
My stomach growled, and he threw his head back and laughed. He stood and I followed him into the kitchen. I sat at the bar, watching him move around as if he always had.
“Where… were you?”
“Hm?”
“After you ran into Eliza and before you went grocery shopping?” I eyed him. “That’s several hours.”
His eyes flickered again, and I braced myself for him to lie to me
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