think you know, but you don’t. This is the absolute worst thing that could’ve happened.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure dying would’ve been the worst possible thing,” he says, trying to lighten the mood but failing tragically. Normally, this kind of snarky comment would set me off, but I can’t even yell. I’m too tired.
I look down at my cast, this hard, foreign glove forcing me to put my dreams on pause. I can’t have any more delays; I can’t let anything else keep me from staying on track. If I stay with Matt, who knows what might happen next? Maybe I will end up dead. It’s not like villains give a damn if I’m already injured. “It’s never gonna stop. They’ll just come after me, again and again, until there’s nothing left to hold as bait. Right now it’s a broken hand, but tomorrow it could be a leg, an arm, a spinal cord.”
Matt scoots his chair over to my table, resting his white gloves on my knees. “I would never let that happen,” he says.
“Like you let this happen?” I hold up my cast, and he hangs his head. Suddenly I feel like I’m drowning, the weight of the plaster pulling me down deeper and deeper, until the only chance for air is to release what’s in my heart. “Matt…” I say softly, tears instantly forming. “It’s over.”
He doesn’t move.
“I can’t do this anymore,” I add.
His forehead rests against my legs, hands wrapping around my calves. I feel the grippers in his gloves press into my skin. “Bridgette, I’m so sorry.”
I nod, even though he’s not looking at my face. “I know you are.”
“Please, don’t do this. We’ve been through so much…. I can fix this. I can save us.”
I shake my head, a few wet streaks rolling down my cheeks. “I…don’t want to be saved.”
He looks up, eyes shining with disbelief. For a second, he fades away, his invisibility taking over, and when he reappears, he’s standing in front of me, taking my face in his hands. His thumbs wipe away tears as he says, “You don’t mean that.”
“I do. You can’t protect me like you want to, and I can’t keep being the victim of your life choices.” Salty sobs break my speech. “I have a life too. And I have to live it.”
He wraps his arms around me, but my limbs hang limp, tired and unable to reciprocate his affection. Lips meet my neck as he breathes, “Please don’t do this. Please. I love you.”
I squirm in his embrace, awkwardly pushing him away with my clumsy new cast. “I love you too,” I choke. “That’s not what this is about.”
He kisses me, long and hard, lips desperately trying to find what’s been lost, and I press into him, feeling his fingers in my hair, wishing it were that easy. Wishing that his body against mine was enough, but knowing the spark between us has been the only thing holding us together. I am done playing with fire. I’m the only one who ever gets burned.
I pull back, leaving one last soft kiss on his cheek. Matt turns away, dark, distant eyes accepting he’s lost the fight, and I slide off the table, the gentle clicks and beeps of medical equipment providing a soundtrack to our breakup. I do my best to collect myself, and head out into the hallway, barely able to stand, as if my legs were broken too.
It’s over. It’s really over. I lean against a glass wall, staring up at the blue lights overhead, not really sure where to go next. I know Becca will be worried about me, but she’ll also demand I spill every detail about this night, right down to the last tear. I don’t think I can share the story yet; I could barely say the words the first time. But it’s not like I can stay here, especially if I’m no longer a superhero’s girlfriend.
Seconds later, fingers wrap around my left hand, although there’s no one in sight. Matt stands next to me, the faintest of sobs wafting from his invisible body.
“You have to let go,” I whisper to him, not wanting to cause a scene as various Warrior Nation personnel pass by. We stay there for a long time, neither of us saying a word as he holds my non-broken hand, until finally he disappears completely.
“So You’re Dating a Superhero! What to Expect”
(video transcript)
Hello! And welcome to Warrior Nation! We’re excited to have you as a tertiary member