Post by Mitch 'The Broken' Heart on Oct 3, 2020 7:54:01 GMT -5
outreach.
The Silver Moon was a classic diner in every sense of the word- all chrome and neon on the outside, formica booths on the inside, and the permeating smell of years’ worth of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and burgers.
Mitch Heart sat at a window booth, a massive spread of food in front of him- a big double cheeseburger with the works, a root beer float, a huge slice of devil's food cake, and blueberry pie a-la-mode. It was almost a guaranteed sugar and meat rush, and that was before one factored in the bottomless coffee.
Dipping a fry in a puddle of ketchup, Mitch glanced out the window from time to time, waiting on someone. It seemed like a safe enough place to talk- at this hour, the 24 hour greasy spoon was all but deserted, the sparse wait staff probably not caring less what a pair of grizzled toughs were talking about in the middle of the night.
Eventually, the white rented 2020 Nissan Altima pulled into the parking lot, taking the spot next to the ancient motorbike that had admittedly seen better days, but for all intents and purposes ran like a top. Matthew stepped out after killing the motor and adjusting his leather jacket. His right arm is conspicuously in a cast, but he looks better off than he did in the hospital for their previous meeting.
Matthew walked into the diner and went right to Mitch, sliding into the booth across from him. He takes a look at the spread and chuckles “Treating yourself, bud?” he asked in a cheery tone, before sliding out of the jacket and setting it next to him.
“Little bit. I don’t get to indulge in sweet stuff often- wouldn’t be fair, eating cake and pie and shit in front of Pen.”
He takes a long sip of the float, eyes closing as he relishes the creaminess the melting ice cream lent to the root beer.
“Go ahead and order anything you want, I got you. I can splurge a little.”
He grinned. Between Winter and Scared Pissless Rich Kid, he actually had money to spare for a change. Matthew flags down the waitress, quietly ordering just an iced tea, two slices of lemon and a slice of key lime pie he settles his elbows on the table, intertwining his fingers together.
“So. Right off, before I get preachy. I appreciate it, Mitch. I do. And i’d go to war for you anytime, kid. Same as I would Ade, or Sil.” he exhales, briefly tapping his forehead against the tented fingers, before continuing, “I need to ask though, Mitch. This...this kind of shit, it isn’t out of the norm for you, is it?” he raises his eyes to meet Mitch’s then, awaiting the answer with a flat expression.
Mitch shifted. He wanted to pull his hood up and hide. He felt incredibly exposed all of the sudden, the guilt of every illicit activity suddenly rising up in his throat like bile. He sighed, taking a bite into the burger and letting the harmony of juicy meat, crispy bacon, and cool tomato ease his suddenly hackled nerves a bit. Swallowing, he let out a sigh, and slowly shook his head.
“...it ain’t. Not… all of it, and that’s not why I did it to Winter. What I did to Winter was because I didn’t like what he did to you. I couldn’t let that rest. The others… all the others... “
Inhale. Long exhale through his nose. He isn’t sure why he felt so ashamed right now. He really wanted a joint, but he settled for a few bites of the pie.
“Cities are jungles if you’re not loaded. Axl Rose is a dickbag but he was right about that. You do what you need to survive. Maybe you don’t feel great about it, but the rent needs paid and your sister needs expensive medicine to live.”
Matthew thanks the waitress with a quiet nod as he receives his small order, reaching over he grabs three envelopes of sweetener, dumping them in before stirring them. He then quietly picks up a fork, and scoops a bit of key lime into his mouth. A look of serene satisfaction crosses his face, before he swallows and responds.
“I can’t pretend to get it. I grew up..mostly privileged after I got adopted. Before then? It was a haze of angry nuns who wouldn’t let me sneeze out of order. Before them, cartoons and listening to junkies scream at one another,” He washes down the pie and nods, “I get doing bad things for good reasons, though. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask, where are your parents?” His gaze returned to Mitch, from space then.
“If it’s not something you want to broach, we can move past this. I’m just trying to understand more than I already do.”
“...my dad? Who knows. I never knew the bastard. Long gone before I was born. My mom…”
The pie and the ice cream scoop on top vanish in a few ravenous bites. It’s almost too sweet after so long going on as little sugar as possible. He’d never really spoken of this to anyone. But there was something about the man across the table he felt he could trust. The remark of screaming junkies sealed the deal.
“...she had me young. She did her best when I was little, raising a kid while being not much more than a kid herself. But the stress of raising a kid as a teen on a shoestring salary in a shoebox apartment… guess it isn’t a wonder she eventually turned to something, anything, to take the edge off.”
He huffed. He knew he was making excuses for her.
“After that? It didn’t take long for her to like the needle better than me. I tried. I did. Even after she married that pusher scumbag Al-- that pusher scumbag. He beat her and fed her habit and the only fucking good thing he ever did for this world was bring Pen into it.”
Matthew listens quietly, scooping more pie into his mouth as he does so. After Mitch finishes, he exhales, nodding. “God knows, that monster in the needle..biggest one there is.” a small sigh, and he launches into evening the ground they’re on, “My parents were junkies. Big Matt, and Elaine. Pushers as much as users. They each had..have other kids before me. Not sure of where they are. Never really cared honestly, probably just serve as a bad reminder,” he chuckles
“One night, best I can remember they got into it over a stash. Not sure if it was cash or shit but, he put one in her then one in himself. I got put into the system, put into an old orphanage. “My sister of Immaculate Mercy” where the yard sticks were as plentiful as the habits. After a while, I got adopted by an old rich couple, Hugh and Iris.” he took a drink of tea, and after a moment he raises his eyes to meet Mitch’s
“I’ve never told anyone this,” he begins. “Hugh taught me about the business, he was one of the rarities who made money in it, and didn’t squander it. Real bright, the old man. Set me up before I met him. Around 20 I get in with some backwater outfit, Absolute Power Wrestling Organization. Guy running it was a skeeze and a half,” he shakes his head. “Marv Nixon. Keep it short for you, Mitch. We had a falling out, we being the roster and him. I leant help to those I could, had his ass rung out in court, made a fucking example of him…”
He trails off, before continuing, “And in response, he hired a couple guys to go to my home, rough me up. Except, I wasn’t home and my 80 year old step father was and….well, you can probably piece the rest together.” he taps his fingers on the tabletop, exhaling once. “I spent money on P.Is, did all I could to find out it was Marv who sent them. Couple roster members who were in his pocket. Not unlike Alex and Christopher. Hired more P.Is to get Marv’s routine down…” a pause, “And then I went and watched him leave us.”
He took a long drink of tea then, a chuckle escaping him, “Sorry. I get long winded kid. Being a recluse for the past decade, guess i’m still getting out the excess verbiage and human contact”
“He deserved whatever he got. I woulda done the same and worse.”
Mitch’s answer is quick and hard. On finger swiped through dark chocolate icing, not caring about the uncouthness of it.
“Like I said. You do what you need. I’m… Pen and me…”
He leaned in, voice low despite the emptiness of the diner.
“...she’s with me because, technically, I kidnapped her. Not that mom and Alex ever noticed. But she deserved better than being neglected, on the brink of death half the time cuz heroin was more important than insulin. I ain’t a good guy, Matt. She deserves better than me. But I’m the best she got and it ain’t fair. … What happened to your dad wasn’t fair. Lot of shit ain’t fair.”
“We have done bad things, Mitch. We all do. But you, you’re anything but a bad man. You could have just as easily walked out, and let the system get to Pen. Maybe. You love, and so you are good, kid.” He says with finality, gaze taking a fatherly edge. “You already get the point I was going for, that for those we love. We do whatever needs doing, and fuck the consequences,”
“But”
He leans in, staring Mitch in the eye, “Mitch, if you get caught up in this, if that snake decides to go to the cops even though he said he won’t, you get clapped for the mugging and then the kidnapping because I know you would spill about Pen as soon as the bracelets were on you, son,” he paused a beat at the slip up, but continued as if it never happened, “So going forward, I need you to promise me that all this beef, all the horseshit we settle it like the contractually obligated savages we are.”
He downs the rest of the tea, flagging the waitress over for a refill before continuing, “And Pen, her insulin? Just forward me the horseshit Pharmacy’s number, i’ll make sure it get handled going forward. You don’t need to worry about that, not with everything else,” he stares out the window, rubbing his fingers over the knuckles on his opposite hand before stating, “Gives you more time to love Pen and be the big brother she needs.”
“I…”
He looked down at the demolished deserts. He figured, with a light snicker, that all that stuff he’d heard about stress eating was true.
“...I can’t ask you to do all that. It’s too much. I’ll do my best, I’ll try to be good… well, good as is humanly possible for a guy like me… but I can’t take all that from you. I’m grateful, but it’s just… it’s too much…”
“You just pulled a knife on Alex Winter, stripped him naked, stole his hunk of billion dollar italian douche car, his spare cash and finished it off with a bonfire,” Knox stated plainly “All because he sucker punched me in the hospital. Now, we aren’t even Mitch. I am in your debt, and this is me settling that debt.”
Knox went silent as his cup was refilled, as soon as the waitress dottled off to her quiet existence, miles away from them mentally, he continued once more with a tone of finality, “I have more than i’ll ever need, and like I said, I owe you and if I can help a little girl who was saved from becoming...what we are? That just seals the deal for me, man.”
He sits back, reaching up to scratch the stubble that he let grow in upon his chin as he awaited Mitch’s reply.
“You don’t owe me. I did that because I wanted to. Mostly for you, yeah, but he’s needed to be took down a peg for a while. I don’t like when fucking rich people who didn’t earn a dime off their own sweat treat the rest of us like dirt. I don’t like when people with power treat the ones without like expendable tools, or game pieces, or objects to do what the fuck they want with.”
He let a long exhale out his nose.
“...if you want to help that bad though, you can, with all the gratitude I have. Just… just don’t go overboard. I don’t want to rely too much on people even if they have the best intentions in the world with no strings. I know that probably makes me sound like a dick, but…”
He tapped his fingers on the tabletop, trying to find words.
“...taking care of Pen by any means necessary… that’s my responsibility. Keeping a roof, food that won’t make her sick, the internet on so she can learn stuff… it’s my job to provide those things. If I accept too much even from those who give out of love… then I’m passing that job off to somebody else. Does that make any sense?”
Matthew nods, raising his glass as a small salute, before taking another gulp, clearing his throat he speaks, “We’ll get into the details later. And lord knows I understand that, Mitch. The only person guaranteed to be there tomorrow no matter what, it’s yourself.” he nods, before adding, “But know that I’m there kid, if everything else is exhausted I never am.”
“...thank you.”
It was kind of overwhelming. People just didn’t speak to him this way. Until lately they did. He had no idea what was going on. He couldn’t be that likable, could he?
Waving over the waitress, he asked for the check, getting to his feet.
“I mean it. … I’m, um, bringing Pen with me for 100. I promised her. We’ll see you in a couple weeks, you take care of yourself till then. Still can’t believe you fought Ryan to a draw in your condition, old man. You’re even crazier than I am.”
“You’ll get there, someday.” He pays Mitch a smile, waving the praise off lightly “Be sure to let me know when you get into town with her. I’d love to meet her, i’ll even leave the facepaint off if that freaks her out any.” he smirks.
“Nah. She lives in Detroit. She don’t scare easy.”
He stepped forward then, both arms lifting and then dropping awkwardly, one hand lifting and lowering as if he wanted do do some sort of gesture but couldn’t decide what. He settled for a squeeze of the older man’s shoulder.
“See you then, old man.”
Pausing at the counter to pay the waitress, Mitch slipped out the door, a splash of neon illuminating him as he revved up his bike and then sped off into the dark.