Matt and the Hunters
Epilogue — The Departure
The only thing that never changes is change itself.
Matt had his entire life packed in a bag, and he knew that would be part of his life now: Be somewhere, pack, be somewhere else. But hopefully, not with someone else.
Jared smiled at him and Matt instantly felt comforted. He had been so close to losing Jared, to losing it all... he had been lucky. Lucky to find Jared, and lucky to still have him.
Lucky.
He took a last look to his bedroom, fully aware that it would be the last. There would be lots of bedrooms in the future, but none of them would feel as safe as this, in none of them he would feel at home as much as he’d felt when it had been just him and his three men together here.
There would be more rooms and more men, but it wouldn’t be the same. And as much as he told himself that it was a beginning, all he felt right now was how his past was coming to an end.
He shook his head to stop that train of thought. He had to focus on the beginning of the rest of his life, and as long as he had Jared with him, he could do it.
His men were waiting for him in the living room. Well, no longer his men, but it was easier to think about them like that.
Daniel and Josh were gone already, on the run and making sure to stay hidden from the Hunters. He wasn’t worried about them, they knew how to take care of themselves, and he knew they would meet again somewhere, sometime, somehow. They had already established a way to stay in touch under the radar, and once he was on the road as well they would make sure their paths crossed every now and then.
— Well, this is it. — he said as he sat down.
— That’s all you’re taking? — asked his dad, looking at their two backpacks.
— Yeah. I’m gonna have to travel light from now on, I guess. What about you guys?
Luke and Rob smiled to him.
— I’m gonna vacate this apartment and move in with Rob. He still has his old flat, and I can stay there.
Rob smiled to him and caressed his hair. Yes, they could stay; once he was gone they would be no longer in danger, and they would be able to build a life of their own. For themselves, by themselves. This was his parting gift to them.
And as for the other two men...
Matt looked at his dad and Cameron, and a thought that had already been simmering in his mind sprang into action.
— Hey, dad, can you give me a glass of water?
If his dad found it weird to fetch a glass for his son in his own home, he didn’t say it. He just rose and went to the kitchen, and meanwhile Matt rearranged the rest of the guys in the living room. Luke and Rob, bless their hearts, didn’t make any fuss and sat where he told them, and when his dad was back just a couple minutes later, he stopped with the glass in his hand staring at the only free spot left on the couch... right next to Cameron.
Cameron was smirking. Not with malice, just with the amused irony of someone who knows exactly what’s at play and why.
— You do realize what your son’s doing, right?
— Yeah. It’s painfully obvious. — said his dad, without even looking at Matt. All his attention was on Cameron now.
— You could have just made this happen, you know, Matt?
Yeah, he could. He had felt his dad’s loneliness and he still hadn’t known what to do with Cameron. He’d thought about making it happen, but he had learned that the easier solutions aren’t always the best ones.
And yet... yet it made sense. They were closer in age than Cameron was to Luke and Rob, and this wouldn’t have the risk of him being caught with his students. And they both KNEW. There wouldn’t be a need for secrets between them about the past, about the future, about him. It was perfect. So perfect that he didn’t want to risk it.
How to explain all that, if he himself wasn’t that sure about if he should do it?
— I thought you might want to have a say about it. You’ve probably had enough of me and my kind messing with your will and choices, no? I just wanted to put it on the table for you guys, that this is a possibility.
His dad and Cameron pondered his answer. He could see the entire process in their faces, how they thought about it, really thought it, how they looked at each other, and then...
— We probably should talk about this later. — said Cameron.
— Yeah. — his dad nodded and took the seat next to him. — Just us grownups, once the kids are gone to bed.
They smiled and didn’t say anything else, but when his dad sat down he put his hand on Cameron’s leg and kept it there.
Well, that was all he could do. The rest would be in their hands.
After that, the rest were just practicalities. Matt and Jared had already notified the school that they were dropping out, and Luke would take care of the apartment for them.
Their first stop would be meeting with Ethan, who had already established a safe house for himself from which they could get in touch with the rest of the Tempters. Ethan had scoffed a bit to the idea of Matt taking Jared with him, saying that he could get and drop any man he wanted, but Matt had made it clear that it was non negotiable.
Then... who knew? He would meet more Tempters and learn how they lived, how they hid and how they stayed in touch with each other. He would meet with Daniel and Josh, who would be on their own journey. He would learn things he didn’t even imagine right now.
For the first time, Matt felt this was a beginning, as he and Jared walked out and got into the car, preparing for the long drive towards tomorrow. He looked back just once, to see Luke and Jared standing at the door, and next to them his dad with Cameron’s arm around his shoulders. He might come and see them, every now and then, if he could, but the future was the road for him and Jared, and the men who could cross paths with him there.
He exchanged a glance with Jared and they nodded, ready to go on. He felt that he was stepping right in front of the door to his future.
He turned the key.
* * *