Snippet #2718330

One year. It had been one year. 365 days, 52 weeks, 8760 hours. Each meticulously counted by Matthias. He knew it was ridiculous to count. That those imaginary tally marks wouldn't anything to lengthen the time with his sister. But Matthias counted nonetheless. Each day, week, hour a constant reminder of what he promised, and what he had managed to save.

"Hey, Matty? You okay there?"

Matthias jumped in surprise as the lighthearted voice cut through his thoughts and his stormy eyes lifted from the pages of his book. "Huh? Oh, um, yeah. I'm great, why?"

"You've been reading the same page for the last ten minutes, you dingus." June reclined in the couch next to him, her crooked smile illuminated by the dim glow of her phone. Despite her jovial tone, concern shone clear in her own eyes. June ran a hand through her short, brown hair and poked Matthias with a socked foot. "Seriously, what's up? Did your favorite character die again? Crazy plot twist? Sudden realization of how much of a nerd you are?"

Matthias returned her smile, though his seemed seemed to fluctuate towards a grimace. "No, no, and I figured that out a long time ago." He rose from his spot on the couch and ruffled his sister's hair, despite her groan of protest. "Just tired, is all." It was the truth. Sort of. He didn't want to lie to June. Anyone but her. Matthias wanted to tell her everything. The goddess, the deal, all of it. But how could he? Would she even believe him? He wouldn't even have believed himself if it weren't for the fact that his sister was still walking around. All Matthias could do was give a quiet sigh, and utter a soft, "Love you," before climbing up the stairs to his room.

When Matthias plopped into his bed, sleep hit him like a train. His mind faded to the lull of a dreamless static. For a moment, at least. When he opened his eyes, his bedroom was gone. The leak prone plaster of his ceiling was replaced instead by a brilliant light. The walls, his shelves, his window -- all of it torn away in favor of a room filled with other individuals in similar beds. Matthias blinked fast. He wished he could say he wanted to rise up and look around. Instead, fear seized up in his chest, followed by that childlike desire to duck under the covers as if that protect him or take him back to June. Either way, Matthias remained in bed, paralyzed and utterly confused.