"Chapter 3"

"Chapter 3" was published on February 19th 2021.

### Description

Chapter 3 is the third chapter. It follows a young man named Matthew Pavlov in the year 1952 as he goes about his daily life and he meets this beautiful woman named Samantha Samson.

CW/TW: Attempted murder, achohol, swearing, racism, blood, mention of death, burlesque club, and mention of partial nudity.

### Original

Here is the link to the original story, although it has been copy-and-pasted onto here for simplicity and nothing has been changed.

### The Story

*Date:‌ ‌April 1952‌*

*Time:‌ Early evening, past*

*Place:‌ ‌Crimson Lane Police Department*

*...‌ ‌*

*Chapter‌ ‌3*

*~~~‌ ‌*

‌

As the sun set on the city, the men were cleaning up and grabbing their briefcases so that they could go home and kiss their wives on the cheeks and spend time with their kids. Except for Matt, who still sat at his desk doing his work. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he finished off the last remaining drops of his coffee. He stood up and stretched, then took the cup back to the work kitchen and put it beside the sink. Another man stood in the kitchen, drinking a coffee and reading the daily newspaper. He looked up and smiled.

“Heya Matt. How’s it goin’?” The man asked, setting down the newspaper.

“I mean, it’s going. Can’t say that it’s peachy but it ain’t hell either so I’ll settle,” Matt sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was thinking of leavin’ soon anyways. Gonna hit the town and get sauced. Wanna come with?”

“Nah, not this time. I’m on night shift this week so I ain’t leavin’ here any time soon,” he laughed.

“C’mon man. You got a reason this time, but if ya’ keep refusin’ me, I’m gonna start to think you’re queer or something like that,” Matt laughed.

“Like you’re one to talk. You’re a hot young man! You gotta get settled sometime, get yerself a nice young dame and have some kids.”

“Man, I’m in my late twenties already- I ain’t exactly young anymore. And that lifestyle just ain’t for me either. I don’t wanna settle for none less or more than I already got,” Matt said, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets.

“You’re certainly weird,” the other man said, standing up and patting Matt on the back a few times. “But whatever. You do you I guess.” The man smiled and left the kitchen, leaving Matt standing there all alone. He sighed and took a quick peek at the newspaper left on the table, then left the kitchen and with a glance at his paperwork, he grabbed his jacket and left the office building. Matt was an attractive man in his early twenties, with warm beige skin and brown eyes and wavy light brown hair that was usually slicked back, but he hated doing that because it was uncomfortable. Matt also had slight stubble on his face and wore a ring on both of his pointer fingers. He fidgeted with them as he walked along the darkening sidewalk. Matt wore a basic gray suit and white dress shirt along with a black tie, along with a gray fedora with a single lime green stripe on it. Matt stared up into the night sky as he walked along the city sidewalk, stuffing his hands into his pants pockets.

Matt wasn’t exactly anyone special to anyone at all, not really even to himself. He moved out to the big city to start a new life for himself at the age of 19, and he lost all contact with his parents and younger sister after that, except for the occasional postcard from his mother on holidays. He had a few friends from the office, but no one that he really hung out with outside of work, and he also didn’t have a significant other. It’s not like he was looking for one anyways, because he was more than content being alone on his own. Anytime he was attracted to someone, his attraction would eventually fade away which left him feeling strange and not in love which isn’t the kind of feelings you’re trying to get if you’re in a relationship with someone. It’s also not like he knew what he was supposed to do either, seeing as he’d never been in a relationship with anyone before. Matt liked to spend his evenings after work alone at the busiest place in town- the burlesque club. Why devote yourself to one person for eternity when you could spend every night watching a whole bunch of scantily clad girls dancing while you get drunk beyond belief?

Matt smiled and breathed in deeply as he entered the club and greeted the bouncers at the door. Music played in the background as a group of girls danced on stage as the men on the floor hollered and whistled at them. Matt walked up to the bar and sat down, ordering a cold beer. The bartender handed it to Matt as he nodded in thanks and took a swig as his eyes followed the women on stage as they continued to undress in an ostentatious manner. Matt sighed and checked his wristwatch. The bartender behind him snorted.

“Beer not good enough for you?” He leaned down on the counter and stared at Matt.

“Nah, not that. It’s just . . . life goes on with no changes and nothin’s ever different, y’know? Just the same ol’ routine day in and day out. Suddenly the things that you always loved doing become meaningless and joyless as your repetition of them destroyed them.” Matt sighed and took another drink from his glass.

“I get it man. I’ve been workin’ here an ongoing 40 years and nothin’s changed except for the dancers and the regulars, and even then it happens so rarely.”

“Life’s a drag sometimes,” Matt said, finishing off his drink. The conversation died there and Matt ordered another drink, and then another, and another, and another. It was only when Matt was sufficiently drunk enough and it was nearly midnight did he bid his adieu to the club and started home. He lived fairly close to the club which is why he dared to this, but there was one problem. This particular neighbourhood was always crime-stricken as the whites sometimes decided that they wanted to cause chaos and suffering to everyone around. Usually Matt knew how to avoid conflict with those people, but he wasn’t thinking clearly tonight and all hell reigned loose. As Matt stumbled down the sidewalk, he heard a woman screaming from down the block. He started running and soon enough came to the scene. There was an older white man holding a revolver to a woman’s head as she was down on her knees, pleading for her life. The man was demanding money and the woman pulled out her wallet with shaky hands and handed the man a few dollar bills.

“I said all your money bitch,” the man snarled.

“I-I don’t have any more!” The woman cried as she shook her wallet upside down. The man aimed the gun at her head and was about to shoot her, but what the man hadn’t expected was to be knocked down by Matt ramming into him. The man made an unsettling noise as he dropped the gun and it slid a few feet away from him. Matt tried to catch his breath as he looked over at the man who now had fire in his eyes. Matt gulped and scrambled for the gun, but the other man was quicker to it. One moment Matt was running towards a gun, and the next second he was trying to avoid being shot by a crazed white man with said gun. Matt very ungracefully barely dodged the three bullets the man shot at him as they were lodged into the cement sidewalk. The woman, who was still alive thanks to Matt, crept up behind the man and attacked him, pinning him to the ground with his arms behind his back. She was way taller than he was and probably weighed a fair bit more too, but Matt was going to be polite and not mention any of that. The woman pried the gun out of the man’s hands and tossed it to Matt who caught it and aimed it at the man’s head. However, at the last second, the man squirmed out of the woman’s grasp and tried to run away, but Matt fired the gun and lodged a bullet in the man’s lower left arm. He howled out in pain and grabbed his arm as the blood coated his hand red. He cursed a lot and glared at Matt, then picked up a chunk of concrete that’d been dislodged from the road and tossed it at Matt. Matt, who had his back turned at that moment, was struck by the rock and promptly blacked out.

~

When Matt awoke, he lay on a soft couch in an unfamiliar apartment. He stared up at the ceiling and groaned as he tried to sit up, but his head throbbed with pain and he collapsed again with a sigh. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air, which smelled like lavender and pancakes.

“Oh, are you awake now? That’s good news, because it means that you’re already healing and that’s perfect.” A woman spoke with a slight Austrian accent. Her soft hands placed a cold, damp cloth on his forehead and he shivered as a water droplet rolled down the side of his face. “You saved my life last night sir, so I owe you my life. Thank you so much,” she said. Matt opened his eyes to look at her and saw the same woman from last night, but she looked different. The woman had honey colored skin and light brown eyes that shone with wonder and amazement, and black straightened hair pulled back into a loose low ponytail. She wore a casual mint colored dress and black heels, along with a singular silver necklace that hung around her neck. She looked young, maybe a few years younger than Matt himself, who really was only 25 years old. She had well manicured hands and wore a singular golden ring on her left middle finger.

“Wh-Where am I?” Matt asked, trying to sit up again but immediately was pushed back down by the woman.

“Please conserve your energy and rest. As for your question- you’re currently at my place. I’m sorry that it’s a mess right now, but I did just move in a few days ago.” She motioned around the room at the cardboard boxes that sat stacked on each other. “I never expected to get into quite the situation that I did last night so soon, but I’m forever grateful that you happened to show up and save me. As I’ve already said, my life is in your favour and for the time being, I will do anything for you.” The woman spoke with a sweet, innocent smile on her face. “Would you like anything to eat? I’m currently making pancakes and eggs if you’d like any.”

“N-No thank you. I-I’m not very hu-hungry.” Matt said, holding a hand up to his mouth as he coughed, bringing forth the taste of something that he really hoped wasn’t blood.

“Are you sure? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all,” she said, placing a plate of food on the coffee table in front of Matt. She smiled sweetly and sat down in one of the chairs that faced the couch Matt was lying on, and dusted off her dress. “Are you perhaps thirsty? I could get you something to drink if you’d like, or maybe I-”

“M-Miss, thank you but I’m g-good. I don’t n-need anything else, alright? Y-You don’t need to strain yourself so h-hard.” Matt said, pulling his body up to sit as he got a stinging pain in his head.

“Oh, but sir, I’m not. It’s been quite pleasurable taking care of you and making sure that you didn’t die or anything like that,” she smiled. “So please, just relax and let me take care of everything for you.” She ushered him to lay back down and he obliged, not having enough strength to oppose her. She was a fair bit taller than him, probably by about a foot or so, so it’s not like he could really stand to fight her and win anyways. He laid back down and with another sigh, closed his eyes and passed out again.

~

The lights were off when Matt awoke again. He yawned and stretched, sitting up and looking around the darkened room. His jacket was laying on the armrest of a nearby chair and a gray blanket lay on top of Matt’s body. The plate of food still sat on the coffee table along with a cup of water and a handwritten note. Matt picked up the note and examined it, seeing it was written in fancy cursive that made it sort of hard to discern the words of, but Matt figured it out. It was a simple note telling Matt that the woman had left momentarily to go get groceries and that she should be back soon enough. He could feel free to help himself to any food in the fridge and he was allowed to explore the house if he wished, but leaving was prohibited until she made sure that he wouldn’t die if he left. Matt stood up and stretched, feeling a pounding in his head. He couldn’t tell if it was because he was still hung over or because he was hit in the head by a chunk of concrete the size of a baseball, but either way it probably wouldn’t help him much.

Matt downed the glass of water on the table and then walked down the hallway of the woman’s small apartment. He checked each room until he found the bathroom and he did his business, but was caught off guard when he looked in the mirror. His hair was disheveled and he was missing a tooth, and his shirt was stained with blood and there was a large bump on the top of his head where he was hit. He fixed his hair to the best of his ability and rinsed out his mouth a few times to get rid of the taste of blood. He took off his shirt and set it beside his jacket back in the living room, and he wrapped himself in the blanket that the woman had given him. He yawned and began slowly eating the food that she’d given him, and he refilled his cup with water. He finished the plate of food and placed it beside the sink and stood around for a few minutes before fishing around the apartment for a newspaper or something to read, but frowned when he couldn’t find one. He sat down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling before dozing off for a few minutes before the woman returned. She was wearing a long beige trench coat and holding a strange looking purple paper bag.

“Ah, hello. I’m home now and . . .” She said, looking over at Matt. “You’re still asleep,” she said with a small smile on her face. She took off her coat and hung it by the door before dropping the bag off in her bedroom. Matt yawned and stood up to greet the woman.

“S-Sorry to disappoint, but I’m aw-awake now.” Matt smiled.

“Well, that’s even better,” the woman replied. She walked over to Matt and inspected his head wound. “Your head is looking a little more swollen than it was earlier, but the bruising has lessened a little bit. How are you feeling? Can you see properly? What about walking?” Matt spun in a little circle for her and she clasped her hands together. “That’s wonderful sir. This means that your recovery is coming along smoothly and . . . and that you’ll be able to return home now.” The woman’s smile faltered the tiniest bit, but the man caught it. He liked her, perhaps in more than a friend kind of way, but he had no idea. He stood up and grabbed her hands, taking her by surprise.

“I-I don’t have to go if-if you don’t want me too,” he smiled.

“But you must,” she said. “You have a life and you . . . you probably have some lovely woman to return to,” she said with a sad smile. “So you must, before it gets too dark out.”

“Wait, is it already evening time again?” Matt snapped out of his lovesick daze and looked around for a clock. The woman chuckled and dropped his hands.

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s 7:32 pm already, so it’s early evening but nonetheless.” The woman pointed at a small clock hanging on the wall of the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen and held her arms and leaned up against the sink. She looked down at the floor.

“Oh,” Matt said. He walked over to the chair and grabbed his shirt, buttoning it up and slipping on his coat over top of it, making sure to hide the blood stains.

“Do you live close by?” The woman asked suddenly, breaking the quiet silence of the room.

“Hmm, y-yes, I think.” Matt nodded. “W-Where exactly do you live?” The woman giggled and held up her hand in front of her mouth.

“I haven’t learned the exact address yet, but we’re close to where your accident went down. Are you familiar with this part of town?” The woman asked, cocking her head to the side. Matt nodded and leaned on the side of the couch. “Okay, good to know. Are you perhaps familiar with the whereabouts of the burlesque club?”

“A-Actually, I am.” Matt nodded and ran a hand through his hair, slightly embarrassed.

“Well, it’s just down the street from here. I can show you there if you need,” the woman asked, standing straight up and walking towards Matt.

“N-No thank you, but if you could sh-show me the way out of here, that’d b-be appreciated,” Matt asked, fixing his jacket. The woman frowned and sighed, but grabbed her jacket and motioned towards the front door. Matt looked around the room for anything that he might have left, then headed out the door, followed by the woman who closed and locked the apartment door behind her. The two of them walked down the hallway in silence and entered the clunky elevator at the end of the hall. The two stood beside each other, trying not to get too close to each other. The woman stared up at the ceiling and Matt cleared his throat, making the woman look down at him. The two connected eyes for a split second before they looked away and the elevator door opened. The woman led Matt down the hall and to the front door, where they stopped.

“Here’s the front door sir. The club is just down the street then turn left at the end and you should find it no problem,” she smiled.

“T-Thank you for your wonderful company ma’am. I’ll be sure t-to remember you,” Matt said, smiling back at her. He didn’t want to leave, and he knew that she didn’t want him to leave either, but he couldn’t stay with her forever. He nodded in something of a goodbye to her before turning towards the door, but he paused with his hand on the handle.

“Did you forget something?” The woman asked. Matt turned back to face her.

“Y-Yes, actually, I did.” He took a few steps forwards until he was in front of her again.

“What is it sir? I can quickly run up to my apartment if you-” she started.

“No no, i-it’s nothing like that. You see,” he said, grabbing the woman’s hands. “I forgot to ask t-the name of such a b-beauty like you.” He said with a wink. The woman blushed.

“I thought you’d never ask. It’s Miss Samantha Samson,” she said.

“W-Well, Miss Samson, it was a pleasure meeting you. I truly do hope that one day our paths m-may cross again.” Matt said, bringing up Samantha’s hands to his face to kiss the back of them. They tasted like cherry hand cream.

“I hope for that too,” Samantha said. Matt dropped her hands with a pat and tipped his fake hat in a goodbye and left the apartment building. He breathed in the cold evening air and stared up into the darkened night sky. He wished that he could see the stars in the sky, but there was too much light coming in from the city which made it too hard to see any stars at all unless you went out to the country or something like that. Matt sighed and stared down at the ground as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He started down the sidewalk in the way that Samantha had directed him. He’d begun to fancy her, and it was a shame that he’d never see her agai-

“Sir! Please wait up!” Someone called from behind him. Matt turned around to see Samantha running towards him.

“Samanatha? W-What are you d-doing?” Matt asked, catching Samantha in his arms as she stopped to catch her breath.

“I . . . I forgot to ask your name,” she said, looking up at Matt and smiling.

“M-My name is Matthew Pavlov, but you c-can call me yours,” he said with a wink.