Chapter Text
Alfred died tragically young, but death hadn’t killed the entitlement he felt to his brother's time, energy, even his body.
When Matt saw his brother in the mirror sometimes, bloody and with his handsome face half torn off, he never screamed or ran from the nightmare image.
He’d close his eyes and stay still, dizzy with the surge of pain that always overwhelmed him at the sight of his twin, of Alfred’s beautiful body brutalized and disfigured by its brief but fatal meeting with metal and pavement.
When he opened his eyes, there was only relief that his brother’s image hadn’t faded away. That he got to see Alfred again, even if was as this shadowy gruesome specter that only hissed demands and dished out blame.
“You insisted on keeping that piece of shit car ‘to save money’ and every time it broke down, Mom and Dad made me pick you up! It’s your fault I died, I wouldn’t have been in the path of that truck if not for you.”
Nevermind that Matt had told his brother he could have a cab pick him up.
Nevermind that Alfred had killed a six-pack that evening, but got behind the wheel anyway.
Nevermind that their mother had said “I can get Mattie this time if you want sweetie,” to which Alfred had said “S’alright, I need to get something to eat anyway.”
The sweet lure of McDonalds (that he’d make Matt pay for in return for the ride) had probably done more to pull Alfred out of the house than any concern for his brother. The truth of this did not erase or contradict the other truths that Alfred spat at him now. It didn’t change the pain that sliced through Matt like a shard of glass when he heard Alfred’s ghost howl, “You owe me this. You owe me my life!”
When Matt heard his brother say “let me in,” he obeyed without a second of hesitation.
Old instincts were hard to break free of. But even with time to reflect, Matt would have made the same decision.