The Good Guys (Part 1)

Five years later.

A knock on the door awoke Matthew from his deep slumber. He groaned and reached for the woman that was supposed to be sleeping beside him but found the spot empty. He was forced to open his eyes and realized that it was already morning.

How did that even happen? It felt as if he just closed his eyes a couple of seconds ago. Where did time fly?

His hands caressed the soft satin sheets beside him and felt that it was still warm. That means his woman hadn't left the bed for too long. Maybe she was making breakfast? He asked himself.

A knock on the door was heard again making him curse internally. He glanced at the clock that was sitting at the bedside table and found that it was barely six in the morning.

Six?

He doesn't usually wake up until eight! Yes, he is not a morning person. It is not as if his work requires him to wake up early.

And his woman doesn't usually wake up until seven. Not unless she was called for work.

Matthew groaned and covered his face with a pillow intending to sleep again. His woman was already awake in the kitchen so she should be attending to whoever it is that was knocking on his door.

But there it goes again. The continues knocking on his door.

Matthew groaned and cursed internally and threw the sheets off of him. Whoever it was on his doorstep better have a good reason for waking him up early or else, they would see what was coming on them.

He wondered where his woman was until he heard the sounds of water splashing in the shower and the sweet angelic voice of his woman humming to the tune of a song that he forgot what the title is. His woman has a habit of singing in the shower whatever song crosses her mind.

Matthew enjoys listening to her. She has the sweetest voice he had ever heard. Singing was one of her many talents that he was certain she would never become jobless because she had a lot of options. But even though he always hears her sing, he will never get tired of listening to her.

Well, that explains why she was not answering the door. She might not have heard it. And even if she did, he was only glad that she did not come out of the shower just to answer the door, or else, he would have to kill a human early in the morning for seeing his woman straight from the shower.

Only he is allowed to see her fresh out of the shower.

Matthew's bare feet padded through the carpeted floor of his room. He opened the door to his bedroom and headed straight to the stairs.

Matthew's bachelor pad is made of wood panels and huge glass windows that overlook a famous river. But despite its huge windows, it maintains its privacy because of the tall trees. It was a two-story loft-style pad that has three bedrooms, a high ceiling, and modern interiors.

He reached his double door and opened it to find his friend with an unamused look on his face. He didn't even bother to check the security camera to see who dared to interrupt him early in the morning because only his friends and family could pass through the gate of his pad.

While Matthew was not a morning person, the man in front of him always woke up earlier than the rooster. He wondered if he ever sleeps. "What are you doing here?" He grumbled, then he turned his back and walked towards the living room.

Matthew didn't bother to wear a shirt or pants when he walked out of his room because he intended to go back to sleep once he had dealt with the person making a ruckus at his doorstep. So he was just wearing his boxers.

But seeing that it was Nic Parker, he knew that he would never get the chance to go back to bed.

"No good morning?" He heard Nic ask behind him no wonder following him into the living room.

"Fuck off, Nic," Matthew said in an annoyed tone. He sat on the huge leather sofa and rested his head on the backrest.

Nic was already sitting on a single chair in front of him while looking around. Matthew noticed Nic's eyes lingered on the loft where his bedroom was and was not surprised when he heard him ask, "Why don't you just move in together?" He probably noticed or heard movements from the loft.

Matthew rolled his eyes and replied, "She's not yet ready for that," Though he was very welcoming of the idea. Either he moved in with her or she moved in with him. Whichever way, as long as they are together.

Nic looked at him as if he didn't believe him and said, "But she's ready to have a sleepover here if you request. Or you to sleepover at her place at her expense,"

Nic is right though, Matthew thought to himself. Either Matthew would sleep over at his girlfriend's apartment or she would sleep over at his pad. It happens three to four nights a week. She doesn't seem to mind though. In fact, she already brought some of her clothes to his pad while he also does the same.

But when Matthew suggested that they move in together, his girlfriend seemed reluctant and rejected the idea saying that she still needed her freedom and independence.

"She says it's different and I am willing to go at her own pace," Matthew said but it was obvious that he is not okay with that. He just loves his girlfriend too much that he would do anything for her.

Nic stared at him for a moment before he shook his head. "You're whipped,"

Matthew scoffed. "Wait till it's your turn," He said and then remembered that Nic hadn't answered why he was there early in the morning. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Let's go to the underground facility. I think we have a guest there that needs our hospitality," Nic answered, making Matthew groan. Not that he was being lazy or doesn't want to go but he already has plans for that morning that he could not cancel or delay or else he'll be dead.

"Mom wants to see me," Matthew said, not even ashamed to admit, though indirectly, that he is afraid of his mother. Well, who doesn't? All of them are afraid of their mothers, even Nic. Even their fathers were afraid of them. "Can't you take Mason or Daxon with you?" He added.

"I went to Mason but I guess he slept in a hotel or some stranger's bed since his place is empty. Daxon is still locking himself up in his studio with a strict order not to disturb him until he gets out himself," Nic said.

Matthew looked annoyed. "Fuck! Is it bad to wish for Mason to contract some sort of an STD or something? I swear, he had already slept with all of the women in the city," He didn't mean it though. Mason is their friend, his cousin in fact. Mason's mother and Matthew's father were siblings. They grew up together along with the others. But Mason's womanizing nature worries them to the point that they were already wishing for him to get his lesson from his habit.

Nic glanced at the loft where Matthew's girlfriend is probably in the bedroom and said, "Not all though,"

Well, at least, Mason hasn't tried to hit on Matthew's girlfriend. In fact, Mason promised not to hit on any woman that his friends were interested in. Especially, his cousin's girlfriend. That is his rule. He will never cross his friends.

Matthew's face darkens. "I will kill him before he even tries," He said then he changed the topic. "It's been a week since Daxon locked himself up. Maybe you should go check on him. For all we know, he is already dead,"

"Stupid," If Nic wasn't far from Matthew, he might have smacked him on the back of his head. Daxon is Nic's cousin and just like Mason and Matthew, they grew up together.

In fact, Nic, Matthew, Mason, and Daxon grew up with a huge circle of friends. There were thirteen of them, three were women while the rest were men. The fact that their parents were friends was the very reason why they grew up together and formed some kind of bond.

They were not just friends but brothers and sisters who took care of each other and watched each other's backs.

Matthew looked at Nic and said, "What? Do you think he sleeps or eats or even takes a shower? He was living like a hermit just for the sake of writing songs. If I were him I should just take over his father's law firm and live glamorously,"

Daxon was a musician slash songwriter and at the same time a lawyer. But as of the moment, he was not practicing his profession as a lawyer and wanted to enjoy being a musician and songwriter for a while. He lives in his penthouse and most of the time locks himself there for days to weeks whenever he is writing songs. Sometimes, he would just suddenly vanish from the face of the earth without a word and would just reappear after a couple of days saying that he was just searching for inspiration.

Out of all of them, Daxon is the most eccentric and mysterious.

"But it is not you," Nic deadpanned. While Daxon is a musician slash lawyer, Matthew is a strategist that works for the private army company that was owned by Nic's family. While Nic was the chairman of the said private army company.

"Yeah, right. How about Tim?" Matthew asked. He wanted to go with Nic but he just cannot bail on his mother. If he could delay it, much better.

"You tell him that," Nic replied in a challenging tone.

Timothy is the eldest of them so he was acting like a big brother to them all. Timothy has a lot on his plate but he seemed to be able to juggle them all at once. He was smart. The smartest of them all. Probably a genius. But he was so cold, aloof, and intimidating that even though they were his friends, they were cautious to approach him.

"Fuck! Okay, okay. But can I meet my Mom first?" Matthew finally conceded but that doesn't mean he is willing to face his mother's anger for not meeting her.

Nic thought for a moment and then finally said, "I can come with you,"

Matthew opened his mouth to say something when he heard the sweet voice of his girlfriend coming from upstairs. "Matt?"