The scalpel lay between them, thin and quiet, like it had never almost been a verdict.
Matt sat with his back against the wall now, knees pulled in, eyes locked on something far away. Somewhere no one could reach him—not even Bishop.
Not even Aaron.
He was shaking.
Not like withdrawal. Like memory.
Aaron flexed his wrists, blood soaking into the ropes. He didn't care. His voice was soft. Careful. Not comforting—Matt didn't need comfort.
He needed truth.
"Tell me what he did to you."
Matt didn't respond.
"You said he showed you the truth," Aaron continued. "What was it? That you're worthless? That the only thing we deserve is pain?"
Matt's voice came back thin and hollow.
"No. He said the pain is the proof."
Aaron stared at him.
"The proof of what?"
Matt looked up, and for a second his face twisted—not anger, not hate.
Confusion.
"That I'm still here."
Aaron's chest tightened.
Because he knew what that meant.
Bishop didn't just hurt Matt.
He convinced him that the pain was the only real part left.
That everything else—love, loyalty, forgiveness—was just furniture in a house already on fire.
Aaron lowered his head. Took a breath.
"You're not here because of the pain, Matt."
"You sure?" Matt snapped, suddenly sharp. "Because when I wasn't hurting, I didn't exist. Nobody called. Nobody came looking. You and Leon ran. Reggie vanished. My daughter stopped saying my name. You know when I felt alive again?"
He pointed at the scalpel.
Aaron didn't flinch.
Matt's hand dropped. His voice broke.
"…when I held that. That's when I knew I could make someone else feel it."
Silence filled the room again. Heavy. Absolute.
Aaron looked at him.
"No. You felt alive because it made you feel like you mattered. Because that's what Bishop stole from you."
Matt turned away.
But Aaron leaned forward.
"And if you walk away from him now… if you leave that pain behind… you win. Not me. Not Leon. You."
Matt said nothing.
Just stared at the wall.
Breathing. Shaking.
But the scalpel stayed on the floor.
And Aaron was still alive.
Which meant the war wasn't lost yet.