Catherine awoke with a start and answered her ringing phone. "Hello?" She asked in a drowsy voice, only half awake.

"I'm headed to your apartment now," Mari sighed. "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry I was mad. I just worry about you, Cath."

"Mariah?" Catherine yawned, shaking her head. "Mari, I'm not at home."

"It's six in the morning!" Mari laughed. "You're hardly ever awake, let alone not at home. Very funny. If you don't want to see me just say so." She approached the complex and buzzed Cath's apartment.

"I'm not at home. I spent the night at Christopher's."

Silence.

"What?" Mariah asked.

"I'm at Christopher's," Catherine repeated, only referring to Matt as Christopher because Mari wouldn't know him by any other name. "He um...asked me to spend the night."

"You what?"

"Do you really need me to repeat it again? I spent the night at Chris's place."

"Doing what?" Mari scoffed. "His laundry, or just bedazzling his cape?"

Catherine decided to mess with her friend a little. "I think you know what we were doing," she said in a mischievous tone.

"What the crap is wrong with you?! Have you lost your freaking mind?!"

"Oh, relax. Nothing happened," Catherine laughed.

"Nothing?! No, Cathy, nothing is when you sit at home on your couch stuffing your face with ice cream over a Downton Abbey marathon. Spending the night at a strange man's place who you just met isn't nothing!"

"We talked, okay? I broke up with Caleb. Matthew asked me to stay the night and I accepted. We talked. Nothing happened. We didn't even sleep in the same room."

"You used to confide in me, Cath. You don't need to find some stranger. I'm your best friend!"

"I know you are. Why are you so upset about me spending the night at Matthew's?"

"This is getting a bit too Romeo and Juliet for my taste," Mari groaned. "You never stay over anywhere, Cath. Now your spending the night, talking with strange men who have keys to your apartment...I don't want the next time I see you to be on a body stretcher."

"He's not a murderer," Catherine almost exclaimed. "You know what? I don't need this. Bye, Mariah." Catherine hung up suddenly. "Ugh!" She exclaimed.

"Cath?!" Mari exclaimed in concern. "Cath?!"

—————

Josh flung open the door, singing a Taylor Swift song and moonwalking. "Matt!" He shouted. "I got the Twinkies they were out of Doritos." He raced around the corner and stumbled back in surprise. "You're not Matt."

"I.T. Guy?" Catherine questioned. "What...what are you doing here?"

"I-I live here," Josh stammered. "One floor up...I just usually fall asleep at the music store. Then they kick me out and I come home..." He raised an eyebrow and noticed she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. "I think the more pressing question is, what are you doing here?"

"I um...stayed the night here," Catherine said sheepishly. She added quickly, "Nothing happened."

He stared blankly, "Um...I didn't say anything happened."

"I'm sorry. I'm just done with people," Catherine sighed.

"Well," Josh laughed, "I've been told I look nothing and act nothing like normal people, so feel free to get to know me as intimately as you like."

Catherine laughed. "Why would somebody say that to you?"

"Because," Josh shrugged with a little smile, "I guess it's true. You want a Twinkie?" He awkwardly held up the grocery bag.

"Sure. Thanks. So, what are you doing here, anyway? You here to see Matt?"

"I was here to shower...its...its been a while," Josh admitted pulling on the strings of his hoodie.

"Oh," Catherine replied. He was there to shower? Weird. She asked after a moment, "Where's Matthew?"

"The shower. That's why I went to the store first. I don't mind, though. He's a freak, only uses cold water, so I don't mind going after him. I mean, living here, believe me, is no easy task, but hot showers are worth it. My old roommate left me freezing like Jack on the Titanic."

"Yikes. Well, um...I should probably go...Should I wait to say goodbye to Matthew?"

"No, stay!" Josh exclaimed.

If Catherine left because of him he might not be alive the next time.

"I can make eggs...you like eggs? I think eggs are just gross, but-" He shook his head, "Please stay."

Catherine laughed. "Alright. Eggs sound great."

Josh flashed her a cheesy smile and gave the wall nearest to him a kick. The wall didn't budge and Josh doubled back in pain, his toe throbbing terribly. "Dang it," he spat. Crouching down next to the wall, he began to feel around the groove in the trim until he found a large square that he pushed in easily.

The walls parted, and a small, well-furnished kitchen revealed itself.

"How many secret panels does this place have?" Catherine asked in astonishment.

Josh furrowed his brow, "Forty-seven I think. Does a cabinet count as a secret panel?"

"I don't know. I'm not exactly an expert," Catherine laughed.

Josh paused after a moment and nodded. "Fifty, then. I'm gonna count them. Cabinets are awesome. Don't get enough love, cabinets. Think about all the weight they have to carry on their shelves. Hard life. Poor cabinets." He swung open the fridge and tossed the Twinkies inside, taking out some eggs and French fries.

Catherine sat down at the nearby table and texted Mariah. "Hey. Look, I'm sorry. I'm not myself this early in the morning. You know that. We good?"

Mari didn't respond back.

"So," Josh said awkwardly, "you're 'friends' with Caroline?"

"Oh, yeah. We're besties," Catherine replied sarcastically. "She's a little brat. She's constantly trying to complain and correct me."

"She is irresistible, though," Josh laughed. "She told me so herself. I don't know why I keep around her sometimes, but...cheese on your eggs?"

"No thanks...Do you like her?"

"Oh, we've been together for a year now, I think," Josh shrugged flipping the eggs. "It's nice to cook for someone. Matt should be a corpse by now. If he only ate a fraction so long as he showers, he might have the energy to leave this place. But no, only snacks. Dude wouldn't eat a full meal if it was his last day on the planet. He'd pick at it and leave it to rot."

"Together?" Catherine questioned with confusion.

"Well," Josh shrugged with a laugh, "so she tells me. We don't do much. She has her life, I have mine. I bring her coffee, she doesn't bump the tech budget down. Compromise is number one in a relationship. Speaking of which...you and Matt?"

"What?" Cath asked, nearly choking on her coffee.

"Geez, don't choke. It's not Super Mario Brothers. You die, and you're not gonna come back," Josh noted. "You and Matt, you guys like each other. That's why I got marbled for talking to you yesterday."

"No, it's not that. Well, it is that. Well...it's complicated. You know Matt, he's closed off. He doesn't tell a thing to anyone. I'm in the dark. It took him a few days just to tell me his name."

Josh laughed. "He never would want to talk about the accident, or anything really, for the longest time with me. He must really like you."

"Accident?" Catherine questioned. "What accident?"

Josh's face fell pale, his smile wiped clean away. "Nothing," he stammered. "You want fries with these?"

Catherine bit her lip. Accident? So something did happen to Matthew. Now, if only she could find out what. Catherine checked her phone again.

Zero new messages.

"Why won't she text me back?" She thought. She replied to Josh, "Uh, yeah, fries sound great."

Josh gave a soft smile, "After my dad died, my brother and I took it pretty hard. We were living in New York at the time, and there was this amazing burger place down the road. We'd get fries every Wednesday, and Jack would always put them on top of his eggs, like a tic-tac-toe board." He flipped the eggs onto a plate and put the fries on the side, sliding the course to her.

"Of course, Mr. Doesn't Eat Collins thinks it's gross, but who is he to dictate my palette? He's as bad as the missus sometimes, I swear."

"Collins," Catherine whispered. "Is that Matt's last name? Collins?"

"You know, it's funny," Josh said, not hearing her whisper. "If it wasn't for Caroline, I think I would have gotten Matt out of here ages ago. I mean, as long as the money comes in for tech, we can buy groceries, live like kings. And yeah, it's great, but without that he might get out there more, be forced to see that the world's an alright place even with all it's flaws." Josh sat on a tall stool and shrugged. "He's got you now, though.  At least he's moving forward."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," Josh grinned, popping a fry in his mouth.

"Who's Melody? I was sitting in the bay window last night and I heard him mention the name Melody."

Josh stood up abruptly and put the pan in the sink. His tone changed cold, unwilling to relinquish any information. "He should be out in a minute."

Catherine gave a discontented sigh. Why was everything a mystery? Why was information being withheld from her? She was, for the first time, wondering if it was right if her to reject Caleb's proposal. Had she accepted, she would be in the care of someone who truly loved her right now. It would have likely been Caleb making her breakfast. Why did she leave him?

Matthew. She left him because she loved Matthew.

"Twisted every way, isn't it?" She muttered, poking at her food with her fork.

"Cath," Josh said slowly, "Cath, if you care about Matt, even in the smallest amount, you can't tell him you know about Melody. Please." Josh's eyes filled with desperation as he looked at her, frantically begging her to withhold any information she might had heard. "Cath, please. Just forget."

Catherine sighed. "Alright."

She was being left in the dark once again. She picked up a nearby book nearby and flipped through it. She stopped for a moment and stared at the words printed on the page. "Little Lotte" it read. Catherine quickly shut the book and hid her eyes, praying she wouldn't cry. Not again. Not like this.

Matt stumbled out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of jeans, a button down. His hair was dripping down his neck and changing the color of his shirt around the collar. He didn't bother to wear his mask anymore. Cath seemed less open with him when he did. "Morning," he mumbled. "Josh, stop bothering her."

"I wasn't!" Josh exclaimed, before nervously turning to Cath and mouthing a silent "Was I?"

Catherine shook her head. "Don't worry about Josh. Wait- Josh?" She questioned. "Is that your name?"

"No," Josh muttered, "I'm just always joshing around."

"Shut up," Matt laughed as Josh tossed him an orange. "You know I don't eat in the mornings."

"Or in the evenings, or after noons," Josh scoffed. "When do you eat?!"

Catherine just sat and listened to them banter. So, I.T. Guy did have a name. Josh. Cath decided she liked that name as her phone started to ring. She looked at it with a puzzled expression. She didn't recognize the number. Still, she felt compelled to answer. "H-hello? Who is this?" Catherine asked.

"Catherine Daei?" Came the deep voice.

"Um, yeah. Who is this?" Catherine repeated.

"Christopher...Daei."

"Daddy?" Catherine whispered, tears brimming her eyes. She quickly walked into the other room, though Matthew and Josh could still hear her as she exclaimed, "Don't you ever call me again. Do you hear? You hurt me! You hurt me and you hurt Mother and I hate you. I hate you! Stay the heck away from me and don't call me ever again." She hung up the phone.

Matt frowned, his brow furrowing in intense observation.

Unresolved trauma, desertion. Going by the surprise in her voice, an estranged relationship. She hadn't been in touch. But the affectionate term "Daddy" answered all remaining questions.

He had left, separated from her. She still hung onto -or rather, wanted to hang onto- a better version of the man who was her father.

"Should I go?" Josh whispered.

Matt shook his head and put a finger to his lips, drying his hair with a towel. "If she wants to talk she will."

—————

Catherine flopped onto the nearby couch and buried her face in her hands. Why would he call? What could he possibly want from her? He left her all those years ago. She had emotional issues because of him. As far as she was concerned, he was a dead man, didn't even exist. Still, the question was nagging in the back of her mind: why did he call? Then, another entered her mind: how did he get her number? "God, why can't the past just die?" Catherine mumbled, her face still in her hands.

—————

"Wow," Josh groaned, rolling his eyes sarcastically. "What the crap is wrong with all of you? Are we in some alternate universe? The stereotypical parental loss, the drama. My life ended when they took White Collar of Netflix. I swear you're trapped in your own Andrew Lloyd Webber musical."

Catherine yelled from the other room, "I heard that."

Josh flushed pale, "Oh my god, I'm sorry. Just stuff like that doesn't happen in real life. We're born, we eat our weight in nachos, play some solitaire, and then we die. I don't know how to help you guys."

Matt scowled and eyed the elevator. "Well then, Josh, we'll figure it out together."

—————

Catherine sighed. This was why she didn't tell people things. She told Mariah, and Mariah alone. She didn't want to be lectured about "the real world" or anything else for that matter. "Maybe this was a mistake," she thought. "Coming here. Breaking up with Caleb. It was all a mistake."

"Josh doesn't think," Matt whispered, sitting beside her. "I'm sorry. He means well."

"I know. It's just...I don't tell many people about my parents and my sister. Not even Caleb knew the whole story and we were together for nine months."

"Why should you tell?" Matt said softly. "It's your life, they're your family. Their memory, who you share them with, that belongs to you. Always will. Remember that Josh doesn't know everything, never could. He's lost people too, it makes him angry so he takes it out in blind puns. He can never know what it's like to be you. Neither can I. So, we stand different, you and I. Different from the rest of them. Erik's in a world of egotistical, blind Carlottas."

Catherine giggled slightly at this comment. She looked up at Matthew. "How do you know just what to say?" She looked at the man before her and noticed that he wasn't wearing his mask. Good. She didn't like it. Cath found it hard to tell him things when he wore it. The mask was symbolic. It was like a wall of sorts.

"I don't always," he shrugged. "Only when I mean what I say, it tends to come together...sort of."

Catherine interlocked her fingers in his and rested her head in the curve of his neck. "I love you," she whispered.

"Well," Matt smirked, "I'm kinda awesome."

"Very true," Catherine laughed. She wondered what exactly Matthew was thinking. She had told him that she loved him. That was a big step. In their nine months together, she hadn't even told Caleb that she loved him. Catherine was feeling a bit hurt and let out a sigh, but at the same time, she understood.

"And the only thing more awesome than me," Matt smiled, "is you."

"Thanks."

"You have to work today?"

"No, thank god. What about you?"

"Oh," Matt teased, "just the usual haunting the opera house. Nothing too important."

Josh waved goodbye from across the room, "I got to work out the tech budget with Caroline's dad. Wish me success!" 

"You wish," Catherine replied with a teasing smile.

"I'll leave you to it," Josh said, sarcastically saluting goodbye and getting into the elevator.

"Okay, so I don't haunt it," Matt confessed, "but I do have a few...routinely checks."

"Twenty-thousand francs a month?" Catherine teased.

"Thirty," Matt said dead seriously.

"Woah," Catherine said with a small laugh. Suddenly an idea popped into her head. "How often do you leave this place? Aside from doing so to pelt Josh with marbles."

"I take walks around the upper roof sometimes," Matt shrugged, "but I don't leave, no. I can't."

"Oh..." Catherine replied, looking away. "Don't do it, Catherine. Don't do it," she thought, but she had already opened her mouth. Before she could stop herself, she asked, "Would you like to come to my apartment for dinner, say next week?"

He gave a small smirk, "Well that's an entirely different story. Have you gotten rid of the grey pillows? They clashed with the drapes."

Catherine pretended to look hurt. "I'll have you know that I spent three days picking those out...In those three days, I learned that I have horrible taste. The apartment was the first thing I ever furnished on my own. My sister was the decorator in the family. She was the one who decorated my room when I was younger. My mother and I were forced to move out, though. My father got the house in the divorce...Mariah often tells me of my tastelessness. She was going to come over tomorrow and help me redecorate. I suppose that isn't going to happen now."

"Why not?" Matt laughed.

"We had a fight earlier. She called when you were in the shower. She panicked when I told her that I spent the night here, and I hadn't had my coffee yet so I sort of snapped at her. I texted her to apologize, but she refuses to respond."

"She's rightly concerned," Matt sighed with a nod. "I would be if I were in her place. When Josh came up with the plan of seeing Caroline, I nearly killed him."

Cath's phone started to ring. Suddenly, her face brightened. "Mariah!" She exclaimed. "I'm going to go answer her. I'll be right back," she said as she stepped into the other room. "Mariah! I'm so glad you called."

"Have you seen my socks?" Mari mumbled begrudgingly. "The Mario Brothers ones? I left them at your place."

"Socks? Mariah, listen. I'm really sorry. I wasn't myself this morning. I had a really bad night. I should have gone to you. I'm sorry."

Mari gave a sigh, "If I didn't love you so much, I'd tell you forget it, but you just happen to be my single closest friend in the universe, so I'll let it slide. I'm at your apartment. You need anything? I still can't find those Mario socks!"

"About that...I may or may not be wearing them," Catherine giggled.

"Good," Mari smiled. "I'm supposed to go as representative to some board meeting about sound and stage productions. Do you know where they're having it? At the theater maybe?"

"I think I heard Josh mention something about a meeting earlier."

"Josh?"

"I.T. Guy."

"Which one? The cute one or the one that has arthritis?"

"Um I think he claimed he had arthritis. He's kind of cute though."

"Oh, well if he's your type and Chris leaves you, go for it. The only nerds I go for are the ones that are half superhero." Mari laughed. "I'll be at the theater in ten. You're welcome to come, if your Romeo can spare you."

"Matt," Catherine corrected. "I'm going to leave in a few. Say, what if we catch lunch after the meeting?"

"Wait there's another guy? I'm lost," Mari moaned. "Lunch sounds divine. I'll call you when I get to the theater."

"Okay," Catherine laughed. "I'll explain when I see you."