Chapter 5: The Boyfriend, Mateo
Mateo's arms wrapped around me, grounding me in a way I hadn't realized I needed until that exact moment. His warmth pressed into my chest, and I almost forgot about the whispers, the stares, the way Rose's face still haunted me in every reflective surface. But that was all it was, almost.
"Izzy," he murmured into my hair, his voice steady, familiar and filled with warmth. "God, I missed you."
I squeezed tighter, as if he might vanish if I let go. "I missed you too." I told him. "You told me you'd be back around two days ago but this is more than that.
He chuckled lightly. "There were some things I had to do."
"Like?" I probed but as usual he chuckled and pinched my nose calling me nosy.
I smiled at him, not minding the fact that he refused to tell me why he resumed late. I think I didn't really care either because he was right here with me.
"You're really here." I murmured into his chest as I took in his familiar but comforting perfume…okay that's a lie.
His perfume was harsh and it made me sneeze most times but it was all him and it was familiar.
"Yeah, I'm really here." He leaned back, his grin crooked in that boyish way that always made girls sigh in the hallway. But it was only mine right then. "What'd you do without me, huh?"
I almost laughed, but the sound died in my throat. What did I do? I survived a nightmare. I found a girl's body in my room. I became the subject of rumours which wasn't new but the rumours were different this time and more brutal. But I couldn't tell him that. At least, not yet.
"School was quiet without you," I said instead.
Mateo raised a brow in disbelief, "Quiet? Without me? That's impossible."
That pulled a shaky laugh from me but his smile widened like he'd just won a prize by making me laugh.
We started walking towards class, his long strides easy, confident, like nothing bad had touched him. My body fell into step beside his automatically, though my thoughts were still a mess. The hallway buzzed with students heading to their afternoon classes, and I could feel their eyes on me again, except now, they flicked from me to him.
Mateo was the popular boy that most girls in school wanted but he had picked me out if everyone of his suitors so I know how much girls despised me, they always gossiped and pointed fingers whenever we were together but this felt different and I knew why.
Why is she with him? Does he know what she did?
Mateo's back? And he's still with Isabella?
I wonder if they'll still be together after everything that happened.
I did say he chose wrongly before and this just proves me right.
Look at how she is walking like she owns the world.
He'll drop her soon, I'm sure of it.
I pretended not to hear, but my shoulders stiffened.
Mateo noticed. "Ignore them," he said under his breath, his hand brushing mine briefly. "They always talk, you and I know that there's nothing we can do to make them stop talking."
Easy for him to say. They weren't calling him a criminal. He wasn't the subject of their gossip either, it was me. Always me.
We had almost gotten to the classroom when I noticed Alexander was watching us.
He was leaning against the stone railing like he owned the place, hands shoved deep in his pockets, expression carved from smug indifference. His gaze flicked from me to Mateo, then down to where our shoulders almost touched, and his jaw tightened just enough to catch my attention.
Great. Just what I needed.
"Well, well," Alexander drawled, his words dripping with mockery. "The prodigal boyfriend returns."
Mateo straightened, his easy grin fading into something sharper. "Alexander."
"Mateo," Alexander replied smoothly, though his eyes never left mine. "Funny timing. You missed all the fun."
I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. "Alex…"
"What fun?" Mateo asked, his voice hard.
Alexander smirked, tilting his head toward me. "Oh, you know. The sort of thing girlfriends usually tell their boyfriends once they resume school."
Mateo's eyes snapped to mine. "Izzy?"
Heat rushed to my face. "Not here," I muttered, "Please, let's just go."
Alex chuckled, pushing off the railing. "Run along then, sweetheart. Don't forget to tell him about the corpse in your bed."
The words landed like a slap. The world seemed to tilt, every pair of eyes on the steps burning into me. My throat closed, but Mateo was already glaring at Alex, fists clenched.
"Watch yourself," Mateo said lowly.
"Or what?" Alex shot back, his smirk widening. "You'll fight me? Haven't you heard? Violence isn't very romantic."
I couldn't do this. Not now.
"Stop it!" My voice cracked, sharp enough to make them both pause. "Both of you. I can't…"
I broke off, breath shuddering, chest too tight. Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away viciously. Not here. Not in front of everyone.
Mateo's expression softened instantly, concern replacing his anger. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Izzy. Hey. It's okay. Come on."
I nodded stiffly and let him steer me past Alex, who only stood there watching, eyes glinting like he'd just won some invisible game but his hands were in a fist, out of the pockets they had been in.
Later, in Yvette's room, I sat on her ridiculous pink bed again, hugging a pillow to my chest while Mateo paced the floor.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded, running a hand through his hair. His voice wasn't angry, exactly, but it was strained. "Izzy, there was a murder in your room. That's why people were whispering and you didn't tell me? I had to hear it from that bastard?"
I flinched. The words weren't unfair, but they stung all the same. "I didn't want to drag you into it. It's bad enough already."
"You don't get to decide that," he shot back, stopping in front of me. His dark eyes searched mine, fierce and frustrated. "I care about you. You should've called me, texted me, anything."
My chest ached. "I didn't know what to say."
That silenced him. For a long moment, the only sound was the tick of Yvette's bedside clock. Then Mateo sighed, kneeling in front of me, his hands brushing over mine.
"Okay. Fine. But you're not alone anymore. Got it? Whatever happens, I'm here."
Something in me cracked at that, and I let out a shaky breath. "You don't understand. They all think…"
"I don't care what they think." His tone was fierce now, unwavering. "I know you. You didn't do this."
The conviction in his voice sent tears stinging my eyes again, but this time I let them fall. I leaned forward, resting my forehead against his shoulder. For the first time since this nightmare began, I felt like maybe I wasn't about to drown.
But what if I was labelled a murderer, would he really stay with me then?