Chapter 14: You think he's better than me
I didn't even realize I'd stopped breathing until my lungs burned. Mateo's words, the ones I'd never imagined he'd say, still echoed in my head. Even with my calls, he ignored me. If this had come from someone like Alexander, then I wouldn't even bat an eye because I was used to it from him but this was Mateo. My partner. My fucking anchor.
I turned on my heel without another word. My legs moved before my brain caught up, carrying me down the corridor as if walking away could make the sting fade. My uniform skirt swished at my thighs, my shoes thudded softly against the polished floor. The collar of my shirt felt too tight, choking me, and my hands trembled at my sides.
"Go after her, you idiot." Alexander gtold him.
Behind me, I heard a sharp curse in Italian. "Merda!" Mateo cursed then he followed after me.
I didn't look back. If I did, if I met those eyes, I wasn't sure if I'd cry or scream at him until my lungs gave out.
"Isabella!" Mateo's voice came, low at first, then sharper. "Isabella, wait."
I didn't wait. The hallway ahead was blessedly empty; classes were still going, and only the sound of distant chatter leaked from behind doors. The corridor stretched long and sterile, windows letting in gray daylight that made the white-painted walls look colder. My footsteps echoed, quick and clipped.
"Isabella, fermati!" he tried again, slipping into Italian without thinking. "Wait, please."
The plea in his tone nearly undid me. Nearly. But I kept moving.
He caught up halfway down the hall. His footsteps slowed to match mine, but he didn't reach out. "Hold on," he said, his voice lower now. "There's no need to storm off like that."
I released a brittle laugh then stopped and turned to him, arms folded tight across my chest. "No need? Really? That's what you're going with?"
He blinked at me, as if genuinely confused. "I..."
"Fuck off," I snapped, louder than I intended. The word echoed against the lockers and empty space. "The only reason you even came after me in the first place is because Alexander told you to. 'Go after her, you idiot.' Did you think I didn't hear that?"
"That's not the reason." His jaw tightened, eyes narrowing.
"Then tell me." I stepped closer, close enough to see the faint stubble at his jaw, the way his dark hair had fallen over his forehead in messy strands. "Tell me why I'm annoyed. Why I walked away. Explain it to me, De Luca. Since you seem to know everything."
His mouth opened and then closed. He paused. That pause was everything.
I scoffed, shaking my head. "Exactly."
I wasn't even surprised that he had no idea what he had done wrong.
"Don't use that tone with me," he said sharply, his accent thickening. "You were the one holding hands with him."
I blinked at him, stunned. "What?" My voice cracked. "You think that's what this is about? Wait that's what we are going to do right now?"
He stepped closer, heat rolling off him, his uniform blazer slightly askew. "Yes. Yes that's what we are going to do. What am I supposed to think, Isabella? I'm standing outside waiting for you and you come out holding hands with..."
"Oh, for God's sake." I cut him off, my hands balling into fists. "He was trying to protect me. Protect me, Mateo. Which is the exact opposite of what you are doing right now."
His nostrils flared. "I was trying to keep things from getting worse."
"You were sitting outside. You were outside Mateo, and while I understand that, you didn't ask what went on in there and why we came out with him. You didn't even care because you were fucking comfortable where you were. My voice rose, echoing down the hall. "While I was being cornered. While he was twisting my words. You were out here sitting comfortably."
"Alright, I apologize fir that but you don't need to..."
"Don't you dare." My heart hammered because I knew what he was going to do next. "Don't you dare act like I'm the one who's wrong for being angry."
"Well then fine. But it's not my fault okay?" His eyes burned into mine. "You've been acting different since we came back."
"Of course I have!" My voice cracked. "I'm a murder suspect, Mateo. There was a dead body in my room. Do you think that's normal? Do you think I'm supposed to just smile through it?"
He stared at me, breathing hard. "No of course not but the police..."
"Are trying to pin this on me hence why Alexander dragged me out of the room." I told him.
"The police know what they are doing. We don't understand their ways..."
"Oh fuck off. This just goes to show that you don't care at all. I'm trying to tell you something but you just refuse to listen." I said to him.
Mateo released a sigh. "I'm trying to make you see sense but you keep on defending him. You know what I think?"
"I don't know what you think!" My throat burned. "But right now, it sure feels like you're more concerned about who's holding my hand than the fact that I'm being accused of murder!"
His mouth tightened. "Don't twist this."
"I'm not twisting anything." My hands shook. "You're the one twisting it. You're the one making this about Alexander when it's about me!"
Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. Outside, a bell rang faintly in the distance, signaling the end of a class, but the hall stayed empty.
Mateo raked a hand through his hair. "You're impossible sometimes."
"Good." I forced a laugh, bitter as poison. "At least we're clear on something."
He glared at me. "You think he's better than me, don't you?"
I froze. "What?"