|| 𝕤𝕞𝕙 ||

Thirty-Two.

"But Ares... Why are you treating Mateo so well?" I asked as I felt like crying out of anger.
"What do you mean well? I'm doing the bare minimum." Ares answered, dodging my question.
"Yeah sure." I replied in disbelief.

He looked away, avoiding any eye contact,
"Tell me the real reason." I demanded in a serious tone.
"Ugh, why do you even care about these types of things? It's always the useless details." Ares questioned as he scratched his neck.

As I glanced over at him,
"Cause it doesn't make sense. Are you guys together or something? That's definitely not how you treat someone you barely know." I said in response.
"It's not that we're dating or whatever." He explained as he sighed.
"Then?" I questioned.

He rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers,
"My ex went through a similar experience." He revealed bluntly as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

I wasn't expecting to hear something like this.

"So how are they right now?" I asked awkwardly, unsure of how to react.
"Dead." He answered, unfazed as he lit his cigarette, inhaling the toxic substance in his hand.

I froze in my place, eyes widened from shock.

Dead...?

"What... happened?" I asked further, uncertain of the response I might receive.
"Suicide." Ares answered simply.

Would Mateo kill himself too?

Distracting me from my thoughts,
"That's why... I can't lose someone else to the same shit knowing that I could have made a difference." Ares said, his voice more serious as he continued to smoke.
"But you don't need to feel that obligation to help someone you don't even know, I mean, I'm really grateful for what you're doing, but it's not the same this time, it's not your fault nor your responsibility." I explained.

Letting out a small chuckle,
"Well then, I'll get to know him over time. Maybe we'll get along. I can't fuck it up this time" He answered as he corrected his posture, preparing to go back to his car, back to his usual unfazed self.

I stayed silent knowing that I didn't have the right to interfere with his decisions.

He thought of this as a way to redeem himself, it wasn't something I could change with a few words.

This was just how life was.

Which one of us was truly happy without any challenges?

"Let's head back in the car, yeah?" Ares suggested.
"Yeah." I answered as I walked over with him.

Mateo had already fallen asleep, curled up in the corner.

"Are you taking us to the airport now?" I asked.
"Let's grab Mateo's things first." Ares answered.
"Alright." I replied as I put my head down to rest my eyes.

Eventually, I drifted into sleep, my mind crowded as always.

Once I had woken up, I looked to my side, Ares was no longer there, but rather in the back seat with Mateo.

Ares had his arms wrapped around Mateo and caressed his waist with his fingertips while Mateo just rested his head on Ares's shoulder.

I didn't want to interrupt, so I pretended to still be asleep.

But I wasn't sure how to feel.

Was Ares doing this out of guilt or was he being genuine?

There was a chance Mateo might end up more hurt at the end of this...