Coming to terms with his sexuality, Theodore Moore is a seventeen year old who is just about getting by. He makes minimum wage and has aspiring, out-of-reach dreams to become a lawyer.
Violent and aggressive, Antony Barbosa is everything wrong with...
Antony was smoking on the steps at the side of his flat when me and his sister were walking up. Fernanda looks back and glances at me, her eyebrows raised. I press my lips together as she clears her throat, attracting Antony's attention. He looks up, his eyes landing on Fernanda before they flickered behind her, to where I stood. He blinked at me, his jaw clenching.
He wore a beanie on his head, a white vest and black joggers. He looked so attractive and I hated myself for accepting that. I looked away from him, focusing my attention on Fernanda as she walked up the last couple of stairs, standing a few feet away from her brother. "You wanna come in?" Fernanda asks, her eyes wavering to Antony for a second.
"Erm... I shouldn't. I need to get home." I say, slowly edging down the stairs until I'm far enough from Antony for my skin to stop itching. I don't think I can get far enough. "Mum's expecting me back." I nod my head, and I glance at Antony.
His eyes were already on me, his mouth fixed in a straight line. I watch as he takes a drag of the cigarette, blowing the smoke into the large space between us. The smell quickly enters my lungs. "Okay, then." She smiles, pressing her lips together. I watch as she hesitates before turning around and walking away. I knew I should have already left. I know I should have turned around and walked the fuck away, but instead, my eyes fell back onto Antony just as he licks his lips, his eyes dropping to his feet.
"You want something?" Antony murmurs, and I take another step back, onto the bottom step. His gaze lifted up to meet mine, his eyes darkening. My jaw clenches in annoyance and I shake my head. He nods his head, dropping the cigarette onto the step before crushing the sole of his shoe into it. "Don't you need to be going, then?" He asked, curtly. I tilt my head to the side, a grimace on my face as I watch him in frustration.
"Why are you acting like I've done something wrong?" I asked him, and his jaw sets as he stared at me. Antony pulls his beanie off and runs his fingers through his hair, chuckling lightly. "I'm serious, Antony. You're speaking to me like-"
"Like what? I'm speaking to you like how I've always spoken to you. Stop being a pussy." He snaps, getting to his feet and stepping away from the steps. I huff and move back once more until I'm on a flat surface. I still have a few more staircases to climb down until I'm on the ground floor, but with the adrenaline coursing through me, I'm sure I'll have enough energy for that.
Why am I talking to him? I promised myself that it was over. That it was the end. But, I'm still here, speaking to him. I know I shouldn't be. I owe myself more than that. I give him one last look. Maybe he sees the resentment and hatred in my eyes because his mouth parts slightly and his eyes waver. His eyebrow twitches and I blink slowly before turning around.
"Where are you going?" He calls after me, and I ignore him. "Wait, where are you- Theo." And that was it. The simple call of my name that freezes me to the spot. That makes me turn around and look him in the eyes. The sincerity in his voice as he spoke to me, a complete contrast to his demeanour over the past few days. He looks at me like I'm the only person he wants to see and his eyes flicker all over my face and my lips and my body and everything is on fire. Everything burns. "Come here." He says, so quietly, that I almost struggled to hear him. He sounded so sincere, so apologetic, that it breaks me.
"What?" I scoffed, grimacing at him. Antony huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. My eyes glance to his biceps for a split second. "You think you can just- just treat me like shit, but the minute you come calling, I'm supposed to come running back?" I asked him, and he sighs before making his way down to the bottom of the stairs. I step further back, shaking my head at him. "I need to get home." I tell him, and he raises an eyebrow.
"Now you need to go home?" He asked, stepping closer to me. I watch him stuff his hands into his pockets and I gulp, stepping even further away from him. Antony sighs frustratingly, his eyes twitching. He presses his lips together tightly, and I frown, my eyes flickering all over his face. "Look..." He huffs, not able to keep eye contact with me. "I can't stop this wedding from happening, she's already on a plane." He shrugged his shoulders, and I never thought I'd feel jealousy towards a woman I've never met in my life, but here I am. Despising her for taking away the one good thing in my life. Hating her for having Antony so easily when I had to rip my heart out.
"Okay." I murmured, crossing my arms over my chest.
"And as much as I-" He hesitates a little, his eyes flickering away from me for a second. "Don't wanna tie the knot with some bitch I don't even know, I've learnt to accept it." He tells me, and his gaze falls all over my face, landing on my lip. "I need you to accept it, too." He tells me, and I stare at him, blinking slowly. "Theo." He breathes.
"Do you care about me?" I asked him quickly, and he blinked at me in surprise. His mouth parted slightly. "Like, even a little bit." I added, and he scoffs, looking around a little before his eyes fall back onto me.
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