Babysitters

Chapter 28

VERONICA VALDEZ

I turned my head towards the door, almost certain I just head clatter from behind it. Turned out I was right, since Mattheo's curly haired head peeked from behind it.
"Can I come in?"
I frowned. Out of all people, why would he want to spend time in my room? Perhaps he knows where Theo and Enzo are. I nodded, watching as the tall boy walked through the door and shut it behind him.
"Is there something you need, or—?" I asked, leaving the unfinished sentence hanging in the air.
"What? No," Mattheo said. "Can't I visit a friend's bedroom without any further intentions?"
"We're friends?"
He chuckled and winked his eye at me playfully. "Perhaps not, but we could be."
I huffed out a laugh. "If that's your rizz, I have no idea why so many girls are drooling after you back at school."
He shrugged with a smirk, lowering his voice to match his next words, "they have good taste."
"More like cheap taste," I giggled.
"I don't think we're going to be friends." Mattheo shook his head in mock-offense. "I've been here for barely a minute and you're already calling me names and questioning innocent girls who just like a strong and charming man."
"Someone has to take care of your inflated ego," I quipped. "Anyway, do you have any idea where Theo and Enzo are? I haven't seen them the whole day. Even checked their rooms."
"Uh, yeah," he scratched his neck. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."
I frowned, the lighthearted atmosphere disappearing immediately. "Tell me."
"As you know, we're all Death Eaters, and—" Mattheo cut himself off, seeming almost embarrassed. "Well, we obviously get tasks from my fat—Lord Voldemort."
"So they're completing a task?" I questioned.
"Yeah, they are," Mattheo confirmed.
A thousand questions developed in my mind, but I only managed to ask the most important ones. "So when are they coming back? Where are they? What task is it? Is it safe?"
Mattheo sighed. "I don't know, I don't know, they're looking for a certain... artifact and that's complicated."
My frown deepened, if even possible. I didn't like the empty answers he was giving. "What do you mean it's complicated? Your father wouldn't send them for a suicide mission, would he?"
"He most certainly would, but I don't think this is one of those," Mattheo said. "But only being a Death Eater is never safe. And even though we've tried our best to keep Theo and Enzo's involvement as a secret, many still know about it."
He took a look at my frightened expression, and gave off a miserably fake comforting smile. "But I'm sure they are just fine. They know how to defend themselves."
"You're sure sure or just... sure?" I asked, not feeling comfortable at all anymore. I was even more worried, and the more Mattheo spoke, the worse it got.
I saw him biting the inside of his cheek. "Sure."
He began talking, explaining more of how well they can handle themselves and how they'd both faced worse dangers, but I wasn't listening anymore. My mind flooded with images of the worst case scenarios, of Theo laying in a puddle of his own blood in some crappy alley.
I cut him off. "So you have absolutely no clue when they should be back? Don't they have a deadline or something?"
"They do, but the Dark Lord gave them an extraordinarily large amount of time. Probably because he has no idea himself of where to even start searching."
"How much?" I asked.
"Two months," Mattheo said, turning back towards the door. "But they did say they might come here for some nights if they're close by. They would leave early the next morning, though."
I didn't dare to ask more questions, and even if I did, Mattheo had already went, the door shutting between us.
Two months.

* * *

"You've lost weight," Mattheo acknowledged as he saw me walking out of the front door to the bright sunlight.

Ever since our conversation a bit over a week ago my life has been a mess. I don't eat, sleep or want to socialize. Yes, I don't want to, but Mattheo forces me every day. He's kind of taken it as his responsibility to keep me company, to keep me sane and somewhat healthy. He hangs out with me, and despite my previous dislike towards him, I quickly noticed he isn't so bad after all. He's funny like Theo, they definitely share the same kind of humor, the kind which makes me laugh every time even if I want to cry. Mattheo's company makes me think of Theo, but at the same time it helps me to relax a bit.
But I still have no appetite or desire to sleep. Every night, I sneak up to Theo's room to see if he's decided to come back for the night. And every night, I get disappointed and worried as I see his room empty. Then I go back down to my room and cry until I'm on the verge of severe dehydration. It isn't until early morning hours the exhaustion takes over me and lulls me into a restless sleep full of nightmares.

"I have?" I frowned, looking down to my body. "I don't see it."
"Well not that much," Mattheo corrected. "But enough for me to start getting worried over your eating habits. Or more like non-eating habits."
I slapped his head playfully as we made our way towards the garden.
"No, I'm serious V." He grabbed my wrist, stopping me. "I'm concerned. When was the last time you've slept?"
"Last night." I yanked my hand free, not enjoying the loss of our playful banter. It was the only thing bringing me joy these days.
"No, like really slept. A whole night. When?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. Before Theo left, probably. I don't remember."
"I've told you a million times, V, he'll be fine. And Enzo too. He wouldn't want you to worry so much," Mattheo said, going through the rant he's told me one too many times.
"How would you know?" I scoffed.
"Because," Mattheo ran a hand through his dark, curly hair. "He's my best friend. I know."

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A/N:
Hello loves
It's time for an update again!
Hell, time flies by so quickly. I've been reading the older chapters, and noticed some progress in my writing. I think I've mentioned at some point that english is not my first language, but I'm trying to get better in writing it. This book is somewhat a 'practice' book. I've learned so much while writing this, and I'm constantly adding new ways and words I've learned, here. So forgive me for the awful first chapters, I'm trying to learn and this is the book I practice on. Perhaps I'll someday write one with more confidence and can actually be proud of it instead of seeing it just as testing and attempting.
But Veronica's story is going forward, even if it isn't perfect on the paper :)
I hope you all have a lovely week (and summer, I know many people are graduating soon :))!
Love u all x