Watching Her

chapter 18: come over

I had not talked to Mateo after that meeting. Even though a few days had gone by, I felt bored. And I felt like nobody that lived in Italy should ever feel bored, so I decided to do something against that. To take on some action because I knew that Mateo Bane would not do anything to cure my boredom. 

It also did not help that he barely left his office. After finding out where he slept - on the second floor - and where he worked, I noticed how both of these rooms were the only ones he needed. I felt fine being ignored, especially after not wanting to talk about that evening, but he could have at least shown some care in showing me the house or handing me car keys. 

Adriana was texting me nonstop, telling me about all of this gossip she had come in contact with while I was not there. Some bitch fights between the popular girls and how the whole group had decided to split up now, acting as rude as ever - as if they had not just painted each other's nails before and braided their hair. She was also writing to me about this new college guy she had met just the other night and how handsome and cute he was. She was determined that he was finally the one for her, that older men had always been her thing. 

I did not want to rip her away from this bubble, if a girl was in love, there was nothing that could pull her away from it as long as she had not experienced it herself. I also knew that Adriana was in a perfectly fine condition to care for herself and that her love life had always been messy. She did not want it any other way.

Maybe she should have been in this house, with this man, instead of me. I knew that Mateo was significantly older than me, I just was not sure of his actual age. Not that it had ever come up in any conversation of the two we had had. 

My bruises were nearly healed, the one on my forehead gone and the small cuts on my arms could be mistaken for anything but that. Now that summer was finally starting to show itself, I had to rethink my clothing choices and options. Not to mention that my clothes only made up a quarter of the whole walk in closet. It felt as if I had come here with only a carry on bag, even though the opposite had been the case. 

Yet, I felt as if that was maybe part of his tactic: making me feel small. Small and vulnerable. Or I was overthinking, because I desperately needed some human contact or otherwise I would go insane. Nobody liked an insane guest in their house, did they? Still, I felt the need to ask, just out of pure politeness. Not that I would get any kind of long answer, for Mateo Bane, a yes or a no was sufficient. 

- 

"Sure." His answer had been more than blunt, but what had I expected?

This man probably had his head full of ideas, yet he did not stop himself from giving me one word answers. It was really nothing else but unbelievable. 

As he was sitting there, in his office chair, looking over files and making notes in his perfectly ironed shirt, he told me that it was fine for me to invite a friend over. I regretted not planning out an answer, so I simply walked out on him after silently closing the door. It was only a small encounter, but I was still thankful that he did not feel the need to discuss any other "situation". 

In this man's presence, my words suddenly fell out of my mouth, crumbling to the ground and leaving me speechless. I hated how he could make me feel, these tingles, this restlessness. How nervous he made me, how he could physically make me stumble. And yet, my thoughts always went back to that man on my balcony. 

How his breath felt on my neck. The huskiness of his voice. 

"I'm just protecting you." 

Those words. I did not believe that any man's words could ever stay stuck in my head like his, but now? I felt like doubting everything I was once sure of. Mateo had the same impact on me. I had assured myself that I would stay confident, show him that he could not just command me. 

So much had changed over the past days, I needed an escape. Even if I knew that it would be chaotic, unmindful, maybe even stupid, but I would only be seventeen once and nobody was there to tell me any different. 

"Adriana?" I asked, as soon as I was down the hallway, back on the way to my room again. 

Calling her immediately distracted me from him, which was better than nothing. I knew I could not waste my time about thinking about this man, but his actions that night had made me feel something I had never felt before. Thrill, danger. 

And with this, I realized I needed more of that in my life as long as I could. I needed to take more risks, fall into more problems. Something I could not control, I needed to let loose, to break free. And calling Adriana was the best idea I could have ever had. 

"Hunny bunssssss, I missed you!" Hearing her cheerful voice on the other end of the life practically reawakened something inside of me. She knew that all this sudden change was hard, and she had agreed to our plan. I was ecstatic, to say the least, when she had come up with an idea that was practically loop-hole free. 

We had everything perfectly planned out, just like the good old times. And we would have our slice of fun as well. 

"I missed you too, but that's not what I wanted to tell you," I started, but I knew that Adriana already could feel what I was about to say, "He said yes." I felt like a little kid, all giggly and giddy telling my best friend she could sleep over because her father allowed it. Not that mine would had ever.

"Okay, see you in an hour, I'm so excited to finally see you again." It did not take much more for us to end the conversation, knowing that we would soon see each other in person again. 

Because what Mateo Bane did not know, was that my best friend Adriana had already taken a flight to Italy yesterday, only taking a hotel room the first night. I would have seen her no matter what he had said, probably. 

Uhhh, I checked my views today and OMG 1.1K VIEWS? WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH WATTPAD OR YOU GUYS. It made me scream throughout the entire house, girlies, you wouldn't be able to believe me. Anyways, I'm in a writing flow, (FINALLY AGAIN), so I have another two drafts right now. There will be more frequent updates.

Any song recommendations?

Mateo and Celine - yes or no?

Mateo and Adriana - yes or no?

Any thoughts on any character? The stalker, the girls, Mateo, anyone? I love, love, love opinions so feel free to comment as long as it's not too rude as they still are able to hurt my feelings. 

byebye, don't forget to vote and comment!