The Serpent & Hawke | Mattheo Riddle | Enemies to lovers

Part 35 - You ruined me

Lyanna's POV

I stood in the shower, the warm water cascading over me as I stared blankly into the drain.

The shower water mingled with my salty tears, creating a swirling vortex of emotion that threatened to pull me under.

"Stop fucking crying!"

I cursed through gritted teeth, my voice echoing off the tiled walls.

Since when did I ever cry over a stupid boy?

The thought only made the tears fall faster, much to my frustration.

It was my fault he was angry.

I put distance between us because I got scared, and now? Now he hated me.

The realisation hit me, stealing the air from my lungs.

Not only did he hate me, he found out about the fire in the group home...But how?

The question nagged at me, adding another layer to my already overwhelming anxiety.

I asked Dumbledore, Fig, and Snape to keep it a secret.

Had one of them betrayed my trust?

Obsessive lying and secrets.

Mattheo's words echoed in my head, each syllable a sharp reminder of my mistakes.

He wasn't wrong.

I did lie.

I did keep things from him.

But it didn't matter now.

It was over, and I just had to forget about it and move on.

So what? No big deal? It meant nothing...

Just a little bit of fun.

The words tasted bitter, even in my thoughts.

I stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around myself before wiping the condensation off the mirror more aggressively than I meant to.

The squeak of my hand against the glass grated on my nerves.

My reflection stared back at me, a stranger with red-rimmed, puffy eyes.

Great.

Hopefully I'm not going to get flanked with a lorry load of questions.

The last thing I needed was to explain my emotional state.

I dried my hair with mechanical movements, changed into comfy clothes, and tried to clear my thoughts of a particular Dark Lord's son.

But it was futile.

Everything was reminding me of him.

Even my fucking hairbrush!

I could almost hear his teasing voice as I ran it through my tangled locks.

He's the most complicated person I've ever met.

I know he's good deep down, I've seen his sweet side, his caring side.

But a part of me knows he yearns for his father's acceptance even if he claims he's on my side.

I don't know if I can trust him.

The conflict tore at me, leaving me raw and vulnerable.

But again...

It doesn't matter now.

It's done.

I repeated the mantra in my head, hoping that if I said it enough times, I might start to believe it.