In God We Trust [SPORADIC UPDATES]

ONCE

chapter eleven ✗ hablar

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just a lil mateo gif for you (':

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"FUCK THAT." I heard the frustrated scoff rising from the back of Mateo's throat as he pushed Alessandro even harder against the wall. His posture was tense, the muscles underneath his clothing corded with anger and frustration and his legs stood in a wide enough stance that wouldn't allow Alessandro to push him over if he decided to defend himself. He was also notably tall, so much so that he loomed over both Alessandro and I (we were far from short), and was just genuinely intimidating.

"Mateo," I kept my voice level. I could save my attitude for our upcoming argument, and that was if Mateo would let go of Alessandro. "Let him go."

"No."

New plan.

Mateo was a man. Men were easy to manipulate, really. Most feared emasculation or to be seen as immature or not strong enough. If I riled him up enough, he'd get to the point where he'd have to let Alessandro go to either yell or beat the shit out of me. Could this potentially end in my own strangulation? Most definitely. Was it worth it? Short answer: no. Long answer: fuck no. However, the idea of at least saving someone else from Mateo's wrath seemed appealing enough.

So, I threw my head back and laughed.

He looked at me like I was crazy.

"You are so fucking childish," I snapped, my voice far from the humorous tone he expected. And while I was certainly faking, what I was saying was nothing but the truth. "Seriously? What is wrong with you? Angry because I got high?" I crossed my arms over my chest and ignored Alessandro's dumbfounded stare. "Or are you mad because Alessandro actually knows how to not be an uptight ass?"

Mateo's gaze switched from angry to furious before I could blink. His grip loosened and he stood back slightly, just as I expected him to. "Excuse me?"

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath, "And you're deaf? Do you want me to write it down for you, too?" A smile nearly twitched my lips when I heard Alessandro snort. Instead, I swallowed the large ball of fear stuck in the back of my throat and continued, "Let's be honest here, you're far from a man, Mateo. You're immature. You don't think things through. You act on emotion, or none at all."

Mateo looked about two seconds from breaking my neck, which meant it was working. I threw a look to Alessandro that could only be described as "get out of here before he kills us both", to which he threw me a grateful, fleeting smile before he took off. He slipped out from behind Mateo and made a beeline for the door, and Mateo didn't move to stop him as he shut it behind him. Instead, he just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest as he tried to calm himself.

My words had affected him, I knew they had. In the way that I had intended, and something was telling me that he was having enough of my attitude and stunts already. But that didn't mean I would stop. I wouldn't stop fighting until my dying breath (yes, I'm aware of how dramatic that sounds), and he had another thing coming if he thought I'd give up. I was a hostage and it was my responsibility to escape, and if that meant getting close to him just to achieve that, so be it. I was gambling on my life, but what else could I do?

"What the hell are you doing with someone like him?" Mateo finally let out.

I raised an eyebrow, "Elaborate."

"A man like him," he repeated. "Are you out of your goddamn mind, Veronica?" I heard his shoes hit the floor as he walked the few steps between us, to the point where he was so close to me I could smell his cologne. "You're brutal."

"Excuse me?"

His hazel eyes appeared a cold brown and his lips were pulled back in a snarl, "He doesn't deserve that. I've been friends with Alessandro my whole life, I know the type of person he is, and the type of person you are. He's innocent, he's too pure to be in this goddamn industry. Unlike the both of us, he has humanity. Empathy. Feeling. You're using him."

"And you're crazy," I retorted, glaring back at him. "I'm not using him for shit. Quit the blame game and stop trying to make me feel bad."

He laughed humourlessly, "You are. You're using him for drugs. To escape. He doesn't deserve that, he deserves a woman who actually cares for him, that doesn't lie to get a couple lines of coke."

"Fuck you," I spat. He was wrong. Or was he? I didn't know. I didn't know what my intentions with Alessandro were... it just kind of happened. I didn't even know what was going on between us, we had only gotten high and made out a bit. Nothing more. And Mateo was trying to make me feel shitty for it.

"You wanna know something?" He didn't wait for me to answer, and when he brought his face only an inch from mine, I sucked in a breath. I had to tilt my head, and my neck was beginning to hurt, but I didn't want to avert my gaze. Mostly because I didn't want to come off as submissive or weak, which I already was. Weak, I mean. My knees felt like jello and stomach was cramping from anxiousness, which I wanted to believe was from my comedown, although a part of me knew that wasn't the reason why. I wasn't trembling up until now.

It felt like millenniums. It was only a short second but it seemed to pass so slowly it had my perception of time bugging out. Especially because he smelled of cologne, tobacco, and mint. It didn't help that he was the definition of the devil: handsome, but evil.

"You destroy everything you touch." He whispered.

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this was such a short chap but i rly wanted to update !!