Number Nineteen (Mario Götze/Goetze/Gotze)

Chapter Eighteen

I apologize beforehand for all you conflicted readers who ship Mena/Lario, yet can't help loving Lio. This is probably going to make it worse. Sorry.

"Are you kidding me?" I exclaimed with clear disappointment in my voice. "What were you thinking?"

Bailing Lionel out of jail was not something I had planned to do today. The reason for his arrest was assaulting none other than the devil himself. The story had come out, and rumor has it Mario's even applying for a restraining order. Lionel had gone to his house and punched him three times, knocking him unconscious for five minutes. I have no idea what went through Lio's mind that made him want to hurt Mario. It doesn't help that Lio refuses speak to me.

I managed to persuade the officers to let us out the back to avoid the paparazzi. I opened the door to of the sleek, black car and ignited the engine.

"Are you going to talk now?"

Silence. I let out a sigh; fine, be that way. I drove off home, lost in thought of what the hell just happened.

---

I stormed into the house angrily, while Lio trudged in casually. His eyes were red, he looked tired and I barely recognized him anymore.

"What is up with you?" I asked. He walked into the kitchen and got a banana out of the bowl. Then, he walked to the couch, turned on the TV and began watching.

I crossed my arms, watching in bewilderment. What was going on? What provoked this behavior? Did I do something wrong? Is this my fault?

Of course it's my fault. I told Lionel that Mario had made me cry. Lio knows I barely ever cry. He proabably did it for me.

I shook my head. Was this my fault? Did I cause this mess?

A news report came on. It was about Lionel being arrested. I heard a yell and Lio smashed the couch pillow into his face.

"I hate everything." he said. The anger I felt faded away as I heard his sad tone. He didn't want this, obviously. Maybe I'm being to harsh. I should use a kinder approach.

"Hey Lio," I said as if I was talking to a five-year-old. "You wanna tell me what's gong on?" I asked. I heard a muffled sound that I couldn't at all make out.

"What?"

Lionel threw the pillow to the side and turned to face me.

"You want to know why I punched Mario?" he asked, and I nodded. He let out a sigh. "Alright. Let's go to the dining room, shall we?" he got up and walked away. I didn't follow right away, no longer sure whether I wanted to know what happened.

"You coming?" he called out. I let out a deep sigh and got up. Here goes nothing.

---

"You're probably going to want to sit down for this."

I raised my eyebrows, wondering what was so important. Why does he want me to sit down? I'm not sure what exactly I'm in for anymore.

"So, uh.." Lio bit his lip nervously.

"Yes?' I asked, not being able to wait any longer.

"Remember that one night, where you went to pull a prank on Mario?" he started. This time I bit my lip nervously. Yeah. How could I forget? I nodded and Lio sighed.

"Well, I went up to my room to change, and the blinds were open."

No, no, no, this can't be happening. He didn't see, did h-

"I saw this kiss Lena."

Crap.

"I saw what happened. He came onto you." he said. Yes, please let that be it. It was his fault, not mine.

"I would have been fine. Well, not really fine. i still would've been pissed at Mario. But I woudn't blame you. But you know what you did?" he asked knowingly. I nodded weakly.

"You kissed him back."

No. No. No. This can't be happening. "I really wish you hadn't. But you did." he paused for a moment. "That's it." Lio started leaving the room.

"wait! No! It wasn't like that. I mean, it was, but it wasn't! Like, you know. It wasn't my fault. I just got caught up in the moment and it was an accident- a mistake. I shouldn't have done it, band I'm sorry. If I could take it back I would, trust me, but-"

"You can't."

I looked up sadly and sighed. Tears were threatening to spill out of my eyes, and I couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry, okay? I love you. Just please, please, forgive me!" I cried. Lionel looked down at his shoes.

"See, the problem is, I want to, but I can't. You hurt me Lena. I loved you. I trusted you, and you betrayed that trust. You kissed our neighbor. No- you made out with our neighbor. And then you didn't tell me about it! When I heard Mario made you cry, I got so upset because the nerve that guy has to firstly sneak around with you and then hurt you like that- he deserved every punch. But honestly, I don't think you should be let off so easy."

Easy?

"You think this is easy for me?" I asked with a weak voice.

Lionel shook his head. "No. It's not easy. But it should be harder. Because while your heart is aching right now, my heart was just ripped out of my chest. And you know what ?" he asked. I shook my head, no.

"I still love you despite everything. And I hate myself because of it."

Really badly writte chapter, I'm sorry. I'm tired and I havent uploaded. *High-pitched voice* "OOH DRAMA"