Heartbreak & Lies

When I finally stopped crying, I walked out to the dining room.
Jonathan was sitting on a chair, pressing an ice-pack against his jaw. His eyes shot immediately towards me. I walked up to him.

“What are you doing home? You were supposed to be out” he grumbled.

“Were you fighting over me?” I asked quietly, looking down on my feet.

“We’re not talking about it” he snapped and pushed me away.

“If it is about me, I have…”

I was interrupted by Jonathan grabbing a fistful of my hair.

“We’re not talking about this. Do you hear me?” he hissed.

I nodded and he let go.

“Get out of here” he groaned and pointed at the door.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I jogged down the street and ended up at a square with a small fountain in the middle.
I didn’t see any benches so I sat down on the edge of the fountain, crying.
Why was Jonathan acting this way? How could he hurt me like that?

“Hey, are you ok?” someone asked and I looked up to see the blurry face of Matteo.

I just looked down.

“Hey, is it really that bad?” he asked and sat down beside me.
“Come on, how can I cheer you up? A pretty face like yours shouldn’t be in tears” he murmured and hugged me tightly.

I felt oddly safe and comforted and hugged him back loosely.

“There is this great place nearby, why don’t we go there and talk, hmm?” he smiled at me, tugging on my arm.

“I guess we could go” I said quietly and followed him.

We walked for a bit and descended some stairs to end up in what seemed to be private bar. It probably was a basement before.
I looked around and saw Matteo’s brother gawking at me.

Dante was there, nonchalantly sitting on a couch with a cigarette between his lips.

“Let’s sit down and then we can talk” Matteo smiled at me and led me to the couch Dante was sitting on.

“Matteo, is he your brother?” I asked and discreetly pointed at the guy who looked so much like him.

“Yeah, that is Marco, my younger brother” he chuckled and waved Marco over to where we sat.
“Marco, meet Emma Hockings. She has recently moved here. Emma, this is Marco” Matteo introduced us, giving Marco a hard stare.

“Uh, hi” Marco grumbled.
“Matteo, we really need to talk” he demanded and both of them left.

I glanced quickly at Dante and he was studying me hard. It made me feel kind of nervous.

“Excuse me” I squeaked after a few minutes. Oh, great way to make a good impression, I groaned inwardly.
“I would appreciate it a lot if you didn’t stare at me” I mumbled quietly, afraid of his reaction.

“I can’t stop myself. Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he replied and moved closer.

Please Matteo, save me, I screamed in my head. I desperately looked around, trying to spot him.

“You’re afraid of me” he stated.
“Why?”

“I, uh… It’s just that…” I stuttered, desperately trying to figure out an answer.

“It’s because of what those bastards have been telling you” he grumbled, grabbed my chin and turned my head towards him.
“Look at me” he demanded.

My eyes slowly traveled over his gorgeous face until I met his eyes.
He just looked at me, his hard eyes softening a bit, but just a tiny bit.

“Suraci” I heard Matteo yell and sighed in relief.
He hissed something in Italian, that I didn’t quite catch, and glared at Dante.

I was just sitting there, being extremely confused about what was going on.

“Non ho fatto nulla” Dante responded in a hard voice.

“I apologize that I was away for so long” Matteo smiled at me.
“It is getting pretty late. You should head back home. If you ever need anything, just call me.”

I smiled and nodded. I waved to Marco and started making my way home.
Matteo sure is cute and so nice. I wonder if he’s single.

When I got home, Jonathan was pacing in the dining room.

“Where the hell have you been?” he screamed in my face and slapped me before throwing me into my room and slamming the door shut.

Yet again I was crying because of Jonathan. What had happened to my sweet and loving brother?