It was always you

Chapter 4.

“MATEO?” Sasha screamed, he stood in front of her room grinning. “What are you doing here?” quickly grabbing a shirt and putting it on, realising it’s only a crop top, she took the hoodie on her bed and threw it on as well.

“Clay asked me to check on you. He said you were crying yesterday, and he was threatening to cut my balls and expose my secrets if I didn’t come and check up on you.” he chuckled and continued “my younger brother threatened me, it’s hilarious, knowing i’m heavier than him and i lift weights. Little boys.?” scoffed rolling his eye

“So why are you here then, if you aren’t afraid of losing your balls?” she narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Secrets. Secrets which no one else is supposed to find out, plus I was concerned for you. Hadn’t heard from you in a long time Sash” Sasha wondered what secrets could he have. 

Knock knock - That must be Adonis 

Sighing, Sasha walked to the door and greeted Adonis, “Hey Ade, i’ll call you later k? My best friend’s brother just showed up, and after I get rid of him, if you are free you can come?” Adonis' face fell just for a second, and he smiled “Sure, I will check on you later tonight as well” Sasha nodded and proceeded to give Adonis a bear hug, which he gladly accepted. 

After shutting the door, she remembered Mateo was still there in the living room looking bored. So she plopped on the sofa and said “He was cheating on me” Mateo immediately tensed and his head snapped at Sasha- quite sure he would’ve gotten a whiplash , he looked like he was about to kill. “What did you say?” Mateo's voice was stern, he was seeing red by this point. 

“I caught him cheating on me, he was having an affair” Sasha started crying again at these words, she still couldn’t fathom the entire situation. She knew she made the right choice by leaving Raphael, but her heart still ached for him, after all this time he was there for her when Clayton left, he was there when her night terrors got worse, he was there for her when Drake was finally charged and sentenced. She didn’t notice, but somehow Mateo was pressed up at her side now, he started hugging her, he knew he needed to comfort her, she is basically his family. Mateo felt bad he couldn’t be there for her when she found out, it gutted him seeing her so upset, but he knew she deserved better. He always knew Raphael was up to no good, when he hit on Emily- Mateo & Clayton’s sister-it was the beginning of their relationship, when Clayton told Sasha, she just defended Raphael.

“Everything will be alright mi amor” Mateo was rubbing circles in her arms now, trying to comfort her as much as he could. Sasha continued to sob into his shirt, knowing that she’s causing his shirt to get wet, at this point she didn’t care anymore, she just needed someone to comfort her, someone to hold her and tell her everything will be alright. “Do you want to talk about it?” Mateo question.

“I just came back from closing a big deal, wanting to celebrate I came home early, but he wasn’t home, so I texted him, and his laptop was switched on so the the notification popped out, I usually would never snoop but I saw someone in his contacts by the name Cassie baby!” she stopped to wipe her tears, then she sat up straighter looking at Mateo, she knew she needed to get everything out and hope that she will feel lighter and start recovering from it. 

“So I was curious, why would he name her Cassie baby, maybe her middle name is baby, but no, I saw their messages, I read till I couldn’t stomach it anymore, so I went to the restaurant, and their maitre’d Ronny said they weren’t around, that they both had taken off!” she threw her hands up in exasperation and she continued, “so I asked her for Cassie’s address, and I went up to her apartment, knocked and low and behold, standing there shirtless was none other than a*s cheating Raphael Torres! Urgh!” she knew by now she was almost screaming and she probably looked like a deranged homeless chick, but she knew Mateo would not judge her. Mateo kept his eyes on her, eventhough he felt like murdering Raphael, he knew Sasha needed him more than he needed to murder Raphael, so he decided to push the thought at the back of his head first, he will have to deal with Raphael later. 

“So they were celebrating their one year anniversary! And she knew I was his girlfriend! That lying scum!” Mateo closed his eyes, trying to contain his fury. “Then I confronted him, he said he loved both of us, both! Can you believe it Mateo?! Both! As in two people!” Sasha asked rhetorically, Mateo just shaked his head and allowed Sasha to continue knowing she wasn’t done, while rubbing circles on her knee, in an attempt to calm her down. “So I told him that the moment he continued the affair, she chose her, and we are done. And today I packed up his stuff and left it with our doorman, texted Raphael to get it and next week I will be changing my locks” Sasha sighed of relief. Finally someone knew the entire story, finally she felt a little better, everything that has happened in the last 48 hours was taking a toll on her and she was glad Mateo came, she was glad that Mateo was by her side not giving her judging looks by how deranged she must look and act.

Somehow she always found comfort in Mateo, even though she was best friend’s with Clayton, and always had a crush on him, Mateo was her comfort, from the outside it doesn’t seem like it but they shared some moments together where no one knew. Mateo was always there for her, even after her problems with Drake, but Clayton never knew. 

There was a moment of silence in the room, the air felt lighter but heavy at the same time, but Mateo knew that Sasha needed to rant, Mateo knew that he needed to be her comfort, but he started to wonder, “Have you eaten anything Sash?” her eyes widened and she shook her head, he knew she would forget. 

“Chinese and ice cream? The usual?” She simply nodded, her eyes sparkled, he knew what she needed, that was their thing, ranting and eating chinese and ice cream. 

***

When the food arrived, the smell of the delicious food flooded her apartment, she was in awe of how much food Mateo ordered, he knew she loved food and he always knew what she wanted. He turned on netflix, and he knew what she needed, he turned on a horror movie, while other girls would want to watch romantic movies, or comedies, Sasha wanted to watch horror, whenever she was going through a tough time, she will resort to watching horror movies, taking her mind off the issues she had. 

Half way through the movie “The Possession of Hannah Grace”, Sasha scooted herself to snuggle next to Mateo, he smiled knowing she was scared, so he draped his arms on her to pull her closer.

Once the movie ended, Mateo looked at Sasha, she looked like she was thinking about Raphael again, so he put on another horror movie this time he chose “The Conjuring”. They both continued watching in silence, snuggled up, only the occasional yelp coming from Sasha because she was afraid. I should stay with her tonight, make sure she is alright, he thought to himself. 

The second movie ended, and Sasha yawned, Mateo smiled, “Tired huh?” 

“Yeah” Sasha blushed, while picking up her phone checking the time. It was now 11pm, her eyes widened. She spent the entire day crying and ranting then watching horror movies, she completely forgot to text Adonis, she made a mental note to text him tomorrow morning. She checked her notifications on her phone

47 missed calls Raphael

She rolled her eyes and groaned at that.

2 missed calls Adonis 

1 missed call Clayton 

Raphael : Answer your phone Sasha, I know you’re home.

Raphael : I’m sorry. I love you. 

Raphael : I will leave her for you. I love you both.

Sasha rolled her eyes at that. 

Raphael : Sasha, I love you. I want to marry you someday, please. Lets talk. 

Raphael : Call me back

Raphael : Sasha I’m begging you, I’m lost without you

Raphael : Please pick up 

She decided not to read the remaining messages from him and just delete all of his texts.

Adonis : Still haven’t called me, I’m guessing you are busy. Hope to hear from you soon. 

Adonis : Goodnight Sasha. Cheer up agapi.

Sasha : Sorry Ade, my best friend's brother is still here. Maybe we can meet tomorrow. Goodnight. 

She smiled, knowing Adonis cared for her. 

Clay : You have not texted me since yesterday

Clay : I asked Matt to check up on you. Lemme know if that bastard shows. 

Clay : No response from both of you. Text me back, I’m starting to get worried. 

Sasha : Yeah he’s here with me.

She looked up, and saw Mateo was staring into space, he looked like he was deep in thought. She realised that he’s gotten more muscular, he was slightly tanner and had a tattoo on his arm, not sure why she didn’t realise this earlier. 

“Hey, it’s getting late. Wanna crash over?” she asked

“Yeah, but I gotta leave at 5am, I need to go to the gym to open up. I will sleep here” Mateo said as he patted the couch, then realising that the couch will probably be too small and uncomfortable for him, “That thing is way too small for you. You can sleep in my room, I can take the couch. The guest room is filled with junk and probably unlivable, since i hadn’t had the time to clean it up” she offered.

“How about I sleep on the floor?” 

“Oh gosh no! Mateo, what even? How could I do that to you?” sounded horrified.

“Want to share a bed?” Mateo offered, and Sasha nodded “I think that will be the best solution” 

“I have some of Clay’s shirts if you want to change?” Sasha offered questioningly.

“Nah I probably won’t fit, I will just wear what I have and boxers, if that’s okay with you?” Sasha blushed and nodded.

“Okay since so, I will go get ready for bed and I will get you toothbrush and towel”

***

They both got ready for bed and climbed under the covers, when Sasha suddenly spoke, “Thank you Mateo” 

“No problem mi amor, you can always count on me.” Sasha felt comforted and loved in the moment, so she decided to cuddle with him, this isn’t the first time they shared a bed together so it held no awkwardness but comfort, and he gladly hugged her and kissed her head. 

Soon she slowly drifted to sleep, feeling better than the starting of the day, with Mateo arms around her she felt safe. Mateo on the other hand, he felt at home, it’s been a long time since he’s felt this way. He heard tiny snores coming from Sasha, he knew she was asleep, he couldn’t help but wonder, can he keep his secret any longer? It’s eating away at him.