The Gangster's Toy

Ignorant

  One peaceful place was all Mateo wanted now, just one spot, one corner he could bury himself in. A corner where he could spend rest of his months or lives here, in Lorenzo Mansion. A corner to sleep in his state. He felt worn out, vanquished, deserted and homeless, not knowing where to go, what to do. Mateo tried to rub the tears away, his cheeks flushed red and eyes, puffy as he unknowingly walked ahead into an unfamiliar place. But he didn't stop, not until a guard came running to his side and announced. 

  "You are not allowed in this section! What are you doing here?" Mateo furrowed his eyebrows at him, not being able to process the new information. 

  ".....What?", his voice cracked as he spoke but he didn't care, his throat felt dry and he couldn't care less about this new conversation. The guard stood erect, as a shield, ready to pounce at anyone who crossed the little pathway to a hall. "Why....?" Mateo unconsciously asked. 

  "No whys and whats. Just leave before I inform Alessandro sir." The guard spoke in his awfully grave voice, stepping forward making Mateo reconsider going that way. The shorter boy gulped before he turned to walk away but something .... or someone made his steps come to a halt. 

  "Mmmmhhhhhhhhhhh Taemmmmmmmmhh" Was it his imagination or he could hear someone calling for him? Mateo turned around, his hand raised, him listening closely. The guard looked restless as he once again tried to shoo him away. 

  "Aye you leaving or-"

  "I hear something... someone. Can you hear someone calling for me?" The guard immediately shook his and pointed his gun at Mateo. The younger boy took a step back and eventually left, confused, too shook to comprehend what just happened. 

  Was it just my brain.....?

  Three days had passed ever since Marcelo and Alessandro fought and Mateo was told never to show up in front of Alessandro, and he didn't. He did all his chores normally, Alessandro's breakfast, lunch, dinner, clothes, weapons were at his place every day he woke up or whenever he needed them but there was no sign of Mateo and the heir didn't bother asking too. The boy was following his instructions well, he didn't fall into traps of Mrs Lorenzo because she didn't set up any, he kept avoiding Marcelo and his piercing eyes, he was even successful at gaining the Chief Chef's interest who was known as the nosy little woman with a short temper and loved to help her with the food even if the food didn't belong to his husband and his to-do list, he had learnt to bow at Lorenzo who looked at his face overflowing with disgust and walked ahead with his old legs. Mateo always tried to wave at Rhett, to get the little kid's attention but the kid was grumpy ever since the incident happened and would always turn his head away, puffing his cheeks, indicating he was still sulking with Mateo while the older boy just found it cute and so he chuckled the little ignorant Lorenzo away. 

  As far as a place to sleep was concerned, Mateo barely slept properly. His spot was a little corner of the servants' quarter. He was too afraid to ask them to lend a bed to him or ask the Lorenzos to put up a couch of something for him, away from Lorenzo Alessandro's room. The first day he tried to sleep in all ways, all angles he could find without any pillows or blanket but just a mattress that lay untouched by any of the servants but he simply couldn't sleep with all the mixed up emotions, his eyes blurry and mind foggy so he stood awake and stared at the ceiling thinking about absolutely nothing. Occasionally his lips would leave a muffled sob under the back of his hand covering his mouth without his knowledge and him eventually feeling embarrassed to disturb the already soundly sleeping servants. He ate whatever the servants brought to him or whatever he could find in the fridge after everyone had finished eating, he felt weaker by every day and every sweat he lost in the working process but he didn't let it take over his normally going days.

  The next three days were the repetition of the previous day except for the useless insulting and taunts. Everything was normal until this very morning when Mateo was given the task to clean up Alessandro's room before he woke up and he messed up. It started when his weak arms couldn't hold the weight of the large imported pot he held in his hands to avoid kicking it into pieces as he cleaned its spot and it crashed to the marble floor missing his feet by a few centimeters but still a piece somehow injuring his left foot as it bled. The noise made him jump in his own skin as he looked around for a quick solution when he saw his husband stir in his sleep. He stood, tongue-tied and shaken when Alessandro's eyes came to life, him rubbing his head and an agitated expression imprinted on his face. Mateo tried to walk away but his foot hurt so he ended up stumbling over his own steps and decided on second thoughts to just face the wrath as he picked up the pieces and collected them in the dust-pan. 

  "What....the f**k?", Alessandro cursed, his mind still foggy from slumber and a sudden bomb explosion. Mateo chanted under his breath as he quickly filled the pan with the broken ceramic pieces and tried to crawl away but failed when his foot gave in to the throbbing pain. "What the f**k was that?" By now his voice was clear and so was his vision as he peered over at the small figure on the marble floor, hissing in pain. His gaze hardened when he recognized him. Jose f*****g Mateo you've sure got guts to be disobeying me like this.  

  "S-sorry I dropped the pot...... I'll clean- aghh", he winced, trying to get up with his back towards Alessandro, he succeeded with much difficulty but maintained his posture by holding onto the shelf. 

  "Get the f**k out, now." Alessandro ordered, his voice dark and face flat. Even though Mateo was not facing him but he knew he was in danger and so he tried to take hurried steps out of the room but failed when his painful foot twisted. His foot was sore from the wound and blood gushed out of it, he didn't know the sharpness of a ceramic piece could cause him such an injury but he had no solution. "Did you not hear me?" 

  "I'm leaving, my foot hurts. I'm sorry I'll clean this up", Mateo pleaded as he tried to hold his foot in the air, with one hand supporting his body via a wall and the other holding the dustpan. 

  "Do I look like I care?" Alessandro was now on his feet and his eyes fixated on his helpless wife, jaw tightened. He averted his gaze from him, softening a bit and picked up a piece of cloth lying on his side-table, shuffling towards Mateo. As soon as Mateo saw a shadow approaching him, he pressed his back against the wall, fearing a sudden roar from the taller guy but Alessandro ducked low and wrapped the bleeding ankle with the white cloth, staining it almost immediately but enough to stop the blood for the time being. Standing back up, he took the dustpan from a startled Mateo and stared seriously at him. "Can you walk to the medical room? It's by the corner."  

  "I.....", Mateo began, searching for words but he found himself biting his lips in defeat as the heir sighed and pushed a button in the wall. In a few seconds, a servant was there. 

  "Clean this mess. And you.." He pointed at Mateo making him skip a beat. "Sit here." The younger boy tried to cross the distance from the wall side to the bed without any support but foundered, Alessandro promptly taking his hand and helping him maintain his balance as he sat at the corner of the bed, shyly. Alessandro left the room, leaving a emotionally confused Mateo on his own and the servant tidying the room instead. 

  He knew he would get in trouble for breaking the pot but he couldn't care less about it that moment for now what mattered the most was his husband's little effort to set things right with him? Or that was what he thought and hoped. Without even realizing, a faint smile crept on his lips, his cheeks burnt from the effortless action Alessandro took and he didn't know why. The older guy soon returned with their personal doctor who set to work on his foot the moment she entered while Alessandro disappeared into the washroom with no expressions but just one comment. 

  "Once she bandages it. Leave the room with her, I don't want you here when I enter the room." 

  Alessandro stood in his parents' room, agitated and ready to punch anyone in his way as they spoke. He had returned from a combat with an egoistic 'friend' who turned to guns when Alessandro disagreed with his point but obviously the Lorenzo was far more stronger than he had imagined and he soon faced his eternal failure, death. That was obviously the story he told his parents while it was nowhere near genuine. The sheer state Alessandro was in that moment was enough to start a fire alarm. He was covered in blood due to injuries below his collarbone and a blow on the temple but he still stood like he wasn't hurt even a single bit. His eyes blazed in the yellow light, clearly reflecting anger. 

  "You should stop indulging in small fights like these and focus on the deals. This is not beneficial for our gang. Stop murdering our reputation to give a rise to Jose’s. Have you forgotten we are still ahead of them?", His father babbled on but was he listening? Not even close, he just wanted to lash out and his father's lecture wasn't helping. 

  "Oh and that badblood broke my 2nd anniversary pot!" The lady head butt in with her irrelevant knowledge and just got a glare from her husband which she returned just as fiercely. "What?! I will get him for that!" 

  "Are you both done? I've had enough nonsense for a day", Alessandro voiced out, irritated, earning a growl from his mother's side but before they could give him a scolding, he turned and limped away. 

  "Lorenzo Alessandro!! I don't want you causing anymore trouble! You get that?!!" His father pronounced before he exited the room and made his way to his room. 

  Alessandro had worse things to worry about than his family's reputation for the time being. He had taken on a well-known model who was known for her bossy and clingy attitude and made her pregnant and now she was after him, wanting him to claim her his or else she would ruin his already prominent status in the society as the spoiled playboy. One thing he took in account was to murder her but little amount of shame and her family background stopped him from doing so. He was frustrated and was on the verge of lashing out at someone when his eyes caught a familiar figure making his way towards him with a first aid box. 

  "Are you hurt?" Mateo innocently asked, shuffling through the many tubes and pills while Alessandro sat on the bed, peering over at his injured foot. He could tell that his foot was better now but there was a limp in his walk but he didn't care. Or did he? "I thought I'd-"

  "Leave." The younger boy stopped dead and looked up at his husband, he had worn his dark expression once again and with the blood covering the side of his face, he looked even frightening. Mateo gulped not knowing if he should continue his little helpful act or step away. The thing was, Mateo would always help if he saw anyone hurt, that was just how his brain worked, he was kind and Alessandro could tell by his concerned face despite him knowing talking to Alessandro would cause him trouble. 

  "B-but you're.... hurt. You told me to do your work so.....is it not my duty to-" Mateo fought back, desperately wanting to help but the heir was just too exasperated by the current events as he cut him off, raising his voice. 

  "I said f*****g leave! I don't need anyone!" Mateo flinched, tensing up. He just wanted to help? His cheeks started heating up as he held onto the first-aid kit contemplating with himself whether to leave or not. But his conscience told him otherwise, he couldn't just leave his 'husband' in this condition. 

  "It will take a few minutes. Please. You're badly hurt." Taking out a cotton pad and an antiseptic solution, he sat the kit aside and wet the cotton with it before he leaned in, placing it gently onto the wound by the temple. Alessandro hissed, gripping his wrist harshly, and shoving it away. 

  "Don't make me punch you in the face", Alessandro warned, his eyes growing bigger with every word. Mateo hesitated for a while but eventually left the kit by his side and rushed out, not wanting the heir to see the tears swelling in his eyes. 

  "You must be Mrs. Lorenzo?-" , The old lady turned to be welcomed by a well-dressed girl who looked like she was in her early 20s wearing a one piece and a flirtatious expression. The lady head squinted her eyes at her before they averted to the guard who came rushing to stop the girl. 

  "Ma'am please leave". 

  "Who are you and how did you enter?" Mrs Lorenzo crossed her arms before her chest and raised an eyebrow. 

  "Tiffany  and I entered by the door duh, your youngest son might have mentioned me to you?", The girl calling herself Tiffany blew at her long manicured nails as she spoke, wearing a permanent smirk. 

  "No, he knows no Tiffany. You may leave", With that she turned around to walk away but stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening. Obviously she knew this girl by her modelling career but she pretended to play the clueless one. What business does she have with Alessandro?

  "Ma'am I don't want to be harsh with you so just leave, Alessandro sir is not well".

  "Shut up, I need to talk to the mother of my baby's father".