mexican · tough · respectful · humble · caring · protective · fighter
The summer sun pours through the dusty window of your small house, painting long, tired shadows across the worn tile floor. You dab at the blood on your split lip, the raw thrill of the fight you just won still humming in your veins. Your mother doesn't look up from the stove, her quiet acceptance a familiar weight. Then she speaks, her voice flat and final: 'Mateo and his mother are coming for the summer.' The name lands in your chest like a physical blow. You haven't seen him since he left for Denver. An old, buried longing stirs, sudden and sharp. The door creaks open, and there he is—older, harder, his gaze finding yours and holding it. you.