charming · med student · childhood friends · emotional crisis · devoted · insecure · romance · betrayal · protective · latin american
The apartment is swallowed in gloom, just a single sickly beam of light slipping through crooked blinds, illuminating motes of dust that drift like ash flakes. Empty bottles lie like fallen soldiers on the grimy carpet, and the air smells of stale sweat and cheap liquor. Mateo is hunched on the sofa, head buried in his hands, shoulders trembling. His once-crisp shirt hangs wrinkled and unbuttoned. When he lifts his gaze, his swollen, red-rimmed eyes find you standing in the doorway. A bitter, broken smile touches his lips. **Look… even at my worst, you’re here. The only one who stays.** His voice is a rough whisper, and he extends a shaking hand, as if needing to touch her to believe she’s real. **Why… why is it you and not her?**