Chapter 12 Wrong House, Wrong Person
Wrong House, Wrong Person
Mateo
Soft snores caress my throat, and it takes me a second to realize where I am and what’s happening.
It takes me longer to realize I’m awake and this is not a dream.
Daisy in my arms is not a dream but a reality.
A naked Daisy, at that. A sound asleep and completely spent Daisy.
I had the night of my life. I can just hope she did too.
It’s time for me to get up. My body will hurt forever if I don’t, but I can’t seem to move.
How am I supposed to when I finally have the girl in my arms?
As if she can hear my thoughts, she turns over, mumbling indecipherable words and hugging the pillow instead of me.
I get up, get changed, and kiss her forehead.
“I’m going for a run.”
“Don’t go, or I’ll think it was a dream,” she whispers with her eyes still closed. We’re more in sync than I thought.
I brush her hair back. “It wasn’t. I’m here. I’ll bring coffee. Sleep.”
“You said you loved me.” Her voice is groggy, full of sleep, and her brows are furrowed. Did she not believe me?
“I did, and I do.” My fingers crawl through her hair. “I love you, in case you need to hear it again,” I whisper. Her plump lips are parted slightly and soft breath escapes. I let out a sigh, kiss her forehead again and leave.
A ten minute run turns into thirty and before I know it I've been running for an hour and a half.
Something about running that makes me feel like I can do anything.
The first mile feels never ending but after I push through the discomfort, it makes me feel unstoppable.
I do have to stop. The wedding is tonight and I want to spend the afternoon talking to Daisy.
I walk up to the resort, leaving the beach behind me and step up to the bar to order some coffee. Just my luck that Violeta is sitting there too.
“How’s the bride feeling today?” I ask. She immediately looks my way with pure hatred behind her eyes.
“So how long did you cheat on me?” Violeta asks loud and clear. So this is why she’s been acting upset all trip.
“I didn’t cheat on you, Violeta. Ever,” I reply.
“It’s clear you did. How many times did we argue over Daisy? Too many to count, but I was right, huh? I mean look at you two. It’s clear you’ve been a thing forever.” She gets up, puts her drink down and speedwalks to the lobby. Chasing Violeta on her wedding day is not what I expected today.
“Stop walking so we can talk.” So irrational, always.
She turns around and crosses her arms over her chest. This is a more secluded part of the resort, at the end of a corridor so at least we’ll get some privacy.
“How. Long?!”
“You will not yell at me. I understand that you’re furious for whatever reason but you will speak to me in the same way I’ve always spoken to you.
I don’t owe you anything but I’m willing to talk, emphasis on the word talk.
” She’s erratic and it was one of our biggest issues when we dated.
I never knew when she would be calm or when she would accuse me of shit I never did.
It’s a miracle I tolerated it for as long as I did.
“Fine! How long did you cheat on me?”
“Never. Not once. The day I realized I loved someone else, I broke up with you.”
“You said there was nobody else and that we were just not meant to be,” she adds.
“And both of those things were true. I didn’t even tell Daisy how I felt about her until later.
Hell, I didn’t even realize it myself until—” I stop talking.
Because nobody knows what actually happened.
Well, Livie does. I thought it was time to settle down.
I thought it was time to think about children and Violeta pushed for marriage and a family so much I thought it was me with the problem.
I bought the ring but the day I was going to propose I realized it wasn’t her hand I wanted to be holding when I was old, it was someone else’s.
So instead I broke up with Violeta. Livie knew I had bought the ring so I had to tell her what happened, minus the whole I’m in love with someone else thing.
Daisy also knew I bought the ring, so when I told her about not being together anymore, she assumed Violeta said no, and I just never corrected her. Wrong of me, but better than to let her know how I felt about her. Now it doesn’t seem so silly, does it?
“Until when?” she asks.
I don’t want to hurt her. I may not love her, but I did care about her, and she doesn’t deserve to hurt over something she had no control over. My heart belonged to someone else. There was nothing she could do.
“Until the day we broke up. I promise, it had nothing to do with you, Violeta. But what I want to know is why you’re holding a grudge. You’re about to get married, to my cousin at that.”
She shakes her head, and a tear falls down her cheek. “I’m just so hormonal. It did piss me off seeing you two together, but just because I thought you were cheating on me. I didn’t want to be the joke.”
“You’re not a joke. We just weren’t right for each other.”
“Yeah, and this freaking pregnancy has me all unbalanced. I’m blowing everything out of proportion. I’ve treated everyone so poorly.”
“Pregnancy?” I ask, and her eyes open wide.
“Oh, shit.”
I chuckle. “Congratulations?”
“Thanks. Nobody’s supposed to know. Jaime doesn’t want to disappoint his parents, and I’m just…well, emotional.”
“That’s normal, but stop taking it out on others. It’s not Daisy’s fault. I promise you, she did nothing wrong. I’m happy for you, though. You always wanted to be a mom.”
She nods and lets out a quiet sob. “I’m sorry.” I step forward but hold myself back. I can’t really console her right now, not when she’s been so upset about my relationship with Daisy. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.
“Please don’t,” Violeta says loudly, and I nod. I won’t hug her, but at least I can wipe away her mascara-filled tears.
“I can’t do this,” she says between a small sob and holding her belly. She can, and she just needs to talk to Jaime.
“You sure can.” I hold her hand reassuringly.
Violeta opens her mouth to say something, but her eyes dart to a ruckus behind me. I turn, and at first, I notice the group of carolers carrying a Christmas tune, but then I see Daisy. I smile immediately, but it’s not returned.
She looks worried, and when I follow her gaze to me and Violeta holding hands, I can only imagine what she’s thinking. Of course, she’s going to think the worst.
“Daze, wait!” I shout, but she’s already running back to the room.
“I gotta go,” I tell Violeta, and she nods.
“Sorry I’ve been anything but pleasant. I’ll get it together.”
“Just leave my girl out of it. Go, enjoy your day. See you tonight, Mrs. Sanz.”
“I always thought I would be… It just—”
“Wasn’t me,” I interrupt. “It’s a good thing, Violeta. Jaime loves you, and I’m sure you love him back.” She nods. “Then forget the past. Rest easy that it wasn’t you, it was me. Go be happy.”
She nods again.
“I do have to go, okay?” I squeeze her hand again and run back to catch Daisy. She’s already gone, and judging by the way she took off, she’s back in the room.
Why would she think the worst of me? I’m her best friend, but also…last night was a lot, and we didn’t talk. Today, she probably woke up by herself and the first thing she saw was me holding Violeta’s hand. Damn, I would think the worst too.
I open the door and hear the shower running. Okay, she is here.
I can see why she’d jump to the worst case scenario. Our hands together and maybe even the words I was saying—how much did she hear? What did it look like? It sure as hell probably looked like exes reconciling.
“Daze.” I knock on the door.
“It’s fine, Mateo. We got carried away last night. It’s fine.”
The water is loud crashing over her body. The swish of her scrubbing distracts me from what I’m here for: her. “It’s not fine, and we didn’t. Nothing we did last night was fine. Can I come in?” I ask.
“No, I don’t want to talk,” she shouts over the shower.
“Is this one of those instances when you tell me no but it’s really a yes? Can I please come in? I want to be respectful but I also want to talk to you.”
“I said I don’t want to talk.”
“You know what, Daisy? Sometimes, you’re so infuriating.
” I drag my hand over my face in exasperation.
My heart is racing, but I can’t let it go.
She needs to hear me. “I’m coming in.” The bathroom is foggy, completely full of steam from the scalding shower.
“Are you in pain?” I ask, because maybe I was too rough on her last night, and she’s soothing her muscles with the heat of the shower.
She lets out an exasperated sigh. “No, I’m not in pain, Mateo, but I still don’t want to talk.”
“Good. Then listen.” I pause, letting her know I mean it. Rarely do I tell Daisy what to do or what I think she should do, but right now, I need her to listen.
“I don’t know what you think you saw, but Violeta and I were just talking. She thought I cheated on her with you, apparently has thought it all along, and she’s emotional for many reasons. I did not go to her this morning.”
She yanks the shower curtain aside, and suddenly, I’m face-to-face with a very pissed—no, not pissed, more like sad—but still breathtakingly naked Daisy. Waterdrops race down her skin like liquid gems, but her eyes are sharper than knives—cutting right through me.
“Why would she think that? And why was she emotional after being the one to call things off?” Her voice cracks, allowing me to see inside her feelings.
Now’s the time, I guess. I lean back against the wall, exhaling hard, my palm dragging over my face.
The short, rough bristles of my stubble scrape my fingers, a reminder of how she tasted last night.
It’s etched into me now—carved into memory, not just remembered but branded—and I’m not hoping, no, praying we get to do it again.