Page 22 of Violent Attraction
He shrugs and continues to walk through the wing until he reaches a door nestled all the way in the back.
Santiago opens the door without letting go of my hand and as soon as I walk in, I’m encased in everything that is Santiago Reyes.
His smell fills my nose and I want to stitch it to my brain so that I won't forget it.
Looking around, I see that he made this side of the wing like his very own apartment. There is a sitting area with a massive TV, there’s even a small little kitchen with a fridge that I’m sure holds alcohol. Everything he might need, it’s here.
My eyes continue to scan the space and I see two doors that I know lead to a bedroom and a bathroom.
He really made this place his own.
“Wow. It’s like you have your own place.” I turn to him and I find him already looking at me.
He nods. “I wanted it to feel like home, especially after spending so much time in Austin with your brother. So, I made this place home and it helps that my parents are only on the other side of the estate.”
I nod, but I don’t say anything. I just continue to marvel at everything that I haven’t known about Santiago for two years.
I knew he still lived on the property part-time, I just thought he was with his parents, not here with Leo.
There is something else that I don’t know either…
“Why did you bring me here?” He leaves me standing there in the middle of what is considered his living room and heads to his small fridge.
“You wanted to leave the party.” He opens the fridge and pulls out two beers, before turning back to me. “So, I brought you here. Away from the party.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? Because I wanted to?” He gives me a confused look as he makes his way back to me.
“You didn’t want anything to do with me for the last two years. Why now?”
It’s an honest question.
For two years, he ignored me and acted like I didn’t exist.
Why is it that all of the sudden, I graduate high school and he wants to spend time with me? It makes no fucking sense at all.
I can see him contemplating my question. I know he is trying to come up with the answer and coming up short.
Doesn’t he know that all I want is the truth?
Like I gave him for so many years.
“I’m going back to the party.”
I’m not going to deal with him, or him only wanting to be a part of my life when he wants to.
“Because for the first time in two years I want to be selfish and spend time with you.”
His words ring out before I step over the threshold.
“How is you spending time with me, selfish?” I don’t turn to face him. I keep my head pointed straight ahead and my shoulders squared back, just waiting for him to speak.
“Me putting distance between us was to protect you, to save you. Seeing you today made me want to go back to a time where we could just be somewhere and not have a care in the world. So, when I saw you earlier, I decided to be selfish for one night.”
I’m trying to comprehend what he is telling me, but it feels as if it’s going one ear and out the other. I hear the words; I know what they mean in a literal sense but what do they mean outside of that?
I turn slowly to face him again, stepping further into the room and closing the door behind me once again. “Protect me from what?”