Page 62 of Set Play

Hearing him call me by last name rocks me to my core. It would’ve hurt less if he had actually slapped me in the face. “And don’t you dare say Henri! You can’t keep using him as an excuse not to open up to me,” he snarls, taking a few menacing steps toward me.

“Because I don’t know how else to prove that the man you thought I was doesn’t exist. Nothing about the rivalry is the way you think it is, but every time I try to bring it up, you run away! And I just…I can’t keep forcing something that’s one sided. So, if there is a reason other than your brother, tell me. Why did I deserve to be ghosted?”

I lower my gaze, because what am I supposed to say? Henri is my reason. But how am I supposed to explain it to him? I still don’t know what the truth is from their rivalry.

Nothing makes sense anymore. Why doesn’t Mateo match the man Henri described? My brother wouldn’t lie to me like that, would he?

I’m stuck on a carousel of conflicting information, continuously circling the truth but never able to find it. Mateo’s shoulders slump, and he moves to turn away from me.

He can’t leave! Not like this!

My arm shoots out, grabbing a hold of his jacket but before I can find the words to beg him to stay, his eyes clash with mine. The pain in their blue depths lances me to the core, sucking all of the air out of the room.

Everything becomes distorted, as if my head is underwater, and the room is closing in on me. My eyes frantically search for an escape, the panic only amplifying when I can’t find one. My vision starts to haze, and I stumble backward until I slam into a wall, forcing all the air from my lungs.

NO!

I needed that.

I already couldn’t breathe, and now my last bit of oxygen is gone. Fuck!

I dig my nails into my palms, trying to bring myself back to reality with the sharp pain, but even that is muted. Distantly, I feel the scrape of the wall against my back as I slide into a sitting position.

Suddenly, a warm presence rests on my shoulders, and through the daze, I see a shadow. The owner of the warmth, probably.

A voice calls to me, warbled, but distinct, “Come back to me, Chispita.”

Chispita. Why do I like that name so much?

“Fuck, please, Élise, follow the sound of my voice, the feel of my hands on your shoulders.”

The water and haze clear enough that I can see Mateo’s handsome, but worried, face, but the sight doesn’t give me comfort. Not this time.

Not when the memory of his pain and frustration comes flooding back.

I gasp and the haze rushes to fill the space once more. I vaguely hear him let out a string of curses before he slams his lips to mine, the sensation drowning out everything else. Finally, the fog recedes and it feels like my head surfaces.

I still can’t breathe, but that’s probably because Mateo is stealing all of my oxygen. He slowly pulls away, eyes opening to lock onto mine.

“You with me?” He asks softly.

All I can do is nod, my lungs are too busy trying to gulp down air. “Good. Fuck, you scared me.” He sits beside me and before I can object, pulls me into his lap to press a kiss to my temple.

“What just happened, Chispita? I mean, I know it was a panic attack. But can you tell me what triggered it? If it was something I did or said, I’d like to know so that I can avoid doing it again.”

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t you,” I croak out, embarrassingly aware of the roughness in my voice. Leaning my head against his shoulder, I finally crack and give him the explanation he’s been asking for, “Well, it was, but not like that. I just don’t know what to believe. I don’t want to get into the specifics of the rivalry with you, because I’m not ready to go there right now. But I worry…” I trail off, not wanting to voice the next part.

A finger under my chin forces me to look into his eyes. “Worry what, Élise?”

“That one of you is a great liar. And both answers terrify me because it means I’ll lose one of you. Maybe both.”

Chapter 34

Mateo

It’s a good thing we’re already sitting because her whispered confession floors me. Before I find the right words to offer her, voices at the end of the hallway draw her attention, causing her breath to catch in her chest again.

Shit. I need to get her out of the open like this.