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Morgan couldn't help but ask. "Who's Sergio?" He was sure Fuego knew by this time that he had money to burn. Rescuing people with briefcases full of cash wouldn't bother him in the least. And if he had to, there were the Russians. He didn't need body guards anymore. Just servants.
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"He's someone very tragic." Viento offered as the answer to the question. "Hates my guts."
Fuego nodded. He wasn't sure of how much he wanted to offer as explanation about Sergio. There was a lot of detail there that would interlink with himself and Viento's past. How much did Jade now? He didn't want to out Viento in any way. "He's a cousin of ours who lives where Viento and I lived. His parents dumped him off when he was young." Viento smirked. Jade was so interested in Mateo, maybe this would put a stopper on that. "He's Mateo's half brother. Mateo didn't even offer to help Sergio when he was abandoned at the doorstep of a brothel house. Jealous I bet. Jealous of Sergio and especially Matao." |
Jade covered his mouth.
"But...Mateo...he's not like that..." He looked a little distraught for they were painting a different picture of a friend he had treasured in Viento's absence. "Sergio and Matao could've been adopted and treated as Mateo's little brothers. Instead, he didn't lift a finger to help." Jade felt sick at the thought. Right at this moment he wanted to speak to Mateo and clear this up. He couldn't be that terrible of a person... Rising, he left the table. |
Viento stood up once Jade had. "Jade, where are you going?" Jade was definately upset like he had inticipated he would be, but this wasn't exactly the reaction he wanted.
"How does Jade know Mateo?" |
"I think they met each other at one of his concerts?" Morgan pondered. "Mateo's a fan, right? A big one."
Big wasn't in the same context Viento was thinking. He frowned as he watched Jade go, torn whether to pursue or stay. Finally, he rushed after him. If Jade told him to back off, he would. But he would stay in the shadows to make sure no harm would befall him. Jade dialed Mateo in haste. The moment the receiver picked up, he said, "I need to see you." |
Mateo hung up after getting the location of where jade was. "I have to go into the office."
KT looked over at him from tuning his guitar. "You talked.....you threw off the tone." "Good, then stay here and find it again." Mateo looked in the mirror, adjusted his hair and suit before he headed out. MAteo looking in the mirror to adjust himself was odd. Why would he do this if he's just going into the office. KT frowned and set aside his guitar. Stupid Mateo, he was going off to see someone wasn't he? He would catch him in the act! KT headed out of the house to go to his car and follow Mateo. |
Jade stared at his feet as they swung beneath him as he sat on a wooden park bench. He was beginning to regret this. He had no right to interfere or question other people, and the way they lived. He had called Mateo without thinking about any of this. But the longer he sat, the more his mind stormed over what he had heard from Viento and Fuego.
"How could it be true?" he murmured. Mateo had heard this and slowed his steps. Just looking at his posture made it obvious this was no confession of undying love. He hesitated before greeting him. Jade looked up, feeling like he was on the brink of tears. "I'm sorry," he apologized immediately. "I have no right...asking you these things...I just...called you without thinking..." Mateo sat beside him and shook his head. "Not at all. I'm here for you anytime. What's wrong?" "I don't want to believe everything I hear...but..." Mateo wanted to shoot this informant of bad news. Someone must have had it out for him. That was quite a long hit list. "I just heard something...about your brothers...And, I just couldn't picture that being like you." KT was in the bushes, glaring holes at Jade. The fact that Mateo's leg was touching Jade's was making him unhappier. He was cheating on him! |
Viento watched the scene with a frown. He crouched down low as he headed towards a better location. He didn't pay attention to where he was moving. When he ran into KT he had to quickly cover KT's mouth when he nearly shouted out. "Sh." It was obvious the two of them were there for the same reason. They were concerned about their partner with another man.
Any other personal, even female, that had mentioned Mateo's brothers would have recieved the barrel of a gun in their mouths. It was a subject Mateo hated and refused to discuss with others. Even Juan was cut out of the loop when it concerned their half brothers. Jade was different. "I keep things from you for the very fact that I don't want your opinion of me to lower. The things I keep from you are terrible. I'm no angel like you." Jade's eyes kept their glance down. "I wont pretend that I'm not a bad person." Mateo reached over and felt along one of Jade's cheeks then the other with the back of his hand. "The things I do and say are the very reason I'd never tell you..." Here he hesitated. If what he told him about his brothers was so unforgivable then he would have this last chance to talk to Jade. After another pause he continued. "It's the very reason I never told you I love you, so much. You're an exact opposite of every evil I do and feel. If you want to know about my brothers I can tell you, but I don't want to make you hate me." |
"I'm sure you had some reason for doing what you did. Only truly evil people would do it for fun." He turned his gaze to meet Mateo's. "I know you're not evil. You don't have to tell me about them since it's a sensitive topic. I just...wish...you would do something to change it. I don't know this story of a malicious Mateo. You're a better person than someone spiteful and cruel, Mateo. I know that Mateo."
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Mateo moved away from Jade and rose from the bench. "I can't. I can't let them be happy. I want them to suffer. I want them to suffer every day of their lives."
As much as it pained Mateo to admit it the truth stared him in the face. "As much as I'd love to think I would be a perfect person for you, the truth is Viento is a better man than I am. I pick my job, my hate, and my pride over you. That's something he would never do. I loathe those two. The honest truth is that I'm a heartless businessman carved from the stone my Papi built. I wont waver against people who hurt me." |
"Mateo."
He looked down at his hands. Jade had taken both of them in his. Such soft hands. "Please don't do this. All that hate is only going to hurt you in the end." He squeezed his hands. "I'm saying this as a friend. As someone who cares about you so much. Like I said, this isn't my business...but I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't care about you." Jade thought for awhile. "Is there anything I can do to change your mind? Please. You're a bigger person than this..." |
"What will it take for you to drop this? I know it's part of your character to want to believe the goodness in everyone, but sometimes it's just not there. I don't want to talk about it anymore. "
Mateo tried again to move away from Jade to head to his car. |
Jade stared at the ground once more, letting Mateo go. It was crushing him to think Mateo would indeed act like that. Hands dived through his hair as he cried. Maybe he had made Mateo feel like he was blaming him. Maybe he should have asked him why he was hurting so much inside instead.
"I'm sorry, Mateo." *** KT was livid. Once Mateo left Jade on the bench, he shoved Viento away and walked in the opposite direction. The bushes rustled as he went. He wasn't hiding any longer. If Mateo could see and hear him, good! He wanted to let him know he was mad! Stupid Mateo. He liked Jade...No. He loved him. And he told KT he wasn't in this relationship for love. But he loved Jade. Loved. "What's so great about him anyway?!" he shouted at a tree. |
Viento hurried to Jade. He was crying, he had to make it better! Curse that Mateo for making Jade cry!
Viento slid his arms around Jade and felt over his back. Jade hadn't even noticed Viento approaching him, but the minute those warm arms were felt around him he fell against him. He cried softly against the silk shirt Viento was wearing. "This isn't like him." Viento kept back the affirmation that YES it was exactly like Mateo to be this cruel. Not once in his entire life had Mateo been nice to anyone......but Jade. "Jade, do you know Juan?" |
Jade held onto Viento, trying to control his soft cries to answer him.
"Yes. He was the one who was so adamant about seeing me the day I met him and Mateo backstage. Mateo ended up being a fan and my friend. Not Juan. I haven't seen him since." Viento found that a little odd. Juan, the polar opposite of his twin brother, liked everyone. Why not Jade? He would have expected Juan to like Jade, not Mateo. Mateo was the evil one who probably killed boys like Jade for fun... |
"If you have his number, ask him to meet you. Don't tell him about me or he'll mention it to Mateo." He thought about it for a minute. "Tell him Fuego wants to see him if he doesn't agree to meet with you. Today in an hour we'll all sit and talk to him, I think we can help Sergio and Matao this way. It would make you happy, right?"
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Viento brushed away the remaining tears from Jade's eyes, the ones that hadn't fallen when he nodded in response. He smiled at him and softly kissed those cheeks. "It'll work out."
Jade smiled. "I'll see if his number works..." He was hopeful. *** Juan glanced over at the phone as it rang. Gleefully, he picked it up on the second ring. He used his "Mateo" voice to frighten whoever it was on the other line. Jade blinked a few times, looked at Viento, before asking for Juan Caluroso. |
Still in the Mateo voice Juan answered. "Just a minute, let me get my delicious brother that I love so much way more than anyone else, especially more than any girl in the world." After a moment's pause Juan spoke again in his usual voice.
"Hello! This is Juan, what can I do for you? You sound cute! Would you like to date?" |
Jade smiled, remembering just how much fun it was to talk to Juan.
"I would love to. Are you available in an hour?" He named a cafe famous for its nature lush patio and mini waterfall. It would be a peaceful place to tell him such sad news...and perhaps get him to help. |
Juan nodded his head. "YES I AM! I will definately be there." Juan hung up quickly before getting anymore details, too excited at the prospect of another boyfriend or friend. THose were so fun!
Jade smiled at Viento. "He's going to be there." "Perfect, we wont even need Fuego to lure him in." |
"Maybe it would be a good idea to have Fuego there. To convince him to help." His hand sped over the number pad, sending Morgan a text with where to go in less than an hour.
Viento clasped his hands over Jade's. "Knowing him, he'll be more than happy to help. These are his brothers we're talking about. Everything will be fine." *** Morgan and Fuego sat at their table, a small, round wooden one, under a large palm tree. Their legs were intertwined with one another to not only be close, but to survive under the cramped conditions. Once they finished drinking away a chocolate milkshake, they sat close, talking and occasionally stealing kisses from one another. Juan exited his car and entered the cafe, asking for his mysterious man. |
The moment Juan laid eyes on violet hair he let out a squeal that could easily be mistaken for a school girl screaming out for a man she loved. It made people turn and raise eyebrows at the 6 ft 4 man screaming so femininely.
The tall man rushed over to Morgan and Fuego's table. He stood in front of Fuego and easily pulled him up by the arm into a hug. "Fuego!" The wind was knocked out of Fuego as he reached around Juan to hug him back. "Juan." "My beautiful beautiful cousin, I heard you were stolen. I was sure you would have been eaten by monsters. Poor cousin, you're so gorgeous." "I'm fine Juan, I just met someone. I want you to meet him. " Fuego managed to pry himself from Juan's grasp and turn towards Morgan. "This is Morgan Li, my boyfriend." Juan too turned towards Morgan. The business man in Juan caused himself to straighten up. His family was all too eager to do business with the Li's, his father would murder him for not being professional in front of one. "Mr. Li." Fuego was used to the sudden change in attitudes Juan constantly performed. Morgan on the other hand found it hilarious. He smiled and gave a soft laugh as he held out his hand to shake Juan's. "Hello." "It's an honor to meet someone so prestigious. I'm thrilled my cousin was able to find a gorgeous person like yourself to whisk him away from...................me." Juan's lips nearly pouted. He had forgotten that Morgan took Fuego from him. Not unlike Bobby White's influence on Fuego. "Are you a friend of Bobby's?" |
"Bobby? Bobby White?" Morgan asked. "I know him, but I wouldn't say I was a friend of his. We had a run in earlier, and he wasn't quite too happy about it."
Juan looked at the table for two and how cramped it was. How thoughtless of them not to get a table for three if they had called... "You wanted a threesome?" he cried. "I never would've thought--" Viento and Jade had walked over. "Actually, I called you, Juan," Jade said with a smile. |
Juan tilted his head to the side when Jade said he had called him.
"We needed to talk to you." Viento sat down at a table next to the other pair. Juan held back from grasping Viento and kissing his face all over since Jade was there. "What did Jade want?" Viento raised a brow from the way Juan mentioned Jade's name like that. "The same thing." Juan moved his chair close to Viento's and far from Jade's. Fuego definately caught on that Juan didn't like Jade much, but why?! Jade was so amazingly sweet. Viento held Jade's hand as he started the conversation. "We wanted to talk to you about Mateo." "What did it do to him?!" By it everyone knew he meant Jade. "No, no. Mateo's fine. It's about your brothers." Juan laughed some. "What? I only have Mateo. He's so tall that it's like having five though..." "Juan I'm serious, you have two other ones that Mateo's been keeping from you. Their names are Sergio and Matao." |
"I spoke to him to try to convince him to change his mind...Juan, he has them in a bad place..." Jade said softly, not bothered by being talked down to. He had grown a sense of durability against the way Juan referred to him, all thanks to his parents. How he managed to not be bitter was an accomplishment that was amongst the many that cold hearted people like Mateo admired.
Juan kept his attention on Viento. Only noise was emitted from Jade's direction. "Sergio...and Matao..." |
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