Arms folded, I saw Mateo kept glancing back at me. He wore this smirk on his face, which I didn’t appreciate.
I showed him two fingers, in a big fuck off, and he chuckled.
“Is everything okay?” Sian asked.
“It’s good. More than good. I think William is feeling a little sorry for himself,” Mateo said.
“Fuck off, man. You don’t know what I’m feeling.”
Sian glanced over her seat and smiled at me. “The vomiting aside, I had a lot of fun last night. Thank you.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. “Good. That’s good.”
“We can do it again sometime, minus the alcohol.”
“Yeah, I’m not drinking again,” I said.
“Where have I heard that one before?” Mateo asked.
“I mean it this time. I’m not drinking another drop.”
Mateo didn’t say another word, and I was grateful for that. I wasn’t an addict. I could go weeks and months without a single drop. My problem was handling it when I started to drink. I needed to get better at it, and sooner rather than later.
I stayed quiet as Sian gave Mateo directions to Heather’s house. Gideon and Dante had wanted to come, but Sian had said the fewer people the better. Heather had warned her all her parents cared about was money.
Mateo already had a stack of cash to pay for the laptop if necessary.
The drive was long and we had to make a couple of stops for toilet breaks and snacks. On another, Mateo filled the car with gas, and then we arrived at a trailer park.
Mateo’s flash car stood out like a sore thumb. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said.
“It’s fine.” Sian was already out of the car, and I quickly joined her, leaving Mateo in the car.
Only, he didn’t give me the luxury of helping her out on my own, he climbed out and joined us.
“Dude, I got this.”
“You got the cash to cover whatever fee they ask for?” Mateo asked.
“Touché.”
“What is with you, anyway? You’re acting strange.”
“You don’t have to keep on pointing out to Sian what a piece of crap I am,” I said.
Mateo spun toward me. “A piece of crap?”
“Yeah. I can’t drive her. I don’t have the money. I drink too much. I can’t handle my drink. You know what I’m talking about.”
“I know you’re talking shit right now.” Mateo’s hands clenched into fists. “I haven’t done any of those things. Sian came to me and said you drank too much to drive. She saw you as being responsible, not a piece of crap. Second, you don’t have money on you, I grabbed some as Heather had warned Sian, who told me there was a price tag on everything. Thirdly, learn to handle your drink and don’t get blind drunk. None of those are my problems. They’re your problems.”
He spoke the truth. Now I hated him even more, but I also loved him like a friend. I opened my mouth about to say more when Sian interrupted.
“Got it,” she said with a smile. She held a red laptop in her hands.
“Wait, how did you get it?” Mateo asked.
“I asked. She knew who I was. It turns out Heather’s parents left the trailer. They got some big payout from the school after what happened. Took the money, left all of Heather’s things. Her grandma is now living there.” Sian rubbed at her temple. “I said that I’d come back to get whatever she didn’t want. That’s okay, right?”
“Of course,” I said. “I can bring you back later.”
The smile on her lips lifted my heart.
“Let’s get out of here.”
She held the laptop to her chest like a lifeline.
We climbed back into the car and as we pulled out, Mateo made a call to Fred, organizing a meetup to deal with the laptop. I expected Fred to put up a bit of a fight, but clearly he wanted to know what happened to Heather as well.
With that, Mateo dropped us back off at Gideon’s place before he took off to deal with the laptop.
Sian was pissed that he’d taken it from us.
I put my hands on her shoulders, pulling her back against me and holding her. “You know why we can’t go, right?”
“No. Yes. No. I don’t know.”
“Fred’s dad doesn’t want him near any of us. He believes we’re the problem to his son. We’re the cause for getting him beat up.”
“We are though.”
I wrinkled my nose. “We’ll agree to disagree on that one. But Mateo can get to Fred and handle this. I trust him.”
Sian rested her head against my shoulder. “You’re right. I don’t know why I have any doubts.” She blew out a breath. “I’m hungry. Are you?”
“I could eat.”
She took my hand, leading me inside.
There was no one around, and I was more than happy to prolong my time with Sian.
****
Mateo
“The basement?” I asked.
“Believe me, my dad won’t come down here. It’s my man cave, as he likes to call it.”