Chapter 12

The impact echoed like a snap in the hallway. Mateo’s head jerked back violently from the force of the blow, and he took two staggering steps backward, breaking his grip on me. He brought a hand up to his cheek, brushing his swollen bottom lip, and stared at me with wide, shocked eyes as the hot blood of a fight ignited in both our gazes again.

I ran to my room, tripping over my own feet, slammed the door shut, and threw the lock with my hands shaking out of control.

I slid down the back of the door until my ass hit the floor, burying my hands in my hair and gripping it tight, feeling like I was about to lose my mind.

My chest was heaving, my lungs burning, and my brain was going a thousand miles an hour. *“What the fuck just happened to me? Why did I get so turned on? Why with a guy? And why the hell did I come so damn fast?”* The questions kept slamming against my skull like a sledgehammer. I couldn't wrap my head around it. My whole life I’d been into girls. I liked Sofi. I wanted Sofi. And then, in just a few minutes under Mateo’s hands, my own body betrayed me in the most humiliating, disgusting way possible.

I couldn't sleep a single second all night. Every time I tried to close my eyes, I felt the ghost of his fingers digging into my skin, the wet touch of his mouth on my neck, and his hot breath against my ear. It was absolute torture. I spent the night frantically wiping my stomach and thigh with the bedsheet, as if I could scrub the memory off my skin.

It wasn't until the first pale light of morning started bleeding through the window that I managed to come up with a desperate excuse so I wouldn't completely lose it: *“I’m a virgin.”* That had to be it. Nobody had ever touched me like that before. My body, in all its pathetic inexperience, just had a physical reaction to intense contact; it didn't care that it was another guy, or that it was the asshole I hated most in this world. It was just a biological reaction because I’d never felt anything like it. If I didn't lose my virginity to a girl soon, my body was going to stay this messed up and react like a desperate loser to anyone who laid a hand on me.

I needed Sofi. I needed to actually win her over, take that next step with her, and erase this disaster from my mind once and for all.

Holding onto that thought like my only lifeline, I got out of bed, threw on a fresh shirt, and went downstairs to grab something to eat. But the moment I set foot in the dining room, the whole house went dead silent.

I swore under my breath when I saw my mom. Her face was bright red with rage. Carlos stood next to her, stiff as a board, arms crossed tight. And sitting right at the table was Mateo, looking completely unfazed, holding an ice pack against his swollen, purple jaw.

—“Lucas!” my mom yelled the second she saw me, scraping her chair back as she stood up. —“What the hell is wrong with you?! Why on earth did you hit Mateo?!”

I froze in my tracks, my throat dry. I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't scream in front of everyone that her precious stepson had cornered me and touched me by force. If I said that, it would destroy my mom’s marriage, start an all-out war, and Sofi would end up finding out in the most humiliating way.

—“He touched my stuff without permission,” I gritted out through my teeth, clenching my fists. —“He came into my room, took my pants, and wouldn't give them back.”

—“Over clothes?!” my mom shouted, throwing her hands up, completely unhinged. —“You messed up your brother's face over a stupid pair of pants?!”

—“He’s not my fucking brother!” I exploded, completely losing my temper. —“I never asked to be here! Nobody asked me if I wanted to move into this house, or if I wanted a new family, or if I wanted to deal with this asshole every single day. I don't want a brother!”

—“I don't care what you want!” my mom shot back, her voice dropping into a coldness that hit me like a bucket of ice water. —“Carlos and I are married. We are a family now, and you are going to learn how to act like it whether you like it or not.”

Carlos let out a heavy sigh, stepped forward, and looked at both of us—first at Mateo’s messed-up face, then at me.

—“Your mother is right. This situation ends today,” Carlos said, his voice hard and leaving no room for argument. —“If you two can't learn to respect each other the easy way, you're going to do it the hard way. Starting today, Lucas, grab your things and move into Mateo's room. You're sharing a room until you learn to get along.”