Mateo stopped midway, Noah was right. They had just confessed their love the previous night, and today was their first date. Mateo had promised to never leave this man, and besides, he really loved Noah. This was breaking his heart; to see the man sobbing like that. But a lie is a lie. "Nothing changes the fact that you lied to me," he whispered.
"I'm so sorry," Noah cried. "I- I'm sorry. Mateo, please, don't leave me like this. Not you too. Please. I love you."
"Stop this!" the redhead said loudly through clenched teeth as he left for the bedroom. What was he doing in the bedroom, though? It wasn't like he could pack anything, he wasn't going to go home by train or plane.
Traveling between worlds. Via doors. Who could have believed that? That must be some children's story. And he would have said that if he weren't living in it at the moment.
Taking a few deep breaths in the room, he collected himself and his scattered thoughts. When he came back out, all ready to leave, he was faced with a growling wolf, instead of the crying Noah, blocking his way. There it was, the wolf again, with sadness in his eyes, sadness, and loneliness. Exactly the same as he remembered from that first night in this world.
It was useless. You can't reason with an angry wolf. So Mateo gave up and locked himself in the bedroom.
The wolf settled in front of the bedroom's door and tried to sleep, however, the fear of the younger man leaving while he was dozing, caused him to have nightmares all through the night. He was not able to sleep properly.
The next morning, the redhead was feeling calmer, and he was thinking about the previous night. How bad he had reacted to the new information. He remembered Noah's teary eyes and how he was begging him not to leave. Then he considered the fact that maybe the older man was right. Maybe he didn't have a proper life, a good family or friends back in his own wold. Those people that had hurt him like that undoubtedly did not want him alive. They certainly didn't want Mateo there. Mateo knew that waking up in this house, in this world was a miracle, and miracles don't typically happen.
They never happened to him anyway. Not that he remembered his life before this world, but this was his gut feeling.
A light knock on his door transported him back to reality and as he unlocked it, he saw a very exhausted Noah. The man was standing there with red puffy eyes that had black circles under them, his hair was a mess, and expression was blank.
"Noah?" Mateo whispered. Did he really do this to the one he loved? How could he?
Without hesitation and gravely, the older male just told him, "Get ready. I'm taking you back to your world."
And he disappeared, leaving the apartment, waiting for the redhead outside.
That hurt. But Mateo didn't really have anything to complain about. He had said he wanted to go back. He had yelled it at Noah last night, making it crystal clear that being here was the last thing he wanted.
At least, Noah still loved him. Enough to respect his wishes. Mateo couldn't say the same about himself.
He had f.u.c.ked up.
Sighing loudly, the redhead put on his coat and departed from the house as well, bestowing it one last look before securing the door.
The walk to the central park, the place where Noah first found his cheerful companion, was profoundly silent and awkward.
Entering the park, the older man took them in the tree-covered area and they both stood in front of a big old oak which had a big crack in it.
"Years ago, when I was still a young fellow, a teenager, as you humans call it, I fell in love with a man," the older man started, staring at the tree. "I was spending my days with Asher and Angel who had recently got together back then, and we were having a picnic in this forest when we heard a sound. Right where I found you that night, we saw a young man, lying on the ground, lost and confused." He paused for a second, smiling at the memory. "We told him about everything. All those things that I told you last night. Even though he was unable to completely believe us, he said he wanted to stay. He stayed with me, and we started to have feelings for each other. Apparently, I'm dumb enough to fall for people who don't belong to my world."
"The precious picture on the nightstand?" Mateo asked, listening to the story silently.
Nodding, the other male chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, the only valuable thing you could find in my house." Then he continued, "Well, it was good at first. For a few years actually. But then he started to doubt that maybe he had a good life back there in his world. That maybe he had a family that was waiting for him. Exactly the things you might be thinking now. And when that began, Sawyer wasn't himself anymore. He started thinking about life back home, he started imagining things, and we grew apart gradually." Noah wiped a tear from his sorrowful eyes. "And then one day I woke up and he was nowhere to be found," with a grieving smile, Noah turned to the redhead. "I hate loneliness Mateo, and spending time with you for the past months was the best feeling ever. The best I have felt for the longest time. You have changed many things in my life, and I'm grateful for that. You also let me love you, and we had a nice date," they both chuckled. "Thank you for everything. But," he stared into the man's eyes. "I don't want to keep you here with me while you'll be fantasizing about a life that you might have back in your own world-" he was cut off, though.
"Come with me." The redhead said.
