Chapter 3

"Ishe always this uptight when it comes to you?" Matteo leans down and whispers in my ear.

"Yeah, he is. Usually, He"s not bad, but he gets weird when he sees dudes talking to me. Actually, that"s a lie. He doesn"t want anyone to mess with me, which I have to be thankful for. He"s the brother I never knew I wanted." Throwing a look over my shoulder, I giggle at Xander following Matteo and me. He"s been sulking the entire way from class.

"That"s cool. I guess we all gotta have someone to look out for us. Though I"d be more than happy to look out for you myself." He wraps an arm around my shoulder, and I tense in anxiety.

I"ve never had a boyfriend before, and though Matteo wouldn"t be the first one to try, I don"t know how to act. Honestly, I"m just happy he"s not as scared of Xander as everyone else seems to be.

That"s a plus, I guess

"It takes a lot to look out for me." I say back to him, and he tightens his grip on me.

"I think I can live up to the challenge." Matteo leans forward like he"s going to try to kiss me when Xander walks up behind us and bumps him with his shoulder.

"You two ever planning on getting to where we"re going, or are you going to act like horn dogs in the middle of the street. You, Matteo, I know it takes a lot for you to score. But Mel, I didn"t think you were such a fucking slut for attention."

Anger exploded in my body, "Xander, who the hell are you talking to like that. I"m a grown woman, and if I want to kiss all over Mateo in public, I"ll do it. You don"t own me, regardless of what you may think, I don"t belong to the great Xander Gerard, and more so, I don"t owe you any explanation. I"m not a slut, and for you to fix your mouth to say something like that to me is appalling. Is that how you talk to people you care about?"

He stares at me for a second, those chocolate brown eyes cutting right through every layer of anger and hostility I"m trying to uphold. "Yes, you do."

Looking away for a second, I try to figure out what he"s talking about. Out of all the things I said, he answered with that. "What? Yes, I do what?"

"Yes, you do belong to me. I"ve had you since you were a little scrap of a girl. Now that you"ve blossomed into a full-grown woman, you think I have no say in what happens in your life? Fine, but I promise you now, these fuckboys will never be what I am to you."

"Are you sure you two aren"t together?" Matteo asks loud enough for me to remember he was indeed still right here next to me.

"What are you to me?" I cross my arms and stare at Xander.

"I"m your everything. We just don"t have sex." He smiles and walks off like this is a reasonable response.

I throw my hands up in the air and groan, exasperated. "Jeez, I"m getting sick and tired of his bullshit. He has such double standards. He can do whatever the hell he wants with whoever the hell he wants, and I have to be fine with it, but the minute anyone starts to show the tiniest bit of attention to me, I"m a slut. It"s annoying," I complain to Matteo.

"Did you ever find out if he likes you more than what he"s saying? Maybe that"s why he acts like this?" Matteo and I start walking again.

"No, he doesn"t. Honestly, we"ve been with each other basically every day since elementary school. He"d spend summer vacation sleeping over at my house. He told me about the first girl he slept with. He was there when I lost my mother. He"s honestly like the big brother I never wanted but now can"t live without. He"s a really good friend, but occasionally, he takes his protection detail a little too seriously."

I stop walking and pull Matteo to a stop with me. Looking up into his bright blue eyes and curly blond hair, I can"t help but smile. His face is so homely looking.

I could picture him on a farm somewhere with a piece of hay sticking out the corner of his mouth. He"d roll up his sleeves and hammer down fences, so the sheep wouldn"t get out. He"s precisely the kind of guy I should be going for. I mean, if I"m ever going to lose my virginity, I guess it should be with a man with some morals. Xander can"t fault me for that. After all, he hasn"t been a virgin in years.

"How about we hit the restaurant a little early? If you want to go right now, I don"t need to change."

Matteo"s eyes widen, and he nods with enthusiasm, "Yeah, that"d be great. What about him?" He gestures with his head in Xander"s direction.

"He can take my books home. As I said, I"m grown. I can do whatever the hell I want to do." With a shrug, I grab hold of Matteo"s hand, walking faster now, so we can catch up to Xander.

"Hey, Xander. Can you do me a favor?" I call out for him, and he stops.

"What?"

"Can you take my books home for me? I"m going with Matteo now. No need for me to go all the way home to drop these off."

Xander"s eyes turn a deeper brown color, and I see the muscle on the side of his face twitching.

"What the hell do I look like, your fucking pack mule?" He snaps out at me.

"No, you look like my friend who wants me to have a good time and is sensible enough to know this would be a nice thing to do for someone you supposedly care about. Am I wrong?"

"Yeah, there"s nothing sensible about me." He glares at me for a second before he puts his hand out for my books.

"Thanks!" I reach up and kiss him on the cheek and turn to stand next to Matteo.

"Hey, Matty boy, keep your damn hands, mouth, and dick to yourself. If I hear any different, I"ll make sure you figure out first hand how all of those body parts fit together." Xander smiles at him and turns to walk away. "Mel, keep your fucking phone on." He yells at me over his shoulder. When I look back at Matteo, his face is a little pale, and he"s staring at me like I"m a witch or something.

"Did he threaten me?"

"Nah, he"s just trying to play bad." I joke and bite the corner of my lip. If he knew how many boys Xander had beaten up when they tried to mess with me, he"d never go out with me.

* * *

"Oh, my god, that had to be the best Cuban food I"ve ever had in my life." I hang my head back as we walk down 124th street in the direction of my apartment.

"Tell me about it. I love going there. I even order take-out sometimes when I can. College student here, so I don"t have much money." He jokes.

"Yeah, I hear you." I push my hair behind my ear. "We"re in the same boat, remember."

"Huh, yeah, right. There"s no way you"re a poor college student like me. You"re one of the few people in Columbia with your own apartment, a car, and access to all the amenities you could wish for."

"We"re not rich. Besides, most of it is Xander"s anyway. His parents set him up. We don"t need a car in New York, but he enjoys having it. He says it makes getting out of this tourist-infested area much faster."

"Ah, well, maybe that"s why he acts like such a jerk so much. He"s got the funds, so he thinks he can do whatever he wants." Matteo shrugs, and even though it"s an accurate assumption, it bothers me he thinks he can talk bad about my best friend to me.

Xander may be an asshole, but he"s the only one who"s taken care of me. He may be a bit rough around the edges, but he"s always been there.

"Nah, he"s not like that. The boy would give you the shirt off his back if he needed to."

"Whatever, I don"t want to talk about Xander. Let"s talk more about you," Matteo says, grabbing hold of my arm and slowing my stroll. I look around the area, and though we were close to the school, we"re also in the middle of what could be considered one of the worse neighborhoods in Harlem.

"We can talk more at the house," I tell him and try to push away.

"Nah, not with Xander, the cock block, up there." He jokes and pushes me towards one of the back walls.

"Cock block?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

How the hell can Xander be a cock block if I"m not interested in his cock? I don"t want Matteo to get the wrong idea. Sure, I think he"s hot, and maybe down the line, I"d be willing to let the man deflower me. Right now, I just want to go to bed after a nice dinner.

"No, he"s not," I say, getting more and more uncomfortable as the seconds pass. "Let"s just keep on going."

He leans his head down to get closer to me, "Don"t tell me you"re shy now. I mean, people do this all the time. You said you were having a good time at dinner, right?" He presses himself against me, so I can"t move from where I am on the wall.

"Yes, I was having a good time, but I"m not really into groping and stuff outdoors. PDA just isn"t my thing."

"I can show you what kind of things you"ll like. Trust me, Mel. I want to make it so good for you." He leans down and tries to kiss me, but I shove his face away. "I said no, eww. I"m going home." He backs off a bit, and I start walking in the direction of my off-campus apartment.

"Aww, wait, come on, Mel. I was just playing with you." Matteo rushes to keep up with me, but I no longer have anything to say. I should have listened to Xander. "Don"t be like that."

A man walks on the sidewalk in our direction and bumps into Matteo hard, who in turn bumps into me.

"Hey bro, what the hell is your problem?" Matteo asks.

"Both of you, walk in there." The man in front of us pulls out a gun and points it in our direction.

"Oh shit." I squeak, but my body immediately freezes in fright.

"I said fucking move!" The man screams at us to back up into an alley. It"s so dark in this part of town, I know for sure no one will be able to see what"s going on.

"Look, man, this is all we have. Take what you want, just don"t fucking shoot." I hear Matteo talking and realize it sounds like he"s crying. Is this bastard crying for his life?

"Give me your fucking wallet! And your purse! I want it all!" The man with the gun says, and I see his eyes darting from side to side, as if he is waiting for someone to come out and catch him.

"Okay, can I take my ID out?" I ask, knowing I"m not going to be able to get any of my things back unless I have some ID.

"Don"t be a fucking twat. Just give him the whole damn purse!" Matteo snatches my bag out of my hand and shoves it at the robber. He then reaches into his pocket and takes out his wallet.

"Give me the jewelry, too. That shit around your neck."

My heart stops beating for a second when I realize what he"s talking about. It"s my mother"s name chain. It was a thin gold chain with her name on it. It"s all I have left of her after she died. I never take it off. I forget it"s even there most times.

"No, please, it"s my mothers. I"ve given you everything else, please. It"s all I have!" I cry out.

He pulls back his hand and strikes me across the side of my face. I fall to the ground, my head landing in something warm and wet. I hope to God it"s just water and not piss. By the smell of it, though, I"m saying my hopes of it being just water are wrong.

"I said fucking give it to me!" The man screams and kicks Matteo in the dick, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Just give it to him, fucking give it!" Matteo wheezes out.

The robber bends down and rips the chain from my neck, and it feels like he"s ripping a memory away with it. It"s a one-of-a-kind necklace. I"ll never get something like that back. He checks Matteo for anything else worth having and takes all that as well.

Once he"s done taking everything he can from us, he proceeds to kick both Matteo and me around a bit before taking off without stuff.

I can taste the tangy metallic blood in my mouth, and my side aches from the force of the man"s boot. "Fucking hell, this date sure as hell wasn"t worth all this."

I hear Matteo groan out, and when I look over to where he"s lying, I watch him rise slowly crawl out of the alley. He left me here. He didn"t check to see if I was okay. He just left me here like I was another piece of trash on the street.

Big tears roll down my face--some from humiliation, others from anger and pain, but finally, most of them just from fear. I want to go home. I want Xander.