Trust me Not | ✓

04 • tussle

c h a p t e r

04

tussle

♔

m y r a

I DID NOT LIKE HIM.

After hearing countless things and having two memorable encounters with the man of the hour himself, I concluded that I did not like Nicolas de la Garza.

His presence was like a vortex that sucked out the mere existence of everybody else in his attendance until he filled your entire vision. During the match that I had promised to attend for the sake of Noah, my eyes would keep drawing back to him in the field.

There was something so dark and dangerous about him that sent a chill down my spine but also demanded my attention all the same. It was like watching a horror movie when you knew you were in for a jump scare but couldn't tear your eyes away from the screen.

But tonight wasn't about that; it was supposed to be about Noah, but it wasn't about him either.

Valeria had called me. All on her own, pretending to be some kind of a mother to me, asking me about my day and life in general. I had almost crashed my phone into the wall until Mira got me out of that situation. I told her I was going to a party, and she giggled and promised to keep it between the two of us.

I hated that feeling. Even though Papa would be downright furious if he ever found out that I had been attending parties at that moment, I wanted absolutely nothing to have in common with that woman.

She was not my mother.

My mind was in a trance that couldn't be broken free from so the only way of respite I knew was to numb the emotion by drinking it away.

I didn't own that many cocktail dresses, so Mira had lent me one of hers. It was a gorgeous black dress with spaghetti straps that stopped in the middle of my thigh. It had a little slit on the left side to give a bit of character, and I paired it all with golden earrings.

Mira had a lot going on with her outfit. She wore a black crop top over a short skirt, pairing it with the silver belt. Her tattoos were in full display since she didn't bother to hide them as she did on campus; her long row of rose bushes inked on her arms blinked at me as she grabbed her knee-high boots.

There was something so unique about the way Mira dressed, and it was one of the first things that drew me to her.

One of our earliest memories of bonding had been her rummaging through her closet to find Ugg boots. Upon seeing her unique collection of outfits, I demanded she show me her versatile set of black clothes, and she happily obliged while giving me a fashion show of my own.

"You look great." I complimented, pouring shots for both of us.

"Watching you pour shots seems illegal even after a whole ass year, babe." She exclaimed as she straightened her hair. Our dorm offered us two huge mirrors and wash basins in the bathroom for usage, and it was our second favourite place apart from our beds.

"So Jeremy, huh?" Her reflection wriggled her eyebrows at me as I sighed and set down the glass next to her. Jeremy had approached me in the cafeteria and asked for a date.