#10:

The rest of the week was a whirlwind of activities. Between seminars, visitor passes and case presentations, my much-dreaded guard finally arrived on Saturday.However, despite the fact that I was on the verge of a panic attack, thank God the night was quite calm. The next day we took a written exam and then the specialist dismissed us until the next week.
"Do you have any plans for the weekend, Rosy?" Yunito approached me, smiling at me. For a moment I was afraid I would melt when I looked at his face and those dimples on his cheeks.
"No, nothing special, I'm just going to study".- I stammered.
"See you Monday, then."
"Yeah, see you.''
He said goodbye and I headed towards the hospital exit, crossing the street and heading to one of the many picnic areas in search of something to eat, I was starving.
"It's obvious that you're a stupid pig, every time I see you you're swallowing something," they grumbled behind my back, and although the sausage sandwich was appetizing, my stomach contracted in a spasm of disgust.
I turned around, there was no use putting off the inevitable.
"What do you want?" I whispered.
"Don't play the innocent Ramona."- she began.- "You take that idiot face from me, you don't fool me with that martyr's facade.
I kept silent and she continued, in her rantings.
"If the police had asked me, I would have told them I suspected you. You hated Amalia, you were envious of her. You'll never be as pretty or as outstanding as she was…you're just mediocre.
"I already told Yunior that I don't need him as a partner.
That upset her. She grabbed my arm and began to shake me violently.
"Get away from him, you hear me? If I find out you're messing around with him...
"Threats, Mildred?" I never thought you would sink so low.
Matt's voice made her let go of me and she stepped back, I saw that her face was flushed with fury. Matt stepped between us, strategically placing me behind him.
"Leave her alone, you hear me? Or you'll anwser to me''.- he growled, between clenched teeth.
Mildred laughed, I swear I thought she was crazy.
"It's so funny, you defending her..." she mumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Ramona, you're a vulture, a vulture that feeds on the leftovers of others."
"My name is Rosario!"
"Go away, Mildred," Matt snorted.
"I'm leaving now, not because I'm afraid of you but because I have things to do." Sh surrounded Matt and pointed a finger at me. "Don't forget what I told you."
Matt turned to me and I looked at the floor, on it rested the sandwich that I couldn't even eat a bite of.
****
“You have to defend yourself, Rosy. How long are you going to allow him to bully you?
I didn't answer, concentrating on what I had in hand.
“You are a magnet for trouble, you know? Now Mildred is not going to leave you alone.
I took a sip of the shake and stuffed my mouth back down with another big bite of the ham, cheese, and sausage sandwich.
"Hey…stop swallowing for a second and listen to me.
"I'm listening just fine, Matt.- I protested.- The fact that I'm eating doesn't make me deaf.
I saw him purse his lips, but he remained silent, holding his chin in one of his hands, resting his elbow on the table, contemplating me. I swallowed and looked at him suspiciously.
"What?" I demanded.
"It's…really incredible that eat so much and jet, you remain so skinny," he whispered.
"I have a strong metabolism," I protested.
"Obviously. What you're not good at is hiding your feelings, even a blind man can see that you like Yunior.
I swallowed dry.
"Is that obvious?"
"Yeah"
I wiped the mayonnaise off the corner of my mouth.
"I thought no one knew."
"Not many know, but you look at him like...he's able to walk on water or something." Matt leaned back in his chair.
I imagined that this topic of conversation was difficult for him, after all I hadn't forgotten that he had feelings for me. I resumed my eating process noticing that Matt did not take his eyes off me.
"Why do you like him?" he asked and my snack almost came to a standstill.
I didn't answer, I just finished drinking the milkshake.
"I want to know. Why do you like Yunior?
"Because he doesn't ask stupid questions.'' I brayed.
Matt winced, averting his gaze from my face, and I took the opportunity to finish eating.
"I mean…does there have to be an reason to like someone? You can like a person simply because." I stammered.
"Maybe, but that's not what I've seen. Almost always a girl falls in love with a boy because he is good-looking or because he treats her well, however, I meet both conditions but they don't seem to work for me...
What?! Was he saying what I think he said?
“I like a girl and I've tried to like her back, but the harder I try the more she runs away from me.
"She'll think you're stalking her," I teased, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere between us.
"It should be easy, I know she's attracted to me, we've already kissed and…
"Maybe…- I interrupted him- the kiss meant nothing to her, there are times when we are confused or we get carried away by he moment."
"I see," he whispered.
At that time felt like an evil and heartless bitch, after all, Matt had taken me to another place and bought me a snack, but I couldn't let him believe that he could win me over with just that. I was sure of my feelings and convinced that not in a million years would I feel more than a slight appreciation for one of the Montalvo brothers.
"But, you could be friends.- I hurried.- surely she…will be happy to have your support."
"I don't think so," Matt whispered. "She has made it very clear to me on many occasions that she wants me to leave her alone."
"Leave her alone then."
I repeat, I feeling like the worst sort of human, because I behaved like an ungrateful bitch. Rarely does a guy let you see his insecurities and even though we weren't clear and brutally honest with each other, talking to him made me see things from a new perspective, his.
Where others might insist and simply refuse to believe they were not to my liking, Matt was resigned, hurt even. He accepted my words and didn't come near my table again during lunch hours and as the days progressed, he remained more firm in his position. He wasn't looking at me, he wasn't talking to me, he was back to acting like Mark, completely ignoring me and even though I wanted to deny it, I was surprised many times over the next two weeks by how much I missed talking to him.