SCARLET

"No!" Theo shouts at me. This man, I swear. I ball my fists and try so hard not to punch him right now.

"No, your ass, Theo! I do what I want to do, whenever I want to do it! I don't take orders; I don't even take suggestions!" I shout back. This is never going to end.

"I already told you, this discussion is closed. You're not-" The door flies open, and the chairman walks in. Oh shit!

"You two! Out, right now!" he shouts at us from the door.

"Out where?!"

"To wherever the hell you two can throw your shit and come back!"

He glares at us for a couple of seconds, then slams the door shut on his way out. If the chairman wants us out, we get out; no words exchanged.

I roll my eyes and turn to Theo, who's already grabbing his trench coat and his glasses and walking out. "Hey! Where the heck are you going?" I grab my bag and my scarf and follow him out. I'm already wearing my black puffer jacket.

"I have stuff to do," he says, pressing the elevator. "No shit, Sherlock. I'm coming." I walk into the elevator once it opens. Maybe I'm tagging a lot with Theo, but this time it's not me who decided; it's the chairman.

He walks in, and judging by the look on his face, he has already accepted it, although I would really love to know where we're throwing our shit.

We drive in silence till we get to what looks like a school. What in the world are we doing in a school? "Is there a specific reason we've been sitting in front of this school for half an hour?"

"I'm picking up my brother. I was supposed to come at three, but thanks to the old man, we're here an hour early," he answers. He has a brother?! Who's in school?!

"Don't look so surprised. Did you think I was an only child?" He asks with a small smirk on display. I'm not sure; did I think he was an only child?

"I mean, you definitely play the part of the spoiled only child who always got his way." I shrug, and he laughs at my response. His laugh is infectious and warm, as if something funny caught him by surprise.

"You know, sometimes you manage to be really funny without it having to do anything with getting yourself killed," he says, and if the bell hadn't rang and a couple zillion knee-tall creatures came swarming out the gate like a zombie apocalypse, I would've responded to him.

I stare blankly. There are so many of them, it's like they don't end. Once I start to think they're done, they only prove me wrong and continue to pour out of the school gate. I can hear Matheo laughing from his seat, but my eyes stay glued to the creatures.

One kid, with features almost identical to Matheo's, comes up to the car. The closer he gets, the more he looks like his brother, with furried thick brows, high cheekbones, long lashes, and soft, wavy brown hair. The only feature that isn't identical are his dark brown eyes.

"Fair warning; he talks a lot, and he has no filter," Theo warns as he opens my window. "Get in, Nathan!" he calls out to his brother.

Nathan leans into my window and whisper shouts to Matheo, "Why do you have a very beautiful lady in your passenger seat?!" He side-eyes me and goes on, "Do you have a girlfrie- I'll tell mom!"

"She's not my girlfriend, Nate. Get in!" Matheo nods to the backseat, but Nathan doesn't move. "Why isn't she your girlfriend? Are you freaking dumb?"

"Language!" he glares at him. "Sorry! Do you have a brain the size of a herbivore dinosaur?!" I officially like this kid.

Nathan clears his throat and turns to me. "My lady, may I know your name?" he says in his best imitation of a British accent. "Scarlet, and you, my lord?" I said back.

"Nathaniel, at your service anytime," he gets out of the window and bows. I can't help but laugh; this kid is hilarious. "Get in, Nathan. We don't have time for this," Theo sighs from his seat.

Nathan scoffs as he walks back to sit in the back seat and leans in between me and his brother. "So, tell me, Scarlet, who are you?"

"Well, um- I'm your brother's friend from work."

His eyes widen in realization, as if he already knows me. "Oh! You're that scarlet?! The crazy woman my brother whines when he's kneading pasta?!"

"The wha-" I burst out laughing. I can see Theo glaring at his brother from the rearview mirror as he drives.

"So, it's true?! I never in my life thought I'd meet you. I mean, I was the only crazy person my brother whines about, even though I'm quite reasonable for my age of fourteen. He's just a little like that. But now he whines about you too. So now he's the crazy one!"

"I totally agree, Nathan. Your brother is quite the crazy man." This time, Theo turns and narrows his eyes at me, raising an eyebrow. I shrug in response.

"You know, actually, one time, he locked me in my own bathroom just because he opposed an idea I had! Can you imagine?!"

"And you say she's crazy?!" He clicks his tongue while shaking his head in disagreement.

"Stop teaming up against me."

"He's such an insufferable, crazy sociopath." I shake my head, imitating Nathan.

"I totally agree, I mean," he scoffs, saying, "We're crazy?!"

"If you two don't stop, I'll lock both of you."

"Well, actually, where are we even going?" I ask. I've never been on this road before, and it's very beautiful. There are not many buildings with lots of greenery and trees. I bet the air doesn't smell like factory waste here.

"Home," Matheo answers from his seat. Yeah, Theo, no shit. "We'll drop Nathan off, and then..." I ask.

"You're not dropping me off! I want to come with you!" Nathan whines from the backseat, jumping up and down and staring at his brother. "I'm not dropping anyone off. We're all going home."

What?! I'm not going to anyone's house; I have my own. "Hell no! You're dropping me off. There must be some bus station near by, or a cab-"

"Scarlet, you're coming with us. We have orders. End of conversation," he says in a clipping yet calm tone. I open my mouth to respond, but I close it again. I have no response.

⇔

"Scarlet." Someone puts my hair behind my ear, and I jerk up, catching their hand. Theo's face is inches away from mine, with a small smile on his lips. No, no, no, no. I did not sleep in his car.

"What the actual fuck, Theo?!" I let go of his hand and put a hand on my chest. My heart is beating so freaking fast. "You scared the living shit out of me!"

"I just called your name," he chuckles, removing his seat belt. "Where even are we?" I blink as I adjust my eyes to the burning bright sun coming through the windshield. "We're at home."

"Can you stop saying that? I want to go to my home, my bed, and my coffee. Oh my coffee, I didn't have coffee today," I groan.

"Up, up, let's go. I have lots of coffee inside." He's standing at my now-open door, extending his hand. The smell of fresh air hits me in the face. I look around for the first time since I opened my eyes, and oh my god.

The "home" Matheo has been talking about is a huge house with fields surrounding it from every side, with brown walls, a black roof, and huge windows that overlook the view. It's safe to say I'm in love with his house.

"You like the view?" My eyes divert to Matheo, and I realize I've been gaping at his house for the past few minutes and totally ignoring his existence. I take his hand and get out of the car, my legs still a little aching from the sleeping position I was in. "Let's say I didn't imagine you somewhere like this."

"Where did you imagine me living?"

"Well, I didn't really imagine, but now that you ask, a cave would be what I would go for." He laughs, shaking his head. He leads us to the front door and unlocks it.

I don't have time to take the place in before I'm attacked by two huge dogs, licking and using me as their personal tree house. Theo whistles, saying, "Get down!" and they instantly obey.

One of them is a golden retriever, and the other is a breed that looks a lot like a husky but doesn't quite have the same face shape. I get down on one knee and pet both of them, laughing as they both fight over who gets belly rubs first.

"Where's Nathan?"

"He got in a while ago. Nathan!" He calls for his brother. "Coming!" Nathan shouts before leaping down the stairs in his Spider-Man pajamas. "Lead Scarlet in while I make a quick lunch. Are you allergic to anything?" he asks, and I shake my head no.

We pass by the stairs on the right as Nathan leads me into the living room. There is a dark gray corner couch and a table in the middle, with a huge TV at the front. He sits me down so I'm facing the TV, and he turns it on, sitting beside me.

"So, tell me, Scarlet, what are your intentions with my brother?" He narrows his eyes at me. Am I being questioned by a kid about my intentions with Matheo? "Well, as of now, I'm trying not to strangle him."

He nods his head in agreement, saying, "Yeah, I would really appreciate it if you didn't; he's the one who pays for my snacks. Although I wouldn't mind if you were his girlfriend, You're pretty, smart, nice, and funny. If you ask me, that's all it would take for me to marry a woman. But all the girls my age are stupid; no offense, of course."

"Food is ready!" Theo calls from wherever he is. Nathan gets up and pulls me with him, and instead of going the way we came, we walk the opposite way into what looks like a humongous dining room. Damn it, Matheo! Your house is freaking gorgeous!

We sit at the kitchen table. Theo is no longer in his trench coat and suit pants, but rather wearing a black compression shirt and gray sweatpants, with his hair ruffled and the same glasses he had on our first encounter. When did he even have time to change?

"Eat," he says, sitting opposite me and Nathan. I clear my throat. "You know you don't have to baby me, right? I will eat because I'm hungry."

I grab one half of the sandwich on the plate and bite into it. I don't know why everything seems to be better here, but this sandwich is amazing. Not the I would eat again amazing, but the I would eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner amazing. But I say none of that; his ego is already big enough. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. The chairman called and asked us to hurry up, but take your time." He's almost done with his plate, and I'm still treasuring every bite of that first half.

"So he only kicked us out to tell us to come back this quick? I didn't even have coffee yet!"

"I'll make coffee before we head out."

"Can I walk bagel now? Please." Nathan gives his brother puppy eyes as he brushes bread crumbs on his pants, and Theo nods. Nathan gets off his chair, grabs a leash from the hanger, and calls for the golden retriever.

I finish my sandwich and walk to the sink to wash the plate. "You don't hav-"

"Yes, I do. Sit down." I interrupt Matheo as I finish washing the plate. "Where's the bathroom?" He motions upstairs to the left.

I finish my hair and blouse check and walk out of the bathroom when a few paintings on the wall catch my eye. They're framed in gorgeous black frames, with intricate carvings that somehow fit every painting.

The first one that caught my attention was of a huge field with flowers, with a path in the middle leading to a clear, shining lake. It's painted beautifully, almost looking like a Claude Monet painting in a modern aspect.

The second one is of the lake itself and a sunrise in the background, with little fish swimming in the lake up close, and they fade into the reflection of the sunrise with its blue and pink hues.

My breath catches as I get to the third one. I almost stop breathing at all, then I see a shadow of a frame, and I turn around to find Matheo leaning on the wall. "Hi," he says, coming over and standing beside me.

"Hey," I say, moving to make way for him, my eyes still glued to the painting. It's of a dead tree standing in the middle of an empty garden, with a house at the far end and the sun setting beside it.

"Where did you get it?" I nod to the painting.

"It was sold at a small auction," he chuckles. "The seller was actually a very wealthy man who bought it from a woman standing in front of a museum."

"A woman in front of a museum."

"Yeah, he saw the woman standing with this painting alone at the crack of dawn. If the woman is left with only one painting at that time, then it must be good. So he bought it."

"And is it? Good?" I glance at him.

"Mhm, I still can't figure out what type of paint is used, and it's signed with a small poison ivy leaf at the back."

"You didn't get a rash?"

"It's sealed with plastic. Someone must've suffered to sign it with that leaf." Not sure about that, dear Theo, but someone definitely suffered to seal it with that plastic.

"What about those?" I nod to the first two. Matheo walks closer to them, leaning on the wall between them. "These are actually mine," he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You paint?!" I say, suddenly shocked at the information.

"Tried. That woman definitely wouldn't be happy her painting is hanging next to mine," he chuckles, his shoulders shaking. "I mean, you never know. I think she'd love them." I smile, because she does.

"Thanks for the very genuine compliment," he grins, flashing two dimples on each side of his face. "Did you paint it from a photo?"

"No, it's actually a real place. Maybe I could take you there sometime," he says with a playful glint in his eyes.

This is not the Matheo I know. The Matheo I know wouldn't laugh at my silly jokes. He wouldn't be standing in front of me carefree, like we have all the time in the world to just laugh at the story of a painting.

"Stop being nice to me," I say sarcastically. But I'm not joking. I'm not sure how I'd react to knowing this Matheo, and I'm not sure if I do react that I'll be able to stop.

"And why would I do that?" he says, taking a careful step closer, maintaining eye contact, and invading my personal space with his earthy cologne.

"Because that's not you," I don't back away. I know I should, but my feet stay embedded where they are. I feel his breath on my face when he says, "Maybe you don't know me." One side of his lip perks up. His eyelashes shadowed his green eyes when his eyes dipped to my lips.

"Is that a challenge, Theo?" I ask, playing his game and biting my bottom lip. I can feel his breath catch a little as he says, "You know? That nickname is starting to grow on me."

His eyes dip back to my lips just as Bagle runs up the stairs and jumps on both of us. Followed by a heavy-breathing Nathan, who probably ran up the stairs.

"Sorry, I couldn't catch her." He bends down with his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Theo bends down to pet her, looking over his shoulders and giving me a small smile. I don't know what he was going to do, and I'm not sure I was going to stop him.

"Coffee is downstairs," he says, getting up and nodding to the end of the hallway. I follow, his arm gently touching the small of my back, leading the way.

"Yours is this one," he points to a blue thermos sitting right beside a black one, which I guess is his. "What's the difference?"

"Yours is cold," he says as he grabs my jacket and hands it to me. I shake the thermos; there's no ice. How did he know I drink my coffee cold? Not iced, not hot, just...cold.

I brush the thought away and walk to the door he's opening for me. But the thought comes back again as I get into the passenger seat of his car. Mine is cold.