[Mellisond] Short Stories

Échame La Culpa [Una Lady Como Tú Pt. 2]

{Song - Échame La Culpa by Luis Fonsi & Demi Lovato}

     The young couple stand in the elevator with a tense air between them. Delores has her arms crossed over her off shoulder ivory dress that she had rush delivered to her only a week ago.

     Mateo, in a suit that he doesn't care for, stares at the buttons in the elevator clenching his jaw. At the ding, Mateo quickly steps out first, Delores following a few steps behind towards their apartment.

     Delores watches Mateo grip the key tightly in his hand and struggle to unlock the door. She sees the agitation clearly on his face and knows that he isn't upset with the key or the lock but with her.

     Not a word is spoken when they get inside. Mateo goes for the TV remote in the living room and drops down onto the couch. He stares fiercely at the screen while a commercial about the latest diet trend plays.

     "Are you going to talk to me?" Delores asks, standing behind the sofa, her gaze fixed on the back of Mateo's head.

     Mateo doesn't take his eyes off the screen and shrugs his shoulders. "What's the point? You're not going to listen to me, anyway," he says simply.

     "Don't be like that."

     Mateo scoffs and rolls his eyes. "What do you want me to be like, Delores?"

     "I want you to talk to me."

     "Okay, let's talk," Mateo says turning himself on the couch to look up at Delores. "What do you want to talk about?" he asks, every word tensely exaggerated.

     Mateo had been irritated at the beginning of the night before the two of them even got to the gathering Delores's boss was hosting. His unwavering attitude only lead to Delores's own stress levels rising.

     ". . .You're being a jerk," Delores says turning and walking away.

     Mateo hastily stands up and follows her toward their bedroom. "I thought you wanted to talk," he says feigning innocence.

     "Forget it."

     Delores steps up to her dresser and catches her reflection in the mirror, but she quickly looks down at seeing Mateo enter the room behind her.

     "You should probably say what you have to say now before it's too late," Mateo says, making Delores sigh heavily.

     "I really don't want to argue about this right now," Delores says, grabbing at the back of her neck to undo her pearl necklace. She places it on the dresser and gingerly takes out her earrings.

     At the start of the month, Delores had been offered a higher position at the company she works for. But the catch is that it requires for her to relocate to another country.

     Delores hadn't been quick to tell Mateo about the promotion, but when she did, it sounded to him like she had already made up her mind whether she wanted to be direct about it or not.

     "So what's your plan, to ignore it until the day comes when I get home and all your stuff is gone?"

    "I would never do that," Delores says in a strong voice, her eyes darting to look at Mateo's in the mirror.

     "But you are leaving, right? Why are we even pretending like there's still some possible future for us?" Mateo asks raising his voice.

     Delores sharply turns to face Mateo and matches his energy. "None of this was ever pretend for me. Is that what you think of us?"

     Mateo reaches within himself for the right words. The words that have been eating away at him. "I don't know what this is. I've been stuck in limbo, and I'm getting pretty sick of it," he says as calmly as he can manage.

     Delores looks down at the tan carpet noticing the chaos building in her chest. "Can we please talk about this later?"

     "I want to talk about this now," Mateo answers sternly. "Is there a future for us?. . .Honestly."

     Delores is silent and unable to focus on a single thought. The very idea of choosing her career over Mateo feels like a betrayal. But turning down a dream feels like torture.

     Mateo takes her silence and nods his head. "I guess I have my answer," he says walking out of the room. Delores rushes after him and grabs his arm, making him stop in the living room.

     "This isn't easy for me," Delores yells. "None of this is. You're making me pick between you and what I've been working my ass off for."

     "I'm not making you do anything," Mateo says shaking his head.

     "What am I supposed to do, Mateo? What would you do?" Mateo stares into the depth of Delores's eyes, and a tear runs down her cheek. He places his hand on the side of her face and wipes the trail away with his thumb.

     "I don't know, Delores. But I am happy for you. I'm extremely proud of you. You deserve it more than anybody, and. . .I don't want to be the reason why you don't get what you deserve."

     Mateo leans down and kisses her forehead, lingering for a long second, before turning away.

     "I'm gonna stay at a friend's place for the night," he says going towards the front door.

     More tears stream down Delores's face, and she thinks of calling after him but hesitates until he places his hand on the doorknob. "Mateo."

     "Yeah?" he says looking back with his hand still on the knob.

     Delores is close to asking for Mateo to stay. But she doesn't. Instead she tries to force a smile on her face and says, "I love you." Mateo's grip around the doorknob loosens, and the same uncomfortable half-smile appears on his face.

     "Love you, too."

     With his back pressed against the wall, Mateo stares down at the floor of the elevator as he's being brought down to the underground parking level. Memories flood his thoughts all at once. Joyful ones. Miserable ones.

     Mateo thinks back to when he would stand in the elevator anxious to even be able to speak to Delores. He smiles remembering how pitiful he was to get her attention. But a tear drops and meets the corner of his mouth.

{Thanks for reading}

This book is a collection of short stories inspired by a variety of songs.
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