Breaking Point

Chapter seventeen

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"The ones who really love you would never leave you. Even if there are a hundred reasons to give up, they will find one reason to hold on." - unknown

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💫 Maya 💫

After Martín left me in front of the door I just stood there for a few seconds. Not really wanting to bother dad when he is busy. I knock, hoping I won't disturb him doing important work.

"Come in." comes from inside the study. Opening the door I see it's not as big as the home office but still big enough to fit a couch, big desk and multiple bookcases.

"Maya, mi amore. To what do I owe this pleasure?" dad says with a smile when he sees me. I walk towards him and stand in front of his desk, showing him my pre-typed message.

'I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done the last week Álvaro.' I still don't know if he would be okay with me calling him dad so I just stick to Álvaro when I communicate with anyone.

"Oh, mi amore, you don't have to thank me. You are family, family means everything to me." I can feel the tears well in my eyes again. "What's wrong?"

'I just never really had a family. It's kind of nice.' He has a sad smile when he looks up again after reading. "From now on, you will always have a family, we will always be here for anything you need. I love you, mi amore."

"Do you need anything?"
'No, I was just wondering if I can stay here while you work.'
"Ofcourse you can, take a seat on the couch, mi amore."

🔞 Mateo 🔞

Did I hear that right? How the fuck does Leonardo know Maya's name? What does a 19 year old have to do with a 16 year old?

I want to open my mouth to ask him what the fuck is going on but Martín beats me. "How the fuck do you know her name?"

"I, uhh, I just, uhm. I heard Hugo talking about her a few days ago during lunch." Leonardo answers, I don't believe him.

Hugo answers "That's the biggest bullshit you've ever spat. I never told anyone her name during lunch." Right now all three of us are on edge, ready to kill someone.

"We didn't tell you her name and she doesn't talk so she couldn't have told you herself."
"She does talk, just not to people she doesn't feel comfortable around. She used to talk to me all the time."

This hits me like a missile, she can talk. She chooses not to talk to people she doesn't feel comfortable around. That means she doesn't feel comfortable around us.

"And how the fuck do you know this?" Hugo's usual golden retriever vibes are replaced with 'say the wrong thing and I kill you'.

Leonardo can see the change in Hugo as well so he better choose his next words very carefully. "I used to live next to her and her parents but I moved away when I was 15, she was 12. She used to be this bubbly girl with a chatty personality but it changed a lot over the years. She just kept talking less and less, it was like someone was dimming her light, untill she just completely stopped talking when she was 10. It took a while but when she was around 12 she started talking again, but only to people she was completely comfortable with and those were scarce in her life. As far as I know, I was her only friend."

The fact that he knows so much about her childhood makes me wonder if he knew about what happened behind closed doors as well but choose not to do anything about it.

"Just stay away from her or I will kill you myself, she doesn't need reminders of her life before she came here." I say with a sharp edge in my voice.

The rest of the time the team was here was spent with some chatter but the tense atmosphere never fully cleared.

💫 Maya 💫

I sat in dad's study, just scrolling on my phone and playing games until dinner. At dinner I noticed the icehockey team was gone, thank god.

When I looked around the faces in the living room, I noticed one I thought I would never see again. But there he was, Leo, sitting in the living room of my new home. I just hope he didn't see or recognised me.

Leonardo, Leo, was my best friend, my only friend and the only one I verbally communicated with until he just up and left when I was 12. No explanation, he just moved away with his parents without telling me.

It killed the last little spark of life I still had.

Four years later and the pain is still there. Some part of me always hoped he would find out and get me out of that house.

He never did.

The worst part is that when he moved away, we got a new neighbour. He came living next to us. That's when he and my step-father became close friends and after a while I was being sold to him once every few months until we moved away.

He became attached, always wanting to make sure I liked it and that I was doing 'okay' when we left. I never was.

Dinner was uneventful, except for the twins and Hugo glancing at me a few times, like they know something is wrong.

They can't know. That would probably ruin their friendship with Leo and I don't want to be the reason they lose a friend and team mate.

I took an extra long walk after dinner to clear my head. Because of the fall weather it's getting dark earlier so I am very gratefull for the lights installed all around the garden.

When I've been out for about an hour, I get a notification and notice I have missed a few texts.

Full house
Álvaro: Has anyone seen Maya after she left for her walk?

Mateo: Nope, haven't seen her.

Lucas: She hasn't come in through the back door.

Daniel: Not through the front either.

Martín: Ay Dios mio, mi escaso preciosa debe perderse (Oh my god, my poor lovely must be lost).

Hugo: Let's not jump to conclusions Martín.

Álvaro: Hugo is right, no need to panic.
Maya, please respond as soon as you read this, mi amore.

Jeez, drama queens.

Me: I'm okay, just clearing
my head, taking a long walk

Daniel: Okay, princesa, be careful.

Me: will do

I get home around an hour later, exhausted. I give a quick wave to Lucas who is still sitting near the back door to let him know I'm back and walk upstairs.

I really need to make sure they don't find out Leo knows me.

A/N - Soooo that's who Leo is :)

Alsooo, we've reched 150 readsssss 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
Thank you soo much for reading my story <3

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