the ordeal of being known
: Chapter 3

Jess

Jess and Layla arrived at the hospital at the same time. There were paparazzi nearby, and she insisted on avoiding them. The media always had a huge obsession with the Garcia siblings. People constantly talked about them online. There was no doubt that paparazzi were going to be there. Still, there was a startling amount of them near the hospital. Jess looked at them with too much distaste.

They snuck inside without being noticed.

There were a good number of people in the waiting room. He stopped before anyone noticed, and Layla did the same thing. She looked around at every single person, assessing the same way he did.

They took in the scene. First, Celia and Mateo’s mom biting on her nails, with members of their team and the coach sitting around the waiting room. His eyes landed on two people who he wasn’t expecting. A pinch of worry curled in his chest at the thought of people he didn’t know or trust around his loved ones.

Jess to the audience: I had to quickly analyze the situation.

First is Elio, the one and only famous fashion designer. Mateo and Elio weren’t really friends, mainly because he didn’t do friendships. He was known to be indifferent to pretty much everything. The media was constantly frustrated with his lack of social appearances. They latched on to his dating habits and, most importantly, his well-known rivalry with another designer. The media constantly compared them to the point where neither of them was mentioned without the other.

Elio’s dark black hair was messy, his blue eyes had a very cold look to them. He was sitting with Jess’s friend, Onika.

‘The universal sweetheart’ as the media liked to call her. Onika was the most sought out super model in the world, the highest paid one as well. Very close to Mateo and she was the reason he modeled for a while; they did many shoots together. She wasn’t smiling like she always does, instead she looked sick with worry.

It made the reason for Elio being there clear. There were always rumors about them online, but they had never been photographed together and she had never spoken about him. He was standing to her right. Not too close and not too far. They seemed to be unable to look at each other.

Jess could see his eyes flicker toward her with worry every once in a while. Suddenly, he didn’t seem so indifferent anymore.

The other person was hiding in a corner, but they spotted her. She was wearing sunglasses and a cap that hid most of her features. He thought for a moment that someone snuck in to get some news, but Layla made her way to her.

“Is she okay?” the stranger asked. Layla stood in front of her, but she may as well have been invisible. The stranger was staring right through her, right at Celia, with so much fondness, like she desperately wanted to reach out and hold her hand through everything.

“I haven’t spoken to anyone yet, but I can text you and update you later,” Layla answered. The other woman nodded; she watched Celia before leaving, making a sneaky escape, keeping her face covered. It occurred to him that she might be hiding from the paparazzi as well.

Layla ran over to give the girls a hug. Jess headed over to his teammates.

It turned out Mateo had gotten into a fight. The details were vague, but he had a couple of broken ribs and a swollen eye. It was a good thing it was the off season because he’d have time to recover without missing anything. Everyone relaxed after the doctor assured them he’d be fine.

A couple of hours later, most of them were gone. It was just Jess, Layla, and Mateo’s mom, who went to drink some coffee. They had convinced Celia to go get some sleep in her apartment.

“Open your eyes, Matty. I know you’re not asleep,” Layla said.

Slowly he did, but he was tense. He looked like he’d been caught in a trap. “You should be gentle with me; I’m injured,” he told her.

“And how did this happen?” she asked, coldly.

“It was just a fight.”

Layla looked like she would have slapped him if she could.

“Don’t insult us,” Jess signed for the first time. Mateo looked at him like he forgot he was there.

“I feel so betrayed right now. You only met today and you’re already teaming up on me,” he said, so unbothered by both of them, so unaware that they were both running out of patience.

“Mat—”

“I told you it was just a fight,” he said.

“You’re saying you fought back then?” Jess asked him.

“Of course.”

“How?” Layla raised an eyebrow. Mateo looked like he’d been cornered.

“What do you mean, how?”

“Your hands are fine, your knuckles are fine. It doesn’t look like you fought back at all,” Jess told him. Mateo didn’t reply. He stared at his hands, realizing his mistake.

“What happened, Matty?” Layla asked. He watched her falter, her voice shaking a little. After watching her calm demeanor with almost everyone that day, there was a crack.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, with no trace of his usual charm.

“But—”

“Please, just let it go,” he pleaded.

Layla took a deep breath. Jess only noticed because he already had his eyes on her, that she did this thing with her hand, where she turned her wrist around and locked her finger in a grip. Matty seen it as well; it looked like an anxious sign that he recognized.

“I’ll talk about it, but when I’m ready, I promise,” he told her. She relaxed, but she still glared at him.

“Fine. I am staying with you for most of the recovery to take care of you.” He seemed eager to accept.

“I’m staying too,” Jess signed. He had already decided he was going to stay with his friend. Mateo’s apartment had three bedrooms, so Jess didn’t think there would be an issue.

“He’s saying he’ll stay as well,” Mateo told Layla, pointing at Jess.

“No.” Her eyes were on Jess. They were even colder than when she was looking at Mateo, but he had to admit they were very pretty.

Jess to the audience: I may have a soft spot for big brown eyes.

“I don’t want you there; you’re a stranger,” she said, angrily.

“He’s my friend.”

“It’s a bad idea.”

“I’m staying. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“He’s staying. There’s nothing you can do.”

“Matty, I hate your friend.”

“What’s new? You hate a lot of things.”

Their minds were made up. Celia was too busy at the moment to be able to stay with him, and his mom was supposed to go to visit her sister in Mexico next week.

Jess and Layla would be staying in Mateo’s apartment for the next four to six weeks.

Layla didn’t like having to stay in an apartment with a stranger, but she had a feeling Mateo was hiding something and she wanted to be there for him, the same way he had been there for her, even when he had no idea what was upsetting her.

He had never needed her to tell him what was bothering her. He always offered his shoulder, and Layla could only do the same for him.