|
|
Post by Mateo "Teo" Rossi on Sept 8, 2011 23:31:30 GMT -5
Teo stiffened, and even gave an unconscious look around the bar, as if expecting Marcello Santino to emerge from the shadows. If Santino was known to frequent this bar, then Teo would probably have to find another place to go for his occasional respites. But for now, Santino was no where to be seen, and Teo had no inclination to leave just yet. He wouldn't let the mere mention of the man's name chase him away.
"No... No, I don't work for Santino. In fact, he hates me, so if you see him coming, let me know. I don't want you to get caught in the middle of something."
He had only come face-to-face with Marcello Santino a few times, but they had all been memorable. And ugly. He wouldn't want the pretty blonde to be caught in the middle.
"I don't have a choice," he said tiredly. "I've never had a choice. I was pretty much born for this, and if I don't do it... It'll all fall apart."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 20, 2011 15:40:54 GMT -5
"Oh wow." She couldn't help the words. Nathalia should have ordered him out of the bar at this point, or stopped talking to him. Or Just in any way being wary of the situation. But she wasn't. Instead Nathalia was Just intrigued. "Right. Forget I mentioned him, then."
She leaned back a bit, considering his dilemma. "There's no one else that can take over for you? Or is it.. ahh.... dangerous, if you leave?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Mateo "Teo" Rossi on Oct 10, 2011 15:16:03 GMT -5
Teo thought that over briefly. Yes, there was one person that could take over for him if he left. It was what Marco wanted, anyway. But allowing Marco to take over the business was simply not an option that Teo wanted to consider. Marco's methods were unsavory, and Teo couldn't allow Marco to run the family business into the ground.
"There's someone... but I can't let him do it," Teo said. "I don't trust him."
He sighed and took another gulp from his drink. "Look, it doesn't matter. I'm stuck, and my whole life was decided for me when I was born. I do what I do so that my younger brother and sister are free to live the lives that they choose."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Oct 17, 2011 22:23:54 GMT -5
Nathalia nodded, just barely stopping herself from jokingly asking if they just killed anyone they didn't trust. She never took particularly serious situations all that well. She either shut down, like she had with Hayden, or she joked, like she wanted to do here.
But she refrained. She had a feeling that Mateo didn't really have anyone else he could talk to, so she was going to just let him talk... even if it put her in potential danger, which she was sure it wouldn't.
"And what if they want you to live your own life, too? I know you can't just... quit. I get that. But there has to be some way you can balance the life you're living now and the life you want...?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Mateo "Teo" Rossi on Oct 19, 2011 23:45:17 GMT -5
Teo looked up at her, a slight smirk on his face. "Why do people pay expensive fees to visit therapists, when they can just come down to the local pub and talk with you?" he asked, only slightly joking. He imagined she saw all types of people in her job, could talk to everyone, and she was... free. For the first time, he envied Dante Santino. He should have been in the same position as Mateo was, or even higher. Instead, he was free to do as he wanted. It didn't seem fair.
The worst part of it, however, was that even if he had been free to do whatever he wanted, he had no idea what else he would do. He didn't even know what he wanted, and he had no idea how to figure it out.
"I tried that once. It didn't work, and that's why she's my ex." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm bringing you down. I came in here to escape from my problems for a while, not wallow in them."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Nov 17, 2011 0:11:11 GMT -5
Nathalia smiled and shrugged. "I'm prettier to look at than most therapists, too. But I still work for tips," she added with a wink and a laugh, teasingly reminding him.
"Ah... I'm sorry to hear that. Explains a little though... was this a recent break up?" She waved off his apology. "Don't be sorry. I like talking to people. I like talking to you. But take it from me... if there is one thing I've learned, it's that you can't drown your sorrows. Alcohol makes them worse. If that was a design flaw by God, I don't know what is."
|
|
|
|
Post by Mateo "Teo" Rossi on Nov 17, 2011 1:20:02 GMT -5
Teo sighed and shook his head. "No... I guess it's been five years now. It feels like a lifetime ago. But she's back in town... and I realize I still have feelings for her. Maybe I always will. What's worse is that I miss who I was when I was with her."
Sometimes he still felt a hint of that person, when he was with Shana and he let down his guard a little. But it disturbed him, too, because he had no right to feel that way about her or around her. She was his prisoner, not his girlfriend.
He looked up again at the pretty blonde and wished he was someone else. Someone who wasn't always looking over his shoulder, someone who wasn't a danger to anyone around him. He wished Shana was his girlfriend, or at least his friend.
"Thing is... there's this other girl. She makes me smile and laugh like I used to... but she's off limits."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Nov 20, 2011 12:04:50 GMT -5
"Ahh...." Nathalia said, seeming to understand. She wondered if he had any of these feelings towards the other girl before the first one came back, or if it was a result of her coming back. She didn't ask this, pretty sure what his answer would be, regardless of how true it was.
"Why is she off limits? Boyfriends don't necessarily mean anything... I mean, if she's showing interest in you, the boyfriend probably won't last. Different story if she's married, but I'm not judging..."
Nathalia tilted her head slightly. He seemed sad and stressed and.... lonely, really. And maybe that was the issue, more than love. He just wanted companionship. Well, Nathalia could relate to that, she realized. "Love sucks, doesn't it?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Mateo "Teo" Rossi on Feb 7, 2012 23:12:59 GMT -5
Mateo pressed his lips together in a tight frown. If only it were that simple. Yes, Shana had a boyfriend... sort of. But that was the least of the problem. He couldn't tell any of that to Nathalia, of course. He'd really already said more than he should have.
"It's... complicated," he said, shrugging. "I could explain, but then I'd probably have to kill you. And I wish to hell I could say that was a joke."
His lips twisted into a bitter grimace. Mateo had never really examined his life objectively before, and even just telling her the little bit he had, made him realize just how hopelessly messed up it all was. He was supposed to be confident, in charge, and utterly amoral. He could kill without a thought, and yet suddenly he was having a crisis of conscience... and of the heart. He wanted to be free of it all, and instead he felt like he bore the very weight of the world on his shoulders.
Maybe he should have left with Kate when he had the chance.
Reaching into his robe pocket, he pulled out a handful of galleons and dropped them on the bar. "Thanks for the talk," he said. "Do yourself a favor, forget you ever met me."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Feb 8, 2012 1:19:35 GMT -5
Nathalia should have been more scared of Mateo than she was, especially with comments about seriously having to kill her. She shouldn't dig too deep, but Merlin... the man seemed to weighed down and he wasn't even looking for a way out. He was just resigned, and it made her ache for him. She sincerely hoped something worked out for him- no one's past mattered, and everyone deserved a shot at happiness.
"Hey, Mateo?" She called to him as he got up to leave. "Come again some time, all right? Reintroduce yourself, since I'll have forgotten you," she said with a wink that suggested she most certainly would not forget him.
|
|
