Beauty and the beast

27

Nadia's POV

"Hurry and take the picture. Make sure you send it to me,"

Click

"Why didn't you turn off your flash? You're going to wake them up,"

"You do know I'm awake, right?"

A deep vibration sounded from below me and I remembered where I was.

I groaned and turned my face away from my friends and Mateo.

"Why are y'all like this?" I mumbled from Mateo's shoulder before I lifted my head.

Grace and Jess stood in front of Mateo and I while Chris and Joshua stood behind them but clearly involved in this as well. They all sheepishly waved and I gave them a snarl.

I separated myself from Mateo, rolled over and walked to the bathroom. I emptied my bladder, washed my face and brushed my teeth before I returned to the room. Grace and Jess were snickering about something on the phone so I assumed it was the picture.

The boys were talking in the hallway in hushed voices so I ignored them. I walked over to Cass and pulled out some lip balm. She hates when her lips are dry.

"Anything new on her?" Jess asked and I shook my head as I ran my hand down Cass' cheek. She felt so cold under my touch as I pulled my hand away.

I pressed a kiss on her forehead and turned back to Grace and Jess, offering them a small smile.

"We're going downstairs to get breakfast, are you girls coming?" Chris asked and the girls turned to me.

"I'm okay. You guys go ahead," I replied and sat back in the chair next to the hospital bed.

"We'll bring you something," Grace replied and they filed out of the room.

I sat there silently watching the motion of her heartbeat.

"Are you okay?" Mateo's voice broke me out of my trance and I nodded.

"Arent you going to work?" I asked looking back at him.

I noticed that he was still in the outfit from last night. Maybe he has a suit in his car.

He shook his head.

"My dad is handling it for now,"

"Your work needs you, go," I replied and stood to get my phone from my bag.

"You need me more,"

I froze at his words. It's like they triggered something within me.

"Who am I to you, Mateo? I'm your assistant. You're my boss. We aren't a thing and you seem to have forgotten that. We can never be anything more than a boss and an empolyee. So stop acting like I'm not your girlfriend and most importantly stop acting like you're my boyfriend because you aren't!"

I hadn't realised that I was yelling until my chest was heaving.

"Noted Matthews. You can take time off from work. I'll leave now," Mateo spoke and my heart hurt seeing him like this.

But it's for the best.

Is it?

I pushed away the thought as I watched Mateo walk out of the room. He looked back at me so I pulled my eyes away and turned to the side.

The room grew colder once he left. It's like someone turned on the AC. I pulled my knees into my chest and hugged them, trying to mimic warmth.

True to her word, Grace brought me back a breakfast burrito and coffee. I lost my appetite but I forced myself to scarf down more than a third of the burrito.