Forbidden Feast

Ch. 11: No Hickeys

"Stop calling me that," Mathew snapped, jumping up and letting the quilt fall to his feet. Even though Mathew moved towards him, Jace didn't budge.

"But it's who you are to me," Jace said, almost scolding Mathew. "And I'm supposed to be protecting you and taking care of you. Kissing you took the job a step too far."

Mathew blanched, his eyes popping out of his skull, his jaw crashing to the floor. "Kissing me was part of the job?" Mathew said the words back to Jace, hoping they hit harder than any slap Mathew could give him. Mathew crossed his arms. "So, let's say someone hired you to protect Noah. Would you just be kissing him?"

"Matty—" Jace tried interjecting, but Mathew just raised his voice.

"If Dante demanded that part of your job was to kiss him, would you kiss my older brother? Do you just go around kissing people like a chore?"

"No, of course not, like I said," Jace repeated himself. "I shouldn't have done it. It was a good way to distract you, but I shouldn't have done it."

"Oh," Mathew gawked, letting out a miserable laugh. "So, not only was it part of the job to kiss me. You kissed me because you thought it would distract me. Well, congratulations. I'm no longer afraid or terrified. I'm mad as hell."

"Mathew," Jace whispered his name, gentler than the wind through Mathew's hair. "Nothing has to change. Together, we can investigate the motives behind your parents' visit and Elijah's killer. We can—"

Mathew waved Jace away and brushed past him. "Stop talking or you're going to just make me angrier."

"Wait," Jace begged again, and Mathew's neck hair raised. His senses tingled and before Jace grabbed his arm, Mathew smacked it back like a whip. The smack was a louder crack than the thunder.

"Don't touch me." Mathew raised his shoulders. "I'm your prince. I'll call you if you're needed and right now, you're not."

Mathew stormed out of the classroom, slamming the door behind him and it didn't feel as good as he hoped. He opened the exit doors to sheets of rain still pouring and Mathew's stomach shriveled to the size of a raisin. Stumbling backwards, Mathew rushed past Jace's classroom and ducked into the restroom.

Without hesitating, Mathew rushed into the farthest stall right next to the wall and slumped onto the toilet with a loud, echoing huff. Mathew stared up at the ugly speckled ceiling and fought the burn of tears. He focused on the ceiling, distracting himself by making constellations with the specks and milky ways with the questionable water stains. He sniffed, and it bounced off the walls, quickly swallowing down his misery and choked on the disappointment.

Mathew's struggles were always with the uncontrollable. Mathew couldn't help being part of the Ventura or being a prince. Mathew never asked to be a vampire or to have poison in his blood. It hurt the most, being hated for something he couldn't change.

Mathew waited for the rain outside to stop and dragged himself out of the bathroom stall. He caught a look of himself in the mirror, his swollen face and the red crusted around his eyes from his bloody tears. Vampires weren't as beautiful as advertised. After washing his face, Mathew glanced around the hallway outside for Jace. Nowhere to be found. He looked over his shoulder at the entire dreary walk back to his dorm. His bones ached from the cold and a shower called out to him, begging to wash off the bathroom grime and the stink of misery off his body.

"Hey, Matty," a couple of guys from the dorm said in passing as they left.

"Hey, has Jace come back yet?" Mathew asked to save himself the surprise.

"I haven't seen him," they said and offered zero comfort.

"Thanks," Mathew said anyway and walked to the only room on the bottom floor, rattling Noah's door.