The war between the present and the future has started. Compelled to cooperate with the forces of the future in order to gain Christopher back, Emma has taken on a new mission. The portal that connects the two worlds must be relocated otherwise ther...
He stood up and looked at me with his arresting face, but his true emotions were concealed behind the most nonchalant expression.
"What else do you expect me to say? You've already condemned me, denying me the benefit of the doubt, so what's the use of trying to justify my actions? Again, I'm truly sorry." His voice was cold and detached again.
"No, Christopher. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for you. For ending up like this. For losing hope and faith in what brought you to me in the first place. For giving up on everything that made you so special."
He shrugged. "What can I say? Guilty as charged." He put his hands in his pockets and turned away. "One more reason for you to stay away from me."
That's it? I thought. No shouting? No effort to defend himself?
He walked towards his house. His stumping didn't escape my notice. Underneath his nonchalant composure, I knew my arrows had reached their target this time. I knew I had hurt him and that made me feel awful.
It had brought another sleepless night full of torment. And it was my fault.
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The next day, it was awfully cold.
Having once again spent hours searching my dad'sarchives, I felt the walls of the small house smothering me, like the menacing walls of a trap; one I had fallen into willingly. The deadline the League had set for me was tightening like a loop around my neck, suffocating me. Deep down I knew that finding the Gateway was a hopeless situation, but I had decided to put on a brave face. After all, it was me who had started this. Christopher was right. I should take full responsibility.
Feeling restless, I needed to get out of the house.
I waited until I saw Christopher's car leave and then I took my notes and knocked on Mateo's door. Mateo wasn't the kind of man who would chat casually with me. Quite the contrary. He was tight-lipped most of the time and very committed to his mission, almost obsessed with his radar. All the same, it was much better to be with another human being next to me instead of my computer. Besides, I was hoping he would have been luckier than me in his search for underground signs of the Gateway.
I was right about my first assumption. Things do look better when you're not alone. Mateo, obviously bored, seemed taken aback by my unexpected visit. As soon as I had opened the door after I had knocked on it twice, I caught him putting-no, hiding- one of those watches he and Christopher were wearing in a drawer.
In contrast with how Christopher behaved, Mateo made me feel quite welcome. He showed me how to operate his strange radar, which was quite fascinating, and then we both went over my father's notes.
Around noon, my stomach's rumbling didn't escape Mateo's attention, making him sit back on his chair, chuckling.
"Don't you think it's about time you ate something?" he said, rubbing his nape.
