C4 I love you

—What happens with you is that you don't know how to forgive, Keidys, until you do, you'll never be happy —said Santiago with that calm voice that characterized him, he was older than Keidys by four years—: You have everything that a girl your age wants, you should enjoy it!

—That is not true. Of course, I'm happy, it's just that… —Keidys blinked twice. It doesn't matter, I hope Josef doesn't set foot in this house again, not while I'm here.

—Josef has been asking about you all this time. I think that boy loves you a lot, you should leave that grudge and talk to him like civilized and mature people. Santiago inspected his sister's face. I think you still love him; Or else you wouldn't be so aware of his life, you wouldn't care.

—That is not true! You've already gone crazy,' Keidys refuted, crossing his arms and making an annoyed gesture.

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It was Saturday afternoon, Keidys was in his brother's room looking at the many books that Santiago had there. He saw that on the nightstand there was one with a brown cover: it was the book Josef was reading that rainy day.

He approached and took it, when he opened it he realized that it was a love novel.

—This isn't for women? —He gave a mocking laugh.

At that moment he realized that he did not understand literature.

—A true sage of this kind of thing would scold me for what I say. —He erased his smile.

He went out to the patio to read a little that book under the kiosk.

It was about a little girl who lived in the mountains and met the son of a landowner. They grew up together and that little girl fell in love with him so much that one day she confessed it to him, but the boy (who had already become a man) one day traveled far away to pursue his dream of being a renowned painter and every month he He sent a letter narrating his adventures around the world. Although the girl at that time fell ill with cancer.

Keidys was very immersed in that book and ignored the voices of the people who were approaching her.

—Hey, Keidys —his brother Santiago called.

The girl looked up and noticed that Josef was next to her brother.

—What are you doing reading? —asked Santiago, very surprised.

Keidys wanted to die of shame, the tone his brother used was someone so surprised, as if he saw a ghost taking a shower before scaring someone.

—Can't I take one of your books? —Keidys questioned and turned her gaze to the book, but inside she was screaming for the earth to open and swallow her.

The worst came when the two boys sat around the glass table and began to pour themselves glasses of lemonade.

—Josef recently read that book to him, everyone who reads it says it's fantastic —Santiago commented.

There was a great silence at the table. Keidys couldn't concentrate on his reading, all his insides were twisting and he didn't know why.

—It's a great book —Josef said.

Keidys closed the book and put it to one side of the table. At that moment, Santiago got up from his chair and entered the house.

Josef and Keidys looked at each other, the young woman saw that the boy was not wearing his glasses, apparently they were not permanent.

"The damn guy looks attractive without glasses " thought Keidys.

—Hello —Josef greeted.

—What are you doing in my house? Keidys asked as he leaned back in the chair.

—I am fine and you? Josef said, and flashed that crooked smile of irony, then took a sip from his glass of lemonade.

Keidys felt that Josef's smile melted her like hot chocolate: a simple and insignificant gesture like that could make her world reel. He tried to come back to reality and blur his thoughts.

—Look Josef, I don't like that you come to my house, you're not welcome here —keidys released with a tone that was heard very rude—; Not while I'm here So it would be a great favor for me if you don't ruin my day with your ass face.

—Because you hate me? Josef inquired, seeing that the situation was quite unpleasant.

—I've been told that you're very intelligent. Doesn't your intelligence allow you to remember what you did to me? Keidys crossed his arms.

—Are you still madding about that? —I am very sorry for what happened, I asked you for an apology— he let out a sigh—. Sorry, I know it must have been pretty hard for you that time when you got bullied because of me.

—Look, Josef —she brushed a lock of hair from her face— I don't want an apology from you, not at all, so don't do it, it'll be in vain. —She got up from her chair and the two of them stared at each other. I would like you to live firsthand what I had to go through.

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—Keidys, my name is Mateo, I study with you, but maybe you don't know it, you accompanied me to the cafeteria the first day you arrived at school, —uncomfortable silence. Well, I just want to tell you that all my life I've been in love with you; I haven't wanted to have a single girlfriend because I was always waiting for this moment, I... I love you.

—How low are you going to fall? —asked Alejandra, crossing her arms, sitting at her desk.

—Because? Mateo asked as the blood rose to his cheeks.

They were alone in the classroom and the young man had gotten the crazy idea of declaring his love to Keidys.

—She has a whole line of suitors in which there are great models —Alejandra explained in a bored tone— and if you declare yourself, I don't think you'll get anything other than a resounding rejection. Also, the only thing that makes her look so "goddess" is her modeling career, if it weren't, she would be a spoiled girl; which actually is, but since she's a model that makes her look cool —Alejandra wrinkled her face and then got up from her position and stared at her cousin. Before confessing you must learn to conquer her.

—How do I do that?

—You're a man, you should know that —replied to the young woman, although, to tell the truth, she didn't know how either.

—You must be a bad boy —he heard behind him—, that he ignores her and that he doesn't fantasize about her: the worst thing that can be for a woman is that, that they ignore her, that they reject her; and if you do it with her, you're going to bring her to you and Keidys will be the one to declare himself.

—Josef —the young man blurted out, turning his face back.

—It's simple, it's that easy —Josef concluded.

He sat next to Mateo.

—That was what I was going to tell you —Alejandra said as she let out a small laugh.

—I wouldn't be able to ignore her, she's so precious that... I... I don't know, it would be impossible for me, every time I see her, my heart wants to jump out of my chest, never in my life have I felt so much love for someone —Mateo confessed.

Josef crossed his arms as he analyzed the words of the young man intoxicated with love.

—But you've never dealt with her, how can you fall so in love with someone like that? The young woman reproached very angry, she couldn't bear to see her cousin in those conditions. — You don't really know her! She can be a bad person.

—Of course, I know her!" Mateo was annoyed. Her favorite color is light pink, she has an older brother, she loves to go jogging on Friday afternoons and she likes to listen to music before going to sleep while she cleanses her face; She likes to have long conversations and loves going to the beach to get a tan. She has a good relationship with her older brother and wants to be an actress, but she wants to finish her studies first.

When the young man finished speaking, there was a great silence in the classroom.

—Are you sure you know her well? —Josef asked in his typical somewhat neutral voice.

—I just said yes —Mateo answered, very sure of his words.

—It is what you have investigated or what she has said on television, but is it true? Alejandra questioned.

—Of course, it's true! —She doesn't like to lie.

—Talk to her —Josef recommended— so you can know if what you have for Keidys is a charm or is it really love.

Josef got up from his desk and left the room. He had another concept of Keidys, other tastes: his true tastes, the complicated and explosive personality that he really had. “She is capricious, conceited, she doesn't sing well at all, she has nightmares when it rains with lightning, she hates clowns and eats chocolate hidden from everyone. She cries when someone treats her badly and has a past that she wants to forget and for which I am to blame; her true favorite color is fiery red; She doesn't know anything about literature but her favorite book is Little Women, a book for which she doesn't remember the name of the writer, although she loved the movie. She wants to be an actress, but she hates having to exercise and she doesn't like her second name” thought Josef as he sat on a park bench inside the school.

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Mateo was quite thoughtful about the recommendation that Josef had given him, two weeks ago Keidys came to study at school and every time he looked at her from afar he thought she was perfect, the idea that she was a spoiled girl did not enter his mind or arrogant as her cousin Alejandra believed.

Her older sister lived near Keidys' parents' house and for that very reason she went to visit her to see if she was lucky to see her, although she knew that the young woman was always busy, but that day she had thought of declaring her feelings to the girl. .

—Matthew, could you do me a favor? —His sister asked entering the living room, he stopped reading a book and looked at her carefully—, I have to go to work for some papers that I had left, could you take Lucas to his swimming training?

—Sure, sure. —Mateo got up from the furniture and showed him a smile. In the background, he heard small happy screams that soon reached the room.

After taking his nephew to his swimming lessons, he decided to take a short walk in a nearby park. She wanted to think of the words she should use to confess, she knew he wasn't that ugly, so maybe she could give him a chance. He observed that at the back of the place a photo session was taking place, there was Keidys, sitting rather delicately on a bench, it was the new summer collection. It looked tender and filled with a lot of freshness.

Mateo, stunned, watched the young woman from afar, although he was surprised to see that out of nowhere Keidys began to yell at a girl who was touching up his makeup.

—You're so clumsy! Go away! I told you to go away! —Besides being clumsy, are you deaf? — He got up from the bench and withdrew giving a blow to the girl's chest—, we're done for today! he ordered.

Mateo was stunned by that behavior, although he thought that perhaps she had not had a good day ; he had exploded, everyone has moments of anger, although that part of Keidys had disgusted him a little.

The next morning, he had decided to talk to her at school, even though she was always surrounded by students.

—Yes, my brother bought them for me in France and gave them to me on my birthday. —She showed her earrings to her friends and then gave a little laugh.

—They are very expensive! Her friends were surprised.

—That's nothing, well, at least for my family —the young woman said with a rather smug tone.

Mateo was sitting on the bench next to where the group of girls was in the park, the afternoon was somewhat sunny and you could hear a small group of crickets singing. The young man did not know what to think, every time he was near her to analyze her behavior without introducing his feelings... he realized that she did not fit in with the Keidys who had fallen in love with him years ago with her pretty personality.

One night he saw an advertisement on a giant screen that was in the center of the city, that sweet photo of Keidys presenting the new youth summer clothing line, it was from that time that he yelled at the young woman without any consideration. Looking at her photo, he remembered the words he said to a girl that morning "don't get in the way" and he pushed her and kept walking as if nothing had happened.

She was beginning to think that she had deluded herself with a false image of Keidys, she was someone hypocritical who only acted to look perfect in front of a lens and thus captivate the audience. Simply... that girl... was one of the bunch.

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—Who do you think you are? —Mateo asked Keidys, looking into her eyes—, you're arrogant and spoiled, but that doesn't mean you have the right to trample on people, do you understand?

Keidys looked at him from head to toe while making a gesture of displeasure, but Mateo did not take his eyes off her, he wanted at least one person to put her in her place for once in his life. And that was going to be him.