[CHAPTER 21]

───🦋･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.🦋───

───🦋･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.🦋───

TITLE   : REGRET

THE DORMITORY WAS QUIET, filled only with the slow, steady breaths of his sleeping roommates.

Mattheo lay awake, staring at the ceiling, his hands clasped together over his stomach, his mind an absolute mess.

He had spent weeks convincing himself that this was for the best—that ignoring Ellie, keeping his distance, was the right thing to do.

That if he kept pretending she didn't exist, if he stayed away long enough, whatever had been building between them would disappear.

But tonight, as he lay in the suffocating silence of his own thoughts, he knew he had been wrong.

Because the image of her crying in Lorenzo's arms wouldn't leave his head.

It haunted him, playing over and over like a cruel, inescapable loop.

The way her shoulders had shaken. The way she had buried herself against Lorenzo  like she was falling apart.

The way she had looked so damn hurt—and he didn't even know why.

Was it because of him?

He didn't want to assume. He didn't want to let himself hope—because that would mean admitting that he had mattered to her.

That would mean admitting that he had ruined something real.

Mattheo inhaled sharply, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes.

He had messed up. He knew it.

He just didn't know how to fix it.

—

He had thought that ignoring her would make things easier.

But it hadn't.

If anything, it had made things worse.

Because now, no matter what he did, no matter where he went, Ellie was still there.

She was there in the hallways, walking with Lorenzo, her face carefully neutral, her voice softer than it used to be.

She was there in the common room, curled up on the couch, pretending to read when he knew she wasn't really paying attention to the words.

She was there in the Great Hall, laughing at something Lorenzo  or another friend had said—but never him.

And, worst of all, she was there in his head, invading his thoughts when all he wanted was to shut them off.

Mattheo turned onto his side, staring blankly at the wall.

He had made a mistake. A huge mistake.

He should have talked to her. Should have said something after that kiss instead of running away from it like a coward.

Because now, he had lost her.

And he wasn't sure if he would ever get her back.

───🦋･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.🦋───

DW HE WILL GET HER BACK