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It was then he realized how out of balance they had becoether No matter what, he and Tristan always had each other to share the darkness, always had each other to hts, to see the pain in the shadows, and to share it

It was lonely as hell feeling like you’re the only one, never seeing a part of yourself in someone else, and they shared that Even if those pieces weren’t beautiful, even if they were ugly to other people, they understood it The past week or so, they hadn’t had that They’d been floating, alone on the raft, getting farther and farther froht and dark Now they’d lost their source of light, and they’d also lost their company in the shadows, the one to share the darkness with

With slow steps, Mateo walked over to Tristan and kneeled on the floor in front of him "Let me in, mi pieza perdida Let ether until we get him back to help us wipe the his jaw Dios, he was fucking beautiful In his anger, Mateo hadn’t let himself see that He was beautiful and broken, just like Mateo was

"I haven’t" Tristan shook his head "I haven’t drea I let hiive myself to you and Josiah because of what I let s I’ve done"

And that right there hy Mateo could never let Tristan go forhat he planned with Javier The reason didn’t matter Mateo wasn’t worth another dark spot on Tristan’s soul

"We can’t lose him," Tristan said

Mateo shook his head "We won’t lose hiain

"I can’t lose you"

The weight inside Mateo lessened "You won’t lose me I’m his and I’m yours You’re his and you’rehe wasn’t with anyone other than Tristan Subs on the floor Leaned back into hih Tristan needed hiht now, he also needed to be in control, the dominant position in it all And fuckot it

Tristan’s ar against the tattoos there "I want these gone All of the ones that are part of your old life I don’t care if you cover theang isn’t a part of you"

He wanted that so fucking much, too He hadn’t been sure if he was ready, if he deserved it, but he wanted it And if Tristan said it was time, he would trust in that "It’s fuckin’ done" They were both quiet for a ive yourself to us more Let us kill those fuckin’ memories of all that shit you had to do, and replace them with us" He made sure to stress the had so Tristan understood that he hadn’t had a choice He’d been taking care of his family the only way he kne

"Yes" That one word held so h, simple yet powerful

"We hurt him," Tristan added And they had Mateo understood that

"We did, and I fuckin’ hate that I’ve hurt hiain But he’s not the only one"

Tristan’s hold on hi enough to handle it? To take care of you both?" Tristan’s voice cracked as he spoke, and Mateo understood the admission hurt him Made him feel weak, because Teo would feel the same way

"It’s not that I don’t think you can do it I don’t want that for you You have enough pain I wanna ease it, not make it more painful"

"And I need to know I can do it That I won’t fail you That I can be the ed him after people hurt him"

Mateo had never verbally admitted any kind of weakness to anyone except for Josiah and Tristan The words made acid burn his stomach, but he knew he had to say theht you didn’t trust , Tris You brought hiht out You built this fuckin’ e I have It’s all I was able to give Jay, and it’s all I have for you If I thought Javier would hurt either of you, I wouldn’t hesitate to take him out If somethin’ needs to be done, it should be done by me You deserve more than to live with that shit, and if you don’t wanna do it for yourself, do it for hiht with two ivable"