I entered the apartment and I just stood there against the door staring at nothing. Mia noticed I was home so she came out of her room to greet me as she usually did.
“Hey girl. I was about to call you since you weren’t home yet.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I was with Principe,” I said and I scratched the back of my neck. While I do know his name is Mauricio I will not be sharing his name without his permission.
“Again? Where?” She asked me excitedly.
“He visited me on campus. That’s all,” I said as I placed my backpack on the floor.
“Lucky girl. Are you guys like friends now?” I didn’t know what to say because telling her we’re going to take down a corrupt church organization didn’t seem like an appropriate answer.
“Something like that I guess,” I said as I went up to her in the living room.
“I don’t want to sound like Greta but does the germ know?” I forgot I’m still dating Jeremiah and it’ll stay that way until we complete the mission. We. As if it wasn’t Mauricio’s and his friends’ mission.
“He’ll know eventually,” I said though I know our relationship is going to end sooner or later once the Guild takes them out.
“Oh my gosh, Madeleine.”
“What? I’m just hanging out with a friend. I need that too. You’re my only friend, Mia,” I said and my voice cracked. I hated that.
“Aw, Mads. I’m sorry,” she said and went up to hug me. I wish I could tell her everything but I can’t expose Mauricio like that. He’s way too good for me to betray him like that.
“Thank you. I love you so much, Mia.”
“I love you too, girl.”
~
@pr1nc1pemuerte: Excuse me but does your guy have any social media?
I forgot to tell him that important detail.
@mads.is.glad: no :(
@mads.is.glad: something about it being a distraction while trying to grow his faith i think he said once
Even though I know we need to discuss things about him for our mission I still hated when Mauricio and I had to talk about him. I know I chose him but considering my circumstances…did I really choose him or was I forced to? When I started talking to Jeremiah and going to the campus ministry a guy had just rejected me a month prior if we can even call it that because he just cut me off. Jeremiah was the only decent looking guy in my biology class therefore I chose him. Just mere exposure. Sort of what the definition of a dilemma is in philosophy class: having to make a choice when none of the choices seem acceptable. I could stay single which is my plan now but back then I wanted the experience. I’m not sure if I really like the experience now though.
@pr1nc1pemuerte: More like distracts him from scamming people and talking to girls that are way out of his league.
I felt a slight rush of excitement from his message but I know it’s just his usual sarcasm. He probably doesn’t mean it like I wish he did.
@mads.is.glad: no need to flatter me. i’m already helping you.
@pr1nc1pemuerte: I’m not trying to flatter you. I mean it. Also, we’re helping each other out because we both know you’re done with those people.
Sometimes I feel like he can read me like a book which I’ve never felt before. He really knows how to make me feel special. Mauricio was different from everyone I know and I like that. I guess most of it comes from following him for so long and admiring him which makes me like him more than other people now that we’ve met. Whatever it is I feel like something is healing in me and I’ve felt that since the day we went to the campus chapel. It felt like something that was taking more than giving no longer affected my life and I had found something better. I always knew Principe Muerte could fix what was wrong but I didn’t know how. I want to figure it out.
@mads.is.glad: thanks
@pr1nc1pemuerte: You’re very welcome, Madeleine.
I put my phone away and looked at my room. I haven't paid attention to it a bit but now it’s not looking great. There were clothes scattered around, misplaced books, random college handouts I’ve forgotten to throw away, and there was some more random stuff on my floor. It looked awful and as if I had let myself go because I actually did. Instead of sitting down and crying about it I turned some music on and started fixing everything like it was before. I still teared up occasionally looking at what I had done. I’m never doing this to myself ever again.
~
As I left the classroom Jeremiah came running up to me while looking concerned. That’s when I realized I hadn’t seen him in like a week.
“What happened?” I asked him as he came up to me.
“Something awful happened last night at one of the retreats our church funds,” he said, referring to the supposed mental health institutions which are nothing but suspicious.
“Stay calm, Jeremiah. What happened?”
“Someone burned it down. It’s all gone now,” he said as he only got more agitated. Shock ran right through me because I think I know who did it.
“What do you mean it’s gone?”
“They burned it to the ground. There’s nothing left, Madeleine,” he said and I had no choice but to hug him to keep up with my nice girlfriend act. I just had to think it was for Mauricio.
“It’ll be alright, Jere,” I said as I hugged him but I couldn’t help but smile behind his back. It was happening.
“I hope so, Madeleine. I hope so. Daddy is working on it.” I couldn’t help but cringe at him calling his father “daddy.” I finally pulled away.
“I’m sorry about being gone these past few days. I’ve just been busy,” after I said that I got a notification on my phone. I didn’t check it yet because I didn’t want to be rude.
“Yeah I get it. I know how it is. I just needed to see you and hear your encouraging words. Prayers are what we need the most at this time.” I got another notification.
“Sorry but I need to check this real quick,” I said and I saw two direct message notifications. It was Mauricio.
@pr1nc1pemuerte: Don’t lie to him, Madeleine.
@pr1nc1pemuerte: I see he needs constant validation. Red flag right there.
He’s eavesdropping on our conversation. He has to be on campus again to know these things. He has to be near.
@mads.is.glad: are you spying on us?? on campus again??
@pr1c1pemuerte: And in costume.
@mads.is.glad: you're crazy!!
@pr1nc1pemuerte: Just like you when you became the pastor’s daughter in law.
I send him an eye roll emoji before putting my phone away.
“It’s one of my classmates. She needs help with an assignment we have. I should probably get to that because it’s due tonight. I’m sorry I can’t spend more time with you after what happened,” I said and I briefly grabbed his hand to simulate genuine concern. He sighed. I got another message that must be from Mauricio again.
“Alright, I’ll let you do that but see you Wednesday at the meeting.”
“Yes sir,” I said and he started walking away. That’s when I looked around to try to find Mauricio but I didn’t see him therefore I checked the message.
@pr1nc1pemuerte: And you lied again.
Before I could even reply he scared me by sneaking behind me and speaking.
“Didn’t know you were such a good liar,” he said as I got startled and jumped.
“What is this all about, Principe?” I didn’t want to use his real name in public because I thought it was too risky.
“I want to ask you that same question. You’ve been very deceiving and sneaky today. You do know what I think liars deserve, right?” He said, still standing behind me. I slightly trembled at that moment.
“What?” Was all I was able to say before he put his hand on my shoulder and got close to my ear.
“They deserve to get punished,” he said in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. Apart from all we’ve done and discussed about his mission I was still very attracted to him. Having him behind me, very likely in costume, and whispering things like that in my ear didn’t help at all. I get that he’s an actor but he sure knows how to pull a captivating act. That’s why I decided to play along.
“Then maybe you should punish me,” I said before he finally stood in front of me. He bit his black makeup covered lip making me feel even more attracted to him. He knows how to make the girls go crazy.
“Madeleine, what would your boyfriend say if he heard you?” He teased taking me back to reality. I ignored his words and went straight to the point.
“Did your guys burn that place down?” I asked him and he gave me a wicked smile.
“Who do you think did that so perfectly?” He just asked me back. It was obvious.
“You guys really are serious about this,” I said and I tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Did you ever doubt me, vampiress?” I licked my lips.
“I…I didn’t. I just didn’t think it would be so soon and so…serious I guess.” He put his hands on my shoulders.
“Is this too much for you? If so I guess we could stop but you know what that means.” I spoke immediately.
“No. No. Don’t stop by any means. I can handle it, alright? I’m just a bit surprised. That’s all,” I said and that’s when I realized how close we were. His black hair compliments his black and white clown makeup and dark brown eyes. I couldn’t help but think about when I kissed him at the Halloween party. I didn’t know what he looked like exactly but I did know he was beautiful. I didn’t need to see him without his makeup to know.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I just said almost as a whisper. He smiled.
“I love that about you, you know? Going for what’s right and all of that.” I laughed but I still couldn’t hide how sad I felt.
“I don’t think that’s true because look where I ended up and with what kind of people.”
“Because you thought that was right back then.” I still didn’t think about it that way.
“I literally started dating Jeremiah because I was depressed because of school and heartbroken because I got cut off by someone I was actually interested in,” I explained but he stood by his previous statements.
“And you chose him just because he looked like he showered and thought his personality was alright because in all honesty he doesn’t really have looks or aspirations whatsoever. Yeah, you definitely found the good in him even if it was just like one percent.” I couldn’t help but finally genuinely laugh.
“I’ll always be humble because of that. Trust me.” He laughed softly this time.
“I like that about you too.”
~
I dreaded for Wednesday night to come. That’s why I chose to have Tuesday night for myself and my school work. While it did take me like two hours that was usually the time I spent on the weekly meetings which if you added up the time I had to stay waiting around it was way more. After I finished my work I laid down in bed and just stared at the ceiling. While that didn’t sound great it actually felt good to be laying there in my organized room without having to worry about school work because I had already completed it. That’s when I realized this will be my life once my old “friends” are out of my life. I still wanted to talk to someone who wasn’t Mia and my thoughts immediately went to Mauricio who I debated if I should actually reach out or not. I felt like I was going overboard but nobody else gets me like him so I messaged him.
@mads.is.glad: got most of my work done yippie
He hadn’t opened it or anything and I just immediately thought he was going to ignore like every guy I’ve actually vibed with. I do need to understand what we have going on is strictly work related. He's only talking to me because I’m the only one that can help him with his mission. There’s no need for me to get all caught up in this but he did end up replying to my message.
@pr1nc1pemuerte: Heck yeah! Do you feel good about it?
I smiled at the screen.
@mads.is.glad: 100% good!
@mads.is.glad: I don’t want to go to the meeting tomorrow tho :(
He started typing immediately.
@pr1nc1pemuerte: I can fix that too.
I can only imagine how.
@mads.is.glad: no i’m good. thx
@pr1nc1pemuerte: You’re not though. In that aspect at least.
I guess there’s a down side to him getting me so well; I can’t hide how I feel.
@mads.is.glad: just don’t burn anything again
@pr1nc1pemuerte: I can’t make any promises unfortunately.
Yeah, he was a lot sometimes but I guess everyone has their quirks. I think I’m actually going crazy.
@mads.is.glad: surprise me then i guess
@pr1nc1pemuerte: In what way?
I just stared at the message until the typing bubbles popped up.
@pr1nc1pemuerte: Kidding.
I sighed in relief and laid on my bed again until my phone started ringing. It was Mauricio. I hesitantly answered it.
“Uh, hi. I think you accidentally called me,” I said timidly. He mimicked me.
“Uh, no. I thought you wanted me to surprise you so…surprise,” he said and I started to wonder how he looked right now but he definitely wasn’t going to do a video call.
“I thought you said you were kidding.”
“I actually don’t joke around with you or about you for that matter. I leave that for your friends excluding Mia, of course,” he said confidently which only made me admire him more.
“You’re very good at talking,” I said awkwardly, making me cringe when I realized I had actually done that. He laughed at it either way.
“Thanks. I guess it’s a skill of mine. You’re quite good at talking as well, just not with people you particularly like. You never make a single mistake talking to Jeremiah. I wonder why,” he said, making me kick the air out of the weird excitement I felt. I tried to respond as calmly as possible.
“I guess so. Thank you,” I said.
“You’re very welcome. You know what I should just tell you,” he said, making me sit up.
“Tell me what?”
“We, the Nocturne Guild, do have something planned tomorrow but I can’t say what. It will save your night though.” No. Way. But also. Yes. Way. I also felt disgusted at myself for how I’m handling this whole thing but what am I supposed to do? It’s not like they’re doing anything better than what the guys are doing. They’re actually doing way worse because they are using and hurting innocent people.
“Isn’t this too quick?”
“Not really. We have this all planned out and if things keep going like this we’ll be done in less than two weeks.” This is almost over. I felt slightly weak but I composed myself.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah. It’s not that hard to dismantle everything to be honest. I actually think this is going down very fast. I’m shocked by it myself,” he said but I felt something change in the tone of his voice. I didn’t judge him because I felt a lump in my throat too. I almost called him by his real name.
“Principe…I’m having a bit of a hard time processing this so it might take me a bit to get my words out, ok?”
“Yeah, of course. I feel the same way. I’ll wait for you,” he said softly, making me have to process even more emotions and memories. Our memories.
“I thought it would be longer,” was all I could get out. He sighed.
“Me too, Madeleine. Me too. I will need your help with the last part if you don’t mind. I know you don’t because you offered to but I just want to be sure.” The last three words reminded me of when we kissed the day we met. It felt like it happened so long ago but also so recently at the same time.
“I’ll do anything for you. Of course,” I said and we just went silent for a bit.
“Awesome. I guess I’ll let you get some rest and I’ll see you soon. Good night,” he finally said.
“Alright, good night,” I responded before hanging up and whispering to myself. “I love you.”
Mauricio did fulfill his promise the following day. I knew it because Jeremiah messaged me that same day that the meeting was canceled due to recent events.
Jeremiah: Another one of our facilities was practically demolished by some other identified individuals.
I immediately thought of Mauricio and smiled.
Madeleine: What??
Jeremiah: I don’t know. It has to be some anti-religious people or someone playing a cruel joke.
I rolled my eyes at his message before answering.
Madeleine: I’m so sorry about that. I hope this is their last incident.
Of course I laughed on my own because I was actually behind this whole thing. Not fully but enough to stop it or not. After closing my messages I went to direct message Mauricio.
@mads.is.glad: you actually did it omg
@pr1nc1pemuerte: I didn't though. We have our ways, you know?
@mads.is.glad: well, in any case you’re very serious with this stuff. i like that
@pr1nc1pemuerte: I gave you your Wednesday night back now I have something for you. I want to take you somewhere.
@mads.is.glad: oh really? where??
@pr1nc1pemuerte: That’s the surprise… I’ll pick you up at 9:00PM. You better be there.
@mads.is.glad: or what? will you take me out of my apartment in the middle of the night?
@pr1nc1pemuerte: Again? I’m starting to think this is some fantasy of yours.
Thankfully this was via messages because I sure was blushing hard. Like full on red.
@mads.is.glad: maybe
@pr1nc1pemuerte: Don’t mess with me like that or I’ll make it real.
@pr1nc1pemuerte: I’m kidding btw. See you tonight.
I was outside by eight thirty waiting for him. While I was scared of being out at this time of night I was also filled with anticipation thinking about him coming to pick me up. The fear only got worse when a black SUV with tinted glass was coming towards my building. Before I ran away the driver pulled the window down taking away my fear as I saw Mauricio in his usual makeup.
“Didn’t mean to scare ya there,” he said before getting out to open the car door for me. Of course he did.
“Thank you. I thought you were finally going to take me.” He smiled, making me realize that I’m actually with him right now. Once again.
“Someday,” he said before closing the door and getting in the car again. I looked at him as he sat down and started to back up the car. That’s when I saw some tattoos pick through the sleeve of his leather jacket. I cleared my throat before speaking.
“You have tattoos?” I asked stupidly. You’re quite good at talking as well, just not with people you particularly like.
“Um yeah. I have some patchwork on my arms and chest. I started getting them when I joined the guild a few years ago,” he answered and I watched him shift gears. Damn, he even knew how to drive a manual car.
“I hadn’t seen them before until tonight. I can see a bit of your arm ones.”
“Do you have any?” He asked, trying to keep the conversation going slowly.
“No. Having something permanent on me scares me but I do really like them on other people.” Especially men but I wasn’t going to tell him that. Until then I realized I had no idea where he was taking me. My critical thinking skills are gone at this point.
“Do you like them on me?” He asked, worsening my nonexistent thinking skills.
“Uh…yeah. I guess.”
“You wish Jeremiah was into stuff like that, don’t you?” Oh Mauricio, please stop reading my mind.
“I actually just wish he was someone else,” I confessed and he just stayed silent until he started to pull over to some empty parking lot. Well, mostly empty due to it being only 9:55PM.
“It’s still too early for our main event therefore we’re going to chill here for a bit,” he said as we parked. I sighed as he turned off the car before rolling up his sleeves exposing his tattoos. I turned to the window to act as if I wasn’t looking.
“Look, full moon tonight.” He laughed.
“I like it when I make you nervous,” he said, making me look at him.
“I’m not. I just think the sky looks pretty. That’s all,” I said, faking annoyance. Well, partly fake.
“I get that but I want to show you some of my favorite work I’ve gotten done,” he said before clicking his seatbelt off to get closer to me. I looked down at his arms. There were like ten on each of his arms.
“Wow,” I just said stupidly as I stared.
“You’re going to love this one,” he said and pointed at one in his inner arm that looked like his makeup. I did love it.
“It’s so you. I do like it,” I just said and he smiled before pointing at another one of some playing cards.
“The same artist that did that one also did this one. I’m pretty sure his name is Matias Ronson. His work is my favorite.”
“Can I touch them?” I asked him, making him laugh.
“Sure. Touch wherever you want,” he teased but I just put my hand over it and dragged it down his arm before pulling away. He had some more of some bats flying and even a plague doctor one. They all suited him so well.
“They designed these for you didn’t they?”
“Yep,” he just said before pulling back down his shirt sleeves covering up his arms. I was slightly disappointed but I didn’t say much.
“What now?” I asked.
“It’s only like ten something so I have something else to show you,” he said as he got out of the car.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m just getting some stuff from the trunk.” That made me a bit nervous but I was still curious. He came back in shortly.
“What’s that?” I asked as I saw him putting something on his shoes.
“My sliding gear. I want to try something with you.” I guess I’ll be kissing this concrete parking lot tonight.
“You don’t want to make me slide, right?”
“Not unless you want to,” he responded as he started putting something made of the same metallic material on his knees.
“Not today,” I said as I continued watching him finish putting everything on before getting out of the car again to go open the door for me.
“Come with me,” he said and held my hand as I got out of the car.
“I’m here. What are we going to do now?”
“I need you to open up your legs for me,” he said and my cheeks went bright red from his request. That was a bit too direct for me.
“Huh?” Was all I could say.
“While standing up I mean. Like at our shows,” he instructed which brought me back to earth thankfully. I did as instructed.
“Could you do a little more for me?” This still felt weird but I also really liked being in the middle of the show even if we were just in an empty parking lot. Once again I complied with his requests.
“Good. Are you ready?” He asked, sending a shiver down my spine. This felt like a dream.
“Yes. As ready as I can be,” I said before he started walking back to be able to run and impulse himself.
“Ok. Three, two, one,” he said before quickly running to then slide to finally slide underneath me where I was standing. While I wasn't the one doing the trick I still got a rush of adrenaline from that single action.
“That’s so cool, oh my god,” I said, almost screaming before he came right back to me. We messed around like that until we got back in the car.
“Now for the main event of the night,” he said and we were starting to leave the parking lot. This wasn’t the surprise?
“What? What are we going to do now?”
“You’ll see very soon, Madeleine,” he said with a smile. I didn’t want to get used to him and even less to start properly liking him but tonight was going to make that almost impossible. I’m going to be so messed up from this. I think I’ll have something new to heal after I’m finally healing all this toxic organization thing.
“This place looks familiar. I think I know this route,” I said as I looked out the window.
“You sure do. You come here often with some people you know.” I don’t enjoy this mysterious side of Mauricio.
“When?”
“Almost every Sunday with your current boyfriend,” he said and that’s when I realized we’re at the church Jeremiah’s dad preaches at.
“Why did you bring me here in the middle of the night?”
“Do you know if this place has cameras or alarms?” He just asked me without answering my question.
“Uh know. They have this thing about security gadgets and stuff like that. Why does it matter?” I answered and he dropped a bag on my lap.
“Open it up,” he directed and I did so. There were cans of spray paint. We’re going to vandalize this place. That was his plan.
“I thought you didn’t do these kinds of things,” I said nervously.
“That’s why you’re going to do it,” he said with a smile. I didn’t know if I wanted to slap the smile off his face or kiss him. I didn’t do either and we were out of the car shortly.
I wrote the word “FAKE” right before adding a sad face beside it. Mauricio nodded in approval. I kept going and wrote the word “LIARS” on another side of the building.
“Can I join in?” Mauricio asked which I agreed to. He quickly got bored of that though and he went to his car to pick up something else.
“What are you doing?”
“There are no alarms here, right?” He asked me back.
“Yeah. Why?” That’s when I saw him with a hammer. I guess we’re going to break in too.
“You’re crazy, Principe. Thank you for that,” I said before he went to a window and smashed it. He made sure there were no glass shards that could cut me while entering before helping me get in. We continued messing around with the spray paint and even broke a few things too.
In the end we laid down staring at the ceiling on the stage where the pastor speaks during the service.
“We make a good team,” Mauricio said, breaking the silence. I smiled.
“I think so too,” I said and I started to feel sad because this was going to be over soon. The thought of going back to just another follower hurt. I wanted to feel like I did tonight for my whole life.
“It’s been a long time since I spent time like this with a girl.”
“You’ve broken into a church before?” I asked him, letting out a sad laugh.
“No. I mean, like sharing so much with someone. It has been a while since I’ve done that.” I couldn’t help but confess something too.
“You’re the first guy I’ve ever liked. I mean really liked.” I hate that my voice broke as I said it.
“I…I don’t know what to say. Sorry,” he said and a lump formed on my throat. Another rejection I guess. That’s when I sat up.
“You mean you planned this whole night for someone you don’t even like?” I was close to screaming when I said it. It’s kind of ironic for me to say because I’ve done quite a lot for Jeremiah and I never really liked him. I even wrote him a note on special stationery once for example.
“I don’t mean it like that, Madeleine.” He got up too.
“Then how? What did you apologize for?”
“Because I’m broken, Madeleine. I’ve always been broken. Almost everyone in my family is garbage and some even are part of this stupid group that has only caused us even more pain,” I was stunned by his words making me have so many thoughts at once.
“What group?”
“This church,” he answered firmly. That’s how he knew about this place and its secrets.
“How?”
“Way too many ways and way too many people. I’m broken, Madeleine. I don’t think I know how to love because I’ve never been loved.” His eyes glistened, breaking me too. That’s why he does these missions. He wants to show up for people like nobody else has done for him.
“You’re not broken, Mauricio,” I said as I walked up to him.
“You don’t know that.”
“Well, if you really are broken let me fix you like you’ve healed me. Let me show you what love is,” I said and I cupped his cheeks. He looked at me with sad eyes that saw right through me.
“Madeleine, please don’t,” he said.
“You don’t want to?”
“I do but it’s only going to make things worse later on,” he said and I quickly cut the conversation.
“I guess we’ll deal with that later then,” I said before smashing my lips on his. He quickly kissed me back and followed along before pulling away to briefly look at each other before he kissed me again. My hand was all up on his black hair as he grabbed my neck with one hand and my waist with the other pulling me close. This was way messier than the first time we kissed at the party but it felt right. My other hand slowly went to his shirt and I grabbed it before briefly pulling away from the kiss.
“I want to see your chest tattoos. Can I?” He pulled up his shirt showing me more bat tattoos, an owl one, and a crown one right in the middle of his chest. I got up close to that one.
“That’s my first one when I became Principe Muerte,” he said and I softly kissed it, taking in his scent. He covered up again and we were face to face again.
“I’ve never asked you where the name came from and now I’m actually curious,” I said as I rested my arms on his shoulders.
“It’s because I’m not a king. I’m a prince and nothing more,” he explained, making me smile.
“Definitely sounds like you,” I said before he pulled away.
“Let’s get going. It’s three in the morning,” he said as we started to make our way out. When we walked away from the building it felt as if I had walked away from so much more
To be continued…
I wanted to surprise Madeleine but she ended up surprising me.