With an affectionate smile Mateo watched his brother lying stretched out on the new couch, half of his face sunk in a cushion. His mouth was slightly open, giving way to soft snoring sounds. Something he'd never dared to do in their mother's house, afraid to get lectured.

Taking Juan away from a home where he couldn't even lie on the couch when he was exhausted, had been his priority for a long time. But he was young, he hadn't been sure if he would really manage to do it and he had also been afraid that Juan didn't want to move in with his brother. He had always been sensitive to what other people thought of him and his family, even when he pretended not to care.

Nevertheless, he had succeeded. He had been able to rent a spacious apartment and Juan had wanted nothing more than going with him. It did him good, knowing their bond was so strong Juan took any shame for granted.

It had been some busy days. Lorraine had bought the building they had visited a few weeks ago and they were in the middle of executing their plans. Apart from that, he had also worked on the house. Although he had more time at his disposal than his little brother, Juan didn't want him to do a lot without him. It was their house, he wanted to fix up the place together. After all, he would live here for at least two years. Emilio, Riley and June had came over to paint the walls, which had sped the process up and right now everything was almost finished.

Nevertheless the days had been long, which caused Juan some stress. Mateo believed his brother pulled through very well. The conversation he had with ma hadn't been easy, but Mateo was proud of him daring to face her. He himself hadn't said a single word to her — he wouldn't know what to say anyway.

The oven beeped, waking Juan up. Sitting up straight, he rubbed his eyes.

"And... The couch's lyin' well?" Mateo asked, smirking.

A pink tinge spread across Juan's cheeks. "Sorry," he muttered. "I should have set the table while you were cooking."

Mateo shrugged his shoulders. "Had to wait until the food was ready anyway. Don't wanna hear you say sorry in this house, kid." He pulled a face. "I'm not ma."

Juan chuckled, jumped on his feet and looked more energetic instantly. Mateo headed to the oven to take out the baking dish while Juan pulled back a chair and flopped down.

Dinner was more relaxing than it used to be. They used to have dinner with the two of them a lot of times, but there had always been some restraint because they didn't know if ma'd show up, ruining their moods. The times that Juan had to eat all alone were over as well; now he no longer had to deliver pizzas he could schedule his working hours himself. Finally, his brother seemed to have some stability in his life, and the look in his eyes told Mateo that it was quieter in his head too.

"Next week it's Thanksgiving, huh?" Juan started, right before he shoved a bite of lasagne in his mouth.

"Uh-uh." The corner of Mateo's mouth curled up. "Your first celebration with your future family in law." He winked.

Juan smiled and nodded. "Hannah asked me to invite you too."

It took a few seconds before Mateo understood he was talking about June's mother. Lowering his fork, he frowned his eyebrows. "What?"

"She wants to meet you."

Mateo huffed. He was happy for his little brother that he got along well with June's ma, but he didn't have some hole in his heart that needed to be filled. He didn't like parents — and they didn't like him either.

"Why?" he asked gruff.

Juan shrugged his shoulders. "She knows how much you mean to me." Hopefully, he looked up to Mateo. "I can't even remember the last time I celebrated Thanksgiving with you. It would mean a lot to me if you'd come."

Mateo sighed.

He absolutely didn't want to go — but he didn't have the heart to tell him no.

Mateo took a deep breath before leaving the car. Damn it. He was even nervous. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been nervous. This was so important to Juan — he didn't want to fuck it up by not knowing how to deal with parents or little kids. Subtly, he wiped his clammy palms to the best jeans he had, then he opened the car door. Juan was already waiting on the sidewalk, a wide smile on his face. Luckily he didn't pick up on his brother's nervousness. He couldn't simply leave when things felt awkward; he didn't want to embarrass Juan. He already had a mom he felt ashamed of, he didn't want him to feel ashamed of his brother too.

He got out. He was craving for a smoke, yet he walked over to his little brother, forced a smile around his lips and slapped the younger boy on the shoulder.

Juan led him to the garden path, crossed the small front yard and put the key in the lock. Mateo saw their reflection in the glass of the door. Although they weren't wearing anything too fancy, they wore one of their newest jeans and a button-down. The last time they'd looked like this, they'd been at the Jubilee Prom.

Mateo followed Juan into the hallway, then they entered the living room. Only a few seconds passed before Juan and June clung to each other. Awkwardly he looked around. From a worn couch, two red haired girls watched him with eyes wide. Damn — they were even younger than he thought they would be. What the hell was he supposed to say to them? His eyes darted across the room and rested upon the bed.

June's mom looked fragile. She was thin, frail. She was sitting, a blanket covering her legs and her slender upper body was leaning into a pile of pillows. The look in her eyes however was inviting, her smile warm. She moved her glance from him to his little brother when Juan walked over to her and kissed her cheek. Hannah's hand glided across Juan's face while she softly spoke to him.

He tore his glance away from the two when he saw a movement in his periphery. It was June.

"Hey," she said softly — a little uncomfortable now he stood in the middle of her house.

"Hey girl," he answered, pulling himself together again. "Happy Thanksgiving." He kissed her cheek.

"You too. I'm happy you want to celebrate it with us. It means a lot to him."

He nodded.

Juan turned towards him, beckoning him to come closer. Hesitantly, he headed towards the bed.

"Hello Mateo." Hannah's voice sounded stronger than expected and for some reason it filled him with relief. "I'm so happy to finally meet you. Juan talked about you a lot."

His eyes wandered to Juan, who was beaming and smiling from ear to ear. He wondered what she really thought of him. After all, he had been in prison for six weeks.

"Thanks for the invite," he said, still feeling awkward. "Ma'me."

"You can call me Hannah." She took his hand, giving it a squeeze. Her fingers felt cold. She sat up a little straighter. "Ladies?" she told her daughters. "Did you introduce yourselves to Juan's brother?"

The twins shook their heads at the same time. With a mixture of curiousness and shyness they looked at him.

"They don't have to," he muttered. "Kids never like me anyway."

"Don't be foolish. They were very excited to meet you. They are just a little shy now." She winked at him. "But as it seems, they are not the only ones."

Mateo felt his cheeks flush. No one had ever told him he was shy. He turned away from the bed, watching the two girls come closer and shake his hand.

"I'm May," the first said.

"And I'm April." Out of the two, she seemed to have the most bravado for she studied his face with a curious glint in her eyes. "You really look a lot like Juan! It's almost like you're twins too! How old are you? We are ten!"

"Nineteen," he answered.

"That almost double our age, right?" she chatted on. "Then you're old enough to marry! Are you going to marry soon?"

"No umm — I don't have a girlfriend."

"Why not?"

He scratched his neck. Right. He couldn't exactly tell her he didn't like the thought of having sex with only one person. "I haven't found the right person yet."

"What kind of person is that?"

Damn it. A grunted curse slipped his lips. Would she go on with this the whole night?

Luckily, the doorbell rang. Both girls rushed to the front door, forgetting about him instantly. It was a relief.

"Jordy's coming too," he heard June say to Juan. "Her parents lacked the time to go home."

Right after these words, the blue haired girl entered the living room. She greeted both Juan and June with a hug, and the same happened to June's mother. That she almost crushed the woman underneath her weight, didn't seem to bother her.

Her lips curled up when she turned towards him. "You want me to introduce myself properly to you or can I just fling my arms around you."

Mateo had seen her before; at Jubilee Prom she had been the one dragging him outside after June had been groped. She just had an appearance that was hard to forget.

"Whatever you want sweetheart," he winked.

"Well, you don't have to say that twice." She winked back. In two steps she stood before him, wrapping her arms around him.

The contrast with June couldn't be bigger. The only time he'd held her in his arms, was when Erik was carried to an ambulance. Jordy linked her arm happily with his.

"I'm glad you're here! June refuses to touch a turkey and preparing it is much more fun when you're not alone!"

Mateo let her drag him to the kitchen. The atmosphere in the house seemed to have changed now Jordy was here — and it wasn't a negative energy. Now he knew her parents had let her down more or less, he admired her for her positivity. Jordy shoved onions, ribbed celery and an apple towards him to shred while she put meat in a frying pan and started to remove the skin of the sausages.

From the corner of his eye he saw how June took a pie from the fridge, putting it on the table so the twins could decorate it. There after, she returned to the kitchen with Juan where the two started to make salad.

"What kind of work do you do now?" Jordy asked him. "You used to work at a pizza place, right?"

"Yeah. Me and my friend are in the middle of opening a nightclub, in a former cafe." He watched her face, curious to how she would respond.

"Oh, that's awesome! Sounds like a lot of work tho. And what kind of nightclub? I bet with strippers and poles, huh?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

He chuckled. He liked her. "Something like that, yeah."

"Well if you ever decide to do a smurf themed night; I had a couple of pole dance lessons. And I did a lapdance course."

Her self-mockery made him smirk. He kinda liked her confidence. She was different than most girls he knew and he was actually curious to how she would surprise him if he took her to his room tonight.

"Well, I'd like to get a taste of your skills," he said with a flirty wink.

"I..." Jordy interrupted herself when one of June's sisters showed up next to them and started to tell Jordy a tale about an escaped bunny they'd found in the garden a few days ago. Her eyes kept holding his glance a little longer. There was a mischievous look in them, one that made this Thanksgiving a lot more interesting than he'd expected it to be.

After preparing the food, the twins practically pushed them towards the table to play a game.

"Look. I made this for you." The shyest of the girls handed him a piece of paper. "And I also made one for Jordy." She shoved the other paper to her sister's friend. He saw that the other twin handed papers to Juan and June.

Awkwardly, he took the gift. It was a drawing of himself; a chef's hat on his head and a frying pan in his hand. She was quite skilled for a ten year old. For Matteo, was written above it. From May.

"That's... cool," he mumbled, his voice sounding weaker than he wanted. The last one making a drawing for him must have been Juan, when he was the twins' age.

"You like it?" She'd folded her hands, looking up to him with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah... It's really pretty."

Looking for help, his eyes shot to Juan when the girl kept staring at him.

A grin crossed Juan's face. "We're gonna hang 'em on the fridge at home, May. The drawings are beautiful."

The girl beamed with pride and sat down at the chair again. Juan piled the drawings up, laying them down on a cabinet that was put against the wall. Mateo noticed a few bottles of pills on it.

Juan had told him that June's mother had a disease by which more and more parts of her body were shutting down. There was no cure, only medicines to slow down the process. Expensive medicines. Pensively, he stared at the bottles. He could find a cheaper way to get those medicines. He felt so much warmth in this house, so much love that had never been there in their own home... It didn't happen a lot that he felt sympathy for others, but the thought that this house might be silent next year because Hannah had passed away, squeezed his heart.

Something told him the fragile woman was looking at him. His eyes darted aside. She indeed was smiling sadly at him, as if she could hear his thoughts. He felt a lump in his throat. Would she want it? If he would find a way to extend her life so she could stay a little longer with those people who obviously loved her very much, would she let him? He decided to ask her. Not now — but at a moment the children weren't around. He knew how much this woman meant to his brother, not to mention to June... If he could buy time for them to create more good memories, he would give it to them.

. . .

It was a nice evening, full of happiness. So different from all the tense celebrations he remembered, in the time his mother was still trying to be an actual mother. Despite the sadness that was continuously in the background, this family — and everyone who was connected to it — found solace in each other and Mateo had to admit he didn't even feel like an intruder. Seeing how free Juan felt around here and how much these people loved him, was something Mateo had wanted to give him for such a long time, but he had been unable to give it to him all by himself.

Later that night, when the twins had gone to bed, the four of them were sitting around a fire pit in the garden. It was a little cold, but the warmth of the fire was nice and they all knew Hannah needed some rest.

Juan and June were sitting close to each other, their fingers laced, her head against his shoulder. Juan's thumb slowly stroked that of his girlfriend while he dipped his head now and then to kiss her temple.

"Aren't they adorable?" Jordy whispered. Her smile was a bit dreamy while she watched the couple.

"I honestly get sick of it sometimes," he muttered, showing her a crooked smile.

She chuckled. "Secretly, you're just a little jealous."

Mateo drank from his glass. Maybe. Sometimes. But nobody needed to know that. He doubted anyone existed who was as good as a fit for him as June was to his little brother.

"You got a boyfriend?" he wondered.

Slowly, she shook her head. Her eyes were aimed at the fire.

"But you do have a crush on someone," he concluded.

"Yeah," she said. "It's complicated."

Mateo kept silent. To be honest he didn't give a shit about her love life and he wasn't going to pretend like he did.

"It's Emilio she's in love with," his brother told him from the other side of the fire.

Mateo looked up to him, surprised. "You serious?"

"Uh-huh. He has feelings for her too. But he's scared it's gonna ruin his reputation."

"His reputation?" Mateo huffed. "Kid barely has a reputation." He thought he'd taught the boy better. Leaning back in his chair, he turned his gaze back to Jordy. "Tell 'm you slept with me. I'm sure you're cool enough for him then."

Jordy chuckled. "He's never going to believe that. His great example Mateo who fucks a skinny smurf like me."

"That how he calls you? A smurf?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Among other things."

He raised his eyebrows. "And you still like him?"

She shrugged once more. "He has a big mouth, but I know his heart is in the right place. I've seen his vulnerable side."

Mateo had seen that too — and he knew not many had. If Emilio had shown his vulnerability to Jordy too, it was at least remarkable.

"I mean it. Tell him we slept together. I'm sure it will help."

She looked him in the eye, pensively biting the inside of her cheek. "He won't believe it."

"Why not? I'm not shortsighted like him. I think you're a nice girl, I'd take you home."

A blush spread across her cheeks. Mateo couldn't hold back and stroked his fingers across her forearm. "Just imagine Emilio's face when he's hanging out with Juan tomorrow morning and he'll see you leaving my room..." She turned her arm, catching his fingers with hers. He leaned into her and whispered: "Even before I knew about Emilio, I fantasized about spending the night with you."

Chuckling, she shook her head. "You're such a slick."

He smirked. "What? This is a win-win. I'm a practical man. And I'm sure the look on Emilio's face will be memorable."

"I guess you're right," she laughed. "And Beth's going to hate me even more if she finds out." She curled her fingers, lacing them with his. Leaning closer to him, she whispered: "Actually that's reason enough for me for wanting to feel that hot body of yours against mine."

Her tone was already messing with his head. "We got a deal?" he whispered, his lips slightly touching her auricle.

She shivered. "We got a deal."

In case anyone's interested... I'm writing a spin-off about Mateo that is set in jail. He's 29 there, older than he's going to be in this story, so it won't have much ties to Last Kiss Goodbye, although Juan will still be his little brother. June will only be mentioned briefly, I think. Anyway, the story's called 'Monsters Behind Bars' and can be found on Wattpad (my username is Venomis). Since it's an original work, I can only post it there. (: