Page 72 of A Follow-Through in Faking
“Name?” they answer, their broad shoulders and muscular, tall frame intimidating me a little.
“Catalina Sanchez.” The security person nods, then crosses their massive arms over their chest.
I swallow hard.
“What does he call you?” they ask, and I almost stutter out a wrong response. They’re intimidating me so much, I’m not even sure anymore if I really am Santiago’s girlfriend.
Fakegirlfriend.
“Mariquitasince childhood.Cariñomore recently,” I blurt out, and they give a satisfied nod as they finally let me through. The valet takes my key and gives me a ticket, and when I walk inside, I find a person in the lobby of the apartment complex already waiting for me.
“Ms. Sanchez, please follow me. Mr. Castillo gave us very specific instructions on what to do when you finally came to his apartment,” he says, gesturing toward where the elevators are. He brings me all the way to Santi’s floor, then leads me to hisapartment number. “He has given us this spare key to give to you as well.” He hands me a key, then leaves me standing in front of Santi’s door, dumbfounded and baffled.
For someone who’s never been in a relationship, Santiago sure knows how to make a girl feel special.
Even though I have a key, I knock first. It’s only when several minutes pass and there is no answer that I decide to use the key Santi intended for me. I unlock the door, finding his apartment completely silent and dark. Tornado welcomes me by the door, spinning in a circle. He has his own little area in Santi’s apartment, but he must have left him out to run around, something he always does when he’s home. I pick him up and carry him with me as I walk through the rest of the apartment, enjoying the way he nuzzles into my arms, his cute, little nose wiggling from side to side. Santi can’t take him with him to most tournaments, and he usually stays with a friend who has a few bunnies himself.
The curtains are shut, there are no sounds, and I know exactly where he’s hiding before I walk through his apartment and down the hall to where his bedroom must be. The door is wide open, and I find Santi in his bed with the blanket wrapped around his entire body, even his head. The only thing peeking out is his face, but I think that’s mostly so he can watch whatever show or movie he put on, on his phone.
I place Tornado on the bed, and he wastes no time in hopping toward Santi.
My knuckles brush against the door, finally catching his attention.
“Catalina?” he asks, slowly sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes as if he can’t quite believe I’m standing here.
“I’m sorry, I just came in. I knocked, but there was no answer, and I was given a key,” I explain, rubbing my left arm as anervous laugh escapes me. “Is this the wrong thing to do? I thought maybe… I don’t know. I thought you might need me.”
Santi’s amber eyes study me for several long seconds, his mouth opening and closing as he looks for the right words. All I can focus on are the circles underneath his eyes. He looks less like himself. His tanned skin is unusually pale, which isn’t from not being in the sun. We only came back from Australia yesterday, and up until we left, he was on the court, beneath the sun, every spare second to train with me. So, I know it’s something else. I know it’s him genuinely not feeling good.
“I do need you. I need you more than air right now, Cata, but you shouldn’t have to see me like this. You shouldn’t have to deal with me when I have no idea how to crawl out of this hole I’ve fallen into,” he explains, which spurs me on to close the distance between us. I sink onto his bed, my hand finding his before I snake my fingers around his.
“Let me be the ladder to help you climb out of it, Santi.” His eyes soften visibly, his shoulders untensing as his eyebrows also unforrow. A look of relief covers his features. “I promise if you let me be there for you, I will be. I’ll always be there when you need me.” Santi lifts his hand to my cheek, the adrenaline of the surprise of seeing me slowly slipping out of him, leaving him entirely without energy.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his hand shaking a little as he lifts it to my face. “I need to brush my teeth and shower, but I can’t find the strength to. I feel so unmotivated to do anything but stay in bed, but at the same time, I’m so uncomfortable because I haven’t washed myself.” His hand drops from my face, but I take it in both of mine, pressing it to my chest as tears fill his tired eyes.
“I can help you.” He gives me several slow nods as the tears drop down his cheeks. “Come on, Santi. I’ll help you feel better,” I say and stand up, pulling him with me.
As soon as he’s on his feet, he wraps his arms around me and drags me against him. I feel his tears streaming down the side of my head, but I hold him close because I know he needs me. He probably needs me more than he ever has before.
“I’m sorry. I just really needed a hug from you,” he says, attempting to step away when I hold him even tighter.
“Don’t be sorry. As a matter of fact, you’re not allowed to say those two words to me anymore today. You’ve reached the limit,” I say, stepping back to look up at him and give him a scolding look. He brings his forehead to mine, but I see the tiniest hint of a smile before he does so.
“I’m so happy you’re here. Thank you for coming to me,” he replies, and I tilt my head only enough to press my lips to his cheek.
“There is nowhere I’d rather be,mi corazón.” It was supposed to be a fake pet name, something to sell our fake relationship, but it sounds too right for me to use anything else. Santi seems to agree because his shoulders relax even more.
I lead Santi into his bathroom, grabbing his toothbrush and applying a layer of toothpaste to it. Santi’s exhausted eyes focus on the thing in my hand, and I guide him to the rim of his bathtub to sit him down. He spreads his legs so I can step between them, opening his mouth for me when I bring the toothbrush to his lips. His hands lift to my thighs, gripping the backs of them while I brush his teeth.
“You know, Ori called me this morning and told me Sami won another award for best project at another science fair from his school, and Hernanda received her tenth golf trophy. Ori is also nearing a breakthrough in her research, according to her, so I’m pretty sure my siblings are going to take over the world soon.”
Santi’s eyes sparkle at my words while I continue using circular motions to clean his teeth. There is something incredibly intimate about doing such a normal task for someoneelse, but from the way Santi is looking at me right now, I can tell he’s enjoying this as much as I am. Being close to one another. Having each other’s back no matter what. Being taken care of during a very hard time.
“My back has been feeling much better, by the way. I think taking it slow has been helping a lot, and I’ll be able to participate in the Stuttgart Open as a singles player again. I’ll be able to start catching Layla again,” I keep going, knowing he prefers conversation when he’s feeling this way.
It’s when he gets lost in his head and loses his firm grip on reality that he spirals into darkness.
Santi spits out his toothpaste and rinses his mouth.
