My name is Mateo. I’m 23 years old and I lead a pretty normal life in Guadalajara. I work repairing cell phones in a small shop and I study digital marketing. Nothing exciting… but enough to pay the rent and keep my old Sentra running.

Until Diego appeared.

He was 21, he worked with me, and we clicked quickly. Same weird sense of humor, same taste in Latin rock… same way of seeing life.

One day he invited me to his house.

And that’s where… it all began.

It wasn’t just a house. It was his mother’s house.

When I walked in… I saw her.

Julia.

And for a second… I forgot to breathe.

She didn’t look like a mom.
She looked… like something else.

Skinny jeans.
Hair pulled back.
That calmness… that presence that filled the entire space.

“You can call me Julia,” she said with a smile.

And from that moment on… something changed.

I tried to ignore it.

Until I made the mistake.

—Your mom is more beautiful than most girls our age…

Silence.

Diego froze.
And then…

She was at the door.

I had heard.

Her cheeks flushed…
And she smiled.

Not like a mom.

Like a woman.

That moment… is etched in my memory.

Days later…

Notification.

Instagram.

Julia had followed me.

And not only that… he liked an old photo.

I tried to convince myself that it didn’t mean anything.

But he did.

And we both knew it.

I went back the following weekend.

She was in the kitchen.

Apron.
Fitted blouse.
That smile…

“You arrived just in time,” he said.

Diego was distracted by video games…

And we…

We were left alone.

—Thank you for not treating me like I’m invisible—she whispered close to me.

I looked at her.

—It’s hard not to notice you.

She smiled.

—Good answer.

Dinner was normal… on the surface.

But under the table…

Something was happening.

Glances.
Long silences.
Smiles that lasted too long.

When I finished eating, I got up to go to the bathroom.

And then…

I heard his voice behind me.

Gentle.

Almost dangerous.

—Matthew…

I turned around.

—Don’t go into that room.

He pointed to a door at the end of the hallway.

Closed.

Her gaze… changed.

It wasn’t sweet anymore.

She was serious.

—Seriously… don’t do it.

I nodded.

But something in me…

He didn’t want to obey.

Maybe it was curiosity.
Maybe it was desire.
Or maybe… something much worse.

I walked down the hallway.

I stopped in front of the door.

My hand touched the knob.

I hesitated.

One second.

Two.

And then…

I opened it.

PART 2

The door opened slowly.

And the first thing I felt…

It was silence.

A different kind of silence.

Heavy.

As if that room didn’t belong to the rest of the house.

The light was dim.

The curtains were almost closed.

The air… smelled different.

Denser.

Innermost.

I took a step inside.

And then I saw it.

Photos.

Dozens of photos.

On the walls.
On a table.
Framed… carefully.

But these weren’t ordinary photos.

They belonged to Diego.

As a child.
As a teenager.
As a young adult.

But that’s not all…

There were also photos of Julia.

Young.
Smiling.
But always… alone.

No partner.
No family.

Just her… and him.

A complete story… told in pictures.

I felt a chill.

But then…

I saw something else.

A recent photo.

Very recent.

My heart stopped.

It was me.

Me… entering the house.

Taken from the window.

I didn’t remember seeing anyone taking that photo.

My hands began to tremble.

—You shouldn’t be here…

Julia’s voice.

Behind me.

He closed the door gently.

Click.

That sound…

It was like a sentence.

—I told you not to go in.

She didn’t sound annoyed.

She sounded… disappointed.

“I… I’m sorry,” I said. “I was just curious.”

She walked slowly towards me.

His steps… were calm.

Controlled.

—Curiosity… always comes at a price.

He stopped in front of me.

Too close.

I could feel his breathing.

—Did you like what you saw?

I didn’t know what to answer.

—Why are there photos of me here?

He smiled slightly.

—Because I was watching you.

The air turned cold.

—From day one.

My heart was beating strongly.

-Because?

Her expression changed.

She was no longer flirtatious.

It was… intense.

—Because you… are not like the others.

I swallowed.

—That’s what everyone says.

He shook his head.

—No. You looked at me.

Silence.

—Not like “your friend’s mom”…

He took one step closer.

—As a woman.

My mind was screaming for me to get out.

But my body… wouldn’t move.

—And that… changes everything.

He raised his hand.

It grazed my face.

—It’s been years since anyone has looked at me like that.

I closed my eyes for a second.

—This is wrong…

“I know,” he whispered.

—Then… why…?

—Because you want it too.

I opened my eyes.

And at that moment…

I knew he was right.

But I also learned…

That shouldn’t have happened.

—Diego…

His name came up as a reminder.

As a warning.

Julia stopped.

His expression changed.

For the first time…

It showed something akin to pain.

—He… doesn’t need me like he used to.

—But he’s still your son.

Silence.

Long.

Heavy.

Then…

He walked away.

He turned his back.

-Go away.

The word fell like a sigh.

—Before I do something I can’t come back from.

I didn’t hesitate.

I opened the door.

I went out into the hallway.

The heart racing.

When I arrived at the room…

Diego kept playing.

As if nothing had happened.

As if the world hadn’t just fallen apart behind that door.

“Everything alright?” he asked without looking at me.

I looked at him.

And for a second…

I wanted to tell her everything.

But I didn’t.

-Yes all ok.

I lied.

That night I left early.

But I didn’t sleep.

Because I understood something.

It wasn’t just attraction.

It wasn’t just a mistake.

It was a line…

That, if I crossed…

It would destroy everything.

And yet…

The next day…

When my cell phone vibrated…

And I saw his name…

Julia.

I knew…

That this…

It was just getting started.