“I’m like a little sister to you now?” His statement tasted like something tart in my mouth. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Daniel.”
His expression assembled into one that was meant to impose. To convey authority. I had been well acquainted with that face when I used to sit across from him in his classroom. “Don’t be like that, Lina.”
“Like what?”
He tsked, bathing me in condensation. “Don’t be a child. We are both adults now. You can talk and act like one.”
Now. He had said now. Opposed to what? To when we had dated?
“Had I been a child when we were together, Daniel? When you dated me? Made me feel special? Told me you loved me?” I watched his jaw press into a tight line. “Is that all that I was to you when you dropped me like a hot potato after you so much as sniffed a little trouble coming your way? I guess that would explain everything. Why I’m only getting an apology now that you deem me worthy of one, having finally turned into an adult.”
I took a step back, hearing my heart drumming in my ears as I watched him remain very still.
“You know what? I’m over this.” Shaking my head, I laughed bitterly. “I don’t owe you a single thing. And you don’t owe me anything either. You never cared about me, Daniel. Not enough at least. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have let them eat me alive.” I swallowed, pushing all those memories away as much as they banged and screamed, demanding to be let out. “I really wish you hadn’t said all this. I really do. Because these last few minutes have wiped out the little respect I had for you.”
Watching him as he stood in front of me, barely moving, I took another step back.
His mouth fell open, but no words came out besides, “Lina.”
“It’s okay,” I told him. “I don’t expect anything from you. As I told you, it’s water under the bridge now.”
His lips snapped closed, his shoulders falling in what I hoped was acceptance.
“But I can tell you this much: I am happy.”
And I was. Confused too, if I was being honest. Yes, my heart was mixed up and disoriented. Terrified on top of all that. But there was a force that seemed to tear the shell of fear that covered that poor and beat-up organ, seeping through the cracks and wanting to obliterate all those doubts if I let it. Promising safety and comfort.
But that wasn’t a conversation I owed to Daniel. I did to someone else.
Someone I needed to make my way back to.
I was about to turn in my heels and do exactly that when someone who always managed to put a smile on my face turned around the corner.
“What have you been doing here for so long, cariño?” Abuela asked in Spanish, looking over at Daniel. “Oh, I see now.” She shot him a sideways glance and ignored him altogether. When she looked back at me, her lips were tugging up, mischief written all over her face. “That boyfriend of yours is sitting on that table, looking like an abandoned puppy.” She linked her arm with mine, and I felt a little lighter already. “He ordered you dessert, you know? And he keeps staring at where you left, like he is holding himself from coming to get you.”
My belly flopped, a fluttering sensation taking over. “He is?”
Abuela patted my arm. “Of course he is, boba.” She clicked her tongue, pulling us b
ack to the restaurant. “He didn’t even ask for two spoons, so he knows that getting you to share is fruitless.” She snickered, and I tried to ignore how the flutter was now spreading to my chest.
“He … he’s pretty perfect,” I murmured, surprising myself.
“Yes,” she said without thinking much about it. “That’s why you shouldn’t leave him sitting alone for so long. He’s too beautiful for his own good.”
He was—for my own good too.
“You think he will save me a dance tomorrow?”
“I think he will.” I didn’t have a doubt in my mind he would. “Only if you ask nicely, Abuela.”
She giggled, and I knew without a doubt that I’d probably have to fight my own grandmother over my fake boyfriend’s attention.
Then, the woman who had snuck chocolate after bedtime more than a million times guided us back to where the rest of the family was, chatting animatedly.
Right before reaching the table, she lowered her voice. “They didn’t make men like that back in my day. Abuelo was handsome but not like that. Although it wasn’t his looks that won me over.” She winked. “You know what I mean.”
“Abuela!” I loud-whispered.