I hesitate, trying to decide if I should go.
Lucas is a nice guy—and he’s handsome, standing about six feet tall with sandy blonde hair and soft hazel eyes—but I never saw him as anything other than a friend. He’s not my type.
Yeah, because your type is a dark-haired tattooed man with dimples who you haven’t been able to get out of your head.
The fact that Maddox Kamado is occupying my mind at all is more of a reason why I should go out with Lucas.
“Dinner sounds great,” I reply with a smile.
“Hola, Mami.” I place the grocery bags on the counter and walk over to Mom, planting a kiss on her cheek.
Abuelo is sleeping soundly on the couch. He had a chemotherapy session today—they always leave him feeling drained.
“Anything new going on with you lately,mi rosa?” Mom asks while she peels the potatoes.
Grabbing another cutting board from the drawer, I begin chopping the tomatoes. “Not much, besides Veronica driving me crazy.”
Mom and I are only eighteen years apart. She’s practically my best friend, and I share everything that’s going on in my life with her.
But I haven’t told her about seeing Maddox again. She doesn’t even know the real reason we broke up. I told her that being in a long-distance relationship was too much for us to handle, so we decided it was best to part ways.
When I was a senior in high school, I stumbled upon my father cheating on my mom with his secretary—a woman nearly half his age. Seeing that broke something inside of me and I haven’t been able to get over my trust issues since.
Talk about emotional damage.
He was too much of a coward to tell my mom, so I had to do it. She was beyond devastated when I broke the news to her and lost a part of herself that she still hasn’t fully regained. Despite the rocky nature of her relationship with my father, she still loved him deeply.
I knew she would be heartbroken if she found out that I had experienced the same fate, so I decided to keep it from her. Mazi is the only person who knows what happened.
My little brother Ollie walks into the kitchen and grabs a bag of chips from the pantry.
Mom waves a knife at him. “Ah, ah! Put those back right now, Oliver. You’re not gonna eat junk before dinner.”
“But I’m hungry now,” he pouts, his shoulders sagging. “I just wanna eat a little.”
“You can wait fifteen more minutes. Go and clear the table please.”
He groans, placing the chips back on the shelf.
“How was school this week, Ollie?” I ask. “Did you make any new friends?”
“Not really. I don’t have anything in common with anyone in my class,” he says quietly. “I only get to see Jake during first period and lunch, so the rest of the day drags.”
“Are you going to try out for the basketball team this year?”
He shakes his head. “I doubt I’d to make it. I would rather not embarrass myself during tryouts.”
Ollie is such a sweet kid but he’s very timid, which makes it hard for him to make new friends.
The popular kids in school often pick on him, and now that he’s in high school, I’m worried about him more than ever. Teenagers can be brutal, and they don’t understand how damaging their words can be.
I really hope he’s able to break out of his shell and gain some confidence.
“I’m sure you’d make the team,” I say gently, hoping to reassure him. “You’ve been practicing every day. It’s something you’re passionate about, and it would be a great way for you to make new friends.”
“Do it for me. I don’t have much time left, and I want to see you play on the court before I die.” Abuelo rubs his eyes, giving me a sleepy smile. “Hola,mi rosa.”
I stroll over to the couch and he greets me with a big, warm hug. There’s something so special about his hugs. They wrap around me like a cozy blanket and always make me feel safe and loved.
