“Why the hell did Julian punch you?”
He blinks at me. “You really don’t know?”
“He’s not a violent person.” I shake my head. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“Well, maybe you should ask him.” He bends down to pick up his bag. He seems to contemplate something, a frown marring his face as he stares at me.
“Spit it out already.” I roll my eyes. “What is it?”
“Don’t hurt him,” he says, a reminder from earlier this morning.
That anvil-on-the-chest feeling comes roaring back, crushing my lungs.
“I mean it, Leti. If things don’t work out, it’s going to be your fault.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“Because I know him.” His eyes move from the front door to my face. “And I know you.”
“You really couldn’t keep the peace for more than five minutes, could you?” I scoff. “As nice as this conversation was, you should probably get going.”
“Prove me wrong,” he says. “Please. There isn’t anyone more deserving of all the happiness in this world than Julian. I’d love nothing more than to see him get everything he wants.”
“I want that for him too.”
“We agree on that much, at least.” He sighs. “Okay, I’m going. Good luck.”
As I watch him leave, I can’t decide if his tone was derisive or not. Like there should’ve been ayou’re gonna need ittacked on to the end.
Julian startles as I walk through the door, jumping away from the window.Oh lord. Another eavesdropper.Between him and Elena, they should start a club. “Should we have talked louder, or could you hear everything clearly?”
“These walls are paper thin.” His hand forms a fist and knocks against the plaster. “They can barely hold in their residents, let alone any secrets they may have.”
“Funny.”
He reaches for my hands, intertwining our fingers, and all I can think is,We’re really doing this.I can handle one scary conversation, can’t I?
“So, here we are,” he says.
The door behind him cracks open, and he drops my hands like they’re on fire. An older woman emerges from his bedroom with a man in a white coat. She meets my eyes and her mouth spreads into a wide grin.
“Mijo, who’s this?”
“Mom, this is Leticia.” I give a wave, but she spreads her arms and envelops me in a hug once she’s close enough. Over her shoulder, the man smiles politely. “Leticia, this is my mom and her boyfriend.”
“You can call me Soledad,” she says once she pulls away. “This is Santiago. When I heard my son was hurt, I rushed over with him so he could look Julian over. He’s a doctor.”
“I figured,” I say, looking over his white coat and leather bag. “He’s very official.”
“I tried to leave the coat at home. She wouldn’t let me,” he says, eyes softening as he looks down at her fondly.
“But look how handsome it makes you, mi amor.” She smooths a hand down his chest as they make moon eyes at each other, and I exchange a glance with Julian, who looks as uncomfortable as me. When his mouth lifts at the side in a crooked grin, I can’t help but return it. To their credit, his mom and Santiago look very happy together.
“Okay, that’s enough PDA for one day. You’re making Leticia uncomfortable.”
I nudge Julian with an elbow and assure them that’s not the case. They laugh good-naturedly, and his mom reaches for my hand.
“How do you know my son?”
