Page 107 of Spin The Bottle
Rosie comes out of the room, phone in her hand. When she looks up at me, her brows are knitted together, her lips pursed as if she wants to say something but she’s holding back.
I sigh. “Go, Rosie.”
“It’s just Grayson. He was worried because I didn’t tell him I’d be staying over.”
I look up at her, smiling at her, trying to make her see that I’m okay. Even if it’s not true, I will be, eventually. “Rosie, I’m okay, you can go.”
She smiles, walks over to me, and presses her lips to my cheek. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”
She heads out, closing the door and the silence takes over. My eyes land on the camera on the table, my Polaroids next to it. I know I shouldn’t do it, but it doesn’t stop me from grabbing them and finding the exact one I look at every day. When I find it, I debate ripping it up and forgetting all about him, but that won’t work.
Ripping a picture won’t rip him out of my heart. He’ll always be there, lingering, a heavy weight on my chest from all the memories I had with him that I thought were genuine. My finger traces his smile in the picture and I stiffen, wondering if this too was a lie. Was every smile and laugh and kiss just a means to an end to him?
My phone buzzes on my lap and I stiffen, afraid that Aiden is texting me again.
He hasn’t stopped. Ever since I told him it was over, he’s been calling, texting. But I can’t find the strength to block him. No matter how much he hurt me, his texts are a little reminder of how it used to be, of everything we went through and every word that left his lips.
Sometimes, I scroll, reading the good morning texts he would send me, the goodnight texts and late-night calls we used to have.
I clutch my phone, forcing myself to look at it. The hope I was holding onto disappears when I realize it’s not Aiden. It’s my dad.
I take a deep breath, trying to settle my nerves before I pick up the phone. “Hey, Papi.”
“Leila.” His voice settles me a little, making me miss him. “You sound different.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, keeping the tears back. “No, Dad,” I attempt to keep my voice normal. “I’m fine.”
He laughs quietly. “You’re always so strong,” he says. “Eres una tigresa.”
I clutch the necklace with the paw print that Aiden got me hanging around my neck, my fingers running over the indents of the paws. My lip wobbles as his words roll through me. I’m a fake. I’m not strong at all. “Yep.” My voice breaks and it’s too late. Tears spill over as a sob catches in my throat.
“Mija.” I shake my head, his gentle tone making me cry even harder. “What happened?” I can’t find the words, the line fills with my quiet sobs as I try to restrain them.
“Dad, please. Can we not talk about it?”
He grunts, I can almost picture him shaking his head in disapproval. “What happened?” he asks again.
I shrug even though he can’t see me, holding onto the necklace as if it’s life support. “There was… this guy.” I close my eyes at the use of past tense. “We broke up.”
“Broke up?” My mother’s voice makes me stiffen, my tears freezing as anger rolls through my body. “You told me you didn’t have a boyfriend.”
“You were listening?”
She scoffs. “You talk to your father but not me? Pass me the phone,” she says to my dad. I press my fingers against my temples. God, I don’t want to talk to her.
I hear shuffling and then my mother’s voice. “No puedo creer que me hayas mentido,” she chastises.I can’t believe you lied to me.
“I didn’t lie,” I tell her. “He wasn’t my boyfriend at the time, ma. Just a friend.”
“And now?” she asks. “He broke up with you?”
“Yes.”
She hums. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Te dije.”I told you.“Guys these days don’t care about personality, mija.” My spine stiffens at her cruel words. “If you had just listened to me, this wouldn’t have happened.”
I let out a bitter laugh, more tears spilling out. I can’t believe this. Actually, that’s a lie. Of course, she is saying this. Of course, she’s telling me the reason I got my heart broken is that my body isn’t good enough.
I wipe my tears with my hand, tasting the saltiness coating my lip. “I’ve got to go.”
