Page 121 of Spin The Bottle
I smile, my heart thumping against my chest. “I wouldn’t want to go back.”
“No?”
I shake my head. “I like our story.”
He smiles. “Iloveour story.” He rubs his thumb over my cheeks. “Who knew a game of spin the bottle would bring me to you,” he jokes, shooting me a smirk.
I let out a laugh. “You’ll have to thank Gabi for that.”
“Thank you, Gabi,” he mutters, pressing his lips against mine.
I reluctantly pull away from him, and turn toward the phone ringing on my nightstand. I reach over to grab it, smiling when I see my sister’s name on the screen. I accept the FaceTime call, Laura’s face filling the screen.
“You’re still in bed?
I let out a laugh. “Hi to you too.”
She squints. “Who does that shoulder belong to?”
I turn to Aiden, who’s grinning when he pops his face into the screen. “Hi.”
My sister’s eyes widen when she sees Aiden sitting next to me in bed, shirtless. “Well, it’s nice to meet you…”
“Aiden,” he finishes for her.
She turns to face me, and I shrug. “It’s new?” I offer.
She laughs, letting out a sigh. “I can see that you’re happy.” I can’t help but look at Aiden when she says that.
“Yeah,” I say, looking into his eyes. “I am.”
“¿Laura, con quién estás hablando?”Who are you talking to?
My sister’s eyes widen at my mom’s voice. “Oh shit.”
“Leila?” Her face pops up on the screen, my sister mouthing ‘I’m sorry’ at me. I haven’t spoken to my mom since I hung up on her, and seeing her again makes my stomach cramp. “Leila, mija, quería hablar de—” The words die on her tongue when her eyes dart to Aiden who smiles at her. “Leila,” she says in a serious voice. “¿Por qué hay un chico en tu cama?”Why is there a boy in your bed?
My sister laughs, pressing her hand to her mouth, and I let out a breath. “Because he’s my boyfriend, Ma,” I tell her, hating how her eyes squint, questioning me. “This is Aiden. We’re dating.”
“Hi, Mrs. Pérez,” Aiden says, squeezing my hand under the covers. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She presses her lips together, eyeing me. “Leila, mi amor,” she starts, my heart beating with the anticipation of whatever words are going to come out of her mouth and make me question everything about myself. “¿Estás feliz?”Are you happy?
I freeze, wondering if I heard that right. My sister glances at my mother, also in shock and Aiden squeezes harder. I clear my throat. “Yes, Mom,” I reply in English, so Aiden knows exactly what she asked me. “I’m very happy.”
My mother nods, her lips lifting in a smile. “Then It’s wonderful to meet you too, Aiden,” she says to my boyfriend. When she turns to me, her expression sobers. “I wanted to talk to you. I’d like to apologize,” she tells me. “I should have never said any of those things to you, Leila. You are my daughter, you are beautiful, and smart and talented. I just wanted you to have the best life you could have.”
Hearing her apologize is all I’ve ever wanted. I’ve dreamed of hearing these words from her, that she loves me, that she still sees me as beautiful even if I’m bigger than her, that she wants me to be happy. But actually hearing her say it, makes my heart ache for what I went through as a little girl, all the pain she caused me. “I can still have that, Mom,” I tell her. “My weight has nothing to do with my happiness. I am happy, and I want to love myself, but it’s hard to do that when you don’t love me.”
Her mouth drops as she shakes her head. “Of course, I love you, Leila. I just—”
“You just told me I wasn’t pretty enough.” Aiden’s hand tightens around mine. “You just said I would have a better life if I was thin. Well, I’m not. I’m not thin, and I probably never will be, but I’m okay with that. I just need you to let me live my life without the comments about my body. That’s all I need you to do. Can you do that, Mom?”
She’s quiet for a while, and my eyes dart to the corner of the screen where my dad is standing by the door, arms crossed over his chest. The smile on his face says everything without him ever uttering a word.I’m proud of you.And I’m proud of myself too, for finally telling my mom how I feel, and putting myself first.
“I can do that,” she finally says.
All the tension in my shoulders lifts when I let out a breath. “Thank you.”
