Page 73 of Just Another Meet Cute
“Just that you’ve always been that way with relationships. When there are problems or a chance of you getting hurt, you back out. You’re not a risk-taker. Then again, I don’t know if you’ve ever actually been in love.”
“That’s not true—”
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh, really? Think of your exes. Did you love any of them? Been truly heartbroken when it didn’t work out?”
There was her blunt honesty again.
Maybe it was true that I’d never actually been in love. I was sad whenever I broke up with someone—especially that one time I was dumped. But I always got over it. And honestly, after a few weeks, I never really thought about them again.
“You’ve never been heartbroken either,” I pointed out lamely.
“That’s because I’ve never been in love. Believe me, when I do, I’m going all in. Risks and heartbreak and all. Nothing is going to stop me.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. “But everyone is different. There’s nothing wrong with the easy route. If it makes you happy, then do it. Just don’t settle for something just because you don’t want to get hurt. That’s not fair for anyone. Remember, live for nothing or die for something.”
I know she was expecting me to agree with her, but I couldn’t.
There’s no denying that my parents were very happy and in lovenow. Anyone could see that. Even though Aunt Sarah hated Dad, she knew how much Mom loved him. But I also saw everything that she went through, and I wasn’t sure if it was worth it. Especially when it could all disappear again.
Yet now I couldn’t help wondering if maybe it was. Maybe it just depended on who it was all for. Live for nothing or die for something.
I wished there was a third option.
Linh hopped onto the center of the couch with the bowl of popcorn and a giant bag of peanut butter M&M’s. A couple of kernels fell onto her lap, and she swept them into her mouth. “I call dibs on the couch.”
“You can’t call dibsafteryou jumped on. You’re supposed to call itbefore,” I complained, sitting on the love seat across from her. I snuggled into the thick comforter on my lap.
“Before or after. Either way, it’s mine.” She grinned and popped another handful of popcorn in her mouth.
I rolled my eyes, but I didn’t really put up a fight. Honestly, I didn’t really care where I sat. I was just glad that we were finally having our movie night again. Plus, the love seat fit me fine since I was shorter than everyone else. All I had to do was curl my legs up a bit, and it was perfectly comfortable and cozy.
Mom and Aunt Sarah came into the living room. Their arms were full of snacks and drinks that they piled onto the ottoman.
“I found two movies. Do you want to watchThe Christmas Mix-UporThe Mistaken Bride?” Mom asked as she pulled out her phone to stream on the TV.
“The Christmas Mix-Up,”Aunt Sarah and I both said at the same time. She gave me a surprised look since everyone knew I hated the holiday movies like black olives—something I wasveryvocal about growing up.
I shrugged lightly. “For some reason, I’m in the Christmas spirit tonight.”
“Yeah, despite the fact that it’s 92 degrees outside right now,” Linh said with a grin. “And the sun’s already been down for twenty minutes.”
“That’s why we’re inside and not outside.”
“It is nice for us to finally be together. Just us for once.” Aunt Sarah looked around the room. “I can finally relax again.”
I glanced at Mom, but she didn’t say anything or even look up at the subtle snub at Dad. In fact, I wasn’t even sure that she heard her.
A lack of response didn’t stop Aunt Sarah though. It never did. And it didn’t matter to her that nobody was listening or that Dad wasn’t even here to defend himself. After all, she’s done this a ton of times before. With or without him.
Like Mom, I usually ignored her until she ran out of steam. Sometimes it only took a few minutes. Other times it took much longer.
“Mom would have been so mad if she knew I let him stay here with us this summer.” Aunt Sarah perched on the arm of the couch and sighed. Linh scooted over to get out of her way. “If you didn’t beg me, Beth, I wouldn’t have agreed.”
This time I knew Mom heard her. Her mouth tightened a bit, but she didn’t say anything.
“Is the movie ready, Mom?” I asked loudly, hoping to change the subject.
“It’s taking a little while to load.”
With a sympathetic glance in my direction, Linh grabbed a can of soy milk and pressed it into her mom’s hands. “You look thirsty.”
