To All the Boys that Broke my Heart Before by Belén Domínguez (reading comprehension books TXT) 📕

I were vacationing there. He is a very nice and chatty man who mentioned his ex-wife (with whom he had a good relationship) and nephew, who were always going to Miami and staying at the same apartment as we did.

“Unfortunately they’re not here this year, but I know that you guys would all get along” he’d say to my twin brother and me. We just smiled and shrugged it off.

The following year, the uncle didn’t go to Miami because he had a lot of work to do back where he was living. But, he got so along with my parents that he gave them his phone number to keep in touch. As soon as my father commented that we were in fact in Miami, he mentioned that his ex-wife and nephew were also there. I didn’t know at the moment how both of them looked like, so maybe we ran into them and didn’t notice.

One random day, my brother and I were leaving the beach to go upstairs to the apartment, since our parents were already there. We called for the elevator, and going up were two people inside. An older woman and a guy that seemed around my age. We politely said “hello” and marked our floor. I remember we were in the 29th and they were in the 32nd. The whole ride up was very quiet, in my mind, I kept thinking: How crazy it would be if they were the ex-wife and nephew Arthur mentioned. So at times I would glance and quickly look away. When we arrived on our floor, we said goodbye and got inside our place.

“Mom! I think I ran into the ex-wife and nephew; I am almost sure” I mentioned. I was of course too shy to just go: Hey! You never heard of me, but just out of curiosity, are you by any chance Arthur’s ex-wife and nephew? He mentioned both of you countless times last year.

No. No one would do that. That’s weird and creepy.

So, the next day, I was walking alongside my mom to go to the beach, and right there, was the same woman and guy from the elevator. I whispered to her: “That’s them, that’s who we ran into yesterday”.

And my mom was everything but shy. She didn’t have any problem with just going up to them and asking if by any chance they were the people Arthur mentioned.

“Hello, sorry to bother you, but by any chance are you Grace?”

That wasn’t her name, but let’s say it was, just in case.

She smiled, “yes I am”

She started to explain how Arthur mentioned to us that they were staying here, and well basically just made them our acquaintance. My mom also said hello to the guy, so I did the same, trying to be polite.

“Hey, I’m Belén,” I said, offering a friendly smile.

“I’m Francis”

Of course, we didn’t want to bug them, they were sun tanning after all. So, we quickly said goodbye and went to do the same.

That year, one of my older brothers was also going to be in Miami with us but came a little later since he had to do some work back home. But when he came, Francis was also introduced to him and they quickly hit it off.

After days of us not communicating—my older brother was the one who befriended him—Francis invited him, my twin, and me to Dunkin’ Donuts and afterward suggested to go to a water park he knew. I was really pumped to go and was looking forward to it. I did think he was cute and seemed very nice. But, of course, the Universe hates me. . . A LOT.

And I got my PERIOD, the day BEFORE going to the water park. So, OF FUCKING COURSE, I didn’t go there with them. I did join them at Dunkin’ Donuts, but afterward, he took me back to the apartment.

When we were at Dunkin’, call me crazy, but he couldn’t take his eyes off me. He was really focusing on my presence right there at the moment. The one who spoke more was my older brother, who wasn’t shy at all and knew how to come up with topics of conversation and keep us in the best mood. He would often make jokes causing us to laugh. I constantly noticed that every time, every single time I was laughing, Francis was looking at me. He quickly glanced at me for a few seconds then turned back to my brother. I sipped on my coffee, not being able to stop blushing. His stare was making me nervous yet kind of pleased at the same time, to be honest.

We just all kept talking and laughing until it was time to leave. When we were walking to his car, before he got into the driver’s seat, he turned around and faced me. “So, I have to take you back to the apartment, right?”

I nodded and offered a friendly smile, “Yes, if it’s no bother” and so that’s what he did, I said my goodbye and well, had to stay in while they had fun in the water park.

Stupid period.

Out of all the days I could’ve had it, I chose that one.

I was so angry. But, well, there was nothing I could do about it. So I just decided to rest and watch TV. Then, at around 9:00 pm, both my brothers returned, and during dinner time talked about how much fun they had and that Francis was in fact pretty cool. I smiled and listened attentively, feeling kind of jealous because I didn’t get to go.

The next morning, I was woken up by an Instagram notification.

Francis requested to follow me.

My eyes widened by it. At first, I asked how he found my account, then I wanted to facepalm myself because he probably found me thanks to my brother.

So, of course, I accepted his friend request and followed him back. That’s how we started talking. I knew he was leaving that same day pretty early, so I sent him a message since I wouldn’t see him at the beach.

I simply thanked him for the prior day, that it was very nice meeting him, and that I was sad that I couldn’t join them at the water park because I was feeling bad. He replied, very nicely, saying that he had a good time too and he wished I would’ve joined, but understood that I wasn’t feeling well. We talked for some more and joked around, I was honestly so comfortable talking to him, I was genuinely laughing and smiling like a fool. He was charming, sweet, funny, and always had a topic of conversation. I was even kind of disappointed that we would have to talk hours later because he was boarding on the plane. He’s from Argentina, so it would take him quite some time to get there.

But, when he got home, he sent me a text, telling me he arrived, making a few jokes about the plane’s turbulence. I still had a few more weeks at Miami—something that he complained about, since he was jealous that I didn’t have to leave yet. That’s what we did, texted each other every single day, then moved our conversations from Instagram DMs to WhatsApp. I was really enjoying chatting with this boy, and he constantly said that it was a shame that we didn’t get to meet each other sooner.

“It would’ve been so much fun hanging out since the beginning of Summer. Sadly, we met a few days before I leave” he would say. I honestly felt the same way. It was indeed a shame because he was so funny and nice. He was charismatic, sweet, smart, and always knew exactly what to say to make me smile. I wasn’t feeling that crush just yet, I wanted to get to know him better before knowing if I was forming feelings for him.

Flash forward to my last day in Miami, I commented that I was leaving, telling him that I was very sad about that. But, he would make me feel better by joking around, you know, trying to cheer me up. When I was about to leave the apartment, I mentioned that I wasn’t going to have WI-FI. He left me a couple of messages that of course, I didn’t get to read until I was officially home.

“At least at the airport, you will have Wi-Fi, right? So, that’s good”

“Hey! I hope you have a safe flight. I also hope you get home quickly. . . Because I already miss you”

You have no idea how much those texts warmed my heart. I couldn’t believe how adorable he was. Guys, I was falling. AND I JUST TALKED TO HIM FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS. I wasn’t falling that quickly, right? I just couldn’t have.

But, I was.

Why though? I never quite understood. I think maybe he was just saying the right things at the right time. He was always supportive, calling me beautiful, and well. . . Even admitted that it sucked that we were so far away from each other because he felt like he was falling for me too.

He actually admitted that, guys.

He straight up told me that he would’ve loved to have a relationship with me.

Honestly, I wanted that so badly. I wanted him to be my boyfriend. I felt at that moment that we would’ve been a good couple. No, I don’t have those wishes anymore, just taking that out of the way. You’ll know why in just a few paragraphs from now. . .

Alright, I must admit though. . . He was actually not the hottest guy, alright? I won’t lie. His body looked sexy but his kind of beauty wasn’t like something to die for. Yes, he had some features that made him handsome, but well, as I said, not something to die for. That’s what I’m saying, I fell more for his attitude and sense of humor. He was the first guy that I just looked beyond looks and focused more on his thoughts, how he treated me, his good morning/good night texts.

He was so incredibly sweet. The more we talked, the more I wished we could have something more. I am not even joking, we talked every single day, no matter the time, always with a different topic of conversation. The minute I woke up, I’d check my phone and there was a text message from him saying good morning and wishing me a great day. What I liked about him was his interest in me, he showed that he cared about me. To me, that was the best feeling ever, I felt wanted by someone, who by the way, was great. He would constantly say things like:

“You are so cute; I am dying to see you”

“You look so beautiful baby, omg”

“Good morning, I hope you have an amazing day!”

“Goodnight babe, sweet dreams”

But, unfortunately, that only lasted for a few months. . .

From talking to each other every single day—him taking ten minutes to reply—it turned to a reply every two hours. From two hours to replying every two days. From two days to two weeks, and from two weeks to two months. If he replied, it was because I texted him saying that he never responded to my messages.

His excuse:

“Sorry, I get distracted too easily”

Does he think I’m stupid by any chance? Was that it? How can he say that if there was a time where he would reply almost instantly? At that point, I wasn’t entirely hopeless with him, believe it or not, and that’s why I’m angry with myself.

As with many things, when something is new and exciting, you enjoy it. In the beginning, you like it and want more of it. But, after a while of the same thing, you get bored. I did know that it would happen, because distance kills many things, and is not like we were dating or anything. Unfortunately, I fell for him anyway, and because of that, I didn’t care if we