Pieces of Me by Pua Ramona (small books to read txt) 📕

face. I kiss her nose and quietly say, “I love you baby girl, forever.”

I’m not sure how long I’ve been in the room, but when I walk back to the living room Reese, Leila, Mona, and Daniel are the only ones still here. Daniel sees me and says, “Everyone left because there were people already waiting at the house.”

“Did June-Bug leave too?” I ask.

“Yeah, he said he’ll talk to you later. He didn’t want Mama to be over there by herself” Mona says.

I look at her and say, “I love you Mona.” Her eyes start to tear up and she pretty much knocks me over as she pulls me in so she can hug me.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again Sina. That shit wasn’t okay.” Mona’s voice cracks and I know she’s trying not to break down.

“I promise,” I tell her.

She hugs me once more and says “I didn’t want to leave without clearing the air, so I waited.”

I smile at her and say, “I could never be mad at you Mona. You’re like my other sister.”

She starts wiping her tears away quickly. “Well, we’re going to head over to your Mama’s place now so we could help her out with those people at the house.

“I can come if you need help” I offer.

Daniel looks at me and says “Nope! You can come and hang out at the house tomorrow, but you aren’t going to do shit. Doctor’s orders, plus Auntie Lupe’s going to be staying over so she can help Mama. At least that’s what she told Mama anyway. Nosey old witch.”

Mona rolls her eyes and says “I can’t stand that lady.”

Daniel chuckles and says “Come on Babe we got to head out. And your ass better not act out when Auntie Lupe talks to you.”

“Oh please! She is not my Auntie so I don’t give a shit” she snaps. They both say their goodbyes then they’re gone.

“Are you mad at me?” Lei asks. I look over at her and she’s got an awkward smile on her face.

“I was never mad at you. I was upset with my family.” I say and we both move to the couch and sit down together. “Well, I was a little mad at you but I know it wasn’t your fault. I guess I was just mad that everyone had time with Micah, and I only got to have ten minutes of his time. But it was the best ten minutes of my life.”

Leila smiles and says “I missed you. And I was hurt that you didn’t tell me you were pregnant.”

I sigh and say “I didn’t want you to worry about me, and I didn’t want you to accidentally let it slip out either. So I kept it to myself.”

She takes a deep breath and says “Okay, fair enough. But I am sorry that you lost the baby.” She gives me an awkward look and asks “Anything I need to know about you and Marino?”

“No. Except he was my everything when we were in New York.” I tell her honestly.

Leila looks at me all curious and says, “What does that even mean?”

“It means he’s been my home away from home since he moved there. He made me happy, there were times that I thought I was going to fall in love with him. But it never happened because my heart wasn’t in it.” I explain.

“Because you left your heart here in Washington when you went back to New York” she says.

I nod my head yes. “Sometimes I wished I was in love with Marino because he made everything so easy, and he never made me cry. Sometimes I wished he gave me crazy butterflies. And sometimes I wished it was Marino that I saw at the gas station instead of Eli.” I know I shouldn’t be saying any of this but it's how I feel.

Leila moves closer to me. “I know Eli has been nothing but mean to you and I know he can be an impulsive asshole. But I do know that he has a good heart, he just needs the right person to remind me of that” she says.

I clear my throat and whisper “Would it make me a bad person if I said that I didn’t want to be with Eli anymore?” Leila’s eyes get big like they’re about to pop out. I sigh. I hope she’s not mad that I even said all of this. She’s one of Eli’s best friends, but it still doesn’t change how confused my feelings are for him.

“What? Are you saying that you’re over him?” she asks.

I take a deep breath and say “I’m saying that I’m tired of fighting him, tired of crying over him and because of him. And I don’t think my heart could take another blow from him. I just don’t want to get hurt anymore Leila and he’s the only one who has the power to do that.”

She nods at me and says, “I get it. I completely understand and if or when you do decide to move on you will always have my support bestie, I’ll still love you no matter what. I just want you to be happy and to fall in love with the right guy, even if it isn’t Eli.”

I smile at my best friend and say, “I love you more.”

Chapter Forty-Nine

Eli

“You shouldn’t be eavesdropping on their conversation, man” Reese says.

I look at him and snap “I wasn’t eavesdropping. They aren’t quiet about their conversation so it’s not my fucking fault that I can hear them.”

“Don’t get mad at me because you’re pissed off at what you just heard. And you better not get mad at her for saying what she said, you can’t blame her for feeling like that. You’ve been nothing but a dick to her.”

I’m too pissed off to say anything to Reese. I stand there trying not to get fucking angry, but it’s hard. Was she having this conversation on purpose because