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

“It’s not weird at all. Sometimes two people can be strangers, but the soul knows when it finds its soulmate” she says.

“I’m glad you came Mrs. Hunter.”

“I’m glad I got to meet the girl who stole my son's heart,” she says and we sit there watching everything that’s going on, with my heart heavy.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Eli

I watch Sina walk over to Lei and release the breath I’ve been holding. When she told me that all she wanted was for me to live a happy life, I wanted to grab her by her beautiful face and kiss her with everything that I had in me and tell her that she was my happy. I wanted her to know that in the short period of time we have spent together, that everything that I once wanted for my life didn’t exist anymore. Somehow she became my lifeline, when I’m around her she makes breathing so much easier. I feel my chest tightening a little and I know it’s because she’s giving me another easy way out like she did the last time she walked away from me. The only thing different about it this time is that it feels final and real. She didn’t have to tell me that she felt the same way I do about her, and it wouldn’t have been fair if I had asked her for her feelings. I’m not ready to join everyone so I sit by the water for a little while longer. My thoughts are all over the place, my heart aching for Sina, and breathing doesn't feel the same anymore. I’m so lost in my head that I don’t even realize that someone is sitting down next to me until I hear humming. I look to my left and am completely shocked when I see Sina’s mother sitting there with her eyes closed. I’m not sure what to do, so I just sit there looking out at the water.

“You’re in love with our daughter” Mrs. Peterson says.

I take a deep breath and say, “With my soul.” I know she’s watching me because I can feel her eyes on me. “I didn’t mean to disrespect or hurt her Mrs. Peterson.”

She reaches over and grabs my hand “Rita, you can call me Rita” she says with a smile that nearly splits my heart in half. I’m having a hard time breathing because when I look at her I see an older and beautiful version of my Sina. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt her, but it happened” she says in a motherly tone.

I feel her squeeze my hand as she says, “You remind me so much of my husband.” I know she isn’t done talking yet, so I sit here and wait for her to continue. “I may not know you that well, but I saw the way you looked at my daughter. Her father used to look at me the same exact way, even after being married for thirty years” she says. I should have felt uncomfortable since Mama used to date Mr. Peterson, but I don’t feel anything except love and sadness for Mrs. Peterson.

“He used to make me cry when we first realized that we had feelings for each other. He was that guy that every girl wanted, but his charming ways always got him in trouble”, she says looking at me. I’m not sure if she’s comparing me to him, but I don’t say anything. “But, because I loved him with all of me I couldn’t get myself to stop falling in love with him. So, I moved to go live with my grandparents for the rest of my freshman and sophomore year.”

She smiles at me and continues to tell me their story. “When I moved back here my junior year he was dating your mother. I knew Eliza had always been in love with Ioane so I left them alone. If it were another girl who I didn’t care for, I may have broken them up” she says laughing. “But your mom deserved a chance at love just as much as anyone else did.”

I watch her for a second then ask, “What happened?”

Rita takes a breath and says, “Sometimes we can’t help who our hearts love.”

“Did he cheat on my mother?” I ask, getting upset.

She gives me a sad look and says, “No, he was an ass, but he wasn’t the type to ever cheat on a girl. He was honest with your mother about how he was still in love with me, and he felt terrible because he loved her just not the right way.” I feel my heart kick a little. “Then one day your mother cornered me and threatened me that if I ever broke Ioane’s heart she would hunt me down and beat my face in,” she says with a smile.

I look at her with my mouth wide open, “She said that?”

Rita laughs and says, “Oh yeah, she meant it too. I knew she was in love with him, so I made a promise that I would love him forever for the both of us.” My shoulders fall a little because I’m sad for my mother. “But everything changed when she met Eric” she says with a genuine smile.

I give her a surprised look and ask, “You knew my father?”

“Of course I knew him; he was my lab partner who had been in love with your mother since they were in middle school.”

I chuckle, “Did you hook my parents up Miss Rita?”

She laughs proudly and says, “I sure did, after their first date your mother told me that I could love my husband for myself, and that she was ready to love someone else with her heart. And the rest is history.”

I take a deep breath and ask, “Why are you telling me this?”

She takes a breath of her own and says, “Because I see how much you’re hurting, and how much my daughter is doing her