Something Like This (Secrets) by Eileen Cruz Coleman Read Free Book Online Page A

myself I would only allow myself one day of self-pity,” I said to Lisa who was basically asleep on the couch.
    She opened one eye. “I’m here if you need me.”
    I blew her a kiss. She pretended to catch it.
    Feeling much better, and tipsy, I made my way to the bathroom, but before I got there, the doorbell rang. My heart stopped. My hands started sweating at the thought that it could possibly be Reece who was standing on the other side of the door.
    Slowly, I walked to the door. “Who is it?”
    “It’s Reece.”
    My knees nearly buckled.
    “Who’s at the door?” Lisa asked.
    “No one,” I lied.
    “Oh my God, is it Reece?” she asked.
    Seconds later, she was standing next to me, peeping through the peep hole. “What are you going to do?” she asked me.
    I pushed her aside. “Mind leaving us alone?”
    She ignored me and opened the door. “Well, hello there, you must be Reece.”
    He nodded and then intently looked at me. “Jadie, I’m so sorry. I came over as quickly as I could.”
    “Yeah, um, you do know it’s no longer morning, right?” Lisa asked.
    “It’s okay, Lisa,” I bit my nails, “I got it.”
    “If you say so,” she said. Then, she looked at Reece. “Let me know if you want us to chip in to buy you a watch.”
    I stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind me.
    “I waited for you,”
    “I’m so sorry.”
    “Payback?”
    “What? No, of course not.”
    “Then why didn’t you come? Why didn’t you call?”
    He looked down and then up at me. “My mom...is in the hospital.”
    I heard his words, but wasn’t sure whether or not to believe him. I wasn’t ready to let my guard down again.
    “Did you hear me?” he asked.
    I nodded.
    “My little brother found her curled up in pain in her bedroom early this morning. Our housekeeper called 911 and then me. I rushed over to the hospital.” He paused. “She went into emergency surgery.”
    I threw my arms around him. “I’m so sorry.” My heart hurt for him and I prayed his mom was okay.
    When I let him go, I asked, “What happened?”
    “She had appendicitis. She’s okay, now. My little brother is at home with his nanny. I’m sorry I didn’t call you, I should have.”
    “No, you shouldn’t have. You did what you were supposed to do, which is be with your mom.”
    “I had to come and talk to you. I couldn’t let you think I had stood you up. I would never stand you up.” He took my hand. “We only just met, but I’m already crazy about you. I wake up thinking about you. I go to sleep thinking about you. There’s something about you, it’s hard to put into words, but whatever it is...I want to be with you.”
    His words made me want to cry. No one had ever spoken to me like that. No one had ever really wanted to be with me, not even my parents. At nineteen, I had sat by my mother’s hospital bed as she was dying, begging her not to leave me. I wanted her to fight, to stay alive for me, because I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want to be an orphan. And when she took her last breath, I screamed at her. I told her I hated her. Oh, Mami, I still miss you. Despite your flaws, I still miss you. I still want you back. But you left me; you died when I needed you the most.
    And my father? He walked out of my life when I was twelve years old. He didn’t have the guts to leave me a note, to let me know it wasn’t my fault that he was leaving. He should have left me something, anything that would have let me know he didn’t leave me because of me. I was a good kid. Polite, kind, respectful. I never got into fights. I never talked back. I didn’t deserve the parents I got, but then, children don’t choose their parents. And I’m not the only kid who got the short end of the parent stick.
    “I don’t know how to respond,” I said.
    He leaned in and kissed me. When his lips were on mine, I felt as if he were touching every part of my body, as if he and I were one, as if we really were meant to be