Page 91 of Sleeping with the Frenemy

“First of all, eww because I know what you were trying to say there. Second of all, this advice I gleaned from dealing with Liam not Sofi.” She paused and her face scrunched in thought. “Even though the two of them are scary similar.”

“No duh,” Leo said. “You’re basically marrying a male Sofi with less style and more facial hair.”

Kamilah put a hand on her heart. “Aww. I kind of love that.”

Leo blew out a breath. “Your advice, weirdo?”

“Their greatest fear is that there is something wrong with them that means they will always be left. Because of this fear, they lock their true selves away and hide behind their badass personas.”

“Yeah. I know this.”

“Getting through to them isn’t about smashing down their walls, Leo. All that will do is make them lash out because they feel unsafe.”

“I am not a subtle man, Kamilah.”

She threw his own words back at him. “Yeah. I know this.” She put a hand on his. “However, you’re going to have to learn to be if you want a future with Sofi. You have to create a safe place for her, if you want her to emerge from her fortress, and you can’t do it by scheming behind her back. You have to let her know that she’s safe with you physically, mentally, emotionally. Her well-being is your priority.”

“I tried to do that, but—”

Kamilah held up a hand, stopping him. “I know how hard this next part is, trust me. I struggle with this all of the time, but you’re also going to have to be patient with her. Because even when she does come out from behind her walls, her first instinct will always be to hide behind them again when she feels vulnerable. It’s not a reflection on you or her feelings for you. It’s just her way of coping. So instead of getting mad or hurt or feeling defeated, you’ll have to be patient and coax her out again.”

“But, Kamilah, it shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Who says it’s not hard? Movies? Songs? That’s not real life. That’s not how real relationships work. Real relationships are very hard. They require tremendous amounts of give-and-take, especially when the people in them are so different yet equally headstrong.”

“I know relationships aren’t easy, but I can’t be the only one trying. That doesn’t work either.”

“You’re one hundred percent right. You both need to put in the work, but all I’m telling you is that you can’t expect her to just let down her guard completely and forever. You have to be willing to reassure her every time she tries to hide that you’re still a safe place for her. If you can’t or don’t want to do that, then maybe it’s best you two are done for real.”

Leo looked down at his right hand which was holding his stress ball, but not squeezing—mostly because he couldn’t. The last few days, he’d been doing a lot of thinking and one of his main thoughts was about changing. He’d felt like he’d changed a lot, but now he wasn’t sure he had. At his core he was still the same person he’d always been, but he’d tried to at least make better choices for himself and his life. He guessed that was the most you could ask of people—for them to make better, less harmful choices. The same could be said for Sofi. He couldn’t expect her to completely change her personality or way of interacting with the world. He could only be there for her as she tried to make those choices. She was never going to be this happy-go-lucky person with an open and trusting personality. He didn’t want her to be. He loved her crotchety ass exactly how she was. So he needed to stop trying to change her.

He looked back up at his unexpectedly emotionally intelligent little sister. “So, like on a scale of zero to ten, how mad would you be if I hijack your wedding?”

She pursed her lips and tapped a finger on her chin. “Think about it like this: on a scale of zero to ten, how much do you like having at least one fully functional arm?”

“Okay. Okay. So wait until after your wedding is what I’m hearing.”

“For the sake of your well-being that’s probably the best idea. Yes.”

Leo stood and made his way to the door. He paused at the threshold. “I just want to throw out that technically the reception is after the wedding. Okay. Love you. Bye.” Then he took off running and ignored her yelling his name. He had an abuelo to see and a grand gesture to plan.

24

Tostón let out a plaintive whine. It was his third in as many minutes.

They were snuggled in bed, where they’d been for who knew how long at this point. Sofi hadn’t left her bed unless it was to grab food from her mom’s front door where it was left by a delivery person or to take Tostón for a walk. She knew she couldn’t remain there for much longer, but she also wasn’t ready to face the world yet.

Sofi lifted her hand and patted him on the head. “I know. I miss him too.”

Tostón’s head popped up. He stared in the direction of her front door, his head tilted like he was listening for something. Sofi’s mom was picking up Abuela Fina after work to take her to the movies, so it wouldn’t be her. Something that became perfectly clear when whoever it was knocked loudly.

Sofi held her breath. She wanted it to be Leo, but she also didn’t. She wanted to see him, to ask about his arm, to hold him. At the same time she knew that it would only lead to more pain for them both. She needed to be strong no matter what.

Sofi hopped out of bed. She contemplated changing her clothes or at least brushing her teeth, but the knocking came harder, more insistent. She wrapped her blanket around herself, rushed to the door, and placed her hand on the knob. It started to turn. Sofi’s stomach began to cramp.

The door swung open revealing a man, but not the one Sofi wanted. Her father stood in the doorway decked out in one of his designer suits. “What is wrong with you?” he asked. “Are you sick?”

Tostón started barking. He’d never met her dad. Sofi ignored the disappointment and told her dog to hush. “I’m taking a mental health day,” she replied once Tostón quieted down.

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