Page 106 of Truth Or Dare
I blink, feeling like I’ve stepped into a different world. This doesn’t look like the same house at all.
It’s lighter, brighter, and the usual smell of whiskey that rotted my nostrils for years is no longer lingering.
“Would you like anything to drink?” my mom asks, drawing my attention. “Michael made some lemonade this morning.”
I blink. “Michael?”
“Yes. My, um…” She smiles. “My boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” I repeat, furrowing my brows. My mother has a boyfriend?
“A little more than that,” my mother’s boyfriend—apparently—says, kissing her on the side of her head. My eyes widen involuntarily at the sight. What the hell is going on?
“Well, he uh, he proposed.”
My eyes widen even more. “You’re engaged?”
She nods, a smile spreading across her face. My shoulders relax as my heart quickens at the sight of her happiness. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her smile like this. Even when I lived here, she rarely ever smiled.
But now she looks genuinely happy.
She has Michael.
She’s engaged.
And I knew nothing about it.
“So… about that drink?” Michael asks.
“Sure,” I say, blinking as I take it all in. “Thanks.”
He nods. “And you?” he asks, turning his head to Gabi.
I turn my head, seeing Gabi smile at him. “Sure. I love lemonade.”
Michael plants one more kiss on my mom’s head before he turns around and heads out of the living room.
My mom turns to Gabi, flashing her a warm smile. “Gabi, right?”
Gabi tilts her head. “You remember me?”
My mom laughs, shaking her head. “My son never stopped talking about you. It’s hard to forget.”
Gabi turns to face me, and I meet her eyes with a sheepish smile. “You did?”
It still surprises her how much I talked about her, thought about her,stillthink about her. I chuckle, nodding. “Yeah, I did.” I used to mention hanging out at Gabi’s so often that my momeventually asked if we were together, even trying to have the safe sex talk with me.
I quickly shut down that conversation, assuring her we were just friends and would always be.
Little did I know I’d be standing here with Gabi by my side a few years later, as my girlfriend.
“I also met you once,” my mom says, catching me off guard.
I raise an eyebrow. “You did?”
As far as I was aware, Gabi had never met my mom. She had met my dad once, but I had begged her never to come back here. Unfortunately, it was too late. Once my dad saw her, he latched onto that. The bastard knew I was in love with her and used it against me to hurt me every chance he got.
“Yeah.” Gabi swallows when I look to her for confirmation. “I came here the morning after…” She doesn’t finish her words, but she doesn’t need to. “I was wondering where you had gone, and your mom opened the door. She told me you had left.”
