Page 34 of Springtime Love

“Ignore her,” Hank mutters softly. He pours us both a drink and then hands me a glass before picking up his own glass.

“What should we toast to this time?”

“Survival,” he replies, glancing at my mother and Jenna. Then he lifts his glass in the air.

“To survival,” I say, tapping my glass against his. “Salud.”

Chapter Fifteen

Ysenia

The radio is playing low, distracting my mind from where I am… in front of Miguel’s mom’s house. My heart is racing like crazy. My stomach is in knots. I want to haul ass down the driveway away from the house; however, Miguel needed a ride.

He was supposed to be out by now, but so far there’s no sign of him. I even texted him several times.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of someone tapping on my window scares the living hell out of me. I scream and clutch at my chest. Looking out my window, I find Jenna staring at me. My stomach knots even more.

Great. Just great,I mutter to myself.

I wind down my window. My eyes lower to my steering wheel. I’m not ready to face her. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to face her.

“He’s inside shitfaced with my dad,” Jenna whispers.

“Okay,” I reply softly.

How in the hell did Miguel get drunk so fast? He had texted me less than half an hour ago, asking me to come pick him up. Now, he was drunk as a skunk and forcing Jenna and me to talk.

“You are welcome to come inside and get him,” she says.

“That’s okay.”

“No one will bother you. My mom is on a rampage in her room. I’ll retreat to the kitchen until you guys leave.”

She honestly thinks she’s doing me a favor. Does she not understand how much I despise her and everything associated with her… Well, except for Miguel apparently.

I’m such a hypocrite.

Maybe she had crossed Miguel and my path as a consolation prize for her sleeping with Kevin. Jenna was probably hoping that Miguel would calm all the anger and mend all the pain. She was sacrificing her brother to me.

Is Miguel in on this?I wonder but quickly shake the thought. Miguel didn’t strike me as being a good actor. He seemed genuinely angry when he learned of Jenna’s scandalous behavior. And, when he was comforting me, I felt the sincerity in his touch and words.

“I don’t think he’s going to come out unless you go inside and get him,” Jenna tells me.

“I’ll just call him…”

And if he doesn’t come out, I’ll just leave,I finish my sentence inside my head.

“Ysenia, I promise to you,” Jenna takes a deep breath. My eyes are still locked on the steering wheel. “I promise to you that no one will mess with you. My dad may say hi but that’s it. No one else. I prom–”

“I get it! You swear!” I snap, glaring up at her. “You’ve made a lot of promises over the years, but we see how well that all turned out! So don’t sit here and swear anything to me! Your promises mean nothing to me. Absolutely nothing.”

I’m not sure why I chose that moment to unleash my anger, but I had. I wasn’t in full bitch mode yet; however, that part of me was inching closer to being released. This wasn’t the time or place to tell her exactly how I felt.

“I know, Ysenia. I know,” she whispers.

It wasn’t the response I expected from her. I thought for sure she was going to snap back. That would be typical Jenna.

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