I shrug, defeated. I pull my fingers back from him, “Maybe it was inevitable.”
Marlon shakes his head, “Still. You don’t deserve it, and I hope you don’t waste your tears on him.”
I scoff, “Never again.”
When we take the train home that afternoon, Marlon and I watch Sailor Moon on his phone. He doesn’t mention Rafayel, not once.
Marlon offered to treat me for dinner, but tonight I wanted nothing more than to just curl on the couch with my family and watch some mindless TV. As he pulls up to the house, he lingers a moment.
“Garcia?” he asks, just as I unbuckle my seatbelt.
“Yes?”
“Don’t lose your spark,” he says. I tilt my head, unsure of what he means.
“Don’t lose your love for love,” Marlon adds, “You may be hopeless, and a romantic, but that’s the best part about you. It makes you shine. So, promise you’ll keep being insufferable about love, okay?”
Don’t lose your love for love.No matter how many heartbreaks I face, I truly believe nothing could make me lose faith in love. Not as long as my parents continue to love each other.
I shake my head, the smile coming easy to my lips.
“I couldn’t lose it if I tried.”
I pull the door handle, yet as I step out, I feel his fingers close around my wrist. The small touch itself is enough to make my heart race.
“Wait.”
I turn, suddenly nervous.
“Yes?”
The smirk I know all too well graces his features, “Happy anniversary, by the way. Or, close enough.”
I raise a brow.
“What?”
“It’s been a month since I asked your parents for you to be my fake girlfriend.”
He remembers? I didn't even remember.
“I can’t believe you remember,” I laugh.
“Of course I would. I’ll see you soon, Garcia.”
I sincerely hope he doesn’t feel the way my pulse skips a beat.
One month.It’s all I can think about as I walk to the door.
“I’m going to kill him.”
As much as I don’t condone murder, I do condone my sister speaking of it, especially when it’s about yet another boy who broke my heart.
Ria sits beside me on my bed, her fingers frantically scrolling through social media, in search of a hidden account of Rafayel.
She’s determined to send him some kind-words. She encouraged me to post screenshots of his messages online, to ward everyone away from him, but I thought it might be a little too much. Too much effort for a boy who doesn’t deserve anymore energy.
Still, I love Ria to bits for this. Just like Marlon, she didn’t yellI told you soto my face. She didn’t laugh.
