Till The End

Twenty-Two

"I think you should spend the night." Juan says, chuckling lightly as he gathers up all the beer bottles I've drank up to this point.

I shake my head. "No, I don't wanna spend the night away from Bella." I say, beginning to stand from my seat in Juan's reclinable chairs. We've been in the movie theatre the entire night, watching movies and occasionally talking.

Maybe I stand up too fast, but I lose my balance almost immediately after I stand. "Woah, woah." Juan wraps his arms around me, looking down at me. "I think you should stay. I could always take you to your moms, but how will you get your car in the morning? I'm picking up my family from the airport early in the morning."

"You don't mind me staying?" I ask, sitting down again slowly. In all honesty, I don't think I've been this drunk since high school, and going through all the trouble of having to come back to get my car in the morning doesn't sound fun to me right now.

He shakes his head, taking a seat next to me. "Not at all." he smiles. "You can sleep in a guest room." he shrugs.

"Are you saying you don't want me to sleep with you?" I ask suggestively, the slurring in my voice clear as day.

With a chuckle, he shakes his head again. "I'm telling you that you have options. You don't have to sleep with me." he says.

"You're such a gentleman, do you know that?" I giggle, wrapping my arms over his shoulders, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "I'll sleep in bed with you." I smile happily, kissing his cheek again.

"Okay," he nods, gently taking my hands off of him. "let's get you to bed, you need it." he laughs lightly.

I put a hand up, shaking my head. "Let me just call my mom really quick." he nods, sitting back as I pull out my phone. It's about to be one in the morning, but I'm sure my mom is still up, probably waiting for an update from me. "Hey mom." I smile as the phone gets picked up almost immediately.

"Ximena, how are you? I was starting to get worried about you." she laughs.

I nod. "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. I kinda lost track of time. Can Bella spend the night tonight? I'll be there to pick her up first thing in the morning." I say.

"Of course, hon." she says. "I know what a hard week you've had, I think a night without her will do you some good."

I feel my eyes water at what she says, all the emotions of what I've felt this past week crashing down on me. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Thank you, mom. I'll be by to pick her up before she's even awake, okay?" I say, a knot forming in my throat. "She won't even know I left her." with the guilt of spending my first night away from her, a tear rolls down my cheek.

"Yeah, that's fine, honey. She's fine." my mom reassures me. "One night away from you won't hurt her."

I nod, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. No, yeah, I know you're right. Thank you. Goodnight." we say our goodbyes and then hang up. I look over to see Juan with a concerned look on his face. "I'm so sorry." I let out a laugh, covering my face with my hands as more tears stream down my face.

"No, it's okay." he says, scooting next to me quickly, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"It's just—" I uncover my face, using my sleeves to wipe at my face. "I've had an awful week with Bella, and my mom was telling me how good a break from her would be for me. And I hate the thought of that being true." I let out a loud sigh, slumping into his side.