Chapter 32
"Justin come on!" I pulled at my boyfriend's arm as he wearily stared at the outside of my house.

"I don't know about this…"

"I really want you to meet her though… please baby?" I stuck my bottom lip out and made the puppy face. I really wanted him to meet my mother. I had made sure to pick a day when my brother wasn't going to be home.

I even knew that my Mother would adore him. Justin hadn't thought so but I just knew she would. My Mom had no idea of course that Justin was my kidnapper. All she knew was that he was a boy I liked. She couldn't wait to meet him.

"You're so lucky that I love you." Justin shook his head and I placed a lingering kiss on his soft lips
.
"I know I am." I ran up the steps to my house and rang the bell. Justin stood behind me with a nervous look on his face. I held his hand tightly and shot him a half smile.

That's when my Mother opened the door. The first thing she did was grab me into this tight hug.

"Natalia mijita! You never call or visit anymore! I miss you." Isabel Fuentes-Kirkland said through her heavy Spanish accent.

"I'm sorry, Mami. I've been busy." I half smiled at my Mom and motioned to Justin. "Mami, this is my boyfriend, Justin."

The minute my Mother set eyes on him, she smiled. The tiny Hispanic woman pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Que hombre mas guapo." She pinched his cheeks and smiled. "Come inside… I was just cooking but it's going to take some time till it's ready."

Justin and I headed inside the house. He was looking around at all the baby pictures of Andy and me with a smile on his face.

"Thank you for having me over Mrs…"

"No please… call me Isabel." She smiled and led the way toward our living room. "Have a seat."

Justin and I sat down on the couch while she sat down on the love seat. She grinned at the both of us.

"We'll have more time to get aquatinted during dinner… pero… ah… would you like to see Natalia when she was a baby?"

"MAMI! No!" I covered my face in my hands while Justin started to laugh.

"I'd love to."

She ran to the VCR and popped in video after video. The first one was of my first birthday. I cringed a little when I saw my father in the video. My mom just had to make sure to point him out.

"That's Natalia and Andrew's father… ese maldito." She cursed, probably assuming that Justin didn't speak Spanish. "Look how adorable she was."

"You mean is!" I replied and she laughed.

"If I could go back and keep you and your brother that age I would."

The tape ended and she put the next one in. My Senior Prom video. I quickly covered my mouth and wanted to scream.

"Oh my God… please do not put that on!!" I begged.

"Why what's this one?" Justin asked, obviously confused.

"Her Senior Prom video." My Mom smiled as the picture came up on the screen. She quickly walked to the kitchen to check on the food and left us watching the screen.

I hated myself in high school. It was just a time of my life that I wish I could forget. But prom was the only night I didn't ever want to forget. I had so much fun and I had to admit I looked really pretty.

It was just embarrassing because I was different then. I was naïve, and ditzy. I guess I'm a completely different person now.

"You look so beautiful." Justin turned and smiled at me. "I wish I could have known you then."

"You wouldn't have wanted to. I was so naïve and just plain street stupid." I sighed and covered my face with my hands.

"You were innocent. Hard to believe but I was like that at one time too." He said with a smile. I rolled my eyes at him and kissed his cheek.

"I kinda figured that one."

"I like your Mom. She's really cool."

"Yeah and she's annoying too." I rolled my eyes and smiled. "But I love my Mom. She's always there for me and even if she disagrees with me about something, she'll be stubborn about it, but eventually listen."

"Yeah, she seems pretty tough too."

"That she is. She can be pretty scary when she wants to."

"I guess I see where you get it from." Justin joked and poked me in the side. I looked up at him and glared.

"That's not funny!"

"Yes it is! You’re doing it now!" Justin laughed and I proceeded to tickle him like crazy. That was when my Mom called us into the kitchen to eat.

I was so glad to see my Mom and Justin getting along so well. My Mom told me later on that she really liked him. She said he seemed like he really cared about me. I knew I had to tell him how I felt.

Better now than later.

**
Hope was pacing back in forth in her room. She couldn't believe that she was playing both fields. She was going back and forth to Tommy and Andrew, unable to choose which one she wanted to be with.

She knew she was wrong, and in the end she could loose the both of them for good.

Anyway, it wasn't like she could ask for advice from her friends. If either of them knew that she was back with Tommy they would be so ashamed of her.

Andrew was also a great guy and Natalia's brother. She wouldn't want her friend to hate her for playing her brother, even though it wasn't intentional.

The brown haired Spanish beauty had no idea what to do. She didn't know who to choose and who to throw to the side.

Hope and Tommy had a huge history together and she didn't want to let him go because she knew she'd always love him. But at the same time she cared for Andrew and didn't want to hurt him either. She had a feeling that things could be so great between the both of them if they tried.

Things with Andrew were new and she liked the feeling he gave her. But then again he was nothing like Tommy…

She knew she needed to decide what to do… and fast.