Name That Genre #21

TITLE: SECRET
GENRE: YA Secret

My mom is being sad in Spanish.

Our relationship has always relied on her spotty English and my spottier Spanish somehow converging into a conversation, but sometimes, when she’s emotional, she forgets about that. I pick out love, call, and, miss you, and my heart clenches with each of them.

“I’ll come home for Thanksgiving break,” I tell her, even though we still haven’t decided that.
She nods anyway, hugging me one more time. She says a few more words into my shoulder, but I only hear Ada, and I tense automatically.

“Be careful,” she says, and I can’t tell if she’s referring to the trip or the girl. Then she says, “Don’t let her hurt you,” and I don’t know why I even wondered.

“I won’t,” I say.

I don’t elaborate, because I’d rather not lie to my mom right before I leave her for months.