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"olá, mamãe."
luara's mother, márcia, looked up from her magazine, staring blankly back at her daughter. luara hadn't visited her mother in quite a while, and márcia wasn't happy about it. the last time they'd spoken was on the phone, about angelo, and it was safe to say that márcia was obviously disappointed.
her mother looked back down at her magazine, flipping the page.
"please, mamãe, don't be like that." luara sighed, placing her bag down on the small patio table, and taking a seat on the sun lounger beside her mother's, "how have you been?"
"you'd know if you'd have called me, luara." her mother replied bluntly, reaching over to grab her coffee, taking a sip from it.
"i'm sorry, but i'm here now, so don't be angry with me." luara smoothed out her jeans, squinting her eyes and looking over the glass railing of the balcony, straight out to the copacabana beach.
her mother exhaled heavily, shutting her magazine and placing it down, turning to look at her daughter, "you were in paris for a long time. who did you stay with, anjo?"
luara didn't bother lying, seeing as her mother could see right through her, so she twiddled with the golden rings around her fingers, "obviously not kaila."
"no, obviously not."
her mother didn't shy away from staring her daughter in the face, even though her daughter avoided it.
"neymar–"
márcia cut her off, "neymar, of course it is."
luara rolled her eyes, "mamãe, please–"
"always neymar jr, for you, isn't it?" her mother tutted, shaking her head, "can't you get it through your head that he's not good enough for you, anjo?"
"why do you always say that mamãe? he's done nothing to you." luara lifted her head to look back at márcia this time.
"he's hurt you, luara. more than once." márcia sucked on her teeth, "all i'm saying is that you deserve better."
"as if you'd know." luara muttered under her breath, looking away.
"excuse me?"
"you heard me, mamãe." she looked back, "whoever my pai is left you when you were pregnant with me, so how would you know what's good and what's not good for me?"
her mother went quiet, looking out to the beach, away from luara. when márcia was pregnant with luara, her boyfriend, luara's father, left them. yes, they were young, but he still left them. he didn't want anything to do with them.
"mamãe–" luara paused for a moment, "i know you mean well. but for once can you just not? i love him, and he loves me."
"luara you are only here because he has hurt you again, no?"
this time, luara went quiet. she bit the inside of her cheek, looking straight out, exactly where her mother was looking.
"it was my fault." luara responded quietly, "i was being hypocritical and jealous– anyway, he's with someone else now."
her mother nodded slowly, "are you upset?"
"i am, i miss him. i love him."
again, her mother nodded, "if you love him you say you're sorry."
luara turned red in the face at the thought. she'd already had to go through that with kaila, but it's different with neymar. she hated to feel stupid in front of him, even though she already had been. and she hated to be the one at fault, even though she was.
"i know you, anjo, and i know you don't like that, but if you love him as much as you make out to, then you should."
luara exhaled, clearing her throat, "thank you."
her mother spared her a quick glance, "there's cans of coke in the fridge."
