NINE

♥ Lucille ♥

I'm up at 7 AM, and I am exhausted. I fell asleep probably around sometime between midnight and 2 AM. I don't know exactly, I just know I laid down at midnight, and didn't fall asleep until a long time after that. After a certain point I stopped checking the clock.

I'm packing a relatively small bag for the trip to my parent's house. Half my clothes are still there so I really don't have much I need to bring with me. Plus, it's only one night.

Kiara slept in, which—from the past three weeks we've been living together—is normal for her on the days we don't have school.

By the time I finish getting ready though, she's awake. She doesn't make us breakfast or even say anything. Just sits in bed on her phone. I don't really mind. Some quiet can always be appreciated.

It's around 9 AM now, and I've made myself a bowl of cereal. I'm planning to leave at 10, in hopes to get there a little past noon. We're supposed to go out for dinner, but I'll still want time to debrief.

As I'm eating, I hear Kiara's phone ringing. She climbs out of bed, glancing at me for just a second, and then she goes out into the hall. She didn't put on shoes so I'm assuming she's just taking the call out in the hall. I've done that a few times as well for privacy.

When she comes back in she seems fine. Her face appears slightly brighter than it did a bit ago. She still hasn't said anything to me though. Hm.

"I'm going to leave at 10, so—until Sunday—you'll have the place to yourself." I inform her.

She nods. "Kay. I promise not to throw any ragers."

"I believe you, but I swear to god I will know if you have anyone over here."

"Do you have cameras?" She teases, though her tone doesn't have that same playful cadence.

"No, I just have great perception. You better not invite any guys over."

She barks out a surprised laugh, then stops herself. "But, wouldn't you prefer that I had guys over while you weren't home?" She puts air quotes around the word guys.

"Well, yes, but that is besides the point." I argue. I honestly don't care what she does, but I'm glad I could make her laugh. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but she doesn't seem right. My great perception, like I said. I don't really care about how she feels, I just don't need a depressed roommate.

"Right... Well I assure you that you've got nothing to worry about. At most I might invite my friend Deven over, but even that is unlikely." She says.

"That sounds like a guy's name..." I squint my eyes at her.

"We're friends. And for the record, they're non-binary." She explains. I suppose it's good to know she's not non-binary-phobic. Not that that's an actual term, but—considering—chances are she isn't homophobic either. Which is good news for me.

"I see... Glad to hear you're an ally." I say as I stand to put my bowl in the sink.

She snorts. "Yeah. An ally." Is all she says, then walks back over to her bed. That was... suspicious.

I check the time again. I've still got 25 minutes until I should leave. I sit at my desk and busy myself until that time comes.

♥♥♥

"Fucking finally! I was beginning to think you got into a car crash and died or some shit." The minute I step inside, my moms arms are around me. Despite her accent, it's clear that she is not one of the polite Canadians.

I hug her back, "Nah, traffic just sucked." I try to pull back but she still isn't letting go. I let her hold me for a minute more and then practically pull myself from her grasp.

Quinn is sitting on the steps, but she stands as I approach her. I hug her too, though less aggressive than when my mom hugged me.

"Where's Dad?" I ask, hanging my car keys on their hook just like I used to. I slip off my shoes as well, tucking them into the small shoe cubby we have in the entrance room.

"I dunno. He went out to buy something." My mom shrugs.

"He's picking up your cake." Quinn clarifies.

"I have a cake?" I pick up my suitcase again, about to bring it up to my room.

"Yeah. It's a congrats on surviving your first three weeks of college gift."

"I see..." I begin to haul my things upstairs. Nothing has changed, thankfully. I don't know why I was worried they might...

Nope. Never mind. The walls in the hallway upstairs are white. They used to be light gray. Why are they white?

I sigh, but keep on walking down the hall to my room. When I finally get there, I feel like I can breathe. Everything is as I left it and it still smells of my perfume. I haven't even been gone a month, so it makes sense, but this is still the longest I've been away.

I plop down on my queen sized bed, on top of my white comforter. There's a lot of white in this room. From pillows, to my bed frame, my desk and dresser, my rug, my nightstands and bookshelves... It's all so pristine. It makes me happy.

I, of course, have plenty of accents though. My peach walls, my light pink desk chair, the light pink ottoman at the foot of my bed. Plus, everything non-furniture is colored, like my books and stuffed animals.

I check my closet. It feels more empty with some of my favorite items missing, but there's still a decent amount of clothes in here. It's a walk in, so it holds a lot.

I check my bathroom too, and that is how I left it as well. It does feel more empty than it used to, but that's just because I took most of my soaps and my toothbrush and my skincare with me.

There's a knock at my door, and Quinn enters before I can respond. "Just so you know, you're expected to choose where we're going for dinner." She explains as she flops onto my bed.

"I am? Great." I sigh heavily. I plop down beside her, laying on my back with my feet just barely dangling over the edge as we lay side by side.

"And I know how indecisive you are... So I thought I could just tell you where I want to go, and then you'll pass the message along."

"I see... Where were you thinking?" I ask. This is a very common thing for my sister and I to do. Almost every time we'd go out, actually.

"Either Riverhouse in Portsmouth because the chicken tenders were amazing, or Goldenrod. Though, I'm more in favor of Goldenrod because then we could go to the arcade or short sands."

"We always go to Goldenrod!" I pretend to complain.

"Which is exactly why we should go! Hit you with some nostalgia..." She grins.

"I've been gone three weeks!"

"But the beaches are closing soon! So is the arcade! Next time you're here we won't be able to do any of it."

"Sounds like you just want to go to Goldenrod." I claim. "So it doesn't really sound like a choice..."

"No, I just want to spend more time with you before you leave again tomorrow." She says, which makes me feel a little bad. "Also, the nostalgia." She teases.

I roll my eyes in mock annoyance. "In all honesty, I probably would've suggested Goldenrod anyway. And I don't wanna have to go all the way to Portsmouth."

"Then it's settled." She grins over at me.

Moments later there's another rap at the door. I can immediately recognize it as my dad's.

"Come in!" I call, sitting up. Quinn does too.

Dad opens the door, stepping inside. He's smiling, practically ear to ear, when he sees me. I stand up, and he hugs me tightly.

"I'm so glad you're home!" He says, cheery. He takes a small step back.

"I—"

He cuts me off, "Oh, and I wasn't supposed to tell you, but Quinn has been wearing your clothes."

"Dad!" Quinn exclaims. She kicks him in the side from where she's still sitting.

I turn around to her, my jaw dropped in fake betrayal. "You little demon..." I shake my head disbelievingly.

She rolls her eyes. I draw my attention back to my dad.

"So have things been alright? No other panic attacks I hope? How about your bitchy roommate?" He too sits down on my bed. Quinn scoots over to give him more space. I sit down again as well.

"Yeah, things are fine. My roommate has been less of a jerk I suppose, but she still gets very annoying at times." I share to the both of them.

"No potential suitors?" Quinn asks with a terrible British accent.

"Nope." I admit. "But that's not really a priority right now."

"Well," My dad says, "Perhaps you've already met the love of your life. I met your mother just a week after I began college."

"I'm aware. You've told me a dozen times." I remind him.

"I think it was the fact I had a coffee machine. When I first started crushing on her I'd bring her coffee almost everyday. I didn't even find out that she hates most coffee until two years into our marriage."

"Dad. Please stop making coffee your entire personality." Quinn pleads. I laugh. She definitely has a point.

"My life is only good because of coffee." He claims.

"Not because of us?" I gasp, in mock offense.

"You two wouldn't be here if it weren't for coffee, because otherwise I would have killed myself due to crippling depression."

I'm not really sure what to say to that. "I don't think it's healthy to use coffee as antidepressants."

"It may not be, but it works for me." He shrugs. "Now talk about college."

I sigh, and then give them the run down of the past couple weeks.

♥♥♥

"Wait—what kind of cheese is it again?"

"Cheddar, love. Like it has been for the past 20 years." Dad informs Mom. We've arrived at Goldenrod, sitting in a booth. I'm on the inside across from Quinn. Dad sits beside me and across from Mom. Our usual restaurant arrangement.

"Why's it gotta be cheddar? Fucking hate cheddar." My mom mutters.

"No you don't." Dad reminds her.

"I don't? Oh yeah! You know, kids, the grilled cheeses here are phenomenal." She turns towards Quinn and I.

"We know, Ma." Quinn says. "Your grilled cheese thing is like Dad's coffee thing."

Mom mutters something under her breath that I can't quite distinguish. I look back at my menu. I've tried almost everything on here, which makes it very hard to decide.

Eventually we all order. Then, I need to catch Mom up on the stuff she missed during the gossip hour with Quinn and my dad.

After we all get our food, I hear my phone ping. It's a text from Kiara. I open it, "if you get a call from 716-***-****, don't answer it." is all that is says. Very cryptic.

"Tf? Why not??? Whose number is that?" I ask.

"my mother's. just don't bother, please."

"Okay..?" I agree, and then shut off my phone again. Weird...

"Who were you texting?" My mom asks in a teasing tone.

"Just my roommate." I say, not giving her any reaction for her to make a deal out of.

"I see..." She squints her eyes at me, trying to read me. But she gives up, sighing exaggeratedly.

♥♥♥

I'm laying in my old bed. Still as comfortable as it used to be, and so much nicer than the one in the dorm. It's only 9 PM, but I'm exhausted. There was the extra long drive here, dinner, the arcade, we watched a movie, and also my parents can be very tiring.

And then my phone rings. I don't remember the number Kiara told me not to answer exactly, just that the area code was 716. And now I'm getting a call from a 716 number.

I shouldn't answer it. I told her I wouldn't. But I'm curious...

I'm running out of time. I need to decide. So I do. I press the Accept button, holding the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I say.

"Oh good. You answered. Kiara said you probably wouldn't because you don't have the best service at your parent's place. Glad I could reach you. This is Lucille, correct?" Her voice has a slight roughness to it, like Kiara's.

"Yeah..." The vibes are weird here... Why would Kiara make that up? I suppose I did agree I wouldn't answer, but this is weird.

"Good, good... I just wanted to ask how my daughter has been."

"I think she's been okay..?" I reply, unsure what she's asking.

"Oh. No, no. I mean, is she behaving herself? I was a little anxious to send her off somewhere so far... Especially with her temper. And, you know, she once ran away." I hear her laugh. "She was 16, and she wouldn't answer her phone. Of course, the police brought her home. But anyway, she's been behaving responsibly, correct?"

This feels wrong. Everything about this is just off. "Um..." I consider how rude Kiara has actually been, but I'm decent enough to know I shouldn't tell this woman about that. "She's been fine, yeah. She's funny, and we get along nicely..."

"Is that so?" Her mother is quiet for a moment before she speaks again. "Well, please do not hesitate to call me if any of that changes. I'll be able to handle it. Goodbye."

Before I can say anything more, she hangs up. And I am realizing that I probably should not have answered the phone.