by M. K. ROZE
in, you and Kaylee are on your own.”
“We know.” I hugged them. “Are you sure you guys
don’t mind me moving out so fast?”
“Yes,” Mom said, “but we know you’ll be an adult soon,
and you need space.”
Dad looked at his phone.
“I love you guys,” I said, still hugging Mom. I elbowed
Dad.
Dad kissed my forehead.
“I’m going to go pack.” I skipped down the hall.
“Look for a job before you think about packing. You’re
not moving out until you do,” Dad called out.
“Alright!” I shouted and shut the door.
My parents being supportive shocked me. I’d expected
them to make me wait another month.
I sat on the loveseat with my laptop and searched the
internet for a job.
After looking for a while, I found a few waitressing
positions that were hiring. One was next door to the coffee
shop I used to work at part-time. I’d wished I kept that job,
but I had to stop when I started eleventh grade. It was too
hard juggling both. Plus, all their delicious coffees were
keeping me up all night.
As soon as I filled out the online application, I got a
response immediately by email. Bruce, the manager
remembered me when I worked next door at the coffee
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shop. He asked me to go in the following day at 6:30 p.m. I
wanted a night job, so it was perfect.
I closed my laptop and reached for my phone to text
Kaylee.
My parents said yes.
Kaylee responded right away.
Told ya. We’re officially roommates now.
I smiled and replied.
Yes, we are. I have a job interview too.
Already?
Yes, I know the manager.
Congratulations! Kaylee replied with a smiley face.
Can you come over tomorrow after school and
help me pack?
Sure, I can come before I go to my
interview.
You’re the best. Night, Sis. See ya
tomorrow at school.
Night.
Yawn after yawn, I turned on my side, looked out the
window and smiled myself to sleep.
Morning came fast. I rushed out of bed and turned the
radio on. As I was brushing my hair, Perfect, by Ed Sheeran
started playing. I downloaded it, then I listened to it three
more times while getting ready.
I finished up and walked out to the kitchen. Mom and
Dad were sitting at the table talking. I grabbed a blueberry
muffin off Mom’s plate.
“Hey, get your own,” Mom said, laughing.
“I love you guys.” I kissed them on their cheeks. “I’m
off to school and a job interview at 6:30 tonight.”
“You found a job already?” Dad asked with food in his
mouth.
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“Yup. It’s at the Augustine Steakhouse.”
Dad smiled. “Well done.”
“Thanks.”
Mom’s eyes watered.
“Wish me luck.” I choked and continued out the front
door.
“Good luck, honey,” Mom said in a low voice.
I got into my car, ready to leave, but sat there and cried
instead. Part of me wanted to go in and hug her, but Dad
came outside. He caught me wiping my tears away.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded and sniffled.
He opened my driver’s door and leaned down to hug
me. “Everything will be okay.”
“What about Mom?”
“She’ll be fine. Focus on school and your interview.”
“Alright.” I sniffled again. “Tell Mom that I love her.”
After Dad shut my door, I drove to school, and Liam
ran up to me.
“Are you going to let me move in too?”
“So, you heard?”
“Yes, and I’m pissed you didn’t tell me.”
Kaylee came up to us. “Hey, roommate.”
“Are you telling everyone we got a place?”
“Hell, yeah. Why?”
“Ask our other bestie. I gotta get to class. I’ll see you
guys at lunch.” I frowned at Liam and spun around toward
my class.
When Liam started begging Kaylee to move in with us,
I felt horrible and continued to class.
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The rest of the school day went by painfully slow. I’m
sure it was because I stared at the clock and didn’t pay much
attention in class. After school, I followed Kaylee to her
house.
Kaylee jumped out of her car and started dancing.
“Come on. Let’s get to packing.”
I shook my head smiling as I got out of my car. “Do you
have boxes?”
“Sure do. My mom got them yesterday. I think she
wanted me out last week.”
“Stop it. You know she loves you.”
We continued inside. “I was kidding. Are your parents
upset you’re moving out?”
“Yes, but I can’t live there forever.”
“You should call Constin and ask him to help us move
our stuff in.”
“No, I’m not ready for that yet.”
“Viata, you can’t hide from him forever. If you don’t
like him, just tell him.”
“I do, but I need more time.”
“I didn’t tell you this, but when you were out for those
two weeks, Constin didn’t show up once.”
“What?” I playfully smacked her arm. “Why didn’t you
tell me this before?”
“Sorry. I didn’t want you to be worried if he moved or
something. And I did try when I told you to call him.
Remember you flipped on me?”
I glanced at my phone debating on texting him, then
chickened out.
“I think he’s in love with you,” Kaylee joked.
“Shut up. He doesn’t even know me.”
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“He sure acts like it. Don’t you see the way he looks at
you?”
“No, I haven’t paid much attention because of what
Clay did. I’m too scared to even think about dating.”
“Well, you better start giving him some kind of attention
before he runs off with Sara.”
“I’m not worried about her.”
We walked upstairs to her room and listened to some
dance music while packing. After an hour, we took a break
and sat on the bed. She showed me designer magazines and
tons of different paint samples for our house. I loved the
dark colors, but Kaylee wanted the pastel ones. They were
pretty, but they reminded me of the dream I had in school.
As she was talking about some guy she liked at her job,
I saw a picture laying on the floor, sticking out from under a
teddy bear in the corner of the room. I picked it up. It was
Kaylee hugging her dad when she was younger.
“Hey, do you want this picture of you and your father?”
She jumped up and smacked it out of my hand. “No!”
I flinched and stepped back. “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Did you forget he left me and
mom for another family when I was eight?” She stormed out
the d
oor.
I ran after her and blocked her before she went
downstairs. “No, I just thought you would want to take it.
I’m sorry for asking.”
She hugged me tightly, crying on my shoulder. It was
gut-wrenching to hear and see her that way. She hid her
depression well.
“Kaylee, I will never leave you like he did. I promise.”
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Kaylee used her shirt to wipe her tears. “I hate what he
has done!” she shouted and then started to laugh. “Do you
want to pack some more stuff up?”
“Sure,” I replied. That was her way of coping with the
pain.
After another half hour, she walked me out to my car.
“Sorry about flipping out. Good luck with the interview.”
“You’re fine. Thanks. Love ya, Sis.”
Those three words brought life back to her beautiful
face. She hugged me tighter than normal. “Love you too.”
On my way there, I began to tear up again. I guess
Kaylee’s emotional status had worn off on me. I felt bad for
her. Also, I was somewhat excited to move out, but I knew
I would miss my parents a lot.
I pulled into the parking lot at the restaurant and sat
there still thinking about her crying. After a while, I went
inside, and Bruce hired me right on the spot. He asked me if
I could come in on Monday afternoon for orientation. I
happily agreed, and he handed me a black apron.
When I got back into my car, I texted Kaylee and told
her I got the job. She cal ed me right away, screaming with
excitement.
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aylee and I moved into our new house. Liam
came over, and we stayed up all night long, eating
pizza and cake while painting the living room teal
with white trim. I got to pick the colors for the kitchen, so I
chose a beautiful dark gray, also with white trim to match the
stainless-steel appliances.
While we were painting the living room, Kaylee decided
to come up behind me and paint the back of my shirt.
“Kaylee, you jerk!”
Liam laughed.
She ran away from me and stood in the corner, holding
the paintbrush up like a dagger, ready to fight. I laughed as I
pointed my paintbrush at her. Her face turned red as an
apple.
I dipped my brush into the teal paint. “Time for a
makeover.”
Kaylee’s eyes widened. “Oh, hell no!” She gunned it into
the kitchen.
Liam caught her and held her still for me. I painted her
until she was all teal, except for her eyes.
Kaylee and I looked at each other, then at Liam. “Your
turn,” I said, and we chased him around the house until we
cornered him in the bathroom.
“I hate the green in here, don’t you, Kaylee?”
“Yeah, let’s paint it teal to match the living room.”
“No, this is my new Under Armor outfit.” Liam
shielded his face from our paintbrushes.
“We’ll buy you a new one,” Kaylee said and started
painting him all over.
I crossed my legs, trying not to pee on myself from
laughing so hard, then joined in the paint fight.
After we were done making a huge mess, we used all of
the paper towels to clean it up and went upstairs to decorate
the loft area. It was awesome after we hung some billiard
pictures up. We just needed a pool table to match.
Two days after we settled in, Kaylee and I went straight
home after school. My parents and her mother surprised us
with a new white leather couch and a love seat. And a large
iron coffee table with matching end tables. We loved it.
Since I couldn’t paint dark colors out in the living area,
I decided to bring the darkness into my room. I wanted black
paint but ended up getting maroon paint with gold trim, and
I bought thick drapes to match.
Mom and Ms. Ashfield asked to decorate the kitchen,
so Kaylee and I let them. Dad helped me paint my room and
hang up pictures of the Carpathian Mountains.
Kaylee came into my room. “Wow, this is awesome.”
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She seemed jealous, so I walked over to a gold-framed
picture I had with colorful flowers on it. “Here, I want you
to have this.”
“Oh my gosh. Thank you. Are you sure?”
I nodded.
Dad glanced my way, with Kaylee’s back facing him, and
winked at me.
After he finished hanging my pictures up, Dad went into
Kaylee’s room and hung the picture on the wall for her. I
stayed in my room, so they could talk. I wanted her to
experience the same feeling I had of being loved by a father.
A lot of laughter came from her room, and it made me smile.
After we were all done, we ordered Chinese food and
sat at the table in the kitchen, laughing. My parents and Ms.
Ashfield talked about lawyer stuff while Kaylee and I stuffed
our faces.
The next morning, Kaylee came in and jumped on my
bed. “Get up! We’re going to be late for school.”
I groaned. “My body still hurts from all that lifting and
painting.”
“Come on.” She laughed while yanking me by my foot
until I fell on the floor.
“Kaylee, what the hell? Now my ass hurts.” I rubbed
away the stinging pain.
She ran into her room, giggling.
I staggered over to the mirror. “I look like I haven’t slept
in a month.”
Kaylee came back in. “No, you don’t. You’re gorgeous.
Now come on. We can take my car being you drive so damn
slow.”
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“I’d rather drive slow than getting pulled over like you
did.”
“Thanks to you, I got out of it, so ha.”
I shook my head and brushed the tangles out of my hair.
Kaylee walked out of the room. After I got dressed, she came
back in and handed me a cup of coffee with a blueberry
muffin.
“Thanks, wife.”
She stared me down. “Ew. Come on.”
“I was joking.”
We got into her car and went to school.
“I’ll see you in third period.”
“Bye, husband,” she joked with her mouth full.
Before I entered the classroom, Sara walked up to me.
“Everyone in the school knows you and Kaylee are lovers.
That’s why you moved in together.”
I shot her a nasty look and stepped closer to her.
“You’re just jealous because we got a place before you did,
and Constin wants me and not you. How does it feel to be
the odd one?”
Her mouth fell open. “You bitch!” She charged me.
I grabbed ahold of her shirt and slammed her up against
the wall. “Don’t you dare touch me ever again!”
Sara screamed. “Why are your eyes lighting up like
that?”
I released her and stepped back. “What are you talking
about?”
I was certain Sara was trying to make the rest of the
school hate me.
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Constin charged through the crowd and grabbed my
arm. He locked eyes with Sara. “You saw nothing. Now walk
away.”
Sara staggered off like she was in a trance and stood
behind her friends.
“Are you a people whisperer?” I asked.
“Something like that,” he said with a blank stare.
I stepped back from him, knowing I’d heard the same
exact phrase before, but I couldn’t remember from who.
“What’s wrong?”
I looked away. “Nothing.”
He glared at all the students surrounding us.
A teacher came up to us. “What’s going on here?”
I looked at Sara to see if she was going to tell her, but
she was talking to her friends. “It’s nothing,” I said.
Clay walked up to Constin. “You better think twice
about sticking up for this nut. She’ll lie about you like she did
with me.” He turned to me. “You’re so pathetic.”
Constin’s eyes twitched, and his chest pumped faster
than I ever saw someone breathe.
Mr. Roberts charged down the hall, pointing his finger.
“That’s enough, Clay. Get back to class.”
Clay looked at Sara and back at me. “Why don’t you go
and kill yourself.” He turned to Constin. “Maybe you can
help her do it. You’re a freak just like her.”
Some of the students laughed.
Clay shot me a nasty grin and walked off.
Constin cracked his neck, then charged Clay, seizing
him by the throat, and tossed him into the lockers. As Clay
slid to the floor, there was a huge dent in the locker. My jaw
dropped, unable to comprehend how he could be so strong.
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Everyone, except for me and Maria, who showed up out
of nowhere, ran to the other side of the hall. When I looked
back at Maria, she was walking away in a hurry.
Constin rushed over to me and gently took my hand.
His hand was burning up. “We have to go, right now!”
I jerked my hand away from his scalding touch. “I’m not
leaving.”
“Viata!”
I shook my head, wondering why he was so concerned
and so darn hot.
Constin started to walk away.
Mr. Roberts placed his hand on Constin’s chest,
stopping him. He snatched his hand back. “Do you have a