Can You Hear the Ocean?

Chapter 8

Mia didn't care much for visiting Julian at his house. His parents were always kind and welcoming, but she could tell there was tension lingering between them and Julian. While she would be downstairs in Julian's bedroom in the basement, she could hear him bickering with his parents upstairs. It was always the same – jobs, money, when he was going to find a place of his own to live.

"That girl you're dating is only twenty-three and living independently. Why can't you?" she had overheard Julian's mother bark at him once.

It was true that Mia would've expected a regular twenty-six-year-old to be living on his own, but she understood it was difficult for Julian to make enough to live comfortably with his bartender salary, and besides, he was just like her when it came to a career. Julian had gotten a music degree in college and wasn't quite sure what to do with it. It was easy to sympathize with him.

That being said, Julian liked to keep her in his house as long as possible. Mia had been over since the night before and had slept poorly, like she often did at his place. It was getting into the afternoon, and while Mia had no work shift, she was tired of sitting around while Julian napped on his bed.

Sighing, Mia put her phone down. She had been scrolling bored for so long that the battery was about to die. She took that as a sign that it was finally time to leave. She glanced over at Julian sleeping beside her and ran her fingers through his curls. Slowly, he stirred.

"Mm...what time is it?" he asked.

"Three thirty," Mia answered. "I should probably be heading out soon..."

Julian grumbled and reached for her hand. "No. I don't want you to go," he complained. "My parents will let you stay for dinner, you know."

Mia frowned. "But I had dinner with them last night. Besides, I've been here close to twenty-four hours now."

Julian continued to mope.

"Come on, don't pout. You know I enjoy spending time with you, but I've got some errands to run," Mia said.

"Where are you off to?" Julian asked, finally gathering the energy to sit up. "Maybe I can come with you."

"I was going to go pick up some flowers and drop them off at my mom's grave," Mia answered. "You can come if you want—"

"That's alright," Julian said without any hesitation.

Mia expected nothing less. Julian never jumped at the chance to accompany her to the cemetery. Occasionally it bothered her, but she figured that Julian just didn't want to see her upset. After all, Mia knew for a fact that she never managed to walk away from her mother's grave without having shed a few tears.

"My next day off is Wednesday. Maybe we can plan something then," Mia said as she gathered her things.

"Okay. I'll text you," Julian said.

Mia nodded, half-expecting him to walk her out, but when he laid back down and rolled over to go back to sleep, she only sighed and made her way up the basement steps. She muttered a quick thank you to Julian's mother for letting her stay the night as she made her way out the front door.

"Of course, dear. I hope you can talk some sense into that boy. I think dating you will be good for him. Might teach him to become more of an adult," Julian's mother grumbled.

Mia only gave an awkward laugh and stepped outside the front door, finally letting herself breathe. She always felt suffocated in Julian's house. In a way, it almost made her feel lucky that neither of her parents were still around, but only slightly. She knew she'd give anything to have two living parents still in her life.