Love Hate Relationship

Chapter 18

Twenty-two year old Clarke Griffin drove up to her house, dreading the upcoming conversation with her parents. She had just graduated from college, and the rest of her life awaited her. A life her parents had not chosen for her. They would never approve of this path she was about to choose. She took a deep breath, and prayed for courage. Niylah wanted to come with her, but she wouldn't hear of it. She didn't want to expose her to the unrelenting pressures and expectations of the Griffin household.

She went into the house and wandered around until she found her parents in the dining room.

"Hey, there's my college grad," her dad said as he got up to give her a hug.

"Hi dad, hey mom."

Her mom hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "Clarke, I spoke with Dr. Reynolds today and he told me about some classes that he thinks you should be taking this summer before you start med school. He said he thought you were smart enough to take them now," Abby said proudly.

Clarke looked at her parents, steeling herself for this moment, not knowing how to start the conversation, but figured she should just rip the band-aid off. "I'm going to live New York," she blurted out.

An eerie quiet settled over the room for a full minute. Jake and Abby stared at her, not comprehending her words.

"What?" Abby asked.

Jake looked at her, "What?"

Two of the most intelligent, well-spoken people Clarke knew were both rendered speechless, seemingly robbed of their capacity for cognitive thought, stunned by her revelation. Staring without seeing. Not believing what they were hearing. Their little girl, veering off course, defying their carefully laid plans?

Jake was the first to come to his senses. "What are you talking about, when did this happen?"

"It's happening now. I'm going to New York with Niylah. She auditioned last month for a dance company, and they accepted her."

"Niylah? Your roommate?" Abby was confused.

"Clarke what's going on?" Jake asked.

Here it goes, Clarke thought, "I love her, and I wanna be with her." Clarke had never told her parents about Niylah, about falling in love, about finding someone she wanted to spend her life with. They were staunch Catholics and there was no way they would have ever accepted their relationship, which had been going on for the last two years. She knew she had to wait until after college to break the news to them.

"What? Since when?" Jake asked.

"Why is this the first we're hearing about this?" Abby was stunned at this revelation from her only child.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't approve, and I knew you'd try and stop me. But I have my plane ticket and I'm going." Clarke was feeling strong and determined, for the first time in her life.

"Approve? Approve? Clarke, Clarke, listen to me, listen, this is a phase, a lot of girls go through this when they're in college," Jake tried to explain. "They're away from home, they want to experiment, they want to feel progressive. You'll get out to New York and realize what a big mistake you made."

Abby was starting to get her back up a little bit. "You can't go to New York, you've been accepted into medical school here. You can't go off to New York and throw all that away."

"I can go to school out there."

"By the time you put in your applications, you will have lost a semester or two," Jake said.