Roommates | Kate & Ana

Chapter 10 - Georgia

My flight to Georgia is exhausting. I try my best to immerse myself in one of the three books I brought, but none can help me block out the loud passengers in the seats behind me, or my even louder thoughts. It's been a long time since my last visit with her and I hate to admit, I'm a little nervous. So much has changed with me since I last saw her. I feel almost like a totally different person than the daughter she remembers. I graduated college and moved to Seattle. Kate now has internship lined up at The Seattle times starting soon. I'm going to be working at SIP as an assistant. I've lost my virginity and entered my first serious relationship. And the biggest change of all, my first serious relationship is with Kate. I have no idea how to even begin to explain that to her and I'm terrified of how she'll react. I don't think she'd approve of me being with a girl, but I don't know. She might surprise me. She often does.

The second my taxi pulls up outside my moms house the door swings open and  she comes running out to greet me. I smile as I grab my suitcase and hop out of the taxi. Her enthusiasm is contagious. "Ana!" She runs up to me, arms open. "Mom!" I wrap my arms around her, burying my head in her shoulder. I've missed her so much. I don't know why I didn't come visit her sooner. "It's been so long, darling. We've missed you so much." Tears spring into my eyes at the sound of her voice and I blink them away. "I've missed you too, mom." She releases me from our embrace and wraps her arm around me. "Come on inside. Bob's been waiting to see you too." She leads me inside and into the living room where her husband Bob is waiting. "Hey, Ana!" He hops up from his spot on the couch and pulls me in for an awkward hug. "Hey, Bob." We let each other go and we both take a few steps back, awkwardly. Bob's great but we haven't really ever been very close. "Honey, how are you? How's Kate?" My mother asks, oblivious to Bob and I's awkwardness. "I'm good. Uh....Kate's doing great she's got an internship at Seattle Times." I tell her, happy to talk about Kate's accomplishments. "That's amazing. I'll have to congratulate her when I get the chance. She's such a smart girl. I can see why you two get along so well." She gushes. If only she knew how well we really get along..... "Kate? Who's that?" Bob asks, interrupting our conversation. "Bob! I told you about her a million times." My mom smacks his arm and I giggle. "Kate's um..... my roommate." I mumble, blushing. I guess she is technically still my roommate, right? "Oh, right. The blonde one." He recalls. "Yep...." I stare down at the floor, feeling guilty for not telling them the truth about Kate. It's not the right time. I can't tell her until I know exactly what Kate and I'd relationship is. At least I try to tell myself that's why I can't tell her. I know deep down I'm only avoiding telling her because I'm afraid. Afraid of what she'll think of me and afraid of what it'll mean if I say it out loud. "Well, Bob, Ana, are you two ready for dinner?" My mom asks, interrupting my thoughts. "I'm always ready." Bob jokes, stepping past me and into the kitchen, making me giggle. "Uh...Sure." I say. "Come on into the kitchen then. I'll make us some margaritas too." I follow her into the kitchen, my mood significantly better at the mention of margaritas.

When I've finished eating my dinner and my mom and Bob are happily chatting amongst themselves I feel like it's finally the perfect time to excuse myself. "Hey, guys, I'm gonna go to my room and get ready for bed. I didn't really get much sleep last night." Both their heads turn towards me. "Are you sure you don't want to stay up a little while longer? We were gonna watch a movie together." My mom asks, sounding disappointed. "I'm actually really tired, so..." I stand up from my seat and push it in, hoping she'll understand. "Oh, okay. Go get some rest, honey." She reaches out and pats my hand. "We'll talk to you in the morning. We can go out and spend the day together tomorrow. Whatever you want." She smiles at me and I immediately smile back. "Sounds great, mama. Goodnight." I kiss her on the cheek and hug her and bob, then I head into the guest bedroom for the night.

I drop down onto the bed with a sigh and slowly begin to undress. Listening to them banter over dinner about stupid little things made me feel much more at ease. And of course, the margaritas helped as well. I change into some more comfortable sleep clothes and grab my phone off the nightstand. I flip it open and see I have two new messages from Kate. Both of them from a few minutes ago.

Kate: I'm in your room, laying in your bed. Hope you don't mind. I'll be in here for the rest of the night.....thinking of you.

Kate: Oh and did I mention I'm naked? ;)

I roll my eyes at her use of the winky face as I turn over on my side, trying to think of a response. My mom's laughter echoes through the walls as she laughs at something Bob said and I can't help but smile. I'm glad she's happy. Maybe Bob will be her last husband after all. Thinking about my mom brings on a new round of guilt for my secretive relationship with Kate and my smile quickly fades. There's no way I'm sexting Kate with my mom in the other room. I toss my phone back onto the bed, completely ignoring Kate's messages and close my eyes. Before I know it I'm crying and I don't even know why. I feel horrible for ignoring Kate and lying to my mom about our relationship, and for even being in a relationship I feel like I need to hide in the first place. My phone vibrates next to me and I know it's Kate again, but I don't check to see what she said. I just cry until the tears run out and I eventually fall asleep.

When I wake up the first thing on my mind is Kate. I grab my phone and flip it open, just now reading her text from last night.

Kate: I know you're busy with your mom but I hope you're doing okay? Text me back when you can.

A wave of guilt hits me upon reading it and I immediately feel horrible for ignoring her. She's probably worried about me. It's not her fault I'm insecure in our relationship. She didn't deserve that. I take my phone with me into the bathroom while I change clothes and get ready for the morning, trying to formulate an apology. As I step out of the bathroom to go back to my room my mom stops me. "Oh, Ana, I didn't know you were up. Kate called earlier. She was worried about you. She said you didn't reply to any of her texts." My mom says, sounding concerned. Kate called her? That was so out of line she should've just called me! "Oh, my phone must've been off." I try to brush it off and act casual. I don't want my mom to think something's wrong. "I told her that. She's such a lovely girl. So pleasant." She smiles, totally oblivious to my discomfort. "Yeah, she is."

Authors Note; This took me way longer than necessary to write....What do you think of this chapter?