The Xavier's Secret

Chapter Six: Are Friends Truly Forever?

Mia woke up to knocking at her door. She rubbed her eyes and groaned as she grabbed her phone and glanced at the time. It was seven in the morning. She wanted to go back to sleep. Her first class was not until ten. She was exhausted since Gavin dropped her off at her dorm around four. She had not slept long. Her head pounded, and her eyes hurt. 

Mia slipped out of her bed and picked up her pajama pants from the floor. 

Lashonda said through the door, "Mia, are you there?"  

Why was Lashonda here? Mia opened her messages and saw that she had twelve missed calls and fifteen text messages. With everything that was going on, she forgot she was supposed to meet her friends for breakfast this morning. Mia sat on the edge of her bed and groaned. She stood up and walked to the door after pulling on her bottoms. 

She opened the door and noticed Dustin and Grace standing behind Lashonda in the hall.

"I'm sorry. I went to bed last night and forgot to set my alarm."  

"Can we come in?" Lashonda asked. 

"Sure," Mia responded, opening the door wider for them to enter. 

She shut the door and then turned on the light. Grace and Dustin sat on her roommate's bed while Lashonda sat in her desk chair. Mia lumbered toward her bed with a hesitant gait and then perched on the edge of the mattress. Mia wondered what they were going to say. Did they find out about her family's situation? Was she intoxicated when she told them as she had with Gavin? She prayed to God that she did not because they would not understand. Mia had to say something to see what they knew about her situation, so she should probably just get it over with.

"I'm sorry I forgot to message you, Dustin, when I made it back. I went straight to sleep, and it completely slipped my mind."

"Mia," Dustin began, "I want to know how you made it home. I told Grace and Lashonda about last night. I understand you are going through something. When it comes to your safety, we need to know if you are in trouble."  

"I am not mad that you stood me up for breakfast," Lashonda blurted. "Since Dustin told me you had a family emergency, I expected that you would not make it."  

"But Mia, if you need money or if someone is threatening your life, I can ask my parents for help," Grace declared.

Mia smiled at her friends and assured them with a straight face. "Everything is okay. My parents were fighting. My mom is depressed right now. Once I saw that she was fine, I borrowed money from her for a taxi. I stopped at a diner on my way back and ate breakfast. I ended up walking the rest of the way home because I was already on campus."  

Her conscience nagged at her for lying, but Mia could not tell her friends about the deal with the Rossi family or Revon. They would be in danger if she did. Dustin did not look like he believed her explanation. She wanted to tell them about her father, but she could not because they would ask her questions. She opened her mouth to tell them another lie when Grace slapped Dustin on his back.

"Mia is fine, Dustin. Do not worry about it. You were freaking out for nothing."

"I dropped her off at her parents once. She had to walk back to campus in the dark. I did not know, of course. But I felt guilty about just leaving her," Lashonda told Grace.

"I'm sorry. I do not mean to be selfish. I have been worried about my parents, so I have not been myself lately. Everything is back to normal now."

"We love you, Mia. And we want you to be happy," Lashonda responded. "We are here if you need us."