“Nah, I got shit to do tomorrow.” I sat down to tie my shoes. “So, what’s up with Mia? How’d she end up over here?”
He shrugged, pausing the game before setting the controller down. “We ran into each other a few nights ago at the Campus Pub. I thought she was hot the first time you introduced us, but I could tell she was into you and didn’t give two shits about me.”
I snorted loudly, wondering how I had been so dumb to think that Mia was okay with us just being friends. I should’ve known that she would lie about Della. It was my own fault, really, for believing anything that ever came out of her mouth.
“Anyway, I ran into her and she was all over my shit. I got her number, and we’ve hung out a couple of times since. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Why the fuck would I care, dude? I never had a thing with Mia. You’re more than welcome to try to handle that crazy shit.”
Nate laughed as I pulled open his front door. “Sweet. I love crazy chicks. They’re always the fun ones.” He winked right before I shut the door behind myself, and I shook my head as I walked to my car. Nate really had no clue what he was getting himself into when it came to Mia. Maybe they would balance each other out or something. Or they would just get into a whole lot of trouble together.
“MORNING, GRAMS. THOSE smell amazing.” I kissed her on the cheek, and walked over to the cupboard to start pulling out plates for the waffles she was making. It was a good thing I didn’t live here, because with all of her home cooking I would probably be the size of a blimp by now.
“Morning, dear. I’m so glad you stayed last night. Did you sleep well?”
“Yup.” I poured myself a glass of orange juice and then turned to take the syrup, butter, and milk out of the fridge. After dinner last night we had brought out some cards, and ended up playing pretty late, so I stayed the night. It was nice to feel like you were ten again sometimes, and have your family take care of you. I think Grams loved having me around so she could do just that.
“Thanks for keeping my old room set up for me. It’s nice to have somewhere to sleep in case I ever want to leave the craziness of my own place for a while.”
Grandpa closed his paper, setting in down on the table. “Well, you should get rid of that Mia girl. You wouldn’t have any craziness to deal with then.”
My dad walked into the kitchen just at the moment, kissing me on the forehead before taking a seat at the table. “Mia causing problems again?”
“No, actually we’re getting along right now. Even though Mom and Gerald are getting a divorce,” I tacked on at the end, waiting for everyone’s reaction. I don’t think anyone even blinked an eyelash.
“So, your mom’s divorcing again?” Grandpa asked gruffly. “Well, I guess that’s not a big surprise. That woman is the devil.”
“Oh hush, Harold. Lillian is still Della’s mother. You two have been getting along better, haven’t you?” Grams asked, setting a steaming plate of waffles down in the center of the table. Dad reached for the top one, but Grams quickly slapped his hand away, stabbing a fork into it and placing it on my plate. See? I was the center of Grams’s world whenever I was around.
“Yeah, I guess so. You know she isn’t exactly the warmest person, but we talk sometimes. As long as Mia doesn’t start causing problems again, we decided that she could stay at the house.”
“Sounds like you have it all figured out, Della.” My dad smiled at me before passing me the syrup and I dug into my waffles, drowning out their conversation. If only I had everything figured out. I felt like drama was drawn to my life like a magnet. Somehow, I kept getting myself into situations that I had no clue how to handle.
Yesterday, not even five minutes after I hung up with Marley, Chris called. That conversation was definitely awkward. It felt like I was talking to a complete stranger, and in a way I guess we were strangers, even though we shared so many memories. Going almost a year without having any contact with someone would do that, I guess.
Against my better judgment, I agreed to meet up with him for a late lunch on Sunday. Like Marley told me, he was a couple hours away, doing business for his dad’s company. He never mentioned for how long, and it made me wonder. Hopefully, this would just be a one-time thing.
“ALL RIGHT, LADIES. We need to get this party started with a little pre-drinking action.” Mia handed each of us a shot glass where we were all crowded together in Callie’s room, getting ready for the night Mia had planned. She still hadn’t clued us in on any details yet. It made me more than just a little worried. But I think a night with all four of us together would probably do some good. Mia could feel like she belonged, and then maybe, she would actually be nice.