“Della,” she said brightly through the phone. “I’m so glad I got a hold of you. How’s your summer been going?” I could hear loud music in the background, and I could only guess she was at a party of some sort. Mia definitely had that whole partier look down.
“Pretty good,” I replied vaguely.
“Awesome. Oh, by the way, so sorry to hear about you and that hot piece of ass breaking up. Lillian filled me in when I got back last week.” The fakeness in her voice was so blatant, but I really didn’t feel like talking about Justin with her at all.
“Yeah, well, it is what it is. I’m actually busy right now, was there a reason you called?” I hated to sound so harsh, but I didn’t know how much longer I could stay on the phone with her if she decided to stay on that particular topic.
“Actually, there was. Lillian told me that you were looking for a new place to live with those roommates of yours.” Since when did Mia and my mother talk so much? We had been mending our relationship a bit lately and talked at least once a week. She seemed pretty proud of the direction that my life was taking and had taken up an interest as to what was going on with me. It felt great to have my mom actually involved in my life, but I was still a little cautious that she would once again turn into a stuck up bitch that wanted nothing to do with me.
“Yeah, we’re actually going to look at places right now.” I turned right as Zoey pointed out directions to me, pulling into an office building complex.
“Really? That’s so perfect. I was going to see if you would be willing to take on another roommate. I know it’s a little short notice since you’re starting to look at places, but I’m sure it won’t be too big of a deal to add an extra bedroom to your search.”
“And who would that be?” I asked, puzzled by who Mia knew in North Carolina. She hadn’t mentioned anyone when she was in town and she hung around Justin and me constantly.
“Me, silly. I need a change of scenery, and your mom suggested that I talk to you. Obviously it worked for you. I’m not sure if I’m going to enroll there to finish my degree or not, I might just find a job and work for a little while. Besides, I think we could use a little sister bonding and what better way to do that then living with each other?”
I could think of about a thousand different ways other than living with each other, but I didn’t want to squash her excitement. I looked between Zoey and Callie who were giving me questioning looks, tapping at the time to show that we needed to get into the leasing agents office.
“Um, I’m not really sure how my roommates would feel about that. I would have to clear it with them first. ”
“Oh, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem,” she interrupted. “Plus, daddy all ready offered to pay the entire rent for the school year as long as it was good with you. So what do you think?”
The thought of our rent being paid for stopped me from telling her no. I hadn’t found a new job since I quit Shorty’s, and although I had some money saved up, I knew it wouldn’t last long once I started paying my share in rent and utilities. I had planned on looking for a job soon and I still would, but Mia’s offer sounded pretty good.
I blew out a breath looking between Zoey and Callie. I wasn’t sure how they would feel about it and they could always say no, but for now I was going to go with my gut instinct. “Ok then. As long as Callie and Zoey think its ok, I think we can make that work. I’ll call you later this week to fill you in on the details once we find a place.”
“Awesome,” she squealed into my ear before I hung up.
Chapter 25
By the end of the day, we had officially found a place with four bedrooms that would work perfectly. It was close to campus, actually one block over from the house that Nash lived in during the school year.
Zoey and Callie had been hesitant about having Mia as a roommate since they knew we weren’t exactly close, but after I told them about our rent being paid for the year, they seemed to warm up to the idea.
We grabbed take-out on our way to my grandparent’s house and watched a few movies while we ate. “So if it’s all right with you guys, Nash wanted to take me somewhere later tonight.”
“Oh, like a date or what?” Zoey asked, her fork paused in mid-air.
“I don’t know, I guess so. What do you guys think? Should I go?”
Zoey and Callie both looked at each other and then turned back to me. “Um, yeah! We can fend for ourselves just fine, Della. And we have the rest of the week. Don’t worry about ditching us for a bit. So, I take it the zoo trip went good?” For some reason, Callie was always pushing me towards Nash and she seemed pretty happy about the new developments.