Fell In Love With My Roomy Chapter 140

We head inside, and I take a deep breath, walking into our house. My family's house always makes me feel happy, like I'm somewhere safe and full of love. Mom's burning some cinnamon candle, and I can hear noise from the kitchen.

"What's that smell?" Kent asks, and I laugh.

"Mom loves scented candles, it's probably some clearance one that she picked up from somewhere," I explain, unsure where the nearly offensive candle was. Kent hated strong scents; he claimed they gave him headaches. "Sorry."

"It's okay, just... don't go burning anything like that at our place," he says, and I chuckle, reaching for his hand.

"Hello?" I call, bringing Kent to the kitchen, and mom gasps, hopping up from the stove and running over.

"Juls," she whispers, squeezing the life out of me. "I'm so glad you could come."

"Me too, I missed you," I whisper, and she pulls back, rubbing my arms in that aggressive mom-like way.

"And I missed you, oh! You're so beautiful and smart-"

"Okay, mom," I mumble, and she chuckles.

"And Kent!" She beams, moving onto him to give him a quick hug. I'm surprised how he just goes with it; he's not much of a hugger. "It's good to see you, honey."

"You too, Miss Macey," he smiles, and she pulls back, clapping her hands. "Lunch is almost done," she assures us.

"Is that Juls I hear?" Dad calls from down the hall, and he emerges a second later, giving me a smile. "There's my genius kid!" He laughs, and I give him a quick hug.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey yourself," he says, and I smile, stepping back. "Kent, nice to see you again," he says, extending his hand, and Kent nods, shaking it easily.

"You too, sir."

"Game's on, you want to watch?" He asks, and Kent grins, looking excited. Then pauses, glancing back at me, almost like he's looking for permission.

"Go," I sigh, rolling my eyes, and he chuckles, pressing a kiss to my cheek and heading off to the living room.

I was worried dad wouldn't be okay with me and Kent dating. After our fall-out, I knew he'd watched me mope around.

"Well, you certainly seem happy," Mom smiles, stirring whatever's in her pot on the stove. "He loves you, you can tell."

"I know," I smile. "I'm glad Dad's chill about this."

"Your father married me," she snorts. "He knows just as well as me about loving someone so much it hurts and putting your whole heart into it. While you're his little girl, your happiness is important to him."

"You had a chat with him, didn't you?" I ask, cutting right to the chase and crossing my arms.

"I reminded him, that's all," she insists. "We're pushy women, you and I, Juls. I know how to get your father to see things my way."

"Well, thank you for being scary," I sigh, rolling my eyes.

"It's nice to see the two of you happy, together again, and... you seem better. Closer," she remarks, and I shrug.

"We are," I nod, knowing it was true. "Things feel... perfect. Well, you know, life isn't perfect and all, but... being with him is."

She smiles, leaving the food to simmer, and she crosses her arms, looking very happy with what I'd said.

"Honey, I'm proud of you," she whispers, walking forwards and taking my hands. "Not just for school, even though that's amazing. I'm... proud of you for taking this huge step, for moving out and making things work with your new place. I know I doubted you when you did it, and... I'm so sorry. You've done nothing but impress me this year, and I can't believe the woman you're becoming."

"Aw, Mom," I mumble, and she sighs.

"And... I know it's been hard for you to meet people, I know you're perfect all on your own... but the fact that you have a new person to share your life with and build a world with, that makes me happy. Not because I want someone to take care of you, lord knows you don't need that, but because I want you to have someone you can lean on," she admits, and I smile weakly.

In that moment, I realized why I hadn't dated anyone through the last few years until I met Kent. It was because he wanted me to be myself. We push each other. In the beginning, it was almost abrasive because we pushed each other's buttons so much. Now... it was this feeling that everything would be alright. That he loved me and didn't want me to be someone else.

I think dating around this age often involves sacrifices and changes. You might lose your friends, debate life-changing decisions, and worry about how to make yourself more attractive to others. I was so happy with Kent because he didn't want me to change at all.

"I'm pretty lucky," I say, and mom smiles with a nod, returning to the stove. "He said he'd stay with me, wherever I end up for grad school... he's coming with me." I smile, pressing my lips together, and mom smiles over her shoulder.

"That's amazing," she insists. "Have you heard back from Brown about that yet?"

"Not yet," I shrug. "I want to stay here, though I just... I really hope I get in."

"Keep your head up," she insists, and I nod. "You're not a quitter. Has anyone heard back about your master's program?" I shake my head, and she nods. "Exactly, I'm sure you'll find out soon. I'll still love you no matter what."

Mom finishes preparing our lunch, continuing to ask me about myself and suggesting we should have a girls' day sometime soon. I hear Kent and my dad having a good time in the living room, and I smile. I love this feeling, having the people I love so close and sharing the same space.

A while later, we all sit down for lunch, and Jesse makes his first appearance from his room when mom brings the food to the table.

"Nice of you to join us," Mom says with a chuckle as he takes the chair beside me.

Jesse's shy, and we're extremely similar in the way that we overthink and overanalyze everything. He doesn't do well with strangers or awkward social interactions.

"Sorry, I was online," he shrugs, grabbing a chicken breast from the plate on the table.

'Online' means Jesse's playing video games with his friends. I don't know why he always says it like he's controlling the Mars Rover.

"Sorry Kent, our son's very busy," Mom says, rolling her eyes.

"No sweat, I get it," Kent laughs. "I used to do the same thing when I was in high school."

"I don't know if that should be a relief or not," I mumble, and he nudges my knee with his. "What game is it anyway?"

"Fortnite," Jesse answers with a shrug, and I roll my eyes.

"Ew, Jess. At least play something a little less cringy."

"Everyone plays it, you're just not cool," he tells me with an easy shrug, and I roll my eyes with a smirk.

"Alright, you two, cut it out. It's a special day, and you haven't seen each other in months," Mom insists, and I laugh a bit to myself, digging into lunch.

I missed these moments with them, a family meal with everyone talking and sharing stories. They ask me a bit more about my research and my work, which I happily share.

After lunch, Mom clears the table, and Dad loads the dishwasher. I offer to help, but she won't have it, insisting that it's my birthday and that we're her guests.

After she gets everyone a cup of coffee and lays out some cookies she baked, she gets a devious look and steps away, disappearing down the hall.

She returns with a nice card, and I smile, feeling touched. Mom never forgets special occasions.

"Happy birthday, honey," she whispers, passing it over, and I smile, opening it.

I look at the kitten card she's selected for me, which reads 'I hope you have a PAW-sitively PUR-fect birthday!'. I burst into laughter, knowing that was just the sort of thing she'd always pick out.

I open it, and a slip of paper falls out. At first, I assume it's a continuation of the passage inside, but when I see 'xo' at the bottom, I furrow my eyebrows. Then I figure it's about twenty or so dollars instead. When I pick it up, I realize it's a check, but it's not for twenty dollars.

"Thirteen hundred dollars?" I whisper, feeling it fall out of my hands. It felt illegal for me to hold that much money. "What? Why would you give me that?" I ask quickly.

"We figured we'd... pay your rent," Mom whispers, and my eyes widen, focusing back on her. "For the next two months."

"Why? I mean, it's so nice of you, but it's... it's expensive," I whisper, and they both smile.



"Because we were pretty hard on you when you moved out about your money," Dad sighs. "We know you've got everything under control but... we thought it might give you more time to be young while you finish your last term. More time to focus on your thesis and fewer hours at the pool."

I feel Kent's hand on my thigh under the table, and that snaps my mind back in place. I tune back in, feeling my eyes widen.

"We want to take care of that so you can enjoy what's left of university," Mom admits. "Make up for all those years you spent here while everyone else was out doing fun stuff."

"Wow," I whisper, and I run a hand through my hair. "Are you sure?"

"We're sure," Mom insists. "We want you to have it."

This was overwhelming, extremely generous too. My parents were not the type to go passing out checks or give a ton of money.

I stand up from my seat and walk around the table, giving each of them a hug, and Dad squeezes the life out of me.

"Thank you," I mumble, and he nods.

"Happy birthday, honey," he whispers, and I move on to Mom.

"That's... so nice of you, Mom. I really appreciate it," I tell her, wrapping my arms around her, and she laughs.

"I love you," she whispers, running her fingers through my hair. "Do something nice with your money and time, do something with that sweet boyfriend of yours," she says even softer, and I smile, feeling my stomach boil.

This money could do a lot for how much free time I had. I could give more of it to Kent, I could use it... could use it for something for him and me.

I think my spring break suggestion just got some serious backing.