Fell In Love With My Roomy Chapter 73

He drove for a while, looking like he had the literal weight of the world on his shoulders. Eventually, we reached a downtown parking garage. He went inside and drove all the way to the top, letting us sit on the top level outside. He turned off the car and cleared his throat, looking anxious.

"What was all that?" I asked. "Why on earth does she think I'm your girlfriend?"

"I'll get to that, just... this story starts earlier than that," he explained quietly, and I sighed, leaning back in the seat. "My parents are in New York society. We were all children brought up for the sake of pictures, images... parties. My parents always put me on a date to important events growing up. From like... sixteen and on, I always had to take a girl to anything important."

"Okay, and how on earth does that concern me?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows, and he cleared his throat.

"When I moved away, I did whatever I could to avoid ever having to do that again. I hated it, it made me really miserable. Mom's been hounding me about finding a girl to date. At first, she wanted her to be like me... then she just wanted me to be with somebody. Every time she'd call, she'd talk about someone's daughter she knew, that she could set me up... eventually I got sick of it. This time when she called about Thanksgiving, I knew she wasn't going to give me a choice; she was going to send me with a date."

"So... you told her you were with me?" I asked, feeling confused.

"I just told her I had a girlfriend, but my plan was to do a 'she's really busy' routine and never have her come. I just wanted my parents off my back," he admitted quietly.

This was pretty messed up; imagine trying to have your son date someone for the sake of an image. To the point where he'd lie about it to avoid being put with someone he didn't like.

"I didn't say it was you; I wouldn't do that; it's creepy," he insisted, and I sighed.

"So why did she think that?" I asked, and he sighed.

"I never told her Carlo moved out and you moved in; it wasn't out of secrecy, it just never came up. When she stopped by today, she wanted to know about my girlfriend, have her come over so mom could meet her... I thought you'd be at the library after your class. You usually are," he admitted, resting back in his seat. "She used the washroom, saw your stuff on the counters and in the shower... I lied and said it was my imaginary girlfriend's. Then I told her that my girlfriend was busy and couldn't stop by... then you came home."

"And she thought I was..." I trailed off a bit, pressing my lips together. "Your parents were so dead set on you being with someone that you lied?"

"Trust me, it's easier than the reality of spending all night with some girl I can't stand," he mumbled. "I didn't mean to tie you up in all of this."

"Well... it's over right? She's seen me, thinks I'm her?" I asked, and he cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. He's not saying something, trying hard to hold it back. "Kent? That's it, right?"

"......I was trying to make it so she'd never meet you. But she did, now she knows you're real... can I ask you for a big favor?"

"A bigger favor than this one?" I asked incredulously, rolling my eyes, and he sighed.

"Come with me to Thanksgiving, help me get my family off my back," he said, and I laughed. But he didn't laugh; he looked dead serious, and I shook my head. He's lost it.

"You have to be kidding me," I snapped.

"I'm not. It's only on Saturday. I'll bring you in on Friday night, and then on Sunday, we can—"

"Kent, I have a life!" I exclaimed. "I can't drop everything for you and some incredible lie hole you've dug yourself into. I have a family, and they're having dinner on Sunday night, and I'm not going to miss it."

"Well... how about I bring you back on Sunday? Then we could go up on Friday, and—"

"I have my interview with Northwestern on Friday morning!" I interrupted, and his lips parted, eyes widening.

"You got it? That position you applied for?"

"Yeah, I got an email about it this afternoon, and I..." I paused, realizing my tone had changed, and I huffed. "Don't change the subject. This is not a small ask, Kent. I don't owe you anything, and you're asking me to complicate my whole life just so you don't have to stand up to your parents?"

"I know you don't get it," he sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "I hate being home, Juls, it's really hard for me. I was trying to get out of it, and it blew up in my face. Please."

"I... I don't see how it's worth it," I said quietly. "This is just too much for me. Why would I do this for you?"

He seemed to think about that for a few moments, but he did look disappointed. I knew he probably thought I'd leap at the chance to fake-date him. I probably would if it didn't fall on such an important time for me. His face suddenly changed, like he'd thought of something.

"You said you always wanted to see New York, right?" he asked quickly, and I blinked. "I'll take you, I'll take you to all of the best places, anywhere you want to go, anything you can think of, I'll do it."

"But... my interview, I still need to—"

"We'll leave Thursday morning, we can tour the city for a day, and then the next morning, you can do your interview at the hotel with your laptop. Then we'll do another day of sightseeing. Saturday, we'll head out to the Hamptons for dinner with my parents... Sunday morning, I'll bring you back to Providence, and you can go to your Thanksgiving dinner."