Chapter 7: Chapter 7

"So?" Mom asks as we pull into our subdivision. "How's Carlo?"

"He's good." I sigh, running my hands over my knees.

I still hadn't told her what I'd really done in that apartment this afternoon. I left this morning with the intention to meet a friend and I came back with a lease for a spare room in my bag.

It's not that my parents couldn't handle that I was growing up, they respected that I was older. But living at home has really made that grown-up divide hard, they'd still ask me where I was going when I went out, what time I'd be back. Every time I brought up moving out, mom and dad would launch into a speech about "how expensive" it was and that I should wait to be done with my undergrad.

I had a lot of money saved though, I'd originally planned on waiting until I had finished and then get a really nice apartment or maybe think about buying a car. But I'm really glad I never did, because now I had a lot more money to put towards moving out.

"He lives in that house on the corner there?" She asks and I nod.

"Yeah, with some friends."

"What's his rent like?" She asks and I shrug.

“Somewhere in the ballpark of six-forty.” I told her that was the piece I'd picked out in my quick skim of the lease. It was six-hundred-and-forty-three dollars a month, I also remembered Carlo telling me about that.

"That's so high." She sighs, turning onto our street. "It was much cheaper when I was a student.'

"That's because you went to school in the eighties, tuition was only like two-thousand a year." I remind her, looking out the window. "Plus they're right close to campus and everything, and they live with all of their friends."

"That's fun and all, but you don't understand what a treat it is to come out of your undergrad debt-free.' She insists, pulling into our driveway.

She always said that debt-free was her argument for me staying home. I secretly knew this was just mom not wanting me to go, she liked having me home. Sometimes I swore I was her only friend.

"But....mom, you say this is worth it and I just don't think it is." I admit. "I never spend time with people my own age, I feel left out, I just want to be like the other students."

"I know you do honey, but I think it's good to stay here." She insists. "Plus, you're almost done."

"Mom.' I repeated and she furrowed her eyebrows, parking the car. "I'm serious, I want to move out."

"I know you do, but you know how all of this is." She sighs, shaking her head. "I don't know if you're ready, you know how you get when you're stressed out.'

When I was younger I used to get pretty intense panic attacks and mom and dad would have to help me calm down. I haven't had one in years though and I was sick of having it used against me.

"Mom, I'm twenty-one years old." I remind her. "I want to be an adult, I'm living at home in my childhood bedroom without a car and I want to be independent.'

"I know you do honey, and if something good comes along maybe we can take a look at it." She sighs and I press my lips together.

"What if something good already came along?"

"What do you mean?" She asks, furrowing her eyebrows and turns off the car.

"You know how Carlo's a year ahead of me in school?" I ask, opening my bag and digging through it.

"Yes." She answers, sounding weary.

"He's moving to New Jersey?' I answer, pulling out the lease from my bag. "Their apartment is short a roommate and he asked if I wanted it.' I shrug, turning on the overhead light and unfolding the lease. "It's not bad in rent and-"

"You didn't ask me about this?" She asks, sounding hurt and I blink at her.

"I'm twenty-one mom, I'm telling you now." I remind her and she sighs, shaking her head.

"I don't know, it's so expensive out there right now. It's not just your rent it's your cable and your food-"

"Mom, I've been saving money since high school!' I butt-in. "I have the finances to make this work and I already have a job."

"I don't think you've thought about this.' She sighs. "We'll talk about it but I don't know if now is the right time.'

"Well when is it?" I ask and she runs a hand through her hair.

"I don't know, but I think you're rushing into this." She sighs, shaking her head. "Who are these roommates, have you even met them?"

"I've met two of them in the first year and I went over to take a look at it and met the third today.' I assure her and she shakes her head.

"Are these male roommates?" She asks and I hold my breath as she pulls the lease out of my hand and flips through the pages.

"Kyle....someone and " She pauses, trying to decipher the signatures on it and I roll my eyes. "Juls Cook, you answer me right now. Are they boys?"

"Yes!" I exclaim, taking the papers back. "What the hell is the problem with that? I met them and they were all really nice, they're good guys!"

"This is an awful idea, I don't like it." She answers and I shrug.

"Well, that's not my problem.' I shrug. "If I read the lease over and like it then that's what I'm doing." I tell her, opening the door to the car and walking around it to the house.

Mom was always treating me like a little kid and had a hard time actually letting me make grown-up decisions. Her and dad were cautious parents, but in strange ways. No limit on TV, soda, what friends houses I could sleepover at or even underage drinking, but they wouldn't let me have social media until I turned 16, they would go through my phone whenever they felt like it growing up it was torture.

They wanted to know everything about everything and I'm sure they still think they do. Mom and dad aren't ready for me to grow up properly and as much as I love them and being home, I need to get out in the world.

I open my front door to see dad in the kitchen, cooking something on the stove. "Hey Juls! How was your day?"

"It was okay.' I shrug, kicking off my shoes and walking up to the kitchen.

"Juls!" Mom calls, coming in the door after me and I walk to the island in the kitchen, lease in hand. It was never good when either of my parents used my full name like that.

"What's that?" Dad asks, nodding his head to the piece of paper in my hands.

"A lease." I shrug and dad blinks at me.

"A lease for what?"

"She wants to move in with three men, Henry!" Mom insists, fuming all the way to the kitchen. "She's worked out this plan without consulting us about any of it-"