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You just… don’t.
As I turned my back to her, the tears came bubbling up and out of me, and before I knew it, I was raking at the box of tissues on my vanity. Vivian kept silent as I wiped the snot from my nose and crawled onto my bed. Digging out my phone, I shot her a livid glance.
She didn’t seem the least bit remorseful. A smug little smile remained on her lips.
“Come on, Kathleen,” she said, cocking her head to the side as she took a step toward me. “It’sjustajoke.”
“Well, yourjokeis going to cost me money.” I tossed the tissues onto the floor and flipped onto my back, staring at my phone. “Unless you’re willing to go shopping for me.”
Vivian let out a huff and twirled back on her heel toward her side of the room. No? Yeah, thought so.
Getting mad wasn’t worth it. The silent treatment was good enough. I didn’t want to deal with her petty excuses. Drunk, dumb, whatever it was that had convinced her it was okay to ruin my wardrobe, it didn’t matter. The damage had been done.
I found my mom’s number and began to text her. After a moment of struggling to string the words together to justify needing to wire a couple hundred dollars more into my debit card, I paused.
If I told her that I needed money for new clothes, she’d ask why.
Throughout high school, I’d managed to keep the already high-strung single matriarch unaware of what was going on at school. I knew for a fact that she was already worried about my moving away, even if it was just an hour’s drive from home. Last she’d heard, I was fine. Protecting her sanity would protect mine.
Who said I couldn’t keep up the act?
Drawing in a breath, I laid my phone face down on my chest and stared up at the ceiling. I was still in my underwear. Asking my roommate to borrow some shorts was out of the question. Closing my eyes, I wracked my brain for one person, anysinglesoul, on this campus that I’d actually had some sort of an alliance with.
Tara.
Getting out of bed once again, I pulled my soiled shorts back on, reached for a sweatshirt and tied the sleeves around my waist so that the cloth concealed my behind. Avoiding Vivian’s gaze, I strode back across the room and entered the hallway, letting the door slam shut behind me.
Drawing in a breath, I walked over to Tara’s door, and knocked. A few seconds later, I heard the sound of feet shuffling across the carpet, and the door cracked open. Tara peered out at me like a rabbit afraid to leave its hole, until I smiled at her.
“It’s me,” I said. “Kat.”
“Ohmy gosh,” she laughed, opening the door for me. “Sorry, I’ve been having a weird day. Come in.”
“That makes two of us,” I said, letting out a tired laugh as she ushered me into her space. I looked around, my eyes drawn to the string of lights and Polaroid photos that formed a canopy across the ceiling. “Wow.”
“Thanks,” she replied, grinning.
My eyes fell to her bed, which was unkempt, but made up with sheets in bold colors, then moved to the flower pots at her window sill. There was only one bed, one desk, one vanity.
“Where’s your roommate?” I asked, turning to face her as she closed the door behind us.
“Don’t have one.” Tara’s grin only grew wider. “So, what’s up?”
I raised my eyebrows as I looked around again at her clean, artsy setup. I’d kill to be her roommate.
“Well, this is random, but…” I let out a breath. “Do you have any pants, or shorts I can borrow for, like… two days?”
“Of course, but …” Tara nodded, moving to her closet. She looked genuinely concerned. “Can I ask why?”
“Yeah,” I said, with a long sigh. “Sorry. It’s kind of a stupid story. My roommate and her friend poured ketchup all over my clothes to make it look like I bled through them, and—”
I paused as Tara bit her lip, hiding a smile.
“It’s kind of funny,” I said, mirroring her grin. “You can laugh.”
“No, it’s not,” she said, shaking her head. “It just … wasn’t what I was expecting.”
I shrugged. “That’s Vivian forya.”
