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“Then what is it? He definitely did something. I know you well enough to know that this desire to run back home has something to do with him. What happened?”
I huff. “Fine, something did happen. He said some very hurtful things to me. Then we broke up. He didn’t break up with me. We broke up.”
“What did he say?”
“That’s not important. Whatisimportant is that I think I found what I came here looking for.”
“Yeah? And what is that?”
I run a hand through my hair. “Perspective… When I left California, I thought I was leaving my old self behind. I am now realizing that I am the same person here that I was there. The whole Jerry thing aside, I was actually pretty happy in California.”
“And aren’t you happy here?”
“Yeah, I guess I am, but my family is there. All my friends are there. I don’t have anything here, it just makes sense to go back.”
“Ouch,” Sophie says. Her hand goes to her chest.
I chuckle. “You know that’s not what I meant. I’ve actually loved being this close to you these past few months, but when I think about putting roots down, I’m not sure Boston is where I want to do that. I don’t have a support system here.”
“That may be true now, but you could build a support system here. It’s possible. You just need to give it some time.”
“I don’t know…”
“You know what?” Sophie says, throwing her hands up. “I’m going to stop beating around the bush. You need to get over yourself. You’re making this decision because of my dad. Whatever he said to you is what is chasing you out of town. You have to stop doing that. You have to stop running away from your problems. That’s exactly what brought you here in the first place.”
“Your dad may be part of it, but he isn’t the entire reason.”
“Bullshit. You want to leave to avoid him. I don’t know what went down between the both of you, but you could try to work it out. Even if whatever the issue is can’t be resolved, you don’t have to leave.”
“I don’t even know why we’re talking about this so seriously. It’s not like I’ve made any decisions. I just only started thinking about it this afternoon. It’s not that serious.”
“I hope not, because I will never forgive you if you leave Boston like this.”
“Wow… Emotional blackmail. Didn’t think you would stoop so low.”
“Well, desperate times…” She shrugs.
Sophie gets up and goes to the bar. When she returns, she does so with two glasses of white wine, and we spend the rest of the evening talking about less intense topics.
After we are done with drinks, I head straight back to my apartment. When I walk into my home, I wonder whether I’ve always known in the back of my mind that I wasn’t going to settle here. Is that why I never bought any major pieces of furniture or decorated?
I walk into my bedroom and collapse onto my bed. I feel so incredibly lonely. I sit up, fish my phone out of my purse and call my mother.
The phone only rings once before her voice reaches me through the receiver. “Hi honey. Your dad is also here. Wait, let me put the phone on speaker.”
There’s a pause then my dad’s voice comes through, “Hey Em, how are you?”
“Hi… I’m fine. I feeling a little lonely and wanted to hear your voices. I’ve just had a couple of tough days.”
“Awww… Is it anything you want to talk about?” Mom asks.
I think about it then say, “No. I don’t wanna get into it. However, I do want to run something by the both of you.”
“Of course,” Dad says. “Go for it.”
“I’m thinking about moving back home,” I blurt out.
There’s silence over the line and I can hear my parents exchange a look.
