Can You Hear the Ocean?

Chapter 15

It was another beautiful summer morning for brunch, Leila thought. She sat outside once more with her high school friends, listening to the gulls cry above her and the waves wash onto the shore. The warm air felt comfortable on her skin; it was not yet the heat of the day.

Over a month had passed since their last get together, and Leila was embarrassed to think that in that time, she hadn't had the courage to tell Elena and Ashlynn that Mia had moved in with her. Judging by the way they had reacted when Leila had merely been hanging out with Mia, she wasn't so sure she was looking forward to telling them the bigger news.

Leila sipped slowly on her mimosa as Ashlynn finished giving personal life updates about work and her relationship with her boyfriend. Leila kept her gaze fixated on the ocean, trying to distract herself. Why were her fingers trembling just in anticipation of admitting Mia was her new roommate?

"How have you been doing, Leila?" Elena asked. Both Elena and Ashlynn quickly turned their gaze toward her. "It's been a while since we heard from you."

"Sorry. I've been really busy," Leila admitted. Adjusting to a new roommate had not left her a lot of time to catch up with her friends.

"Is there a good reason?" Ashlynn asked teasingly.

"Um, probably not for the reason you're expecting, but I have one small update," Leila said. She cleared her throat. "Um, you remember my friend Mia?"

"Right. Your 'friend,'" Ashlynn said, giving a slight wink.

Leila ignored her. "Well, we're roommates now."

"What?!" Elena exclaimed. "That's not small at all! Why didn't you tell us?! We've barely heard about this girl from you, and now suddenly you're living with her?"

"That UHALL second date rumor really is true, huh," Ashlynn remarked.

"We're not dating!" Leila exclaimed. Ashlynn and Elena smirked at her, seeming unconvinced. "We aren't! I would have told you if we were. Honest," Leila continued. She huffed and turned her gaze away from them, trying to alleviate her annoyance at their response.

"Okay, fine. You're not dating," Elena said. "Message received loud and clear. Then why is she living with you?"

"Yeah. I thought you made enough to live on your own," Ashlynn added.

"Her roommate kicked her out unexpectedly. Oh, it was nothing she did," Leila cautioned, seeing her friends' concerned stares. "Her roommate got engaged and wanted her boyfriend to move in. Mia didn't have a lot of time to find somewhere else to live, and...and I don't know. She seemed upset, so I offered my extra room."

"Sounds like you care about her," Ashlynn teased.

Leila found her anger climbing. "Will you two stop?!" she exclaimed. They both went quiet, and Leila let out a sigh. "Sorry. Um, I thought maybe she'd be living with her boyfriend, but he wasn't eager to move out of his parents' house. At least that's what she told me. We've been roommates a few weeks now. Things are going well, I think."

"How's Fuji taking it?" Elena asked.

"He's...still warming up to her," Leila admitted. "And he doesn't like Mia's boyfriend at all. He hides every time Julian is over."

"Wait. Hold up. The boyfriend is over all the time?" Ashlynn asked.

Feels like it, Leila thought, but she'd never been one to easily gravitate toward Julian. For some reason, she didn't feel like sharing her negative bias toward him with her friends.

"Not all the time. I mean, frequently, but she always tells me in advance when he's coming, and he doesn't spend the night much," Leila explained. She wished she hadn't given the answer so nonchalantly, not when every time she thought about Julian, she felt a twinge of annoyance. She wished she'd never brought him up to begin with. She savored the days when she didn't have to see him or hear about him in conversation.