The Fourth Roommate

Surprise Visitor

I had fallen asleep next to my mom. The bed smelt of Zac and washing detergent and when I woke up I felt a pang on my gut for him. At least he was having fun, I told myself. I rolled over and glanced at the alarm clock. It seven am, far too early to be up. I groaned slightly. Of course I'd be awake till 2:30 in the morning and wake at seven. Damn my sleeping habits.

My mom was peacefully sleeping, her book still clasped in her hands, resting on her chest and following the up and down of her breathing. I crawled out of bed and snuck out if the room, desperate to not wake my mom up. She deserved a good nights rest, and being up at this ungodly hour would definitely dampen her mood.

I went to the bakers and I finished the last of my salary on croissants and other nice pastries. It was my moms last day and I really wanted to make it a nice one for her. I arrived home and I laid the table, or rather the kitchen bar, and put a flower in a vase. At eight thirty, Ace stumbled out of his room.

"Good morning, sunshine," I laughed at his thunderously grumpy expression.

He let out a moaning grumble under his breath and shook his hair. He had the most adorable bed head anybody had ever seen. It stuck up in several directions, thick and messy and I couldn't resist the urge to run my fingers through it. It was so soft as well, and so beautiful to touch.

"Serena," Ace said, sounding amused, "I'm not a dog."

I laughed and kissed him softly. Of course just when things we were getting fun for me, and my lips were firmly planted on my boyfriend, my mom walked in. She coughed loudly, altering us of her prescense and I jumped away from Ace, blushing scarlet.

"Mom, hey!" I said.

She rolled her eyes at me and held up her hand as if to say: Save it for someone who believes it. Ace excused himself quickly and said he was going to wake up Cam. I showed mom the pastries I'd got and she thanked me graciously. I chose the best selection for her plate, I really wanted to show my mom that I had truly learnt to take care of myself.

Cam and Ace joined us and we ate in a comfortable silence, broken only by discussions of plans what we were going to do today. Mom really wanted to see China Town and we agreed tht we would go there and also have a nice lunch. This led to a predicament for me. I was broke, I had spent my money on food (I was cursed with a very strong love of food and I would basically blow my budget every month on it if I didn't also have to worry about rent and water and electricity and oh my god, I needed to sort out my addiction).

I pulled Cam to the side abruptly and I did something I wasn't proud of.

"Could I borrow some money? I promise I'll pay you back but I'm broke right now."

"Sure, how much?" Cam shrugged and I was surprised I didn't have to convince him.

"Um just for like lunch and the subway fees?"

Cam pulled out his wallet and pressed fifty dollars into my hand as if it was no more than a spare button. I gaped at the amount and looked back at him, shocked at him casually he was dealing out his cash.

"Serena, I have three million on my bank account right now and my modeling career is going nowhere but up. I'm rich and I want to treat you, so stop feeling bad and just spend it," Cam told me seriously, and closed my hand around the money.

***

It was a really fun morning. Ace and I hung back whilst Cam did most of the talking, showing my mom the best places. It was cringe-worthy because my mom totally had a mini-crush on Cam. I couldn't really blame her, he was charming and jaw-droppingly good looking but still, mom, calm yourself. There was no need to laugh at his every cheesy joke or lightly squeeze his bicep every time he helped her with something.