Nothing to lose

Chapter 35: Mia

When I opened my eyes, I found an empty space beside me.

"Ella?" I mumbled in my sleepy haze, but I heard nothing.

I sat up, rubbed the crust out of my eyes, and headed for Ella's bathroom. It was so cool that she had a bathroom attached. I didn't take a good look around her room yet, but I already considered it to be bedroom goals.

Back at home, Dad and I had a modest house. Even with Dad's money from starting his practice, he's never thought about moving to a bigger place.

Not that it was necessary. It's been just the two of us with occasional visitors. It had four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a two-car garage with a huge backyard. We remodeled about two or three years ago and had some pretty cool upgrades in the bathrooms and kitchen. That place was our only home; we wouldn't trade it for anything.

I freshened up in the bathroom, using Ella's face wash and her Listerine. I'll ask her or Mom for a toothbrush in a minute. I wanted to make sure I at least said good morning with fresh breath.

I looked at my hello kitty PJs and debated whether I should slip back into my joggers and hoodie. I shrugged, voting against it.

When I heard a knock, I peeped out of the bathroom door.

"Good morning, sunshine." Mom was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey, Mom." I smiled back.

"Are you all done?" she asked with a raised brow.

I nodded. "Hmm."

"So Mia, don't freak out, but I want to show you something."

I stepped out, nodding slowly. "Sure." I drew out all of the syllables.

"Okay, follow me," Mom said excitedly.

We walked down the hallway.

"How many bedrooms does this house have?" I asked.

"Only six. And then we have five bathrooms," she said over her shoulder. "Speaking of bedrooms." She opened one of the doors. "This one is yours."

My jaw went slack.

I felt Mom take hold of my wrist and pull me in. My eyes bounced off the walls, which were painted the softest shade of blue, and the room was furnished with a queen-sized bed and two nightstands with a dresser. The bed wasn't made or anything. The mattress and the pillows still had plastic on them.

I felt Mom's hand grab my shoulders and twist my body to the right.

"OHMYGOSH!" I said, seeing that there's an attached bathroom.

"I remember when you were a kid watching HGTV with me, you used to make such a huge deal about having a bedroom with your own bathroom." She giggled. "I used to think it was funny because you were an only child, so technically, you had a bathroom to yourself." She did have a point, but it was not the same.

"That was different. I wanted to get up and walk six feet to the bathroom, not down the hall." I squealed, running into the bathroom and turning the lights on. "I can't believe this," I mumbled. On the counter, there was toothpaste and a new mechanical toothbrush.

Mom laughed. "I know you live close by, but if you ever want to sleep over for the holidays or the weekend. Or you wanna hang out with Ella or me, and you can stay here anytime."

I ran to hug her, making sure I gave her a good squeeze. "Thank you," I told her.

"Anytime," she whispered.

"Also, Greyson can stay over too. As long as you guys are responsible and adhere to all the important house rules." She pointed the finger at me as her eyebrows drew together. It gave her the illusion of being a stern mom. But she was always the softie. More so than dad. Then again, when you have kids who don't rebel, there's no need to have this constant stern parent mentality. I eased away from her. "So, no funny stuff with Grey under my roof."