Oh My God, They Were Roommates

29 | Torn

As it turned out, Leo had family just across the bridge in Oakland. Sundays were reserved for family affairs for Leo, and given that they had a study session the morning of, Leo turned to Ray and asked if he wanted to join.

"I used to play the drums, so there's a set in the garage," Leo explained.

"I never learned the drums," he confessed, but he knew how to play the guitar and even owned an electric guitar and amp, so they packed it into the back of Leo's mom's car and headed to Oakland for the day.

"Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys today, Mrs. Umi and—um, Miss Umi," Ray said as joined Leo in the car. He glanced over at Leo for approval, and Leo gave him a thumbs up. Two moms made it difficult to tell them apart, and Ray's upbringing prevented him from using a strictly first-name basis with his friends' parents.

"You're always welcome," Miss Umi said from the passenger's seat. She beamed at Ray before her wife put the car into drive and, still halted on the side of the road, pointed a finger at them through the rear view mirror and said, "This car isn't movin' 'till both of you buckle up."

Leo groaned and said, "Yeesh, Mama..."

Ray looped the buckle across his chest and clicked it in, saying, "Safety first."

The SUV traveled over the Bay Bridge with Alcatraz off in the distance among the waves and the tourist boats traveling to and from the Golden Gate. It was a relatively clear day, which brought color to the sky for once—a crystal blue that shined with the sun on the surface of the Bay. Ray looked to Leo, who beamed back at him as the two of them watched the Oakland shore sweep beneath them.

It was the perfect day for Ray to escape everything—the apartment... Xavier... Sora...

Hold on, Ray thought, a hand to his head. When did Sora get in there? Nope, not thinking about it. Definitely not thinking about it.

"What're you thinking about?" Leo said, head tipped to the side. "Ya look kinda constipated there."

Ray snorted, scoffed, and said, "I am not thinking."

"For some reason I thought you were gonna keep going. Not thinking... about...?"

"Who needs to think when it's Sunday and I finished all my homework yesterday?" Ray said with a nervous laugh, but it was true. After getting back from the walk with Xavier, Ray holed himself up in his room, finished his homework, and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching Netflix.

Which was precisely why Sora woke up that morning and simply thought that Ray was still in his room when, in fact, Ray was long gone and already in Oakland plugging in his amp to an outlet in Leo's parents' garage.

Sora rubbed at his bedhead and checked the time on the stove. It was already noon and, after a total of seven hours of sleep, he was ready to collapse again. He couldn't deny, however, that his mind kept reeling back to buying the flower bouquet. Clearly, he crossed a line, and now he couldn't help but concern himself with it. The guilt was eating him alive.

So Sora went to Ray's bedroom door and, after hesitating, and then getting down on the ground to try and peek under the door for activity, decided to knock.

No answer.

Well, since I knocked once I might as well knock again, he thought, and so he did. He knocked several more times before determining that Ray was either furious with him, or not in the apartment.

He reached for the handle.

His eyes went back to the refrigerator, where the roommate agreement used to be. It was still in the drawer Ray left it in when Xavier came through. Sora sighed and went to pin it back up, thinking to himself about how, at the very least, he needed to maintain the rules if Ray was going to go breaking them.