Worth the Chase

chapter five

RYAN

I grab my iced coffee from the barista before making my way to the booth in the back, where Bailey and Mia are already waiting for me. With midterms around the corner, we're utilizing any time we can get to study, so it's no surprise that I find Mia's textbooks scattered around the table, Bailey with her neatly printed and coloured notes and laptop out in front of her.

Sliding into the seat next to Mia, I ask, "Have you asked your mom if you can stay here after graduation?" This has been a massive topic of conversation for the past couple of weeks between us, seeing as our landlord requires an answer soon on whether we will renew our lease for another year.

While Bailey and I know we'll be in the city since the only schools we applied to are in the area, Mia's living situation is still up in the air. Though it's not her fault, she still has a tough decision to make.

Mia pouts, finishing the last of her croissant, "No, she thinks I'm coming back after the school year, and I haven't bothered to correct her. She keeps talking about how much she misses me and how great it would be to have me back home."

"You shouldn't push this off. You can talk about all the potential job options you have here," Bailey chimes in, looking up from her laptop. Her round glasses are perched low on the bridge of her nose. She reaches for her caramel macchiato, downing half of it in one gulp.

Mia rolls her eyes, closing the textbook she was reading before slumping back into the booth, "Yeah, but what job offers? Then there's also the financial advantage of staying at home. She also doesn't like the idea of me staying so far away, especially with no family around."

I wouldn't say Mia's mother is overprotective. However, being an only child, her mom is hesitant about her staying away for too long.

Mia plans to find a job right after graduation and somehow stay here with the connections she's already made, but her family has other ideas. They are hoping that with the money she'll save by staying home, she could spend it on commuting to Seattle—the largest city closest to her hometown.

"I could talk to her for you. I'm not opposed to begging." I don't know what I would do without Mia. She's the mother hen of the group, the sound mind we need when sometimes we forget to be the mature 21-year-olds we should be.

I reach into my bag, pulling out my laptop. As if med school and our living situation for next year aren't stressful enough, one of my professors assigned a last-minute paper due this Friday, and another announced that we would be working on a project for the rest of the semester in partners, which I'm not looking forward to.

She nudges me playfully, "Thank you, but I have to find the confidence and time to talk to her. I just hate how I keep putting it off like somehow, she's going to miraculously offer me the chance to stay without asking for it. And I hate lying to her whenever she asks if I booked my flight back home even though I still have six months of school left," she lets out a heavy sigh which I feel in my bones. She rubs her temples, soothing the impending headache she gets whenever she talks about her future after graduation.

"We'll figure it out together because we aren't letting you leave us just yet," Bailey says, pushing her glasses further up her nose, which keeps sliding down the long slender bridge of her nose. I bring my leg up to tuck under the other one.

Mia flushes, "Thanks, guys. I don't know what I do without you guys."

"Probably marry some sucker who doesn't know how to handle your feisty yet sexy ass," I smile.

"Shut up, Ryan," She tucks her frizzy hair behind her ear, the loose strands escaping her French braid. She looks up behind me with a sudden look of confusion on her face, "Um, Ryan, why is Carsen Blake staring at you?"