"I'll trade you five hundred bucks plus Oriental and Connecticut for those two railroads."
I waited patiently with an amused smirk while my dad balked at my mom's offer.
"Are you kidding me, Minerva? That's the worst trade offer I've heard yet."
My mom batted her lashes at my dad. "Come on, Hank. You know how much I love having all four railroads. Please?"
"Oh fine," my dad replied with a sigh before accepting the cash and playing cards from my mom and handing over the two railroads she so desperately wanted. "I know I'm going to regret this later."
My mom had a huge smile on her face as she arranged her four railroad card in front of her. Tonight was family night at the Fitzgerald house. It was just the three of us circled around the Monopoly board. Our kitchen still carried the aroma of pizza and popcorn as we played. It was a tradition we did once a month and one I was very proud of. When we had nights like this, it helped me forget about the stress of college and everything that came with it. At least, it usually did.
But as I sat there and watched the romantic exchange between my parents, I couldn't help but compare it to Nathan and myself. Everyone with eyes knew my parents were very much in love. They were college sweethearts and got married right after graduation. My mom was lucky and got to spend her four years of college with the man she loved. A selfish part of me wanted to do the same. It also made me want to step up and ask my mom if she had been in my place, would she do what she was asking me to do? Would she give up the love of her life just to go to a school that her parents wanted her to go to? It wasn't like there weren't any other good schools. Yeah, I understood that they were worried about paying for the tuition, but there were grants and loans available.
A big part of me regretted even submitting that application to USF. Even though it was before Nathan and I got together, I still didn't want to go to that school even then. Nathan wasn't the only person in my life that I cared about more than anything. Leaving Harper and Lanie also felt like a knife in the heart. I didn't know anyone in Florida. Not a single soul.
My life was here. My family and my friends were here. My boyfriend that I never wanted to spend a day apart from was here. Everything was here.
Even though I was dreading that letter coming in the mail, there was a part of me that was also hoping it would get here already. I was praying every night that that letter would come in the mail saying that I was not accepted. And that hope was the one reason I haven't told my mom yet that I was never leaving Nathan. If the letter came in the mail and said I was denied, I would have no reason to have that argument with her. If it came back and said that I was accepted, then I was going to tell her the truth.
"It's your turn, Karma."
The sound of my dad's voice drew my thoughts back to reality. I reached for the dice he was holding out and started shaking them around in my hand.
"Sorry, dad. I was deep in thought for a second there." Dropping the dice on the board, I smiled. "That's ten and that means I'll be landing on Park Place. Now I have both of the blues and I'm going to start putting some property on it."
My mom chuckled as my dad groaned and said, "Great. Now we're going to keep landing on her spaces and we're going to go bankrupt. Might as well call the game right now."
"Aw, don't be a spoil sport, Dad. Who knows, maybe you'll finally win this game."
"Not likely," he muttered before handing me the two hotels I purchased.
The game went on for another forty-five minutes after that. And just like always, I beat the pants off my parents. Once we put the game away and cleaned up the kitchen, the next part of our family night tradition was to watch a movie. We took turns with who got to pick, and tonight it was my turn. I went with Liar Liar. Given my depressed mood the past few weeks, I thought a comedy would do me some good.
And once the movie was over, I excused myself to go shower and get ready for bed. Standing in front of my mirror in my flannel pajamas, I ran my brush through my hair to get all the knots and tangles out when there was a knock at my door.
"Come in," I said, putting the brush down on the dresser. My mom came in with a tense expression on her face and shut the door behind her. "Is something wrong?"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm worried about you, Karma. You made me a promise." Oh, God. "I know you and Nate love each other. It's clear as day. Are you honestly telling me you will keep your promise to break up with him if you get into USF?"
"Yes," I answered immediately. "A promise is a promise. I told you if I got into USF that I would go. And I will."
"I'm finding it really hard to believe you, Karma."
Mirroring my mom, I crossed my own arms and shrugged one shoulder. "Guess we'll have to wait and see when that letter comes."
My mom dropped her arms and turned towards my door. She reached for it with her left hand but paused before opening it. She looked over her shoulder at me and said, "I hope you keep your promise, Karma. I'm not going to let you throw away your future."
As soon as my mom left my room and shut my door behind her, I started pacing. I was angry, hurt, and scared all at the same time. All I wanted was to live my life the way I wanted. But as much as my parents stressed me out with being the daughter they dreamed up, I still loved them and wanted to make them happy.
But not at the expense of losing what I had with Nathan. We might be young, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that what we felt for each other was real. It wasn't some puppy love that was going to fizzle out in a year or two. It was forever.
Walking over to my bed, I sat down and tried to take a few deep breaths. This was really starting to be too much for me to deal with. Normally I would call Mike to vent or ask for advice, but I already knew what he was going to say so that was out of the question. My two best friends were also a no-go considering they had no idea what was going on either.
And then there was Nathan...The one person I felt like I could tell anything to, and the one person who comforted me and knew me, was absolutely not an option. God, how I wished he was here right now. He used to sneak into my room almost every night to sleep beside me, but ever since his mom started doing random checks of his room at night, it's been nearly impossible. That was one reason we've been spending more and more time at the treehouse.
Suddenly my phone chimed to let me know I had a new text message.
Nathan: hey baby. Just wanted to tell you I was thinking about you. I miss holding you while you sleep. I love you.
Unable to hold them back any longer, the tears fell when I read that text. Even when he wasn't here with me he always knew what to say to make me feel better. Only this time it caused nothing but pain.
I miss you, I replied back to him.
I debated with myself as to whether or not I should text him what I really wanted. But I knew what he was going to say and the last thing I wanted was for him to get in trouble. But love won out and I ended up typing what I wanted more than anything at this very moment.
Any way you can come to me tonight? I need you. I just need you to hold me tonight. Its cold in my bed without you.
His reply was instantaneous. And even though I knew what it said, I opened it anyway.
Your wish, my command, gorgeous. I'll be there soon.
Getting up from my bed, I walked over to my window and opened it for him. Then I locked my door and laid down while I waited for him to get here.