My roommate has a tendency to disappear without a word. Not that I'm complaining. I don't plan on scheduling any romantic one-on-one time with anyone anytime soon. And speaking of romance... there is none. I haven't spoken to Seth since I discovered that he's a free man. Mainly because I'm really really pissed at him for hiding that fact from me. I mean, I'm not some crazy psycho stalker who plans on snatching him away just because I know he's single now. I'd snatch him away regardless.

Okay, so maybe he should be afraid of me. I can get a little bit intense. I know that. Anyone who knows me knows that. But it seems he figured me out too soon. I just desperately want him to know that I'm the cool kind of crazy and not the sniff-your-hair-while-you-sleep kind of crazy. I've promised myself I'll save the hair-sniffing for the wedding bed.

Rather than waste my weekend obsessed with people who aren't obsessing over me, I invite my favorite people to come down for a visit. People who share the same level of crazy with me. It's gonna be absolutely insane! I can't wait.

It's bright and early, and I'm ready. Too ready. I've had enough energy drinks to power a small village and I'm pretty sure that if I got up enough speed, I'd be able to run on the ceiling. Thankfully, Emma was out of here super early this morning, so I don't have to go through the dreadful task of waking her up just to make her leave.

I hear their arrival before they even knock on the door. The noise barreling down the hall is enough to awaken the dead. While everyone else is doing their best to suppress their fury at being woken up at eight o'clock on a Saturday morning, I'm swelling with pride.

Swinging the door open, I stand in my most prized pajamas—the ones with my family's faces printed all over them—and smile proudly as they approach.

My mom is pulling two massive suitcases behind her, both so large that they keep scraping against the walls, and has a sweater sitting on the top of her head like a windblown turban. My fourteen-year-old sister, Hope, has her own set of suitcases, plus a small dog kennel balanced on the top of one of them as she walks backward down the hall, probably to keep a close eye on the kennel so it doesn't fall off.

Neither of them sees me, and I can hear the two of them bickering as my mom tries to use her shoulder to push a stubborn chunk of hair away from her eyes. The moment my mom sees me, she makes a hasty beeline for my door and practically throws herself on me as she breathes out a weary sigh.

"Ice," she mumbles, exhaustion pulling her toward Emma's vacant bed.

Hope doesn't even bother with a hug as she's far too occupied with the creature in the crate.

"Beep beep," she urges, practically pushing me out of the way so she can pull her luggage into my room. "Cleo is dying."

"Huh?"

"Cleo," she repeats looking at me stupidly as she points to a wobbly, naked creature huddled in the back of the little cage. "Cleopatra."

I peer down into the opening for a better view. "Why the heck would you name it that?"

"Because she's beautiful," she replies, offended.

"On the inside?"

Hope huffs, unlatching the door and dragging the little dog from its corner. She's shaking, her stiff tail wrapped between her legs as she sniffs the air. I reach a finger toward her but she dodges it and continues her obnoxious sniffing.

"She's stupid."

"Hey," Hope cries, covering the dog's ears and shielding her from my very presence. "Why would you say that?"

"Because," I tell her. "I had peanut butter for breakfast, literally scooped globs of it out with this very finger, and Clueless Cleo didn't even bother giving it a lick."

"Yeah," Hope nods. "Because she's actually brilliant and would never take snacks from a stranger... You'd probably end up poisoning her."

"Rude," I mutter. "I'd never poison an animal on purpose."

"Ice!"

The sound of my mom groaning from Emma's bed has me turning to find her sprawled out, her legs dangling off the edges and her head buried in my roommate's pillow.

"I need ice," she whimpers, her voice muffled.

"No. No, no, no," I laugh, glancing between the two drama-queens as I wave my hands like I'm trying to erase their behavior. "Mom, stop fanning yourself like a diva. And Hope, stop pretending you're that girl who carries her dog around in her purse like an accessory."

Hope and my mom glance at each other and then burst out laughing.

"You two couldn't even last five minutes," I shake my head in disappointment.

I can't even remember when it started, but the two of them like to pretend they're on a soap opera every time they haven't seen me in a while. They can never pull it off for long.

"How about brunch?" I offer, turning to my mom. "You can get your fill of ice and Hope and I can get our fill of waffles."

"Oh darling," she purrs, flicking her hair. "Only if the ice cubes are made of seltzer and carved from the bum of a cherubim ice sculpture."

"I'll see what I can do," I smile before turning a look of disgust at Hope and whisper loudly, "she's so needy!"

———

Once our bellies are full, we make our way back to the dorm where we spend the remainder of the day discussing life. My sister is a Freshman this year and apparently being a member of the high school crowd has provided her with a slew of new male attention. Seems her greatest challenge in life is grabbing the interest of two Sophomore boys and not knowing which one to choose. Poor thing. She's got it rough.

My mom's been bored out of her mind trying to fill her day with new activities. She's never been the type to sit around and wait for opportunity. She's a go-getter and lately, there hasn't been much getting for her.

"I think I'm going to try spelunking."

The statement is random, but not surprising. My mom is the most spontaneous human being to walk the earth. Frankly, I'm shocked she hasn't already checked that one off her bucket list.

"When?" I ask, shoveling an entire salsa-heaped chip into my mouth. Apparently stuffing myself at lunch wasn't enough.

"Um..."

The hesitation in her tone has Hope and me glancing at each other cautiously before pinning my mom with a look of suspicion.

"It's too late to back out, isn't it?" I ask.

"Missouri, here we come!" my mom belts, standing and snatching her purse off the end of the bed.

"Pretty sure you pronounced that wrong. It's Mi-ser-y."

No one laughs at my sister's lame attempt to change our minds, so she resorts to complaining.

"Am I even old enough for something like this?" she whines, following my mom out the door. She's always been more of a homebody, like my dad. "I'm pretty sure I am."

I push another chip into my mouth, roll the bag up and shove the salsa into our mini-fridge before following my family out the door. I'm still in my pajamas, but there's no time for changing when my mom's on a mission. If I don't hurry it up, she'll probably leave without me.

I run to the elevator at the end of the hall and nearly get squished between the closing doors as my mom and Hope watch in amusement. Exiting the building, we all speed walk toward the car, little Cleo tucked in Hope's arms and still trembling, of course.

It takes us two hours and five wrong turns before we realize we're too lost to keep going. So we pull into a gas station and ask for directions to the nearest caves. And somehow, Hope manages to convince my mom that she's the best driver out of the three of us—which is absolutely an accurate statement—and she drives us the forty minutes to our destination. Really, it's more likely that me or my mom would get ticketed before my fourteen-year-old sister would.

Hopping out from the vehicle, Hope lets her dog pee and then feeds the rat-looking creature a stick of beef jerky before we head down the nearest trail. We were smart enough to grab maps, but considering we get lost following our phone GPS's there's a good chance they won't be helpful at all.

"Here, give me the map," Hope demands, feeling like the responsible one in the group simply because she got us here without any further delays.

"Get your own map," I gripe, kicking a rock out of my way. And because I'm a mule, I refuse to give into her nasally pleas and we end up lost for three hours.

It's almost ten o'clock before we find our way back to the car—which is pretty impressive. Once the sun went down, I figured we would've been a midnight snack for something roaming these woods. And yet, we survived... barely. Pretty sure I lost my sanity out there and I know my pajamas will never be the same again. Plus there was that lion that was stalking us the entire time, and a ghost that kept slapping my butt. Creepy stuff.

Throwing ourselves into my mom's car, we all soak in the silence, our labored breathing the only sign that we're even alive.

"Well," my mom breathes several minutes later, "I mean, that definitely helped kick my boredom to the curb. That was fun, wasn't it girls?"

"We were lost the whole time!"

"We almost died!"

It's clear who the dramatic one in the family is. I have every right to be though... we really did almost die. Had we not given our maps to Hope after wandering for 2 hours, we probably would've been nothing but carcass in the morning. She should be thanking us for humbling ourselves enough to allow her to save our lives.

Okay... fine. Maybe we should be thanking her, but that ain't gonna happen. She's too young to be having her head filled with praise. I'm just protecting her from becoming more arrogant and prideful than she already is. That's a mistake my mom made with me and she tells me regularly just how much she regrets verbally expressing her adoration for me.

Hope's at the wheel again and the car is silent until I hear my mom's voice in the backseat. For a moment I think she's talking to the dog, but when I glance back I find her on the phone... my phone.

"Yes," she nods to no one, "She's very sorry."

"She?" I whisper, but my mom waves me away.

"So you're her boyfriend?"

"Mom." My tone is a warning, and my hand darts between the seats and begins snapping at her to give the phone back to me. "Who is it?" I hiss.

"What?" she gasps, bringing her hand to her mouth. "Why on earth? You realize she's never acted a day in her life... for good reason. She's terrible!"

I think I hear a soft, warm laugh on the other end, and my stomach clenches. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I clamor over the front seats and practically tackle my mom.

"Give... it... to... me!" I grunt, snatching the device from her and using my feet to shove her to the opposite side of the vehicle. She's laughing so hard she can't even fight back, and after a deep breath to steady my nerves, I put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Merc—" He's interrupted, and I take that moment to appreciate the sound of my nickname on his lips. He's talking to someone in the background, then there's more laughing. "Mercy?"

"Yes."

"Where were you?" he asks, his voice warm, relaxed, and yet very serious.

"Uh... hiking?" I tell him, deciding not to go into any details. "My mom and sister are visiting this weekend."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I scratch the top of my lip, wondering why he suddenly cares what I do in my free time. We haven't talked in almost a week. And when we do talk it's only about the movie we're working on. Which has me wondering why he decided to call now.

"Why'd you call?" I ask as politely as I can, ignoring his question.

"Just wondering where you were."

Random. I mean, I love it. I love the sound of his voice saying those words to me, but... why?

"Okay..."

"Does your family leave tomorrow?" he asks distractedly, as I hear him laugh at something someone is saying in the distance.

"Yeah."

"Let me know when they're gone," he says and then pauses for a moment. "You're the best."

I almost swallow my tongue to avoid squeaking out a 'thank you' when I realize he's not talking to me. I bite my lip as I wait for him to continue.

"I'd like to meet up with you after they leave."

"Just the two of us?" I ask, confused.

"Sure."

"Sounds good to me," I tell him, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear and turning my face toward the window so my mom can't see my smile.

After we hang up, I slowly turn my attention back to my mom and find her gawking at me, a sly grin on her lips as she cocks her head to the side, waiting for an explanation. And so, for the next hour and a half, I tell my mom and my sister every single detail about Seth and my disgusting obsession with the beautiful boy that he is.

——— 

After my mom and sister have finished packing and Hope's dog has successfully marked its territory on Emma's pillow, I escort them down the long hallway and into the elevators. Really, I'm a little excited to see them go simply because I've been dying to know why Seth wants to meet with me ever since our call last night. That's the first time he's ever called me, so I assume whatever he has to say must be important.

I shake away any cheesy, hopeful thoughts and follow my family to their car. Goodbyes are always long and drawn out in our home, and usually I'm the one making them that way, but this is the first time that I've ever been annoyed by it.

"Hey," my mom whispers, hugging me close, "call me sometimes. I know you've got certain people taking your attention away from family, but I need you too."

"I know, mom," I say, squeezing her tightly. "I love you and I'll call you so much you'll be begging to cut me out of your life."

"Never," she gasps. "But, if you get too crazy with the calls, I might cut you out of our cellphone plan."

I laugh, giving Hope a tight hug and then sending the two of them away.

Okay, Seth. I'm ready for you now.