“I don’t know, Mom,” Devon answered uncertainly.

She had already told her mom that she was going to stay in St. Louis for the summer.  This was already the second or third attempt to get her to come home.  Devon hadn’t been able to tell her mom that she had left.  Her mom wouldn’t understand her reasoning.

“Oh, come on, Dixie…Devon,” her mother quickly corrected.  “I’m only asking for a bit of time.  You’ve been away for so long, and I haven’t heard from you as much lately.”

“I know.  I’ve just been so busy.”

“I know you are, honey, and I’m so proud of you.  I just feel like we haven’t talked as much this year.  Are you sure everything is okay?” her mother pleaded.

“Yeah, Mama.  Everything is fine,” Devon lied, taking in a deep breath.

She didn’t want her mother to pry.  She was hitting too close to home, and Devon couldn’t talk about it.

“Alright,” her mom said.  “Well, think about July.  We’re going to New York, and I know how much you love the big city.  I’ll take you to see shows on Broadway, and we can go shopping, have cocktails at fancy parties—”

“That all sounds great, Mom,” Devon told her wistfully.  “I just don’t think I’ll be able to make it.”

“You can bring Reid with you if you want, dear,” her mother said, offering a plea bargain.

“Thanks, but I don’t think he’ll be interested.  He’s taking the MCAT and applying to med school.  You know how important that is to him.”

“I know, but…” she began, clearly biting her tongue.

“But what?” Devon couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“I think you spend too much time with that boy, that’s all,” her mom responded quietly.

“I’ll be fine.  Don’t worry so much.”

Her mom sighed.  “Well, think about New York.  I miss you, and I know it would mean a lot to your father to have you there.”

“Alright, I’ll think about it, but I’m not making any promises.  I have to go though.  Love you,” Devon said.

“Love you, too.”

Devon quickly ended the call.  She buried her head in her hands and took a few steadying breaths, trying to remind herself over and over that she was doing the right thing.  Lying to her mom was the hardest thing in the world to do, but she couldn’t be in St. Louis.

She wished that she could really talk to her mom.  She wasn’t wrong when she had said that Devon had stopped talking to her.  If only things were the way they had been when she was younger, when she had told her mother everything.  But things had changed so much since then.

Stuffing her phone into the pocket of her pants, she left the balcony and walked back into the living room.

“Sorry about that.  My mom called,” Devon told Hadley.

Hadley was stretched out across the couch, watching Millionaire Matchmaker on the mounted television.  She had a proclivity for bad reality shows and Lifetime movies.  Devon had never understood her obsession, but Hadley had often referred to it as her only flaw.

“Shhh!  Patti is about to bitch out the girls.  It’s the best part.”  Hadley’s eyes were glued to the television.

Devon laughed and shook her head.  At least some things hadn’t changed.  Taking a seat next to her friend, Devon watched the woman on TV work her magic.  She was pretty sure they had already seen this episode.

Devon easily fell back into the simplicity of living with Hadley.  They had always been easy living mates.  She couldn’t even remember if they had argued over anything more than whose turn it was to empty the dishwasher.  Devon had taken a chance her freshman year and allowed Housing to choose her roommate.  She had won the jackpot.  Even though Hadley had been a sophomore, they had gotten along perfectly.

The year before, Hadley had had a terrible experience with a roommate that she knew from home.  After that, she had decided to live in the dorms again and chance fate with a stranger.  They had stayed in the same room the next year as well.  It had helped that the dorm had been renovated the summer before to an apartment-style layout with small bedrooms, a communal living room, and a kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Last year, they had opted to move into an off-campus apartment.  When they had made the decision, Devon hadn’t thought that Hadley would be graduating early.  After Hadley had moved out, Devon had spent all her time with Reid.  Even with him there though, the apartment had felt empty without Hadley.

“Where are your cups?” Devon asked, standing during a commercial break.

Hadley pulled out her phone and immediately started texting.  “Second cabinet on the left from the refrigerator.”

“Thanks.”

Devon walked into the kitchen and filled a glass full of ice water.  As she took a sip, her phone beeped three consecutive times in her pocket.  She pulled out her phone and flipped through the texts.  They were all from Reid, wishing her a safe trip and telling her how much he would miss her while she was gone.

Her heart skipped a beat as she read the last one.

Come home to me quickly, Dev.  I’m too busy to fly to Paris, but I already miss you.  I miss you so much.

She swallowed back the emotions rushing through her as she cradled the glass of water to her chest.  She had told him that her family had planned a trip to Paris for the summer.  The lies were piling on top of her, and not for the first or last time, she regretted her decision.

At that moment, the front door opened, causing Devon to jump out of her self-pity.

“Hey, baby!” a guy called, walking through the door.

Peering through the kitchen door, Devon watched as he lifted Hadley right off the couch and into his arms.  Hadley giggled like mad as she threw her arms around his neck while her legs wrapped around his waist.  He pulled back long enough to deeply and thoroughly kiss her on the mouth.  Feeling intrusive, Devon stepped back into the kitchen to give them some privacy.

“Put me down.  Put me down.  You have to meet Devon!” Hadley cried.

Devon heard a few thuds that sounded like Hadley was playfully hitting Garrett.

“Is she here already?” he asked.

“Yeah.  Hey, Dev.  Come meet Garrett!” Hadley called.

Devon took a deep breath, preparing herself for the utter cuteness that always came from the honeymoon stage of a new relationship.  She waved awkwardly as she entered the living room.  “Hey.”

“Garrett, baby, this is my bestie, Devon Sawyer,” Hadley said.  “Dev, this is my boyfriend, Garrett Jones.”

“Hey, Devon.  So nice to finally meet you,” Garrett said, striding forward with his hand extended.

Devon politely placed her hand in his and shook.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” he said.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, too.”  Which was true.  Hadley hadn’t shut up about him at lunch, not that Devon was complaining.  She would rather talk about anything but herself.

“Don’t believe a word she says.  She thinks I’m a nice guy,” he said with a wink in Hadley’s direction.

“You are a nice guy!” Hadley said, rolling her eyes and walking over to them.

“Kiss of death, babe.  Kiss of death,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in close.

Yes, that looks like the kiss of death, Devon thought.

“So, how long are you here for?” Garrett asked, directing his attention back to Devon.

“Uh…probably just a week,” she said, finding his wide brown eyes unnerving.

“Well, glad to have you.  I brought home a couple bottles of wine from the cellar,” he said, gesturing to the side table where he had deposited a bag.

“I didn’t know you were going to see your dad,” Hadley said, her voice strained.

“He asked to see me after work.  Told me to tell you hello.  I think he wants us over for dinner sometime this week.”

“Oh, well that sounds nice,” Hadley responded flatly.

Devon would be sure to ask her about that later.  She hadn’t mentioned anything about Garrett’s parents, and she knew Hadley too well.  There was definitely something off in her voice.