Las Vegas
1081 Words
“Ariana,” her mother said, still staring at her phone, “why is Westbridge University emailing me?”
Ariana stopped halfway across the living room, the TV murmuring in the background. A detergent commercial, bright colors flashing across the screen, nobody was watching.
Her mother turned the phone around slowly.
Accepted Student Portal.
Ariana’s stomach tightened.
“I was going to tell you.”Her mother lowered the phone but didn’t answer immediately. She walked past Ariana toward the kitchen instead, setting the phone down harder than necessary on the counter before opening the fridge.
The cold light spilled across the floor.“You applied to schools in Vegas now?” she asked finally. Ariana dropped her phone on one of the chairs and replied One.”Her mother's jaw tightened slightly then gave a nod like that somehow made it worse.
The fridge door shut.
“You couldn’t find schools any farther away? Ariana looked down briefly. “It’s a good program.”A faint scoff escaped Maya as she reached for a glass from the cabinet the water rushed from the faucet.
Ariana stayed near the dining table, fingers tightening around the edge of the table. “I was going to tell you.”
“No?” Her mother took a sip without looking at her. “Interesting.”
“I just didn’t tell you yet.”
“That’s usually what hiding means.”
Ariana exhaled quietly. Her mother finally looked at her then not angry exactly. Worse. Tired.“When were you planning to mention it?”
“I don’t know.”
Another nod.
Like she expected that answer.
Her mother moved around the kitchen mechanically after that, wiping down already clean counters, adjusting things that didn’t need adjusting. Ariana recognized the behavior immediately.
The quieter her mother got, the worse it usually was.“You know,” her mother said after a moment, “for somebody who claims this isn’t about him, you picked a very specific city.”
Ariana felt stiff.“It’s not about Dad.” she finally said. Her mother looked at her then looked away just as quickly. “Don’t call him that right now.”
Silence filled the kitchen.
Ariana folded her arms tightly. “You’re acting like I committed a crime.”“No,” her mother said calmly. “You applied to college.”
The calmness felt sharp.“But you did it without telling me. That’s the part I’m looking at.”Ariana opened her mouth then stopped because there wasn’t a good defense for that. Her mother picked up the phone again, staring at the screen for another second before locking it.
“Las Vegas,” she murmured almost to herself.
Ariana looked toward the hallway. “Can we not do this tonight?”Her mother laughed softly under her breath.“When exactly were you planning to do it?” she asked. “After graduation? After prom? Or were you just going to disappear one day and text me from the airport?”
“That’s dramatic.”
“Is it?”
Ariana grabbed her bag again. “I got accepted. That’s all.”
“That’s not all.”
The words came quickly this time.
Her mother set the phone down again and crossed her arms. “You think I don’t know why that city bothers me?”
Ariana stayed quiet.
“You were supposed to stay away from that part of my life.”The sentence landed heavily between them. Ariana looked down at the floor and her mother noticed that something in her expression changed instantly.
“Oh my God.”
Ariana looked up.
“You talked to him.”
“What?”
“You talked to him.” Her mother stepped back slightly now, staring at her differently. “That’s why you chose that school.”
“I didn’t—”
“How long?”
Ariana’s silence answered for her.
Her mother laughed once, completely stunned. “Wow.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Then explain it.”
Ariana rubbed a hand against her forehead. “It wasn’t serious.”
“Not serious?” Her mother stared at her. “Ariana, that man disappeared before you were born.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.” Her mother’s voice sharpened for the first time that night. “You know the cleaned-up version because I made sure you could still grow up normal.”
Ariana looked away again.“He contacted me first?” she asked quietly.
Maya said nothing.
“He found me online a few months ago.”The room fell silent.
Her mother blinked slowly like she physically needed time to process what she’d heard.
“A few months.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
Her mother laughed again, but this time it sounded close to breaking. “Not a big deal.”
“He just wanted to talk.”
“And you believed that?”
Ariana’s chest tightened. “You don’t even know what he said.”
“I know men like him.”The sentence came out instantly Ariana frowned. “What does that mean?”Her mother grabbed the dish towel from the counter, folding it too sharply between her hands. “It means your father never did anything without a reason.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know exactly that.”
Silence again.
Heavy.
Then her mother looked at her properly for the first time since the argument started.
Not angry now.
Scared.
That scared Ariana more than anything else.
“Did he ask to see you?”
Ariana hesitated.
Her mother closed her eyes briefly. “Oh my God.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Ariana.”
“He just said if I ever visited Vegas—” Her mother turned away immediately, pressing a hand against the counter. Ariana suddenly felt younger standing there.
“He already ruined one life,” her mother said quietly. “I’m not letting him pull you into whatever mess he’s in too.”
“He’s still my father.”
Her mother looked back so fast the words almost physically hit the room. That man had a wife while I was pregnant with you and never mentioned it.”
Ariana froze.
The kitchen went completely silent.
Her mother looked away immediately afterward like she regretted saying it.
But it was too late now.
Ariana swallowed hard. “What?”
- Writer
