Comfort zone

Sila thanks me as I put the plate of food in front of her. As she eats, I ask "Feeling better?"

"Better, yeah..." Her tone tells me she's not completely over it.

"At least you know your limits now."

"True."

"Gotta step out of your comfort zone every once in a while."

"I guess."

"I mean moving out of home was exactly that, wasn't it?"

She nods in agreement. "Yeah."

"And so far it's been fun, right?"

"Mostly."

"Well, except for the hangover."

"Pretty much." Sila giggles for a second.

I decide to let Sila finish the rest of her meal in peace. She must be starving, and her head's probably still a bit woozy after last night's cocktail of punk rock, blood nose, and booze. After her last bite, she says "Thanks Roxy."

"No problem. Like I said, I've got your back if you've got mine."

A slight smile forms on Sila's face. "Can I say something?"

I cock my head and lean in as I wonder what 'something' could mean. Are we about to cross THAT bridge? "Go ahead."

"I just wanna say thank you for everything. The last few days have been the most exciting of my life and... I don't think that would've happened without you."

"Aww, I'm glad you feel that way."

"Yeah."

I sit in silence as I try and come up with what to say next. My head is screaming to say it. To tell her I know her little secret, but for the life of me, but the silence fuels my own doubts. Is she ready to cross that bridge, or is she just caught up in the excitement of the last few days? Am I making too large of a leap for my own desires? I hope that she'd give me that answer, but instead, her eyes look away from me as if her anxiety has reared its ugly head once again. Meekly, she finally says "I think I might read for a bit if you don't mind?"

"Go for it dude."

Sila retreats for the room as I curse under my breath, wondering what I should do with my new roommate.