The air was filled with an overwhelming excitement—summer had came and went, and now fall had been labeled to set in even if the weather was still warm.
Summer had been filled with bonfire parties, beach days, and even family vacations that Karter's family had somehow looped me into.
And if I thought life had gotten good, it felt like it was about to get better.
The new college apartment should've felt far from home—it should've felt scary or intimidating.
Instead, it felt like the closest thing I could call home if it wasn't Karter's house, or even Karter herself.
Maybe it was because I was roommates with Cher, who was twenty minutes away in Boston, furniture shopping with Davis—or maybe it was due to the fact that Karter had personally helped me move in.
But really, the reality was that it was neither of those things—it was the fact that I had everyone who I had considered to be home, right by me. Cher was my roommate and Karter and Davis were only a couple of halls down.
Meanwhile, Jaden and Jalen were only a couple of doors down.
I felt safe and secure—and honestly, everything felt better than my old life in the Hamptons.
Everyone was closer, and I knew we'd be spending even more time together, whether that was at parties, between classes, or even the shared spaces in the new complex building.
Since each unit was laid out the same, Cher made it her personal mission to make sure that not only our apartment but Karter and Davis's apartment was decorated well.
We already had a majority of the things we needed, right now, Cher was simply picking up wall decor at a local art vendor.
But even without all of that, our apartment was incredible—our kitchen had dark cabinets and shiny marble counters with different machines placed strategically on it, like a Keurig, a toaster, a blender, and even a Kitchen Aid mixer. We had tall black chairs at the breakfast bar that matched the seats at our glass dining room table situated over by the large window that held the most perfect view of Harvard Square.
Our living room had a jet-black sectional couch with a blush pink rug underneath. We had glass side tables, a matching coffee table, and even a glass console table that sat underneath the large tv hanging on the wall.
Even my room felt more decorated than my room at home. There were pictures of not only me and Karter, but Cher, Davis, my mom, and even pictures of me and Karter's family too on my black desk that I sometimes used for a vanity. The shiny drawers held a variety of things, notebooks, pencils, makeup, hair products—it all depended on the day.
By my large bed outlined by a black frame, sat glass side tables, that had lamps and a small framed picture of me and Karter on the table to the right where I plugged my phone in.
Even the large tv hung adjacent to my bed had pictures on display due to a Firestick setting that Nancy had helped me with.
My closet was organized with my clothes and some of Karter's clothes for whenever she stayed the night, and I even managed to keep a couple of pairs of shoes for her here, just in case we had to run somewhere.
It was honestly not a necessary precaution since we hung out in her room more, where I seemed to have clothes and shoes too—probably more than she did at mine.
But I just seemed to like her room better, maybe it's because it was hers—or maybe it was the comfiness of it.
The layout seemed similar to mine, except her desk was a wood grey that matched her bed frame, while her side tables were a glossy white.
