The Locket

Chapter Eighteen

I haven't slept at all since I saw Susanna's picture. I'm afraid that when I shut my eyes I'll see her. Knowing that the girl that has been haunting my dreams, was a real person, makes it harder to imagine. I would have been fine if I realized that my mind was making this person up as a coping mechanism or something but now that I know the truth—I'm not ready to face it.

Today is Brooke's last day at home. Tomorrow she leaves for the big city and then next week, I head out to Lowden. I'm standing in Brooke's room, helping her finish packing up her clothes. I'm pretty sure her stuff is going to need its own dorm room.

"You'd probably be better off renting an apartment when you get out there. I mean where are you going to put everything?" I ask.

"Yeah but then I wouldn't get the real college experience. I mean, I'll be able to make friends easier if I live in the dorms." She throws another pile of clothes in her suitcase.

"How are you getting everything to New York? I mean you obviously can't fit this all in your car. You'll need at least three moving trucks," I say as I stare at the countless numbers of boxes and suitcases that litter her room. I'm pretty sure the amount of stuff she's bring to college is the amount of stuff normal people have in their actual houses. I know my house wouldn't need this many boxes.

"Whatever I can't fit in my car and my dad's, I'm going to ship down there. Don't forget, I'm not taking everything in my closet so I should be almost done packing." She sits on a suitcase to try and force it to shut. I watch as she struggles for a few minutes. I know I should probably offer to help but it's amusing and I was hoping that she would come to her senses and leave more behind. She finally gets the zipper shut and a look of satisfaction appears on her face.

"I'm pretty sure all of my clothes can fit in that one suitcase," I say as I tape a few boxes up.

"Well if you would let me buy you a few more outfits, you would probably need another suitcase."

I snort at her comment, "I have absolutely no use for that many clothes. There are only seven days in a week," I say. I start piling the boxes on top of each other to make some more room.

"I'm not even going to comment on that," she says. She sounds a little bit frustrated at me but I know that has to do more with her being stressed about leaving tomorrow.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" I ask, trying to change the subject a little bit.

She slowly stops taping up a box and then looks at me, "I'm worried."

"Why? You'll do great," I say. I'm a little confused to where this is coming from. Brooke has always been so confident in everything she does.

She puts the tape down and sits on her bed and beckons for me to join her. I stop piling boxes up and cautiously sit next to her; I'm not really sure what is going on. Her demeanor changed all of a sudden.

"I'm not worried about school, in fact I am really excited about it. I'm worried about you. You've had a really hard time these past few months and I'm just worried because I won't be here to help you," She says. I can see the concern in her eyes. I hug her to try and make her feel better. I'm glad she's worried about me because that means she cares but I also don't want her to stop living her life because she's worried about mine.

"Brooke, I'll be fine. Your parents are here and I have Aiden coming with me. Things are getting better; it's getting easier. I don't feel like I'm suffocating every time I think about my family now. I'll be fine, you don't have to worry about me."

"I know my parents are here but you've only known Aiden for a few weeks. Look what happened with Chase. I just don't want you to get hurt anymore than you already have."