After All

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

I stopped short, almost spilling the drink in my hand. My heart dropped to my toes and I suddenly forgot how to breathe. It couldn't be. He couldn't be here. Could he? How was that even possible?

I rubbed my eyes with my free hand, not even caring if I smudged my make-up, and squinted. He was older, definitely, and a little more filled out. The button-down shirt and grey slacks he wore were a definite upgrade from the jeans and t-shirts I had been so used to seeing him in. His face looked tighter, aged and worn, as if the years had been harder for him than they had been for me. But I'd know those soft brown eyes anywhere. Instantly, I was transported back to the year that changed everything.

***

THEN

Nervous excitement buzzed through my body as I followed my new Resident Assistant into the dorm, lugging my suitcase behind me. My parents bought it for me for Christmas that year, knowing an actual luggage set would be preferred to me shoving everything I owned into black garbage bags. Wide-eyed, I tried to take in everything around me. Skittish co-eds pushed through the halls, trying to keep up with the RA's so they wouldn't get lost while attempting to find their rooms. Older adults, parents, walked purposefully as if they'd catch a sexually transmitted disease just by being here. There were already a few rooms blasting music as high as their stereos would allow. After years of dreaming about it, I was finally here. College.

"And this is your room," the RA stopped in front of a large wooden door. Taped underneath the number 306 were two slips of paper. The first had my name written on it, Lily Collins. The other said Cassandra Abbott, who I assumed was my new roommate. Some people dreaded being stuck with a stranger, but having lived the past eighteen years with only my parents and younger brother, I was excited to have a same-age female companion.

"Your roommate hasn't checked in yet, so you have a little time to get settled first," my RA said as she unlocked and pushed open my door. "There is an assembly for all incoming freshmen at 3:00. Here's the schedule for all the activities after that, a map of the school, the key to your room, and your student ID card. Make sure not to lose this. It also serves as your meal plan in the dining hall. Do you have any questions?" She gave the speech quickly and in a monotone voice. She must have rehearsed it for brevity so she could give it and move on, barely registering the words she said.

"Nah, I'm good," I replied, taking the packet of papers from her.

"Okay, well if you have any later, come find me. I'll be around."

"Thanks."

Turning on her heel, she was gone, off to get another girl checked-in. With my family trailing behind me, I walked into the room I'd call home for the next year.

I'd lucked out with a corner room, which I heard were the most coveted. It would have been a decent sized room if not for the two beds, two desks, and two wardrobes, made out of the same blond wood, all fighting for floor space. But at least there were three windows instead of the usual two. The walls were white concrete and an industrial looking carpet lined the floor. The ceiling consisted of white panels, held together with metal strips. I'd seen them before somewhere, and knew they lifted up if you pushed on them. It seemed silly to put them in college rooms. The administration must know we were all going to hide things up in them. I heaved my suitcase on the bed to my left, trying not to look too carefully at the bare mattress I was sure had been there for over a decade, thus claiming my spot.