Witness

10| New Normal

"I'm so excited to have a new roommate! When my last roommate moved out I was really bummed, but when they told me I was getting a new one I was super excited! I hurried to move my stuff to make room for you, but if you find anything that's mine feel free to just shove it over."

"Thank you, Hannah; I appreciate that. I'm Skyler."

"Well," Jaxon interrupted. I had almost forgotten he was still standing behind me. "I'm headed to my room to unpack, so I'll leave you girls to it. I'm right across the hall if you need anything," he offered as he headed for the door after unloading my bags.

"Thank you," I responded. I was nervous to be left alone, but at the same time I was excited to have a little separation from Jaxon. He was hard to read, so although he was acting nice at the moment I wasn't sure if it was one of his good moods or if he was just a great actor. It was exhausting to keep up with how fast his moods changed and I was sick of feeling so intimidated.

Jaxon gave me a nod before leaving and heading across the hall to his room. The second he was gone, Hannah swung around to face me.

"Wow. Who was that hunk?!" She gushed, "Is that your boyfriend?"

I remembered my notes—"Oh no. That's my friend Mason. We went to high school together but we've been friends since we were little."

"Wow, some high school you must have went to. He's like wicked attractive; and you're like, also super pretty by the way."

I blushed at her compliment; I was never great at receiving them. "Um... thank you Hannah. You're really pretty too."

She let out a laugh, "Thanks. I think this will be good; I can tell already you're super nice. A little quiet, but we can work on that!"

I was just about to respond when Hannah's alarm went off. "Ugh..." she groaned, "I wish I could stay and help you unpack, but I have to go to work."

"Oh no, don't worry about it. I don't have too much anyway," I encouraged.

"Okay well, we will talk when I get back if you're still up. Otherwise, I'm off tomorrow; I'd love to show you around the school if you want!"

I smiled at her, "That would be great, thank you."

Hannah grabbed her keys off her bed and headed to the door. "Great, it's settled then! Sorry I have to rush out like this but it was super nice meeting you. Make yourself at home."

"Thank you," I offered again, "Have fun at work."

She scoffed, "I won't, but thanks. Bye!" She responded before closing the door.

I let out a sigh at the sudden silence. Hannah seemed great. She had good energy and was already super sweet; I could definitely see myself becoming good friends with her. However, the second she left the room and I took a look around my new dorm, especially my empty and undecorated side, I felt helpless and alone.

My first day of college, I remembered saying goodbye to my dad and calling him the second I had gotten everything unpacked. There was something so comforting knowing he was only 40 minutes away. Now, he was several states away, and there would be no calling him.

I immediately let my tears fall. In the comfort of my room alone, I felt free to release all of the sorrow I had been trying to hold back. I already missed Mel and my dad, and I missed my mom and sister. I sank down to the ground, holding myself around the waist in a tight hug as I sobbed, as if my arms were the only thing holding my body together.