I decide to just let them be. “All right. Have fun moving. I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch?”
Evie nods. “Definitely.”
“See you.” I start towards the exit, not even bothering to face the guys behind me. I’m not getting in the middle of that mess. I'm almost to the exit when I remember I left my fruit and my OJ. “Man, I really wanted OJ.”
Chapter 2
Tessa
I make my way slowly back to my dorm trying not to feel too much. Evie’s already been spending most nights at Zane’s, so I should be used to it. But my best friend is officially moving out today. I already knew today was going to be rough and then I had that weird run-in with Slater Thorne. But I remind myself that it’s not a bad morning; it’s just a bad few minutes. Add to that, it’s Sunday, and I don’t have classes today. “This is going to be a good day,” I tell myself right as I walk inside my dorm. I make my way up to the second floor and make a plan for my day. I'm not going to let my circumstances get me down. I’m almost to my room when I see two girls standing right outside my door with suitcases. They're talking to each other and don’t see me coming. When I’m about to open the door to the room I share with Stephanie, one of them notices and turns to me.
“Oh, do you live in this room?” she asks, nodding at my door.
“Yes.”
“Oh. Great. We’ll be suitemates.”
The other one turns around, and I do a double take. “You’re twins,” I blurt out. They grin, and it’s so similar, it’s almost creepy. They’re both tall redheads and gorgeous. “I’m Tessa.” I stick my hand out, and the first girl looks at it a moment before offering her hand...sort of. She kind of just lets me grasp her fingers; it’s really kind of odd.
“I’m Felicia.”
“And I’m Faith.” Thankfully, Faith’s hair is much shorter, so I can tell the two of them apart.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you both. Welcome. Are you both new, or are you moving from another dorm?”
“Oh, we’re not new,” Felicia explains. “We were supposed to room together at the beginning of the year, but somehow they messed it up.” She rolls her eyes. “We’ve been waiting for something to open up, and it looks like this room just did.” She beams a smile at me that’s so...bright.
“That’s great. Do you have more to bring in?” I ask, trying not to be sad that they’re moving in. It’s not their fault that my best friend is no longer living in the next room.
“Well, we certainly have more than one suitcase each,” Faith says with a laugh.
“I can help you bring in your things,” I offer.
“Really?” Felicia says with a big, bright smile. “That would be so amazing. Look at that; we’re going to be besties in no time flat.” Faith smiles and nods, and they both look back at me.
“I’ll show you where our old rooms are,” Faith tells me and starts down the hallway. I follow after her, hurrying to keep up with her long-legged stride. When we get outside, she turns to me. “Thankfully, it’s not too far.” We end up walking to one of the dorms that’s not what I would consider close, but I guess that’s just me. Literally, everyone we pass greets Faith by name. Nobody pays any attention to me, but I’m fine with that. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get back to enjoying my Sunday. I need to study this morning and then get some sleep before I have to work tonight. Thankfully, I didn’t have to work last night, so I got some good sleep. A nap today will set me up really well for tonight. “All right,” Faith says when we get to the second floor. “My room’s right down here.” She opens the door to her room, and my eyes widen.
“This is all yours?” I ask as I take in the stacks of boxes.
“It’s not all that much,” she says with a laugh. “Wait until you see all of Felicia’s stuff downstairs.” She picks up a box andthen holds the door open, and I move quickly to grab a box. It's heavier than I thought it would be, and I have to adjust my grip to avoid dropping it.
“Okay. I'm good.” I follow her out into the hallway and make the trek back to our dorm. When I make it back to their room, I’m already sweating. “Where do you want it?”
“Oh, right on the floor there is fine,” Felicia says. “Thank you so much, Theresa; we couldn’t do this without you.” She gives my arm a squeeze, and I don’t bother to correct her on my name because she’s already out the door. “I’ll take this next trip with you.”
I follow her reluctantly out into the hallway. I wonder briefly if there’s a way to get out of helping, but then I feel bad. I had help moving in; the only right thing to do is offer help to others. So, I hurry to catch up with her. It doesn’t take me long to work up a sweat and an appetite, but I don’t stop. Faith was right; Felicia has even more boxes in her room. It doesn’t escape my notice that I take far more trips than either of them do, but I don’t give up. When we finally finish, I escape to my room and crash face first onto my bed.
“What’s wrong with you?” Stephanie asks.
I turn my head to her but keep my body in the same position. “I helped move in our two new suitemates.”
Her eyes light up. “Oh, are they nice?”
I only pause a second. “Yeah. I think so.” I hear my phone ding and lift it in front of my face. “Is it really already almost three?”
Stephanie nods. “Yeah.” I groan. “Why? What’s wrong?”
I sigh. “Nothing. I just didn’t realize how late it was.” I give up on the nap I was going to get and grab my textbooks instead. I grab everything I need and spread them out on the floor and then get settled. I put my headphones in and get started. I come up for air around six. Stephanie’s already left for dinner, so I’malone. I decide to forgo dinner and take a quick nap before I have to clock in. The nap will do me far better than dinner, especially if it’s not a good dinner. I’ll just eat a pack of crackers from my stash. I put my books away and crawl under the blankets on my bed. I close my eyes and let my body relax. I’ve barely closed my eyes when the music starts. There’s a heavy thumping beat, and I open my eyes slowly. I throw back my covers and head into the bathroom. The volume increases, and I wonder how they have any hearing left. I knock on their door but don’t hear anything. I knock again, but there’s no answer. I open the door and step into their room. “Hey,” I call out. Felicia’s the first one to notice me. She turns to me with a grin. “Can you turn the music down?” I ask.
