When I reach the super’s office, I push open the swinging glass door, and my heart is in my throat.
She pulls a landline handset away from her ear, a phone that seems as ancient as her wrinkled cheek.
“How can I help?” She sounds annoyed.
“Hello, I—”
“Aha! There you are!” she barks the second she recognizes me. “I told Mr. Olson I couldn’t keep this stuff here for more than a few hours. I was about to take it all out to the trash!”
Shit. I had planned on asking her to keep it all for me until this evening! I force myself to look over at the three bags piled in the corner: the very same bags I had been so excited to leave at Kirk’s barely two months ago now. Rather than head off on vacation, I had set about building us a cozy nest of a home. How did I get to this point? What did I miss?
Ms. Curtis turns back to the phone: a clear signal that I’ve already wasted too much of her time. I sling a bag over either shoulder, teetering under the weight. I steady myself as best as I can and reach for the last one, before grabbing my backpack, where my laptop is tucked away.
I’m going to need it—today’s my first day of college…
“Have a good day,” I mutter on my way out.
I turn back and watch as she flaps a hand without looking up.
I stagger out to the sidewalk and drop my bags at my feet. I take a deep breath in and sit down. Okay. So now what? I could call Rebecca, it’s true. She might let me crash on her dorm floor, just until Kirk changes his mind. But I don’t feel strong enough to face my friend—plus the word “friend” is a little generous. We haven’t known each other long; we clicked when she showed me around campus last May. She’s super nice. We’ve been messaging pretty much every day, but I’m embarrassed to ask her for a place to crash. And anyway, nobodycan know about all this: I’m going to fix it. And I can’t stand the idea of leaving this place behind.
“Hey! You’re here!”
The voice behind me makes me jump. I twist around, and it takes me a moment to recognize the guy from the fifth floor.
“Hey,” I mutter, biting the inside of my cheek.
“For a second there, I thought my couch might have swallowed you whole. I cross-examined it, but hey”—he claps his hands—“innocent until proven guilty, and all that. I should have remembered!”
He’s breezy, talking like it’s just a normal day. Blue skies and sunshine. And sure, the weather’s great. But the rest of it sucks. Absolutely sucks. I almost resent him for shoving his good mood in my face.
“I’m sorry.” I force out the words. “I didn’t want to be that person who never leaves, so I left.”
“You waiting for a cab?” He takes in the scene: me sitting on my few worldly possessions.
“Umm…” That’s the best I can muster.
We stare at each other in silence. Or near silence: the sole of my shoe is scuffing back and forth over the asphalt.
The words come tumbling out despite myself. “School’s starting up.”
“I know, yeah.” He laughs, shrugging his shoulders. “You go to SHU, too?”
His question takes me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting him to be a fellow student, maybe because he’s so tall. There’s something mature about him. He must be a senior.
“Do you go to SHU?” He repeats the words slowly.
I nod, feeling the knot in the pit of my stomach tighten. Today was supposed to be special: my very first day at Sycamore Heights University. Same college as Kirk, because… because I wanted to be with him.Pathetic. That’s what my brother had said when we got my college application pack, but he’s never been in love—he doesn’t know what it feels like.
We were supposed to be getting up early, because Kirk likes to start the day at the crack of dawn. Grab a coffee and a bite to eat together. Hop on his scooter and zip to campus, my arms wrapped tight around his waist. What wasn’t supposed to happen was splitting up two days before to “get the most out of the college experience.”
“…a ride?”
I look up at my one-night host. He’s asking me something.
“What?”
“Need a ride?”
