Precious Peices

Chapter 1

   A year and a half ago me and Piper couldn't wait to go to Jamesmith College. Now, standing outside of my mother's Volvo in front of my new dorm all I felt was dread. Because Piper wasn't here, she would never be with me again. I thought of her blonde hair, her green eyes, and her contagious smile standing next to me. Gushing about all the cute guys we would meet and all the crazy parties we would attend with our new found freedom.
   That's the way I liked to remember her, from before she met Matthew. Before she dove hot and heavy with him into a life that she never should have lived. There were times I hated Matthew's guts, that I dreamed about the day I saw him in the street and what I would say to him, or do to him. About how he should have left her alone, he never should have had her in that house two counties over, how it should have been him that got that pill laced with a lethal dose of fentynal. About how it was his fault that at 17 years old Piper had overdosed in a strangers house and died before paramedics arrived. About how he didn't know that while he pressured her to go with him into that dark place, she had been pregnant with his baby.
   My mother drug me out of my thoughts by slamming the trunk, holding my last bag as I clutched the necklace that held the ashes of her and her unborn child. "Well, this is it kiddo. Want me to walk you up?" She questioned me. Dropping the necklace I shook my head.
   "I got it from here, Ma. I'll see you next weekend when dad gets back from Pheonix?" Taking the bag from her grasp I went to hug her. She nodded, "Be here bright eyed and busy tailed! Oh, I'm so proud of you. You're going to do so great." My mother was the epitome of positivity, always had been. She always found a way to look on the bright side of even the darkest things. "I love you baby. Call me tonight and let me know you have settled in!" She rounded the car and waved before getting in and starting the engine. I waved to her before once again turning to look back at Willson Hall, the largest dormitory on campus.
   Even when I got to my room my roommate had yet to arrive and I was grateful for the solitude while starting to unpack my boxes. Popping my earbuds in I found myself getting lost in the work of setting up my side of the room. Hours must have passed because by the time I got to the last box, the light outside the single window how blackened into night and my stomach gurgled from hunger. Sighing, I pulled my ear buds out and looked around the room. It was nothing like home, my mother had insisted on bright and airy peices, sending me with pinks, plants, and fairy lights. It only made the constant ache in my stomach worse, Piper would have loved it. There was a time I would have loved it too.
   Needing air and a break I grabbed a thin jacket to put over my black tank top and leggings and after grabbing my bag headed for the door. The Parlor, one of only two Jamesmith College's restaurants,  was in the middle of campus, only a short walk away and it gave me time to enjoy the nights sky as I listened to the laughter of new and returning students. My hands where deep in my pockets and my head stayed down as I finally arrived, walking in to set at a table in the very back corner.
    A black haired girl approached my table with a bright ans cheery smile, holding a pad and pen. "Hey girl! You look like a freshman, are you a freshman?" Her question came out in an excited way and I only gave her a nod. "Welcome to Jamesmith! I'm Molly, a sophomore. You are going love it here! Can I get you something or do you need a little while to look through our menu?"
   Glancing quickly at the menu I chose the first option I saw. "Can I just get the chicken salad and a coke, please?" She nodded quickly and wrote on her note pad before taking the menu from the table.
   "You got it! Have that back to you in just a few." She walked away and I finally looked around the parlor. It was pretty quite even though alot of the tables where full. Everyone chatted lightly with their friends and ate. A few waitresses stood around, conversing while they worked. The decor was modern and sleek, but nothing special. Sighing I pulled my phone out of my bag and looked at the screen to see a message from my dad.
   Dad: Hey peanut! Hope you have a great first day tomorrow. Call me when you get a chance. GO RINOS.
   Mom and dad had met here, so had Pipers parents. Both our father had played on the basketball team and took great pride in telling everyone they met about their great state championship victory of 1999. It's what had made us want to come here, the idea that both our parents had found love and created beautiful lives together here.
   Until my food arrived I scrolled through Facebook, looking at all the phones and post of the kids from my class's arriving to their colleges all across the country. It only reminded me that I should have went somewhere farther, somewhere, anywhere but here. But something wouldn't let me, every fiber of my body pulled me to this school and it wasn't something my heart could give up. So here I was. A rino. Soon I caught Molly coming towards me out of the corner of my eye. After setting my food down she sat down my ticket. "Just pay when your ready, we are open all night. Oh and we have free wifi!" She basically hopped away without a response as another group came and at the table next to mine.
   Hunger and the urge to be in the solitude of my room made me inhale the salad in what could have been record time. Pulling my wallet out I sat down the total and tip ontop of the check and moved to the edge of the booth. The door dinged electronically as someone else walked in, this time a weird feeling wasted over me. The same feeling in my stomach I would get drawing me here. But this time it made me look up at whoever had entered. My heart skipped a beat and I felt like a ton of bricks had fallen from the sky, crashing into me.
   Blonde hair. Green eyes. Sickenly familiar blonde hair and green eyes. The two shades of each I thought I would never see again. The same as Piper's.
   I gulped. Peter Collins.

                                                                                        

   Thanks so much for coming to my page, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my story and come back for more. I plan to do regular updates and if you follow me I will let you know when you can be expecting them.
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           -Jenae