Campus King | 18+

Epilogue 1

Hannah

T: Wait there, I'll come find you.

I was standing outside the Chemistry building, having just spent the whole morning with Professor Adakai, leading the lab session as TA. My hands felt like they were going to freeze off, and so I quickly put my phone back in my pocket. Lifting my hands to my mouth, I blew into them, warming them up before shoving them into my pockets.

I hated the cold. It forever plagued me, and now that we were in the middle of winter, there was no escaping it. Except when I was with Tristan — he was always so warm.

For that very reason, I hadn't slept alone in months. That and Tristan was remarkably talented at getting me to stay whenever I considered going home, and because I missed him when we weren't together, I never put up much resistance. It didn't matter anyway — these days I had fewer and fewer reasons to go home.

Jenny was moving in with Matthew, Penelope had long since moved out and we still couldn't find a replacement we all agreed on. Amanda had a new boyfriend, so she was gone most of the time, and Molly was moving now that she'd transferred to the major she wanted. Aqua just came and went as she wanted. She was nice enough, but she always had better things to do than stand around and talk. I couldn't blame her, considering I was of a similar mindset.

Things were changing, and I wasn't upset about it. If anything, these last few months had taught me to embrace it, especially as I knew life was about to get a whole lot crazier with the NFL draft approaching us. Tristan, along with his agent, manager, and lawyers, were already preparing for everything, and by all means, it should all go smoothly.

Sobering at the thought of his departure, I nibbled on my lower lip.

I kept telling myself I would be fine, but who was I kidding? I was going to miss him so much. We had a life together now — routines and habits built around each other. We were our own little team, always putting in the effort to help and care for one another because that's what you did when you loved someone. It was also why we'd both committed to therapy, working on ourselves, and strengthening our relationship — we wanted to give each other our best.

And so far, things were good. 

After agreeing to the restraining order on Dylan, I had yet to hear anything. When I first asked him about it, Tristan just smiled, kissed me, and said the lawyers were handling it. When I pushed, he let me know that the restraining orders had been granted. And he promised that I would never have to see Dylan ever again. It was a strange promise, and I had no idea how he intended to keep it, but sometimes you just had to smile and nod when your boyfriend said he'd never let anything or anyone hurt you. While that was impossible — it was the thought that counted.

Beth did eventually call me, but it was only after our Winter Break. She let me know that she would be returning to Dale, to the music program, and that therapy was going well. We spoke a little bit about Dylan but she still seemed to be heavily effected by what happened. I told her it would take time, but things got better. She'd meet someone better, one who wouldn't treat her like absolute garbage. Since then, we texted occasionally or whenever she wanted to talk about something with Dylan. It wasn't my favorite activity — discussing my ex, but I would do it if it helped her get over him.