Ｓｅｒｅｎｄｉｐｉｔｙ

ONE

𝓓𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓮𝓵𝓪

I hear a knock on the door, and I know it's her. Celi. My best friend. I swing the door open, and there she stands, holding a pile of boxes with a frown on her face that perfectly mirrors my own.

"Celi!" I squeal, and she grins as she practically drops the boxes at my feet, pulling me into a tight hug.

"I can't believe we're finally here!" she says, squeezing me like she's afraid I'll disappear if she lets go.

"I know!" I laugh, hugging her back just as hard. But as I pull away, our smiles fade, and the excitement dims.

It hits us both at the same time: we aren't roommates. After everything, we couldn't make it happen. She's down the hall, a million miles away as far as I'm concerned. It's funny how you can go through all the emotions so fast. We were ecstatic when we both got accepted to the same college, already making plans about how we'd decorate our room. And then, reality smacked us hard.

"Well, it's not like we won't see each other every day," she says, trying to sound positive. But we both know it's not the same.

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, maybe your roommate will be cool?" I suggest, hoping to lighten the mood.

Celi raises an eyebrow. "Speaking of roommates, where's yours?"

I glance at the empty bed on the other side of the room, just as bare as mine had been when I first arrived. "No idea. I haven't met her yet. All I know is her name-Lila. But she wasn't here when I moved in."

Celi plops down on my bed, her curiosity piqued. "Lila, huh? Mysterious. What if she's weird?"

I laugh, mostly because I'd already thought the same thing. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Celi glances around, taking in the plain white walls, the unclaimed bed, and the boxes scattered across the floor. "We could make this place feel a bit more like home. Get some fairy lights, a couple of posters..."

I nod, grateful for the distraction. "Definitely. And then, we'll need to do the same for your room."

She rolls her eyes but smiles, and for a moment, it's just like old times. But then, the reality of college life sinks in. We're both here, just not together, and I have no idea who this Lila is or when she'll show up.

We sit in silence for a moment, letting it all sink in. I know that no matter what happens, I'll always have Celi. But the unknown looms, and there's a small part of me that wonders what this year will bring.
The silence stretches out between us, heavy and comforting all at once. Celi is here, and that should be enough. But the weight of everything I left behind starts creeping in, and before I can stop myself, I blurt out, "Have you seen Jack?"

She looks at me, her expression a mixture of surprise and concern. I don't talk about Jack much. I haven't since the breakup, since everything went to hell. But here we are, sitting in my new dorm room, and he's the only thing I can think about.

"Jack?" Celi echoes, as if she's testing the name, trying to read my face for what I'm really feeling. "No, I haven't seen him. Not yet, anyway. But you know he's here, right?"

I nod, tracing my fingers over the edge of the bedspread. "Yeah. I know. CauloBarrow isn't that big. I just... I wonder if he hates me."

She lets out a sigh, shifting on the bed so she's facing me fully. "Dani, he doesn't hate you."

"How can you be so sure?" I can hear the sharpness in my voice, the defensiveness. But I can't help it. I know how badly I treated him. I know the nights I pushed him away, the arguments that went nowhere because I was drowning in my own mess. "I mean, I wouldn't blame him if he did."