My Saving Grace

Chapter 1

Why on earth did I choose to go to Minnesota for college?

The question continued to ring in my head as I made the formidable trek from East Bank to West Bank, braving the bitter cold temperature and unforgiving winds. According to my iPhone, it was a bone-chilling -20 degrees today, which didn't include the windchill.

When I woke up earlier this morning, I'd expected classes to be canceled, but to my utter disappointment, they weren't. After all, this was the state of Minnesota. Cold weather was as common as Santa Ana winds back home in California.

Normally, I tried to catch the connector, a bus run by the university which traveled between parts of campus (did I mention how enormous this place was?). But my writing class had gotten out late, and sadly, I missed it. So here I was, left to freeze to death on my way to physics.

By the time I finally made it into the lecture hall, every single part of my body was numb. Spotting my best friend, who was also my roommate, in the fifth row, I headed in her direction then proceeded to take off my jacket...followed by my puffer vest, sweatshirt, and sweater.

It tended to get really warm in here, so today, I wore a thin long-sleeve underneath all my layers. The whole time, everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

"You're not from around here I assume?", a blonde guy behind me asked teasingly.

"Nope. I'm from San Diego," I replied.

"Ah, I see."

The truth was, I could've gone to any of the UC schools back home. In fact, I was accepted to both UCLA and UC Berkeley, but the main reason I applied to the University of Minnesota was because of its renowned chemical engineering program, which was my intended major. My grandma also lived in Minnesota, so I got to see her often on the weekends.

I loved everything about this campus, especially getting to watch Big Ten sports. As a kid, I played soccer and was actually pretty good at it, too, but I wanted to focus on academics in college.

The only downside was not having the opportunity to see my dad as much as I'd liked. We told each other everything, and he even said that if I ever needed relationship advice in college, he'd be more than welcome to help (not like any guys ever noticed me).

Ever since my mom passed away eight years ago, he'd been both a mother and father to my brother and I, and true to his word, my dad hadn't remarried after losing his wife.

Once, I asked him why he never thought about dating again. After all, he was still pretty young. But he told me that his sole focus in life was to raise Nick and me, and that no other woman could ever replace my mom.

We ended up crying during that conversation, missing her more than ever.

My father was my hero, and I loved him so much. Most men went into depression or took up drinking after going through the deaths of their spouses, but not my father. If anything, he grew even stronger and cared for us in a way not many single men could.

I only hoped my future husband could be at least half the man my father is.

Nick, my older brother, attended UCLA and was currently studying to become an actuary. Math had always been his strong suit. Since he stayed in California for college, my father still got to see him often. I'd hate if both of us were out of state--he'd feel lonelier than ever.

However, I planned on coming back to California to work after graduation. Nick and I were all my dad had left.

As soon as my physics professor dimmed the lights, the entire room grew silent, and I grabbed my notebook, ready to take notes. Next to me, my best friend Alexa was texting away on her phone. Since her major was business management, she only needed to get a D in any science class of her choice. Clearly, she was on the right track.