Sitting in the powder blue armchair in the lobby of the residence I was to be living in, I ached with final feelings of sadness and betrayal.
My mother, who sat beside me, was completely oblivious to the painful expression spread across my face. I'd wanted to say something for about a half hour now, but nothing could quite describe how I was feeling. Betrayal and sadness, as stated before, were obvious, but deep down, there was almost a feeling of relief. This is just a prolonged vacation, I told myself. One part of me believed it, but the other was still bitter.
"You know, it's not too late to catch the last flight to Chicago. According to my American Airlines app, if we leave right now we could make it home by 10 or so." I sighed exhaustedly, my voice quivering.
My mother looked at me sympathetically. "Me and your father both agree that this would be the best for you."
"He is not my father," I said, rolling my eyes. "He's the guy who's tried to replace my father since I was six."
"You used to get along really well..."
"Mother, I was six. You know who else I got along with when I was six? Everyone! Because I was SIX." I laughed bitterly.
"Look, you are staying here to experience new things, make new friends, to finally live a little...you deserve that. This isn't a prison, or a dungeon, it's somewhere new, Alexis, embrace change for once."
At this point, a friendly looking woman in a crisp blue pantsuit entered the sunshiny room and called my name. As I stood up, she introduced herself as Catherine Rose, the head of staff for our building.
A younger, cuter and male attendant came to retrieve my bags, and I pretended not to notice when he winked at me. Catherine led the three of us through a maze of hallways until we halted before a lavender coloured door.
"Thank you, Cal, and your duties have been fulfilled." she said to the attendant. He didn't as much as move a muscle, and she clarified: "She's new here, don't start harassing her yet."
"Aw, come on, Cathy! I won't cause any trouble!" he pouted, his bottom lip sticking out slightly. "I promise."
Catherine narrowed her eyes. "Fine. But keep your hands and eyes on those bags." she said, making Calum (as I read from his name tag) smirk. "I apologize for the behaviour of my nephew."
I quickly compared the both of them, now noticing how similar they looked. Same dark hair, warm brown eyes and caramel-hued skin. I was surprised I didn't notice before.
"Don't worry," I said honestly. "It's refreshing."
"Thank you!" he replied cheerfully. "See, auntie? My charm does not go unnoticed."
"Anyway," Catherine continued, ignoring him. "This is the dormitory, where your temporary room will be located. This is only a single room, so be sure to enjoy your privacy for the rest of the week until we transfer you."
The room was nice. There was a bay window and a double bed clothed in smooth, floral patterned sheets. The in-suite bathroom was also attached to the room next to mine, but there were two sinks, toilets, and showers, so I didn't mind too much.
While the older women talked about meal plans, Calum set my luggage on my bed and flopped down beside me, grinning.
"So," he said, looking up at me. "Tell me about yourself."
I hesitated, but remembering his inviting smile, I decided he could probably be trusted.
"I'm Alexis Rose Dellaney, I turned 18 in August and-"
"No no no," he interrupted, waving my thought away. "What I meant was, what are you taking??"
I cleared my throat awkwardly. "I plan on majoring in journalism, but my undergrad is English."
Calum's face lit up in another smile. "I'm on a soccer scholarship, and my undergrad's in Music, it's the only thing that ever made sense in school."
The corners of my mouth curled up. "Well, I shouldn't even be here." When his expression turned confused, I explained, "I stopped hanging out with my friends and my mom thinks I have depression and social anxiety, so they sent me to live on campus instead of commuting everyday." Lowering my voice to a whisper, I continued. "But I'm pretty sure her husband just wanted to get rid of me."
"Ah," Calum nodded understandingly. "That really sucks."
I shrugged, "It could be worse."
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Authors note:
hello hello hello!!!
i know this isn't a lot but i just really wanted to put out something that introduced you to the plot but didn't give enough away.
i've already written a ton of material for this fic so i'm most likely going to update regularly?? ((if that won't pull you in, my next chapter will, I promise)) ((because we are introduced to the other characters and to be modest, they kick ass))
- claudia
