Be Mine - Completed

Chapter 1

Penelope Mitchell closed the trunk to her packed car, thinking about how this year felt like it was going to be different, but she couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. She took a deep breath to steel herself before turning to face her parents. They stood on the front porch, clutching each other with tears in their eyes as they watched Penny get ready for her last First Day of school. They had been driving her to her first day of school since she was four years old, but this year, Penny was going on her own. She spent over a week convincing her parents to let her do this. At the end of this year, she'll be on her own in the big world anyways, so it's time for a little independence. Penny loved having her parents there freshman year when she was moving into the dorms and scared, but now that she's a senior and moving into an apartment with three of her best friends, she knew she'd be fine on her own.

If she's honest with herself, the real reason is that Penny and her best friend Alice have plans to get extremely drunk with their roommates tonight to celebrate the fact that they can finally have alcohol where they live. That's one of the perks of moving out of their sorority house, they can get drunk in their own space, and that was their whole plan for tonight. Penny knew that her parents would be disappointed if they found out the real reason. They'd lecture her about how she was setting a bad example for her sisters and how they expected more from her. As usual, Penny would roll her eyes and refrain from telling them that college was the perfect time to make bad choices and that it's their responsibility to set an excellent example for her sisters, not hers.

"Alright," Penny dusted off her hands and took the few steps to the front porch to meet her parents there. "That's everything I need. I'll buy the rest of the furniture when I get there."

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Her mom put her hands on her shoulders and lowered her head to look Penny directly in the eyes.

"I'm okay, Mom. You've loaded me up on enough snacks to last me for more than a month, I've got way more than enough money for gas, the emergency roadside kit and chains are in my passenger seat, even though it's August, and I've got the blankets and first aid kit right behind my seat to grab if I get stranded. I'll be okay. I've made this drive many times before." Penny couldn't help but roll her eyes at her mom's overprotectiveness. She's driven home for Thanksgiving and Christmas by herself, every year, in the snow. It's a simple drive.

"And you'll call me every hour to let me know how you're doing?" As soon as the words left her mom's mouth, Penny's dad was beside them, chuckling at his wife's antics. She's always been a worrier, but even this was taking it a little bit too far.

"Honey," Penny soaked in the deep rumble of her dad's chuckle. "It's a three-hour drive that she's got memorized like the back of her hand. She'll be okay. Penny, you just call us when you get there safely, okay?"

Penny loved her mom and appreciated where the worry was coming from, but she sent a grateful smile to her dad with his practicality. This situation reminded her a lot about a line from her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice, where Mrs. Bennet is talking about her husband's compassion for her nerves. Penny could see how her mom's nerves had been her dad's constant companion over the years.

"Thanks, dad." She hugged her dad, squeezing him a little tighter than usual and taking in his scent, the smell that reminds her of being a little girl, and the safety she felt with her dad. Saying goodbye to them was always hard, whether it be here or at school.

"Mom," Penny had to take a deep breath to stop herself from muttering oh boy at the amount her mom was crying. She was on the edge of blubbering. "Dad's right, I'm going to be okay. I love you, and I appreciate you worrying, but I promise you I'm going to be okay. You know I'm going to be okay. It's an easy drive that I'm more than capable of doing on my own."