Why I Fell

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Because I said "no"

It doesn't feel real but I can't believe it's happening. I look over to the driver's seat to see my Mom beaming and jamming along to the radio music. It feels good to have my Mom drive for me again after a year of not seeing her, she flew all the way here just to settle me in the new apartment she rented for my whole university stay. It makes me feel bad though that she's spending all this money for me, but I guess I saved her from paying tuition due to the scholarship grants I got.

"Are you excited?" My Mom asks me for the 100th time this whole drive. "Yes, I am very excited" I reply, "I'm so excited to clean the apartment and organize my clothes, and stock up on food, and really live my adult life," I say very sarcastically.

My phone rings, receiving a text from Jesse, my best friend here in Australia. Jesse was with me since the start of high school freshman year. We clicked right away because we were both foreign students in a big prestigious high school. We helped each other get through our culture shock and come out of our shy little shells. Because of Jesse, high school became a blast. Now, we're getting ready to take on university together. "Jesse just arrived in the university's dormitory," I tell my Mom, "she said that her roommate just ignored her when she entered"

"Yikes, tell her she's free to stay with you on the weekends"

"For sure" I text Jesse back: mom says you can come over the apartment anytime

She replies: I envy you for having your own place

I didn't know my Mom trusted me so much to be alone, isn't she scared of the idea of me having boys over to my apartment, alone? Well, actually I don't think there will be boys, sadly.

We were driving for another hour until finally, we arrived at the apartment complex. It was a big, open, white complex and clearly it was filled with university students from my school due to the flags posted outside their apartment doors. I guess that's why Mom chose this place. Mom parks the car at the sign that says "Complex 4" then we unloaded the back of the car which were full of my stuff.

As we unloaded the last box, a guy suddenly walks over and gets the box from me. I pulled the box towards me, confused as to why this random guy was grabbing my stuff. "Oh sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he says with a smile.

Oh, he's cute. "Who are you?" I ask while putting the box down in our pile.

"Honey, he's the head of Complex 4" My Mom suddenly interjects with a smile on her face that literally says: he's cute, right?

"I'm Ash, by the way," he says, extending his hand toward me. I shake his hand and say, "I'm Anna, room 406?"

"Yeah, I know" replies with another beaming smile. Yup, he's cute. I don't even know why I'm thinking this when literally it's my first day here and I clearly have to fix my things. "I've been in contact with him for the past few days, arranging deliveries for the furniture of your apartment" my Mom explains, we grab some boxes from the ground and made our way to the entrance of the complex.

What I learned about Ash so far, is that he is a Junior in the same university as me, he is a Psychology major and is planning to become a doctor. Damn, whole package?

Ash led us to the second floor and on the backside of the complex, he drops the box he had on the ground and pulls out a key card from his pocket. "Here is your key," he says as he hands me the keycard, "If you lose it or forget it, you can just call me so I can get an extra one from the main office"

"Thank you" I reply. I tap the key card on the door, then finally I stepped into my new apartment. Where I'll be staying for the rest of my studying days. "I suggest that the two of you go and grab some lunch and groceries, my team can handle all the boxes. I'm pretty sure it was a long drive" Ash says, then he turns to my Mom "all the furniture we talked about on the phone has already arrived so when the two of you get back we can help you unpack"

We both say thank you and head off towards the nearest restaurant. I didn't know I was hungry until the waitress handed us the menu and I felt my stomach grumble. I ordered a burger, fries, and a milkshake. My Mom laughs at me and says "looks like you're hungry, huh?"

I was in the middle of devouring my burger when my Mom suddenly asks, "so how do you like your new place?"

"So far I like it, it seems big though for one person. Also, I haven't even seen the whole thing, we were just there for like five seconds then we left" I say chuckling. "I'll admire it some more later"

"Good," Mom says happily. We finished up our food then drove to the grocery store next. I happily stocked up on canned goods, eggs, frozen meat, vegetables, and most importantly coffee. I took all that I could while my Mom was here to pay for all of it, for sure I won't be able to afford this when she's gone.

We drive back to the apartment, and we walked back with arms full of grocery bags. I'm so excited to actually see how the apartment looks like. I'm already thinking of ways to decorate the place.

Once we were in front of the door, my Mom suddenly places her arms on the door. "Before we enter, I actually have a surprise for you waiting inside"

"What is it?" I ask her suddenly horrified, knowing my Mom it could be anything. Mom gets the keycard from me and opens the door, as I enter I see Tessa with her arms wide open.

"Tessa!" I exclaimed, dropping the grocery bags and giving her the biggest hug. I haven't seen her since last year as well, "What are you doing here? When did you get here?"

"I'm here to help you move, obviously!" she says squeezing me back excitedly.

Then suddenly a door behind her opens, and a boy walks out holding a guitar. Actually, this wasn't just any boy. "Mom, where do you think I should place my--" he says then stops himself when our eyes met.

My heart drops to the floor, and I automatically feel the betrayal of my Mom and Tessa. "No" I whisper, turning back to my Mom. She and Tessa shrug acting all clueless. I look around the apartment and find three doors inside. "No" I whisper again, I point to the door near the kitchen area, "that's the bathroom" then I point to the door behind my Mom, "that's my room" then I slowly point at the door behind Tessa where he was standing "and that is--"

"My room" he cuts me off and we both stare at our Moms with the most horrified faces we could ever make.

No.

No.

And NO.