Amrita and I almost got to the crosswalks when I noticed a guy who was rushing a bit too quickly, just ahead of us. In a split second we saw a black sedan racing down the path only inches away from him, ignoring the fact that the roads were still wet.
"Hey look out!" I yelled. Since I was closer to him, I jumped forward and yanked him back on my side. But clearly I didn't know my own strength because the next thing I knew, we fell to the ground and he'd landed on top of me. The car's tires screeched past us, with not a care in the world.
Our eyes locked for a minute. Ugh. "Get off me!" I shoved him aside.
Amrita ran over and pulled me up. "Are you guys okay?" she asked worriedly.
"I'm good," I answered, brushing off my clothes. "Let's go."
She looked over at the guy, who managed to sit up by now. "Shouldn't we help him?"
"I already did my part," I rolled my eyes. Besides, a few people who were nearby started walking up to him.
"But-"
"I said let's go! We're running late, remember?"
"Fine," she muttered.
The crosswalk was clear this time so we hurried across and made our way back to our dorm room. I felt bad for talking to her like that but I wanted to get away from there as soon as possible. Amrita isn't just my roommate, she's the closest friend I have since I transferred here. She's willing to help anyone and that's one of the qualities I really admired about her.
She helped me shove all my clothes and other belongings into my suitcases. Whatever didn't fit went into garbage bags. I couldn't believe it. Amrita's side of the room was the only sign that someone still lived there. One year of my life was stripped bare in just twenty minutes.
"Well, at least you'll have more space for clothes," I said, trying to lighten the mood. "It's too late in the semester to get a new roommate."
"Yeah, but who's gonna listen to my ranting about biology class or Paulo?" She pouted like a six year old in a supermarket whose mom just told her to put back the soda.
I held up a finger. "One, you have other friends."
"Yeah, but they're not you!" She wiped away fake tears from her eyes.
"Two," I continued, adding another finger. "I think you should just ask Paulo out already."
Amrita opened her mouth to speak but no humanly distinguishable words came out. Her cheeks flushed at least three shades deeper. Honestly, I didn't see the need for the overreaction. Paulo was her lab partner for in her chem class. After every lab she'd talk about how Paulo almost knocked over a beaker because his stupid hair covers his eyes and he can't see, or that he almost caught on fire because his lab coat sleeves are always hanging off and he got too close to the flame from the Bunsen burner.
"W-why would you say that?" She asked, figuring out how to speak English again. "He is so not my type!"
I shrugged. "He's got that quiet-nerdy-guy thing working for him."
"You date him then, since he's such a catch. You two already seem to be great friends," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
I noticed that Paulo and I tended to have a few breaks in between classes at the same time. So one day I decided to see what his deal was. We ended up grabbing lunch together sometimes.
"I'm not the one who can't shut up about him."
At that moment my phone pinged before she could respond. "She's here. I have to leave now," I told her and grabbed some of the bags.
"By the way, Paulo's hands shake because he gets nervous when you're looking at him!" I yelled over my shoulder and started running down the hallway, knowing there's no way she'd catch me.
Aunt Grace parked her SUV and was already downstairs waiting for me. She's always been strict when it comes to time, and that's why Amrita and I had to rush. I didn't want to delay her anymore. There's a million other things she had to do. After I put my bags into the car, I turned around and Aunt Grace pulled me into a hug.
"Oh my sweet girl," she said, stroking the back of my head. "You've gone through so much. How are you doing?"
How am I doing. What a question. Ignoring her would be rude. So I decided to tell the truth.
"I don't know. I'm just here trying to hold on."
A look of concern washed over her face. "Do you need a break from your classes? I can just call the Dean and—"
Shaking my head, I held up my hand signalling for her stop. "No, Aunty. I can't withdraw again. Classes are what's keeping me sane right now."
Amrita finally caught up to us, all sweaty and out of breath.
"Miss Lahan, I appreciate you helping out Snow but there was no need to exert yourself," Grace said, while taking the rest of my bags from Amrita. She knew she'd saddled herself with four bags so she wouldn't have to make two trips. And she still decided to chase me, a girl who used to run track.
"Oh, you know," she replied, glaring at me. "Just getting my steps in for today!"
Aunt Grace didn't look too convinced but decided against questioning it. "Make sure you get enough rest before class next week, okay?"
"Yes, Dr. Whitley," she answered meekly.
Grace got behind the wheel, waiting for Amrita and I to say goodbye to each other.
"I guess this is it," Amrita said, like a character in an apocalyptic movie accepting their fate.
"I'll see you next week," I rolled my eyes before adding, "Thanks for all your help."
"Anytime." We hugged, and then I joined Grace in the car.
The drive started out mostly quiet, with the exception of the radio softly playing 70s music. This gave me time to look out the window and admire the landscape. It'd been a few weeks since it last snowed, so it was still pretty wet outside although the roads were cleared by now. Some of the trees still wore a thin layer of snow left behind, and when the sun hits it at a certain angle it looks like glitter. I love it.
Amrita could say whatever she wants about him. Paulo was there for me that day when I got the call. Memories that I worked so hard to get over came flooding back. My chest was tightening, my heart racing, my eyes blurred from a hot stream of tears...it wasn't until I heard another voice trying to calm me down that I realised Paulo had taken me to the nurse's office. And that I was having a panic attack. He skipped his classes and stayed with me the rest of day until Amrita got back. That's my friend, whether she likes it or not.
Forty-minutes later, we pulled up to Aunt Grace's, a large, two-story house surrounded by trees. I’ve visited a few times since she and her family moved out here some years ago. I was still surprised at how massive the house was, for a family of three. She helped carry some of my bags and I followed her upstairs, to the last room down the hall and opened the door.
"So this’ll be your room. I know your favourite colour is blue, so I tried a bit to decorate it," she said, sounding a bit nervous. "Just tell me if you hate it and I'll get it fixed."
"It's great," I smiled softly. Sure, I'll need to order some stuff online and move things around a bit. The walls were painted teal, the bed was queen-sized with navy blue covers to match the curtains. A vanity mirror was beside the doors to the walk-in closet. Next to that was the bathroom. It was slightly bigger than my room back home. Plus it had a balcony. "Thanks again for having me here."
"You don’t need to thank me," she hugged me again. "It's what your father would want. And we're your godparents, we're supposed to step up. You're family."
"Owen comes home in about half an hour, so get settled in and we'll have dinner then." She added, while closing the door behind her.
I sat on the edge of the bed, pulled out my phone and checked my messages, not even bothering to start unpacking.
I love you. My dad's last text to me, two weeks ago.
Making chicken teriyaki for dinner. No I'm not sharing. I texted three days later.
Dad? Wild night, huh? Hit me up in the morning.
Dad? Are you okay?
Dad??? Where are you?? Everyone's been trying to reach you.
Dad??? What the hell is going on??? Why aren't you answering. Call me back already.
I'm still waiting for his call.