by Smoke, Lucy
"Nope," Marv agreed. "Whatever you need, Sunshine. You just let me know. Even when we get you set up in the dorm, if you feel like you’re missing something, text me or one of the others—” he shot a glance to Grayson "—even Grayson, in case of an emergency, we'll handle it."
I smothered a sigh and a grin at the same time. There was still something between the two of them, but at least he had calmed down somewhat over Grayson joining in on the operation. His brother was involved, anyway. That thought made me let the sigh slip through as I looked back at my papers. It seemed we were back at the beginning.
Chapter 2
Two Weeks Later
"Welcome to Lander University!" The outcry could be heard from every corner of the Lander campus. It echoed in the open spaces. It wasn't a big place to begin with, but it looked like every student in attendance was out and about with their families on Move-In day. Clarissa moved forward in the line of cars, getting closer and closer to the brick building with a small, black, hanging sign proclaiming it to be "Chipley Hall.” I yawned as the car inched forward, covering my mouth as my lips stretched wide. Jesus, I needed some decent sleep. I hadn’t gotten much in the last few weeks as the guys and I had rushed around preparing everything we needed to get ready for the semester and more importantly, the investigation.
“I’m sorry the boys couldn’t be here to help you move in,” she said quietly as the car inched forward in the procession of waiting vehicles. “I’m sure they’ll stop by once they get the others settled into the house. It’s only a block or so away.”
I nodded and kept my eyes glued to the girls getting out of each vehicle with their parents, toting large bags of clothes and books and other things, wearing Lander University and Greek Life t-shirts. In the back of Clarissa’s van, I had the basic necessities. Clothes. Toiletries. Blankets and pillows. The computer Marv had given me before, and that was about it. It looked like some of the girls were bringing entire houses to the dorm. When we finally pulled up and stopped, I got out.
“Hi there!” a bright, cheery eyed woman in an equally bright yellow t-shirt with the word Lander stretched across the front, stopped before us holding a clipboard. “What’s your name?”
“Um… Harlow Hampton.” I shifted on my feet as Clarissa smiled warmly at the young woman.
“Harlow Hampton…Harlow…Hampton…ah! Here you are.” The woman checked something off on her clipboard and then directed us towards the building. “First floor,” she said. “You’re lucky. We don’t have an elevator. It’ll be room 107. You’ll get your keys just inside the door at the table and you can go ahead and set up. I think your roommate is already here. Have a great day and welcome to Lander University!”
I bobbed my head even as she moved away to the next girl that stepped out of the car. “Come on, dear, let’s get your things,” Clarissa suggested.
I grabbed a few bags and my laptop and followed Clarissa dutifully inside the building. Just as the woman had said, there were tables run by similarly dressed girls. I retrieved my keys and then followed Clarissa around the corner. The halls were larger than I had expected. Someone had placed their entire desk out in front of their door, but there was still room to squeeze by, even with the bags Clarissa and I held. The door to room 107 was ajar and soft classic rock music filtered out as a girl with shoulder length, pink hair flitted from one side of the room to the other.
“Oh, hi!” she said when she noticed Clarissa and I standing outside. “Are you my roommate?”
Clarissa nudged my back. “Um…” I stepped inside. “I guess so. I’m Harlow.” When the girl held her hand out, I looked down at my full arms and quietly turned to set my bags on the unmade bed at my side before returning and taking her hand.
“Lizzie,” the girl announced. I blinked at her bright smile. Everything about this girl screamed outgoing—from the bubblegum pink hair to the soft blue eyes to the toothpaste commercial smile.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Lizzie,” Clarissa said from behind me. I pulled my hand away and moved to the side so that Clarissa could move around me and set her load down.
“My family already left. I hope you don’t mind that I took this side of the room,” Lizzie said, nodding to Clarissa and me as she gestured to the already made bed and the posters of The Beatles and Pink Floyd on the white brick walls.
“I don’t mind,” I said, peeking around. The room was bigger than my room at the guys’ house, but it seemed small with all of the stuff crammed inside. There was double of everything—twin beds, desks, dressers, and even closets. The only thing not doubled was the mini-fridge and microwave shoved between the two dressers.
It looked like Lizzie had jacked up her bed so that she could slide trunks and containers beneath it. It would have been neatly hidden if her comforter wasn’t too short. As it was, I could see the lower half of two plastic bins and a trunk towards the end of her twin bed.
At that moment, two girls in Greek Life t-shirts knocked on the open door. “Hi!” they said in unison. “We’re just dropping off the rest of Harlow’s things from outside.”
Clarissa thanked them, and Lizzie’s eyes widened. “Is this all you brought?” she asked.
I nodded.
“I tried to tell her she might need a bit more,” Clarissa said teasingly. “Knix wouldn’t have minded.”
“Knix?” Lizzie’s brows lowered in confusion.
“I don’t need anything else,” I assured them.
Lizzie shook her head. “You might regret that, unless you have a car. Did you even bring any kitchen stuff?”
“Why would I need kitchen stuff?” I asked. “Isn’t there a cafeteria?”
Lizzie laughed. “Oh, boy, you’re gonna get sick of that after a week! I’m a sophomore, I should know.”
“Well, what’s done is done now,” Clarissa said when she saw the uncertainty and worry on my face. “Why don’t we finish getting you set up, so I can move the car?”
It didn’t take long at all to open the new comforter and sheets and make my bed. As I did that, Lizzie offered to help Clarissa hang clothes. “Alright,” Clarissa said stepping back as she gently set my computer down on the desk designated as mine. “Looks good. You need anything else, honey?”
I looked around the room, wondering the same thing, and shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Are you sure?” Lizzie asked, looking at my barren side of the room with obvious skepticism.
“I’m sure,” I replied. “If I need anything, I can ask the guys.”
While Clarissa nodded, Lizzie tilted her head at me curiously. “Well, in that case,” Clarissa moved forward and enveloped me in a tight hug. I breathed in the ocean and spring scent from her laundry detergent. “If you just want to talk, you know you can call me.”
I nodded. “I will and thanks for taking care of Cleo.”
Clarissa laughed. “Never thought I’d be a cat babysitter. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Awww, you have a cat?” Lizzie asked as Clarissa disappeared out the door. “I love cats.” I nodded before turning back to the room a bit numbly. This was it. I was in college. This was really real. I looked at Lizzie as she turned away and began going through her own closet. “It’s too bad we can’t have anything more than fish on campus as pets…well, unless you have a therapy animal or something.” She paused, looking back at me.
“No,” I said before she could ask. “I don’t have one of those. Just Cleo—and I can’t keep her on campus.”
Lizzie deflated and turned back to finish hanging up a bright purple top. "It would have been cool if you had. I love animals. Maybe your mom can bring Cleo to visit sometime."
"My mom?"
"Yeah, was the woman who helped you move in not your mom?"
I blinked at her. "Clarissa doesn't look anything like me." That was more than obvious.
Lizzie frowned at me as she backed up and closed her closet door. "Just because she’s obviously not your biological mom doesn't mean that
you don’t consider her your mom. My grandma raised me, but I call her mom. I just assumed—sorry, I’ll try not to do that again.”
My cheeks flushed. I could tell by the way she spoke that she was irritated—perhaps even thinking I was snooty and rude. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like in a bad way," I say. "Clarissa is cool, and she was nice enough to help me move in, but my mom's um...she just couldn't be here."
Lizzie arched a delicate eyebrow as if she wanted to say more, but something in my expression must have warned her away because, instead, she smiled and changed the subject. "Wanna go check out the cafeteria together?" she asked. "I kinda haven't eaten all day and I haven't gone to the grocery store yet."
I smiled back, relieved. "Yeah, I could go for some food."
"Awesome!" Lizzie bounced to the door. "Hold on, let me see if anyone else wants to join us. Might as well make some friends while we're here. I'm sure everyone else is just as nervous being in a new place as we are." She opened the door and practically sprinted out, a whirlwind of bubbliness and pink hair.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Knix: Did you make it there okay?
Harlow: Just fine. Moved in. Clarissa is gone. Met my roommate.
Knix: Roommate? I thought you got a single.
That had been the plan, but I just couldn't justify shoving someone else out of a room if I was only going to be here for a month or so. I knew the plan was to attend classes as well, but we all knew that none of us would be staying for the full term.
Harlow: Nope. Her name is Lizzie and she's pretty cool.
It took longer this time for Knix to answer. I bit my lip, wondering if he was upset. I had discussed this with Alex and he had approved it, but it sounded like that hadn't been relayed. Just as I was about to give up and shove my phone in my pocket to go out into the hallway, it buzzed again.
Knix: Okay, just be careful.
I grinned. Worrywart, I thought.
"Ready?" Lizzie's voice startled me, and I looked up to see her standing in the doorway with another girl behind her with medium length brown hair pulled back into a sharp ponytail. Wearing a bright yellow, university t-shirt, she shuffled over and smiled, revealing moderately straight teeth and a dimple in her left cheek.
"Yeah," I said, tucking my phone away and standing up.
"Cool, this is Kelsey," Lizzie introduced.
"Hi." I waved.
Kelsey beamed. She stuck out her hand, thumb up and waited. "Uh..." I reached for it uncertainly.
"It's nice to meet you!" Kelsey said, pumping my arm like a world-class weightlifter. I winced when she squeezed once more and then let go.
"Well, let's go grab some food!" Lizzie said brightly and led the way. I followed behind rather meekly rubbing my hand as Kelsey rushed to catch up.
* * *
By the time I returned to my new dorm room, my legs were on fire. I felt like I had walked more than twenty miles in the last few hours. First, Lizzie, Kelsey, and I had gone to the cafeteria, which had been teeming with people. Second, we had gone on a campus-wide tour with several other freshmen and their families. Lizzie stayed with Kelsey and me, making jokes and telling us where the best places on campus were. In a way, she reminded me of Erika—outgoing and so sure of herself. A pang of something hit me deep inside, making me forget where I was for a brief moment. Erika should have been there with me. She should have been the one showing me around campus. She should have been the one cracking jokes and making plans for study groups. My gaze drifted away from Lizzie and Kelsey, inadvertently tuning them out as my mind was caught up in the worry for Erika.
It was only when Lizzie laughed so loud that she snorted, that I was drawn back into the conversation. Kelsey looked over at me curiously but didn’t say anything when I realized I had drifted away physically too, and suddenly moved closer. Lizzie was speaking, explaining that the tour guides weren’t actually allowed to mention which frats had the most parties, or which areas were for smokers. It wasn’t like I would need to know anything about where smokers were permitted to smoke openly, but it was fun to listen to her rattle on. It was also really nice of her to go with us rather than leave us to our own devices—especially since the guys still hadn’t let me know when we were meeting up.
The tour lasted for over an hour. Then we went to the bookstore, the library, the campus store—which was apparently different than the bookstore—and finally, the coffee lounge. After the hell that was the cafeteria, Lizzie wanted to show us other places to eat. So, we checked out the sub-sandwich place in the basement of the honors center and the food court in the student rec center. The gym. The campus movie theater. My feet screamed at me to stop thinking about it all.
I collapsed on my bed and stared at the ceiling while Lizzie hummed a random tune as she got ready for bed. She stepped further into her closet and began pulling off her clothes with the door half closed, shielding her from view. I couldn't even think about getting back on my feet to do that, no matter how badly I wanted to. My phone vibrated, and I groaned, rolling over on my tiny mattress to tug it out of my pants pocket.
Texas: Haven't heard from you today, you all good?
Before I could reply, more texts came through. I groaned—the guys all thought way too much alike.
Bellamy: How is the campus?
Marv: We finally finished with the house. Do you need any help setting up your room?
Even Grayson texted me.
Grayson: Heard your roomie is a pixie. Sounds like she'll suit you just fine, Babydoll.
I narrowed my eyes at that last text and decided that Grayson would be my first reply.
Harlow: What the hell do you mean she's a pixie?
Grayson: Pink hair?
Harlow: How do you know that?
Grayson: Alex's girlfriend stopped by before she went back home.
"Sounds like you have a lot of friends back home," Lizzie said quietly as she moved out of her closet and towards her bed.
I shook my head. "No, just some friends who are staying here, actually."
Lizzie looked surprised. "On campus? Why didn't you text them earlier and ask them to come out with us?”
"No, not on campus," I replied, clicking away from my conversation with Grayson and onto Texas'. "They're staying in a house just off campus and they were busy getting it set up today, so they couldn't come."
"Oh." Lizzie pulled back her comforter and slid into bed. "I...um...I'm gonna go to bed now," she said.
I stared at her, confused. "Okay?"
She sighed. "I'm sorry, but it's really hard for me to sleep with any light on or anything. I'm sure your phone light won't bother me much, but if you're gonna stay up a little more and do other things...well, I know there's a dorm lounge and study room you could hang out in."
I finally got her meaning. "Oh!" I got up and even though my aching soles protested, I headed for the door. "I'm not gonna be doing much," I promised. "But I'll probably hang out in the lounge." In case one of the guys called, I decided.
"Okay, goodnight," Lizzie called as I shut off the light and closed the door behind me, making sure to flick the lock so I wouldn't get locked out.
"Night," I called back, turning and heading for the front of the dorm building.
I knew I had passed the lounge Lizzie had mentioned on my way in that morning. I found it down the hall, thankfully empty, and took up residence on one of the long couches in the corner under a set of tall, arching windows. I pulled my conversation with Texas back up first, then, thinking better on it, I brought up a group text and added Grayson to it as well.
Harlow: Hey guys, just checking in. Everything's fine.
Immediately, the replies began rolling in.
Texas: You don't need anything?
Marv: If you need anything, feel free to come to the house. We can come get you if you want.
Grayson: Just come to the fucking house. Marvin is whining.
Bellamy: Glad to know you're okay.
Marv: What the
hell is Grayson doing in this chat?
Grayson: I'm sitting across the room, why don't you say that to my face?
Knix: Good to know everything is going well, Harlow. Marvin. Grayson. Enough!
I snorted and then suddenly, I was laughing. Laughing so hard I couldn't stop as more text messages came through. I pictured Grayson's smug face as he sat across the living room—Marv seething, ready to get up and strangle him. But he couldn't because Knix was telling him—VIA TEXT MESSAGE—that he couldn’t. To be honest, it was the most ridiculous, albeit accurate, image in my head. It was so funny that I found it difficult to breathe for long moments as I gasped and wheezed. I laughed, trying to stifle the noise with my palm, for so long that I guessed the guys realized I wasn't answering any of their messages back and suddenly, my phone lit up with a phone call from Texas. I choked back a fresh wave of laughter and answered.
"H-hello?" I said, wiping tears from my eyes.
"Hey, you stopped answering. Knix asked you a question, are you okay?" Texas' voice was worried.
I choked again, gasping for breath. "Y'all are...so..."
"Are you laughing?" he interrupted. I erupted into even more giggles as he sighed over the phone. "Well, I'm glad that you're okay, but what's so funny?"
"You—Knix—Marv—he just...and Grayson." I couldn't even get out a coherent sentence. It took several more moments for me to calm down enough to explain. "It's just..." I started, "I could hear all of your voices in my head. Marv getting all upset and Grayson being his snarky self and then you and Knix and Bellamy...and when Grayson said he was sitting across the room. I just...lost it." I tried explaining the image in my head that had really set me off and by the time I was done, Texas was chuckling as well.
