One Month Later

"No Blake, I'm serious. I have to get out of here." I closed the door to my bed room and whispered into the phone. "Peni I'm almost positive that you are overreacting. Besides, you can't just move a month in. She can't be that bad, I believe in you. Hey I've got to go someone is here."

"Blake you don't- hello? Blake?" The line went dead and I threw the phone down onto my bed. What a great friend. If anyone would just listen to me that would know that Kendra is that bad. I couldn't deal with her constant visitors and the gifts they bring along with them. I swear I get second hand high every time I walk into the apartment. It was becoming too much and I needed to get away.

It wasn't that she was a bad person, and I really did like her the few times I actually interacted with her. We were just too different, and the apartment was not big enough for both of us. My room was smaller than my bathroom back home, and that's saying a lot. Living here was more harmful than it was helpful, even though the rent was super low... now I guess I know why.

I lied on my bed for a few minutes, drowning out Kendra's loud music with my thoughts. I decided it was time for me to look for somewhere else to stay and I needed to find that place fast, or else I would go crazy living here. I grabbed my keys and bag quickly and left my room to find a cloud of smoke covering the rest of the apartment. "Hey Penelope!" Kendra sat on the couch with her best friend Zo. No, it's not Zoe. I asked.

"Come join us!" I smiled, trying not to cough. "Thanks Kendra, but I've got to be off. I've got work! Hey Zo." It wasn't a lie, I did have to go to work in just a little while. I worked at a daycare on campus for moms going to school. It was a fun job, and the kids are cute. It was just a weird transition from the quiet library to a room full of screaming children. Plus I used to work only at night, now my job begins in the morning because of my class schedule.

Leaving the apartment, I groaned as I realized our creepy neighbor, Heath, was out and about. I tried to navigate my way around him, towards the stairs without having to speak... I should've known it wouldn't work. Heath was a talker. "Hello Penelope." He was about thirty or so and had a dog that was on its death bed.

I sighed, reaching the stairs just a second too late, "Hi Heath. How are you?" I didn't have to ask how he was. I could've just kept walking. Dummy. "I'm fair. How is Kendra? Is she inside?" He had a terrifying crush on the girl, because apparently he was one of her visitors at some point. I tried to stay far from the situation. "Uh, I don't think so. I didn't see her in the living room. Anyhow, bye Heath." He pushed up his glasses and waved his fingers at me.

I got out of there as fast as possible, making a beeline for my car. I remembered during my first week, there was a tour of all of the buildings and classrooms, and we passed a board of postings for people looking for roommates in the main hall. They said it normally stayed there for the first few weeks but I thought it would be worth a try. I was completely and totally desperate.

It only took me a few minutes to get to the main hall, it was just a huge building with a few lecture rooms and a lot of lobby areas for students to study or just relax in. I ate lunch here most of the time. I made my way through the building, attempting to find my way back to the board.

When I got there, I was incredibly disappointed. Only a few pieces of paper hung off of the cork board. One was bright pink and all of the little slots with a phone number on it had been torn off. The other was just a piece of notebook paper that read "Looking For Someone Who Can Be My DD- Cheap Rent" It didn't even have a phone number on it. I assumed "DD" stood for designated driver.

I groaned and ripped the papers off the board, crumbling them up angrily. I rested my head against it, breathing in the clean air for just another moment. I wondered if Kendra would even notice if I came back to the apartment before I had to go to work. Not that I wanted to, but I needed to take a moment to waller in my own self pity. I sighed and picked my head up, ready to turn around when a familiar voice made me practically jump out of my skin. "Penelope?"

I stopped in my tracks, not wanting to connect that voice to its face. There's no way. It can't be him. I was good, I was so good and I had moved on. How on earth could it be him?  A huge part of me wanted to walk away and never see his face again. But I didn't. It's not like he killed my family or something, he's just a jerk. I can face a jerk. Maybe then, he'll see that he really had no effect on me, and that I am no longer the naive teenage girl that fell in love with him. So I turned to look him in the eye with the brightest smile I could muster.

"Hello Adam." The minute I saw his face the air left my lungs. There goes my self confidence. My smile faltered, and I let it go. Goodbye new Peni. Hello naive teenage girl. He had grown a little stubble on his chin that was about a shade darker than his hair. I liked it a lot. It made him look much more mature. He smiled crookedly, "It's good to see you." Really? That's all you have to say?

I gulped and nodded, "Yeah, it's um... it's good to see you too. Are you looking for a roommate?" I gestured to the empty cork board behind me awkwardly, looking away from him. "Yeah, actually, I'm renting this little house and my roommate flaked on me to move in with his girlfriend. I'm kind of desperate." He pulled a piece of folded paper out of his pocket.

"How about you?" I shook my head rapidly, and pushed up my glasses; "Me? No! No, I've got a roommate. We live just a couple blocks away. She's pretty cool. Her name's Kendra, she's really fun and... adventurous..." I trailed off, realizing it was useless to babble, and Adam raised an eyebrow, unfolding his paper. He pinned it to the board with one of the push pins that was once attached to the piece of notebook paper I had crushed in my hand.

"Well, if you know anyone who is looking, let them know will you?" I nodded and gave a thumbs up. Yep. A thumbs up. Because if you didn't know, I'm a freaking nerd. Dear God. Could this get any worse? "You got your hair cut." He leaned against the wall and nodded towards my hair. I reached up to touch the ends of it that now barely reached my shoulders.

"Oh yeah, I did. It's uh... shorter." It's shorter you say? Huh, fantastic observation Peni. Brava. Adam laughed, giving me chills all the way up my spine. I used to love that laugh. "I like it. It looks nice on you." I really should have said goodbye and been on my way a couple of sentences ago, but I just couldn't. It was like the Adam that broke my heart dissolved back into the Adam that gave me my first kiss... not that they were that different.

I knew deep down that it had been over a year and that's plenty of time for people to change. But the anger in me boiled to the surface as I remembered what he put me through. Now he was acting like we've been friends forever and he just wants to chat. God Peni, you're in college now. He's just acting like an adult. I pushed every bit of loathing I had for him away and let my unnatural smile return. "Thanks. I got it cut after..." After you broke my heart. I decided it would be a great way to start over with a new me. But see where that got me? "After graduation."

I didn't let him answer, "Well um, I have got to get to work... so I should probably go. I'll... I'll see you around Adam." I examined the empty board one last time before waving at him and turning to walk away. Before I could get three feet from him, Adam caught my arm lightly, "Hey wait. Peni, I really think we need to talk some time. Can I call you?" Well I suppose that would require me to unblock you wouldn't it? "I really need to go... sure." I pulled away and did not look back.

Would it really be terrible to just talk to him? Moments like these called for Melody and Blake. But they weren't here... and neither of them wanted to bother with me anymore. Every time I called one of them or texted, they always had something else that they were doing. I get that they are in college and they have lives now, but so do I... and I always try to make time for them.

I didn't actually have work for another half hour so there was really no reason for me to rush out on Adam like I did. That's just what I do when I can't do anything else. I run. Like the wimp that I am. I remember praying that Adam wasn't in any of my classes, and I think it may have worked. I hadn't seen him in one class yet, but then again, the classes I'm in are huge. He could be there without me even knowing

I pulled away from the main hall and drove towards the daycare. I could just get there a little early, and that would have to be okay because I did not want to go back to my apartment and I certainly didn't want to stay where I was. I had not accomplished anything. I was still staying in that dreadful place with Kendra. I didn't even want to think of going back there. I had to do something, anything, to get away. Even if that meant becoming friends again with Adam Clifton.

Welcome back to the lives of my loves! I can't wait to get more of this book out for you all, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Thank you for sticking through and keeping up with this book. I know my writing can stink some times, I'm in it for the fun my dears. I love you all.

Lily