Three Years Later

"Wake up, Lori!" Audrey called, throwing a pillow at her room-mates head. Lori groaned and sat up, red hair sticking out in all directions. "It's 9 AM." Audrey smiled, pulling on her boots. She grabbed her jacket and opened the door. 

"Where are you going?" Lori asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. 

"Helping out at the administration desk." 

"So trying to major in pysch isn't hard enough for you?" Lori chuckled, shaking her head. 

Audrey grinned, "I guess not." 

****

The December air was cold yet refreshing. Audrey pulled on her gloves as she walked over from her dorm to the main office. The staff loved her, the way she managed to be so bubbly, yet so incisive. When Audrey had heard one of the secretaries was going on maternity leave, she jumped at the opportunity to help out at the front desk. 

It was warm in the main office, and inviting. There was always coffee and donuts, and a perfectly big window that Audrey could watch the snow fall from. Plus, it gave her something to do between classes, as well as an excuse not to go home. 

Three years on, and it was still difficult. Sometimes it was impossible to be in the same room as her Mother. And since her Grandpa died, and her Grandma moved in, it was too stuffy. Audrey felt as if her Mom never stopped asking questions about those two weeks. The thing was, Audrey couldn't tell her everything. She couldn't explain everything. 

The first time Audrey had updated her phone, she was heartbroken. The phone was cracked and old, and it took a year for her Mom to convince her to get a new one. There was only one number that Eli knew. She'd written it down in his journal, expecting to talk to him every day. He'd call from the bus on his cell, when he arrived in New York, and when he couldn't use that he'd use a pay phone. She was completely confident. 

That whole year, Eli didn't call once. And after she'd gotten a new number, Audrey knew that it was over. He wasn't going to call, and he couldn't now. Three years on, she still thought about it; about him. But, only sometimes. Only when the sun would shine almost too brightly, only when she saw a flash of golden hair. Only when she would open up her closet and notice his faded sweater hanging there. 

Audrey turned the laptop on and started to type, catching up on all the students class changes and filing them in. 

"Excuse me?" A soft voice said. 

"Yes?" Audrey didn't bother to look up. If this job had taught her anything, it was how to do three things at once without even looking up. She continued to type. 

"I'm looking for Room 303." 

"Creative Writing?" 

"Yeah." 

Audrey smiled to herself, "You want to write a book or something?" 

"I already have." 

Audrey almost laughed. Aspiring authors could be so cocky. "Oh yeah?" She smiled and finally took a break to look up at the man in front of her, "What did you write about?" 

Eli smiled back at her, "You."

((I may have an idea for a sequel in mind... I kind of love these characters and I feel like their story could really progress. Anyways, hope you like this epilogue/teaser. Thanks for all your continued support! xxx ))