Coasting

Epilogue

            "Are you sure you don't need a ride?" Alyssa asked me as she loaded her fourth— and finally last—suitcase into the trunk of her car. Our break was only five days but you'd think she was packing for a two-week vacation.

"My friend is coming to get me in just a few minutes. I promise," I reminded my freshman roommate for the fifth time. Even if I did need a ride, there's no way I'd let her give me one since she's going north to her house in Virginia, the opposite direction I was headed.

"Alright," she ceded, shutting her trunk. "See you Sunday night then?"

I nodded. "See you Sunday. Have a safe drive home."

"Thanks," she called as she hopped into the driver's seat. Just before she shut her door, she added loudly, "Have fun with your boy!"

I clenched my teeth together. Smart girl, saying that when she was out of my reach. She knew that I'd hit her if I could've.

When she finally drove away, I sat on the edge of the sidewalk outside my dorm. The mid-afternoon sun was just starting to hit me directly in the eyes. Autumn at Duke was officially my new favorite season. It was warm, but there was still a breeze that cooled things down and tossed the colored leaves all about the campus.

It was weird to think I'd been in college for seven weeks. It felt like move-in day was yesterday, yet at the same time I felt like I'd been here forever, like life before Duke didn't even exist. Well, not totally. This summer was still clear in my mind.

Alyssa and I became close right off the bat. The first few weeks we did everything together. But as we got to know each other more, we both began to realize how different we were. She was the type of person who loved to talk and wanted to know every detail about everybody. I got annoyed with her about two weeks in when she always needed to be talking and I sometimes just wanted some peace and quiet. She caught on to my aloofness though and toned it down a bit, which I was grateful for.

It was nice to finally have a break though, even if it was fairly short. Rory yelled at me on the phone when I told her I wouldn't be coming home.

"Are you even a member of this family anymore?" she accused. Classic Rory, being dramatic as hell.

"I'm coming home for Thanksgiving!" I offered, hoping she would be satisfied enough to let this one slide.

"You better be," she warned and then let out a huff. "I cannot believe you are choosing to see a boy over your family."

"I am not going back just to see Fletcher," I quickly defended. "I want to see Aunt Monica and everyone else." When she didn't answer, I added, "Plus, it saves so much money by not having to pay for a plane ticket."

"You really think Mom and Dad are concerned about money," she growled, "when they're paying sixty grand for you to go to school."

"Exactly," I pointed out. "They're already paying so much for me to go here. So we need to save plane ticket expenses for really important breaks, like Thanksgiving and Christmas."

She knew I had a valid point, but still kept up the rumination of the conversation, arguing just to argue. Things were going well for her though. She's been seeing that guy Holden from her rehab center and they've both been helping keep each other stay on the right track. Rory's been clean and sober since she got out, which she's as proud of as the rest of us. She admitted to me that she still struggles with eating sometimes, but assured me that Holden is keeping her accountable for it.