Given Time

♡3♡

Two weeks later

I haven't heard from Tanner since the night he kissed me at the restaurant, and I still haven't found out why he did it. I doubt it has anything to do with him harboring any romantic feelings towards me as he can't stand me. But why did he kiss me?

It must have been some sick joke, or a bet he's made with one of his friends. I wouldn't put it past them, as Tanner and his friends have slowly worked their way through my small group of friends, hooking up with them at any party we end up at together.

I kind of want to reach out to him and ask why he kissed me to get this annoying thought off my mind, but I don't want him to gloat from knowing that I have been thinking about him.

"Leah!" I hear my mom call sweetly from downstairs.

"Just a sec! I'm still getting ready," I call out as I put down my hairbrush.

As I look in the mirror on my vanity table, I can see the last few nights of restless sleep has caught up to me. I rub my dry eyes, feeling the pain as I do so. Sighing, I grab my concealer off the table and do my best to cover the dark circles under my eyes, but it barely works.

In the beginning, I was excited for college, counting down the days until I was at Berkeley. But when I only had a week to go, the nerves started to catch up to me, making it impossible to sleep. Plus, the thought of possibly bumping into Tanner while I'm there has added to the stress.

"Leah, we need to get going soon!" my mom shouts, a little more impatiently this time.

"Okay. I'm almost finished," I promise.

I take one more moment to check my closet and drawers to see if there are any clothes or important documents I may have missed, though after looking, it seems I have everything I need.

Out of habit, I straighten the cushions on top of my comforter, and my hand brushes over one of the small silver ones, and I feel a longing to take it with me.

"Leah, the vein on your mom's head is getting big again!"

I laugh aloud at that while I hear my mom bark at my dad. She hates it when we tease her about the vein.

"Coming."

Grabbing my purse and cushion, I take one last look at my bedroom where I've slept for the last eighteen years of my life. Memories come flooding back to me of all the times my parents have kissed me goodnight as a kid, to all the sleepovers I've had with my friends in this room. I can feel my eyes welling up, and I quickly blink the tears away.

I slowly descend the carpeted stairs, running my hand along the familiar white banister, wondering when I'll be able to do this again. In the last few months I prepared for this day, for letting go, but now that it's my reality, it feels more poignant.

"Are you sure you have everything, dear?" my mom frets as I reach the bottom of the stairs, bringing me back to reality.

"Yes. I did a double check before I left my room."

"Good thinking." She eyes up the sequined cushion in my arms. "Won't you struggle to hold that with all of your luggage?"

I give her a reassuring smile. "I'll manage. I want something that smells like home."

My mothers' eyes soften, and she pulls me in for a hug.

"I'm going to miss you too, Mom," I say, patting her on the back just as she lets out a choke and starts crying again.

Oh no.

Ever since I started packing, my mom has been weeping on and off. Though it's not like I can blame her, seeing as I'm her only child. When I was applying for colleges, she tried talking me into staying closer to home, but I was excited about Berkeley's psychology program.