Chapter Two:

The bus I took from the airport stopped in what seemed to be the main parking lot of the campus. As I got off of the bus, I stepped into a puddle and my sock got wet. I struggled to keep my balance with heavy bags on both shoulders.

I managed to find my dorm room at the very end of the hall. I was partially dragging my bags, frustrated with my lack of any physical strength. I was not sure if my roommate had arrived yet. I had received a letter from the university a few weeks ago, encouraging freshman roommates to write each other in order to make the move easier. I had thought about writing an email for a brief moment, until I realized that there was absolutely nothing about myself I would be willing to share with a total stranger. My dorm mate had apparently not gotten around to it either.

I took a deep breath while standing outside of the door. Someone had decorated it with colorful paper letters; "Amy and Isabella" it said. Wonderful, this would be like my first day at Forks all over again.

I opened the door to find an empty room. I instantly felt better. I heaved my bags onto one of the mattresses. I sat down at what would be my desk and pulled out the cell phone Charlie insisted I bring to check in with him. Before I could finish dialing, the door to my room was kicked open and slammed against the wall.

The girl, whom I assumed to be Amy, had golden girls and was wearing tacky purple sweats which she had zipped down a bit too far in order to show off her cleavage. She seemed flustered as she threw her luggage on the floor. The room suddenly felt much smaller.

She turned to face me and stared at my plainness for an agonizingly long moment. "You Isabella?" she asked.

"It's just Bella, actually."

"Yeah," she replied, hinting that she clearly did not care. "I'm Amy, but I let's not waste our breath getting to know each other. I'm switching rooms as soon as possible. I have friends sharing a suite in building two; this must have just been a stupid mistake." She sat down on her mattress and took out a cigarette. She made someone like Jessica appear warm and fuzzy.

"I think I'll go walk around campus," I said as I grabbed my jacket.

Well this whole plan was backfiring on me. Why did I leave Charlie and Jake again? Why did I turn down moving to the warmth and sun of Florida, moving instead to a location even colder than Forks? I had never felt so alone. I had tried to be invisible my senior year and protect myself with an impenetrable shell of numbness. However, I had taken for granted the love I did receive from those who still cared about me.

I tried not to cry and make an idiot out of myself. I worried about what Amy would think about my nightmares where I woke up screaming. Even though her comment was demeaning, I hoped her room switch worked out. Better to be alone rather than humiliated. I was not here to make friends anyway.

I walked down a trail around the outside of the dorms. It was a rather nice day. It couldn't have been much warmer than sixty degrees but the sun felt pleasant. There were large pine trees everywhere. The terrain felt similar to Forks. I took comfort in this.

Once my head was cleared, I walked to the registrar's office to get a copy of my schedule. It had a list of generic sounding courses like College Algebra. At the top next to my name was a line for my major. "Undeclared," it stated. I had left that blank on my application. I figured I did not really care about a degree. It was too difficult to plan any sort of future without him.

When I made it back to my dorm, the sun was setting and Amy was nowhere to be found, although the room now smelled of smoke. I picked up her cigarettes she had left on her desk and quickly tossed them out the window. I called Charlie and told him the campus was beautiful. I lied and said my roommate was very nice, but was honest when I told him I missed him.

After I hung up, I changed into sweats and I began unpacking my things. It didn't take long to put away my limited wardrobe. When I came across the items that I had found under the floorboards at home, I placed the plane tickets in my desk drawer along with the pictures of him that I had placed in an envelope. I held the CD, reading and rereading the names of the compositions written in perfect script. I considered playing some of the songs. Maybe it would be soothing.

Right on cue, Amy sauntered into the room. She didn't bother to look at me. She was turning around in circles looking for the little paper box that was probably soaking in a puddle outside the window. With a sigh she glanced at me.

"Well, we better get some sleep for classes tomorrow," she said as she turned out my desk light. The room went black. I let it go and got under my covers. I put the CD under my pillow, wrapped my arms around my body tightly, and prayed that Amy wouldn't hear me crying. This was a huge mistake.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Things will start to pick up a bit in the next chapter.