____________________

I end up agreeing to the study session being at my dorm. Alex seems more than just a little surprised when I decide on my place, but I highly doubt he knows the reason why. The truth is there's probably going to be less of a chance of Alex and I being alone together at my place since I share the dorm suite with Hazel. And the walls are thin enough that if I scream someone is bound to come running.

Hazel is lounging on the couch eating take-out when we enter the living area. She doesn't bother looking up and continues scrolling through Netflix on the TV.

"What do you think, Mabel? Should we get with the program and watch Orange is the New Black?" This time she looks back at me and her eyes nearly bulge out of her head when she sees who I'm with. "Oh. Shit. Did I miss a text? I didn't realize you were bringing home company."

"Relax, we're here to study. We have our bio lab together," I reassure her. "Hazel, this is Alex. Alex, Hazel."

"We've already met," Hazel replies flippantly. "I can go watch TV in my room if you guys want the couch."

I wave her off. "It's fine, we'll use my room." I turn to Alex who is watching me with a puzzled expression. "Do you want anything to drink?"

He shakes his head and follows me as I lead him into my bedroom.

"Door stays open, kiddos!" Hazel calls from the living room, causing Alex to chuckle under his breath as he crosses the room to plop down on my bed.

"I was planning on it," I yell back, rolling my eyes.

"She acts like your mother," Alex says from the bed. His gaze is flickering around my room, studying his surroundings.

"She's just looking out for me." With Alex's wandering eyes I'm suddenly all too aware of the blank walls that surround us. I know that most girls my age decorate their dorms in a way to express themselves, in a way to own the spaces they're confined in, but I didn't bring much with me.

"You don't have pictures of your family in here," he muses. "You're not homesick?"

His question causes a fresh wave of anxiety to hit me. I bite down hard on my lower lip as I shake my head, moving to sit at my desk.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of about your upbringing, Mabel," Nichole's words enter my thoughts. She's right, but I don't see how babbling about my past is going to help make this situation any less awkward. I had once considered hanging a picture of my mother somewhere, but the idea didn't sit well with me. I never knew her.

"What do you want to start with?" I ask in an attempt to change the subject as I pull my laptop out of my backpack.

We spend the next two and a half hours delving deep into the meanings behind the text, exchanging notes from the class, and quizzing each other on vocabulary. Alex doesn't ask many personal questions, which I'm grateful for, and we seem to get along fairly well with one another. At about eleven thirty he closes his book and leans back against the pillows with a heavy sigh.

"I'm beat," he says, tossing one of his arms over his face. The tiny movement of him raising his arm pulls his shirt away from the waistband of his pants. His taut abdomen is exposed and my gaze instantly falls on the sliver of tanned skin. Heat swells within me, spreading throughout my body like a wild fire.

"Well, I should probably go." His voice is muffled from beneath his arm, and I'm thankful for the fact that he can't see how red my cheeks have gotten. "Thanks for the study session, Mabes."

I wrinkle my nose at the nickname. "Do you want me to walk you out?"

"Nah, I'll be fine." Alex rolls off the bed, packs up his things, and then shrugs on his jacket. "I'll see you later...?" He trails off hesitantly.

I nod with a warm smile. "Sure."

Alex returns the smile wholeheartedly and steps out of my bedroom. As soon as I hear the front door click shut Hazel scurries into my room.

"Okay, what the hell?" she asks from the doorway, her hands resting on her curvy hips. "Alexander Woods?"

I shrug, unable to meet her interrogating eyes. "I guess we're...friends."

"Friends?" Hazel repeats with a scoff. "Alexander Woods doesn't do friends."

I swivel around in my chair to face her. "Are you saying he wouldn't be friends with someone like me?" Her words have caused a flash of defensive anger in me, and Hazel notices.

She purses her lips in thought, her blue eyes softening. "No babe, that's not what I'm saying at all. I promise. That guy is nothing but trouble though, the entire team is like that, and I don't want you getting hurt. Okay?" She crosses the room to where I sit and tentatively bends down to wrap her arms around my shoulders. "I care about you a lot Mabel, and I don't want you getting in over your head."

I relax in her hold, hugging her back. "That means a lot, but I promise there's nothing for you to worry about."

"You'll let me know if there is, right?" Hazel asks as she pulls back to meet my gaze.

"Of course," I promise reassuringly.

✖️✖️✖️

I'm finishing up an essay for my English class the next night when my phone rings, startling me.

"Hello?"

Aunt Josephine's bubbly voice answers. "Mabel honey, how are you?"

I smile into my phone. "I'm good Aunt Jo, how are you?"

She immediately dives straight into telling me about how her two kids are getting ready to graduate high school and move out of the house, gushing about how her eldest son has been applying to Ivy League universities and how she's so certain he has a good chance of being accepted. The sound of her happiness relaxes me. From what I've heard about my mother, she was very much like her sister Jo, both with bright smiles and energetic personalities. Speaking to her, even if it's only on the phone, makes me feel as though I'm connected to my mom.

"I am so sorry that we won't be able to spend Thanksgiving with you," she says with genuine sincerity. "Tom wants to spend the holiday with his parents in Mexico. Can you imagine? A warm Thanksgiving? The boys are excited of course, as are his parents since he'll be flying them down there too, but I have half a mind to just stay home. Maybe then you could come to Washington and we can have a nice meal together."

My heart aches at her words. "You don't have to do that Aunt Jo, it's okay. There's always Christmas."

"We could always fly you out with us."

I grimace at the thought of it. "You already spend far too much money on me. I couldn't accept something like that." Josephine and her prominent surgeon husband have paid for my tuition this past year and a half with the promise of covering all four years in college. I'm more than certain it's because she felt so guilty after finding out about the abuse, and I myself feel slightly ashamed for taking the offer, but I needed to get out of Michigan. "I'm actually thinking about looking for a job next semester."

"Oh honey you don't need to do that. If you need more money just let us know," she says softly.

"No, you send more than enough," I assure her. "I just think it would be a good thing for me to get some work experience. My roommate Hazel works at a diner across town and they get short staffed often so maybe I'll apply there."

"Are you sure you're ready for that?" She's not questioning my ability, only checking to make sure I'm not rushing into things.

"It'll be good for me." The thought of holding a job is frightening and nerve wracking, but it's something I know I need to do.

We continue our conversation for close to another hour, swapping stories about what's going on in our lives. It brings a sense of normalcy to my life being able to speak with her like this, telling her about how my classes are going and what my friends are up to. She eats up every word that leaves my mouth and responds with interest, asking questions in appropriate places and making me feel as though what I have to say is important to her. It feels good to actually have a relationship with someone in my family, and it's something that Nichole and Hazel have both always made sure to encourage.

By the time we say goodbye I'm completely at ease, and for the first time in a long time, sleep comes quickly for me. My slumber is dreamless but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Countless times I've woken up in a panic, fearing that my father has found me, but this time that doesn't happen. I sleep peacefully—and quietly which I'm sure is a relief to Hazel—and when I awake it's to the soothing sound of my morning alarm and the scent of coffee brewing in the kitchen.

I step out into the hallway, stretching my arms high above my head, and follow the tempting smell. Hazel sits on the couch with a mug resting on her lap. She's already fully dressed, though her hair and makeup aren't put together as they usually are.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"You might want to put some clothes on, babe," she replies groggily, peering up at me from over the rim of her cup as she takes a drink.

"It's not like I'm naked," I laugh, waving her off. I'm dressed in my usual sleep attire. A sports bra and a pair of boy shorts. Before I'm able to say anything further, I hear the loud clunk of the fridge door banging shut.

"Hey Mabes, I'm glad you're finally awake," Alex's familiar voice sounds from around the corner, and then he steps into view.

"Alex?!" I dash for the throw blanket on the back of the couch and hastily wrap it around myself. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"He brought breakfast," Hazel says in disdain.

I have to fight off the laughter that suddenly wants to bubble over. "Alex, we don't eat breakfast."

"So I've heard. Hence the reason why I made coffee," he says with an easy-going shrug. "I didn't get your number the other day otherwise I would've texted you to let you know I was coming over."

"So you came over to our dorm to use our coffee machine to make us coffee with our own grounds?" My eyes widen in amusement. This man is very peculiar.

He lets out a huff and then chuckles. "Yeah, I guess so. Kind of lame, isn't it?"

"Kind of?" Hazel echoes grumpily from the couch. She's never been a morning person. We usually don't even speak to one another until lunch when she's more awake. As for the not eating thing in the morning, Hazel refuses until she's had enough caffeine in her system to practically wake the dead, and I have a weak stomach when I first wake up.

"Let me go get dressed and then we can head out, okay?" Alex nods in agreement, returning to the kitchen, and I focus on Hazel once again. "At least you don't have to buy your coffee this morning."

She rolls her eyes, her lips twitching ever so slightly. "I swear if he shows up here again so early and pounds on the door like he did I'm going to push him out a window. How can people be so cheery so early in the morning?"

"One day I'll turn you into a morning person," I tease.

"Go get dressed and take your new friend with you when you go so I can take a nap before my first class."

"Love you," I call over my shoulder.

"I'll love you again when I'm back in bed," she grumbles back.

____________________

...it's the thought that counts, right?

What do you guys think of the characters so far?

Make sure to vote/comment/add this story to your reading list if you're enjoying it!