See above for the new two humans you'll meet in this chapter. Well, you met one in the first chapter. Thanks again for reading :) and for those who are panicking about Jesse and Alice, never fear. You haven't seen the last of Jesse.

"Did you get your phone charger?"

"Yes."

"Your glasses?"

"Yes."

"Hat?"

"Mom," I sighed. "I'm wearing it."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I'm just going to miss you," she clenched the steering wheel. Lissa's head poked through the space in between our seats.

"Same, Mrs. D."

I rolled my eyes and sank into my seat. My nerves grew the closer we got to the airport and I knew deep down, I didn't want to be leaving. Not them at least.

Mom pulled up next to the curb at the drop off area and for a few seconds, we sat in silence, not a single movement.

The security guard motioned us forward after a few moments and Mom cleared her throat.

"Right," she undid her seatbelt and opened the door.

Following her lead, we slowly piled out of her car. Lissa and Demi hugged each side of me while Jared and Mom grabbed my bags from the back.

"I can't believe the summer is over," Demi mumbled.

"I can't believe you went to school in Texas," Lissa sighed.

A bag fell to the ground from Jared's hands in front of us.

"I can't believe how much shit you have," he said.

I stared at him, lacking the energy to make a remark.

Mom rounded the car with two other bags in her hands and dropped them in front of me.

"Are you sure you have everything?"

"Mom," Jared and I both groaned.

She raised her hands up. "Fine." She pushed Jared aside and snaked her arms in between Demi and Lissa's to give me a hug.

"I love you," she breathed. "Call me if you need anything."

Holding her, I nodded. "I love you, too."

She stepped back, sniffing, and pushed her sunglasses back down. "I'll be in the car," she said quickly and walked away.

We watched her until she closed the door.

"That's it, I'm not letting you leave," Demi crossed her arms.

I laughed, fighting the sudden moisture building in the corner of my eyes.

"Skype me all the time?" I asked.

"Every day," Lissa squeezed my hand with a nod.

Jared cleared his throat.

"Come here you idiot," I grabbed him and wrapped my arms around his broad waste. His arms wound tightly around me and we stayed that way for a few moments.

"I'll see you soon," he whispered into my hair.

"You better," I stepped back and wiped at my eyes.

Standing in a circle around my bags we looked at each other. We were missing the other person in our group and the void was felt today. Even the space he usually took up around was a reminder. I had gotten so used to having Jesse around that it didn't feel right not having him here, even if it was just as a friend. We were like family before all of this and today, it felt like I had lost another member of my family.

"I can't believe he didn't come," I finally whispered.

"Who?" Jared replied. "Ow!" He covered his stomach after Demi smacked him.

"Jesse," Lissa sighed dramatically. "I still can't believe you chose him over that delicious guitar player."

"Jesse is in Florida," Jared finally spoke up. "You know that right?"

Demi hit him again. "Ow!"

"Idiot," Lissa mumbled.

"Even worse," Demi explained.

Jared was at a loss and the confusion was written all over his face. "I thought you said you two were okay after everything?"

Lissa and Demi sighed in unison.

Jared looked between the two and finally landed on me. He seemed at war for a second.

"Do you," he scratched the back of his neck. "Want me to talk...to him?"

"No!" I burst.

He was visibly relieved. "Thank God."

Lissa shook her head. "We'll teach your brother how to understand women, don't worry."

I laughed. "Well," I stared at the three of them. "I guess this is it for awhile."

They nodded softly. Lissa stepped closer to me and wrapped me in a hug one last time, followed by Demi and Jared.

"Love you," Lissa squeezed.

"Love you," I squeezed all of them before letting out a deep breath and releasing them.

It was time to go back to Texas. They helped me get my bags to the baggage drop off and left me to make my way to security.

Just like that, a summer came and gone and my heart felt like it was in mourning all over again. Mourning over leaving my friends, my family, my home. Mourning the fact that Jesse didn't even say goodbye. The fact that I didn't even see him one last time before I got on the plane.

That was the worst thing about the entire situation between the two of us. There was no closure, just a big fat question mark hanging in limbo, waiting for one of us to pluck it out of the air to offer up an answer.

I was hurt and maybe a little angry that he would leave me like this before heading back to school. I never thought he was like that, not really. I knew what others had said, but time after time he proved me wrong.

Until now.

He didn't come after me. I wasn't sure what was more surprising about that, the fact that I wanted him to or the fact that he really might be just another hot surfer at the Cape.

"Ladies and Gentleman, if you could turn your attention to the front of the cabin..."

I placed my headphones into my ears and laid my head against the window, staring at the ocean just out of reach. How stupid was I for ever leaving this?

I swallowed and let my mind go over the details of the summer: streaking, skinny dipping, pranking, concerts, playing, crying, kissing, fighting...healing.

This wasn't goodbye, it was temporary. I would always come back home.

...

The heat. The heat was something I did not miss at all while I was away, but the hospitality was a welcome comfort.

Staring up at my tall apartment building in downtown College Station, I tilted my head. It was surreal being back here. It felt like I had been gone for years, like I had returned a different person.

Bouncing against the narrow walls of my apartment building hallway, I let out a deep breath and shoved open the door to my place. It swung open with the smell of hairspray and flowers meeting me immediately.

That could only mean one thing. Brooke.

Brooke was my roommate. She was undeniably gorgeous, president of her sorority and the next big star on broadway, according to her at least.

At first glance, she wasn't the kind of girl you would think you'd get along with, but then she opens her mouth and in a Texan accent, she'll burp and ask for Whataburger, a Texas staple.

"Aliiii, my babe is finally home!" She squealed from her room, the sound of footsteps thundering across the floors to the living area, surely making our downstairs neighbors mad.

She barreled into me, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"Girrrrl, it's been too long!"

I dropped my bags and pat her on the back. She pulled away, her perfect smile beaming.

Suddenly, her smile fell. "Who was he? And do I need to kick his ass?"

I laughed, pushing past her to the kitchen to get some water. Brooked was a lot like Lissa, direct, feisty...flirty. It was probably why she became my roommate soulmate as we like to call each other. She plopped onto the kitchen counter, staring holes into my face as I pulled a glass from the top shelf.

Sighing, I shook my head. "It will take all night just to explain my summer."

"Well, I've got thirty minutes," she grinned.

Rolling my eyes, I gulped down the water and set the glass in the sink.

"I'll tell you later," I responded.

She frowned. "Brayden is about to be here, you can just tell both of us," she shrugged and hopped down.

I moved to take my bags to my room, but was nearly knocked over by our front door swinging open.

"Jeez," I murmured to myself as I leaned against the wall to steady my swaying body.

"Would you look who it is?"

I smiled. "Hey Brayden."

Grabbing one bag, he stood in front of me and grabbed the other off of the floor to help.

"Let me guess," he grinned as he opened my bedroom door for me. "Your summer was like a movie, full of surfing and sand volleyball."

"Don't be jealous," I teased.

He dropped my bags onto my bed and laughed.

"Hard not to be," he replied, following me back into the living room. "Know what I did? Two words. Fence. Posts."

"Ahh the life of a farmer boy," Brooke said from the bathroom, her curling iron clanking against the counter.

"Rancher," he corrected. "Get it right."

"Earn some cash though?" I asked as I dropped onto the couch.

Brayden grabbed a guitar off the stand and sat in his favorite chair.

"Eh," he shrugged as he tuned it. "Not much."

I laid my head back as he picked at the strings.

"What about you? Didn't you work at some beach shop?" He asked, never missing a note.

"Yep," I murmured, covering my eyes with my arm.

"Something happened," Brooke called out.

Sitting up, I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair.

"Nothing happened," I beckoned for the guitar. He stopped playing and stared at me with confusion.

"Do you play?" He asked.

How funny it was to realize just how little they knew about me. It was my own fault, I knew that. When you live a life with walls built around you, those who weren't around for the tragedy don't get to know the details .

With a shrug, I brought my hand back to my lap, oddly seeking the comfort of its weight, but not ready to share it with anyone.

He narrowed his eyes, but shrugged it off and began playing softly. He continued our conversation simultaneously.

"Meet any hot surfers?" he joked.

Brooke gasped from the bathroom and poked her head out, holding her black hair straight into the air, mid curl. "Please tell me you did," she begged. "You know who I met all summer? The Mean Girl Damien's of the Broadway world. Ugh," she sighed and went back into the bathroom, her curling iron scraping against the counter as she picked it up.

"Yeah and she's making me pay for it by going out with her tonight to pick up a random guy," Brayden shook his head, momentarily stopping his picking.

He rest his arm on the guitar and his blue eyes met mine, obviously noticing I still hadn't answered. I met his eyes and smiled a small smile.

"Who was he?" he asked, raising his thick dark blonde eyebrows.

"No one," I replied.

"Mhmm," he teased, but let it go.

"Brooke, you take so damn long, hurry up," he called out to her, setting the guitar back in its stand.

I stared at him for a moment while realizing how much I had missed Texas. There was simplicity here, no family drama or past lives creeping up, just a fresh place where no one knew the real me. It was exactly what I've always wanted, to escape my past, the hurt and the memories.

Was it?

I sighed.

"So, before you left you were thinking about joining the program..." Brayden waited.

"I was," I confirmed.

"Are you still?"

"You totally should Alice!" Brooke shouted.

"Ah, I don't know guys, I only have one year left," I trailed off and scratched my head.

"What would you be doing? Piano I guess? That's all I've seen you play, well through video once," Brayden wondered aloud.

Songwriting, I thought to myself, but went along with his thought process instead. "Yeah, piano."

"That's great, you really should, I've never seen Dr. Klein be so willing to accept a new student so late into the program," he said.

That's because she's known my family since she was a student herself, I thought. Dr. Klein knows me...she knows my father.

Well, knew.

"Yeah," I whispered. "Crazy."

"Okay!" Brooke stepped out, placing a heel on her left foot, reaching out to Brayden for him to hold her steady for the other shoe. "You want to come Alice?"

"Oh no," I laughed. "You guys go have fun, I'm going to unpack."

Brooke smiled and flipped her now curled black hair over her shoulder. "Suit yourself, going to find myself a hot Freshie," she winked, ripping Brayden up from the chair as she walked away.

"You better be a good wing man this weekend," Brayden threatened.

"Yeah, yeah," she murmured, opening the door and waving to me as they walked out. Brayden sent me a smile before she closed it in his face.

Staring at the door, I let out a breath, collapsing back onto the couch and looking up at the ceiling.

I glanced to my left, seeing Brooke's guitar resting on its stand. Chewing my lip, I dug my phone out of my pocket and swiped it open.

I opened Instagram and went to his profile. There was a new photo of him in Florida. With her.

Okay so it had all of the reps in it, but still, the fact that she was in it made me physically sick to my stomach. Look at her, basking in all of his glory, even looking over at him from her side of group.

Look at him...he looked happy. How could he be so happy while I was so...so...bleh? I scrolled down to see if our photo was still up. My heart warmed slightly at the sight of me sitting on his shoulders, both of us laughing so hard we couldn't even keep our eyes open for the photo.

I missed him. Simply put, I missed everything about him.

Letting out a deep, shaky breath, I searched for Lissa's name and pressed call. It only rang twice before she picked up.

"Are you okay?" she immediately asked. "I saw the picture he posted."

Not knowing what to say, I simply shook my head and closed my eyes. "Liss, how did any of this happen?"

"Alice, you couldn't have known this would happen," she sighed, the sound of drawers opening and closing in the background.

"I lost one of my best friends because I decided to try something new with him."

The sound of a drawer shutting rang through the phone before her bed creaked from her sitting. "It takes two, Al."

"Skype date with Dem?" she asked.

"That'd be fun," I murmured, covering my eyes with my elbow.

"Alright, go grab your laptop," she ordered in her normal, bossy fashion.

Sitting up, I rolled off of the couch to go to my room.

"How are you and Jake?" I asked as I unzipped my backpack and tossed my laptop onto the bed.

She sighed. "Oh, you know, the usual."

"Soo, incredible?" I smirked as I logged in.

"I don't mean to talk about us during a time like this," she said, sounding guilty.

"Lissa, stop." I opened Skype and saw her and Demi waiting for me to accept their video call.

I clicked accept, both of them popping up.

"Heyyyy," Demi grinned, making me smile instantly.

"God, I miss you guys," I smiled at the sight of my two best friends.

"We miss you!" They said together and laughed.

"Only been one day," I laughed.

"Is that hottie, Brayden still there?" Demi asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes Demi, need I remind you you're with my brother now?"

She scoffed. "Please, I can appreciate the yum factor of that boy without falling out of love with your brother."

"You're obsessed with the romantic notion of a cowboy, not Brayden," I said sarcastically.

"Whatever girl, I would lick every inch of him," she giggled, Lissa joining in.

We all went silent and stared at each other through our screens.

"So," I began. "What now?" I asked softly.

Lissa seemed to look off thoughtfully before facing me again.

"Now," she began with a smile and leaned closer. "You go kick ass as a songwriter."

Demi smiled at the statement and nodded her head in agreement. "It's your time Alice," she said.

"And to be honest, screw Jesse, I thought he was better than that, but maybe I was wrong," Lissa said as she chewed her nail.

"Lissa," Demi sighed.

"No, seriously Dem, who does he think he is?" Lissa rolled her eyes. "Go lick the Brayden guy so Demi can lay off and you can move on."

I laughed. "No way, we aren't like that."

"More for my fantasies," Demi smirked.

"When do classes start for you?" Lissa asked, completely ignoring Demi.

"Thursday," I said.

"So tomorrow, go have the meeting with that professor," Lissa demanded.

"Lissa I can't--,"

"No listen, you're playing again Alice and this was your dream," she scoot closer to the computer.

"Exactly, was," I replied.

"Oh shut up," Demi murmured.

"Yeah," Lissa agreed. "We all see it, we all know it, even you do, but your Dad is who holds you back."

"No he isn't," I defended, holding my arms closer to my body.

"Then prove it," Lissa challenged. Demi crossed her arms in agreement.