As She Fades(17)

I shook her hand. “Yeah. I’m Vale. Nice to meet you.”

Her large expressive eyes seemed to twinkle. “Oh, I love that name. I have a thing for unique names. I even have a journal full of them. I’m adding Vale to it.” She laughed. “I swear I’m not a stalker weirdo. I was just born with a name like Mae Rose, and that’s so boring it’s sad. I refuse to saddle my kids with the same. I’ve been saving names I like since I was seven.”

As odd as that sounded, I liked this girl. She was very real. And chatty. I wouldn’t have to talk much with her. She’d do all the talking.

“Makes complete sense,” I told her, then remembered my mother was standing beside me. “This is my mom,” I told her.

Again she stuck her coffee under her arm since she was holding hang-up clothes and shook my mother’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Vale is going to love it here.”

“I believe so, too,” Mom agreed.

The elevator opened at the third floor and Knox and Dad were there waiting.

“Took y’all long enough,” Knox said.

“Oh, stop grumbling. You’ve been flirting. You’re just fine,” Dad said, rolling his eyes.

“Is that your brother?” Mae asked, her eyes going wide.

“Yeah, and some days I’m glad.”

She smiled and made a nervous giggle. Knox winked at her. Jesus. What kind of year was I in for?





CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I WAS ROOMING with Barbie. I’m not exaggerating here. Not even a little. Everly Adali Lane was five feet nine inches tall with blond hair that fell down her back, and blue eyes that were as dark as the ocean, unlike my light blue. Her lips looked super full, almost as if she’d had a little augmentation to them, and she had a tiny waist.

She was also a princess. I grew up with brothers. I didn’t always put on makeup and I liked my Converse just fine. From the way this girl was dressed to move in to our dorm today, you would think she was headed out on a hot date. This was going to be interesting.

“Oh, it’s just white,” she said as my mother finished making up my twin-size bed with the comforter I had picked out for it. The comforter set was in fact white and had a simple ruffle on the ends. I liked it.

“What, my comforter?” I asked, looking toward the bed she was staring at.

“Yes…” she said slowly, as if she still couldn’t comprehend the fact that it was white. Why was this so shocking?

“Do you have some colorful pillows, at least?” she asked.

“Uh, no.” I was still watching her. Almost afraid she was going to have a head explosion or something.

She reached into a large basket by her bed and pulled out a furry cotton-candy-pink pillow and tossed it onto my bed. “There. Use that.”

My mother glanced at me with her eyebrows darted up like she, too, had no idea what to think about this girl.

“Okay, thanks,” I said, not sure if I was thankful or not. The furry pillow was kind of silly-looking.

“I also have some artwork that we can put around the room so it all flows better. You’re not planning on hanging posters, are you? Because I can’t live with posters.”

Everly Adali was in luck. I hadn’t even thought of posters. I had in fact bought a mirror, but it was oval and in a white wooden frame. I was almost afraid to get it out. “No posters,” I assured her.

“Best news I’ve heard all day,” she said brightly, then began to spray what looked like perfume on my bed and then hers. “It’s lavender and vanilla. I got it in the Cotswolds while traveling around England this summer. You’ll sleep better. Do you snore?”

“Like a sawmill,” my dad said as he walked into the room with the last box. Knox had already headed to the frat house and promised to check in later. This would be where I did my good-byes to my parents, then was left with Everly.

“Thanks, Dad,” I said, taking the box and placing it by the closet.

“I guess it’s yours from here,” Mom said, and hugged me. “Enjoy life again,” she whispered in my ear.

“I’m going to try,” I promised.

Dad hugged me. “If you get homesick, I’ll fill you up with gas when you get home.”

Smiling, I squeezed him. “Noted.”

“Love you, baby girl,” he whispered.

“Love you, too,” I said.

They each kissed my cheek, then they left me there. With all my boxes and my new life.

“So you snore,” Everly said, when they finally left the room.

I had forgotten that question. I could tell her I was a terrible snorer and let her worry about it all day. Or I could try to be friends with this girl.

“Not at all,” I assured her.

She made a dramatic sigh of relief. “Ah, great. Okay. Well, I’ve got an afternoon coffee hook-up from a hottie I’ve been after since last year.”

I wasn’t surprised. Her skirt barely covered her bottom and her stomach was flashing from the crop top she was wearing.

“Okay. Enjoy yourself.”

She beamed at me. “I will.”

*

ONCE EVERLY WAS gone, I sank down onto my bed and let out a sigh. I had seven boxes left to unpack. The new surroundings were nice. My room at home had started being less of a place of solitude and more of a reminder of all that had changed.