Here We Go Again

When Erin and I dropped Chris off at the airport for his flight the next day, it was a quick goodbye. Chris was late and was about to miss his flight if he didn't hurry up and board the plane. Before he left, I reminded him about the apartment and he said he wouldn't forget about it. We said our goodbyes and he got on the plane to leave.

On our way back home, Erin turned off the radio and spoke up. "So you're really going back there then?" she asked me.

"Back where?" I asked in confusion.

"Back to school in England."

"Well, of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because of Will." I pursed my lips before I replied.

"Erin, as much as it's going to hurt me to go to the same school as Will, I'm not going to leave Kingston Academy because of him."

"Why not? You've left a school for much less than that before?"

"Exactly. I've left schools before just because of a boy. And I don't want to do that again. After Jason, I just picked up my life and moved away. I'm sick of running away from my problems. It's time I just faced them," I finished. She glanced at me from her peripheral vision as she continued to drive.

"That sounds pretty big of you," she said.

"It does?" I asked and she nodded at me. "Well, after I said that, I realized I'm pretty terrified. How do I even face Will?"

"I'm sorry, honey, but I don't know," she replied. It was silent for a minute or two before she turned the radio back on.



Two days after we dropped off Chris at the airport, I got an email from him. He told me he found the perfect place for me. He said it was in my price range and it wasn't too far from school. He also emailed me all the other details about the place and it really did seem perfect. Then he told me there was just one small problem. If I didn't contact the realtor by tomorrow, Sunday, he was going to sell the place to someone else.

If I emailed the realtor, I wasn't sure if he would read my email in time. And I couldn't exactly call him from my landline at home, because of roaming charges. So my only options were to either call the realtor from my other SIM card that I used over in England that I also happened to leave back at my dorm room or to actually just fly back to England and meet with the realtor in person. The second option seemed to be my best bet. So I told my mom everything about the apartment, booked a flight back to England and started packing my bags.



I didn't bother to tell Chris or anyone else back in England that I was heading back over there. The only people that knew I was going back there were my mom, my little brother, and Erin. And they also were the people that drove me to the airport in the middle of the night for my red eye flight.

Eric was starting to get used to all my flights back and forth between California and England, but it was always obvious he was going to miss me. So I gave him a big hug before I gave my mom and Erin a hug as well before I boarded my plane.

The flight there was a long flight, as usual. It was around afternoon when I landed in England. I had printed the emails that Chris sent me about the realtor and the apartment back at home and looked for the realtor's number in the emails. I found a pay phone and dialed the realtor's number.

"Hello?" I heard from the other end.

"Hi, is this," I started as I quickly read the realtor's name on the paper. "Walter O'Conor?" I asked.

"Yes, this is. How may I help you?" Mr. O'Conor replied.

"My name is Nicole Greene and I was interested in that flat that was for sale."

"Ah yes. You're a friend of Mr. Chris Jacobs, right?"

"Yes, I am," I replied.

"Well, would you like to check out the place first before you make any final decisions?"

"Yes, that'd be great."

"Do you already have the address or would you like me to give it to you?" Mr. O'Conor asked.

"I have an address on this paper I have, but if you could tell me the address to make sure I have the right one," I said. Mr. O'Conor told me the address and it matched with the one in the email. "Yes, that's the one."

"Is today alright with you to check out the place?"

"Today is perfect actually."

"How about around two we'll meet at the flat?" Mr. O'Conor asked.

"Yeah, that's perfect. I'll see you then."

"I'll see you there," Mr. O'Conor said before we both hung up the phone. I checked the time on my phone before I hailed a cab. I had more than an hour before I had to meet with him, so I decided to kill some time. I was a little hungry considering I didn't eat much these days, so I grabbed a bit of lunch before I met up with Mr. O'Conor.

After I ate, I hailed down another cab to take me to the apartment. I showed the address to the driver and he took me to the place. The place was about five minutes from the school by car and probably ten to fifteen minutes by foot, so the commute wouldn't be so bad.

When I got to the apartment, I noticed I got there first. After about five minutes of waiting, Mr. O'Conor arrived.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he left his cab. "There was a wee bit of traffic," he explained.

"It's no problem. I got here not too long ago," I replied as I took a look at him. He was an older man, probably in his forties or fifties.

"So you must be Nicole," he said as he held out his hand.

"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Mr. O'Conor."

"Please, call me Walter. Shall we then?" he asked as he gestured to the apartment. I nodded at him and followed him up a short flight of stairs while I dragged my luggage behind me. "Did you just fly in today?" Walter asked as he looked at my luggage. I nodded at him.

"I got here shortly before I called you," I replied.

"Would you like some help with that?" he offered.

"No, it's fine." I said as we continued walking up the stairs.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, I got it," I said with a smile. Walter nodded at me as we continued walking. "There's a lift down the hall, but it's a bit faulty, so the residents tend not to use it too much. This is it," Walter said when we arrived at a door. He unlocked the door with a key from his pocket before he gestured for me to enter first. I walked in with my luggage in hand, Walter following, and looked at the place. "It's a two bedroom flat with two bathrooms; one in the master bedroom and one in the hall," he started as I left my luggage near the door and walked around the place. I walked into the kitchen that was to the right of me when I walked in. "The kitchen comes with a dishwasher, refrigerator, and oven." I traced my fingers across the kitchen counter. "Tile countertop as you can see," Walter continued. I nodded at him as I continued to look around the place. I left the kitchen and entered the living room area. It wasn't too big of a space, but it wasn't too small either. I walked into the hall and took a glance into the first door on my right. "That's the second bedroom and the door across from it is the bathroom." I closed the door and checked the bathroom. It was a nice bathroom. "The master bedroom is the door at the end of the hall and the door to the right of that is a closet. I glanced into the closet quickly before I walked into the master bedroom. It was a good-sized room. I didn't need too much space anyway. I checked the bathroom in the bedroom before I turned to Walter. "As you can see," he started. "everything is in good condition. The price is pretty good for this size of the flat and would be even cheaper if you get a flat mate. Pretty much everyone in this building is nice and it's quiet around here, except for the occasional party during the weekends, but the walls are fairly thick so it should be fine. It's close to your school, so commute shouldn't be too bad. If you want more time to think about-"

"I'll take it," I cut him off. He looked at me in surprise before he spoke up.

"Oh, okay then. Great!" he said with a clap of his hands. "Let's sign these papers then!" he said excitedly as he held up his folder. I nodded at him and followed him to the kitchen to sign the papers. It didn't take very long to get everything signed. When I was finished signing what needed to be signed, Walter said he would keep in touch with me to make sure everything was official and taken care of properly. I gave him my number and he handed me the key and spare key to the apartment. "Welcome to your new home!" he said as I shook his hand.

"Thank you," I said politely as I let go of his hand. Walter left soon after that and I was left alone in the empty apartment. Well, my empty apartment now.

I took a deep breath as I glanced around. It fit comfortably for two people and possibly three. Since it was only me though, there seemed to be a lot more space than necessary. I grabbed my suitcase and dragged it to the master bedroom, now my bedroom. I knew that I was most likely going to get this place anyway, so I packed a sleeping bag and other essentials to use until I got furniture and other things for my apartment.

I unpacked my laptop and tried to see if I could get wi-fi from somewhere. I figured I would try to bum internet off someone else for now until I got my own internet. Luckily, there was a network without a password for it. I connected to it and got a few bars when I sat in the far corner of my room. I opened my email and quickly emailed my mom and told her what happened with the apartment and whatnot. After I finished with that email, I emailed my therapist. It was pretty sudden leaving California, so I could only manage a voicemail to her cellphone. So I decided to email her with a proper apology as to why I just suddenly left without letting her know seeing as how we had another appointment scheduled in a few days. When I was finished with that, I closed my laptop and glanced around the room. This place was bare as it was, so I got up, grabbed my bag, and made my way to the shops.



After a few hours at the shops, I went back to my apartment. I had bought a few things for the place like curtains and bed sheets and such. I had also managed to buy a bit of furniture for the place. I bought a coffee table for the living room, a table and a few chairs for the kitchen, a bed, and a bed frame. They were all coming in a few days. So I would be using that sleeping bag I packed in the meantime before I got to sleep in an actual bed.

I could have asked Chris if I could crash with him or something, but I didn't want to bother him. Also, I didn't want anybody to know I was back just yet. I wanted to get settled in before I told anyone I was here.

Before I left California, I packed all my other things into boxes that I was going to take here, but couldn't bring along with me on the plane. So when I emailed my mom earlier, I let her know to send over my things now that I was certain that I got the apartment. I nearly had everything ready to be set up. In a few days' time, this empty apartment would have my things in it and would really feel more like a home.

As I looked around the place, I realized that I still had some of my things left at the dorm. If I wanted to get my things though, I might bump into Will. And I wasn't ready to face him just yet. So I decided to put off going back to the dorms for now.