Here We Go Again

"Hey, best friend!" Erin said as she walked into my apartment, not even bothering to ask if she could come in. Of course she could come in, but it would have been nice if she had asked first.

"What are you doing here?" I asked again.

"What? You're not happy to see to me?" she asked with a grin.

"No, of course I'm happy to see you," I said as I hugged her again. When I pulled away, I spoke again. "But what are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you."

"It's a called a surprise. You know, it's that little thing you always like to do when you fly back over into California and don't tell any of us until you're actually there," she said with a laugh. I smiled at that.

"Yeah, I know I like to do that, but why are you doing that now?"

"Well, surprise! I'm moving here!" she said as she threw her hands up in the air. I looked at her in shock and only then did I notice her luggage at my still open front door.

"What?" I asked as a smile slowly tugged at the corners of my lips. "You're moving here? As in England?"

"Yup, as in right here, in this apartment! Hey, roomie!" she said with another grin. I couldn't help but hug her again as we both squealed and giggled.

"Seriously?! You're not joking, right?" I asked as I pulled away from her.

"Nope, I'm here to stay." She smiled at me and I squealed again in excitement.

"Ah! This is so awesome! I'll show you to your room!" I said as I grabbed her luggage, closed the front door, and dragged her luggage into the spare bedroom. "This is it," I said as I gestured to the room. She glanced around the room as she took it all in.

"Hm, not bad," she said as she nodded her head in approval. "I think I'm gonna need a bed though," she said as she glanced at the open space where a bed should be at.

"No, I'm gonna make you sleep on the floor," I said sarcastically. "Of course you're gonna need a bed. We'll go to the shops as soon as you tell me how in the world you convinced your mom to move here."

"It wasn't that hard actually. I only had to sacrifice a virgin under a full moon with a special dagger," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Oh, only? That's not so bad then," I replied. We both laughed as Erin grabbed her luggage. "Really though. How'd you do it?"

"I begged my ass off," she replied with a laugh as she unzipped her luggage. "I told her it was my senior year and I should enjoy it and travel and stuff."

"And she just let you come here?"

"There was a bit of a catch."

"And what was that?"

"I have to work at the shop all summer after high school is over."

"Ouch. That sucks."

"Yeah, it does," she replied with a shrug. Erin's mom owned a candle shop and sometimes Erin would work there for a couple of hours for a bit of money. She didn't really like working there for too long though, because all the different scents of the candles always gave her a headache by the end of the day.

"Are you gonna get paid at least?"

"No," she said with a sigh. "She said that if she was going to pay for my airfare and schooling and such then I should work for free."

"Double ouch."

"Yeah," she agreed sharply.

"So are you gonna split the rent with me then?" I asked with a grin. Erin rolled her eyes at me before she replied.

"Duh. Just have your people contact my people," she said with a smirk. I laughed at her.

"So what does that mean? I have to ask my mom to ask your mom?"

"Pretty much," she replied. I laughed again.

"Anyway, what school are you going to?" I asked her. Erin couldn't possibly go to Kingston Academy, because for one, it was a really expensive school. And Erin's family couldn't exactly afford it like mine could.

"I'm going to Havenfield School," she replied. I nodded. Even though that was also a private school, it wasn't nearly as expensive as Kingston Academy.

"When do you start?"

"Next week. Have you started school already?" she asked. I grunted.

"Yeah, I started today," I replied as I left her room and she followed me out.

"What's with the grunt? What happened?" I proceeded to tell her everything that happened to me today as I angrily fixed myself the peanut butter banana sandwich that I didn't get to start to make. "Whoa, wait, seriously?" she asked me as I finished telling her what happened. "He got back together with Annabella?" she asked in shock. I nodded at her. "And he thinks you two are still friends?" I nodded again. "What a dumbass," she said with a scoff.

"I know, right?"

"Anyway, did you get all your stuff from your dorm room?"

"Yeah, I got them with Chris a few days ago."

"So you're just going to commute then?"

"Yup. I don't think sharing a room with Will again is a very good idea."

"That'd be best," she agreed. From my peripheral vision, I watched as she looked me over. "You look skinnier," she stated.

"I do?" I asked her, but I knew her answer. Of course I looked skinnier. I still wasn't eating much, simply because I just didn't feel like it. Erin nodded at me and I shrugged at her. "Must be stress," I told her as I took a bite out of my sandwich. She shrugged her shoulders as well.

"Yeah, maybe," she agreed. "Anyway, after you're done, let's go get me a bed!" she exclaimed. I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Yeah, sure," I replied as I continued to eat. About halfway through my sandwich, I realized I didn't want the rest of it. As Erin was watching me eat though, I had to eat the rest of it. When I was finished, I washed my hands and grabbed my purse and phone. "Ready?" I asked her and she nodded. We left my apartment and we hailed down a cab to get to the shops.



We managed to get almost everything Erin needed for her room aside from a few essentials. When we got back to my place, our hands full of bags, I gave her the spare key to the place. Now it was our apartment instead of just mine.



The next day while I was getting ready for school, I shook Erin's shoulder to wake her up. I was letting her sleep in my bed until her own bed arrived.

"Hey, Erin," I said as I continued to shake her shoulders.

"Ugh. What?" she said in a groggy voice.

"I'm gonna head out for school soon," I said as I finished buttoning up my shirt and set to tying the small bow on my collar. "I've been waiting for my package from California and it should be arriving any day now. Can you keep a look out for when the mail dude comes by?" I asked. Erin grunted before she rolled over in my bed.

"Yeah, sure," she said through a muffled voice.

I finished getting ready and grabbed my things for school. I made sure I had everything before I left the apartment and made my way to school.



The school day passed without much happening. Of course I avoided Will and Annabella. In fact, I avoided nearly everybody. I spoke with Chris only a few times, but it wasn't for very long. And when it was lunch time, I bought my lunch and ate in the library alone near the very back. I saw Travis at the library and I gave him a small smile and he replied with a nod. He looked busy with whatever he was doing, so I didn't want to bug him. And when after school rolled around, I went straight home. I didn't want to linger too long at school if I didn't need to.

When I got home, I noticed a big cardboard box in the middle of the living room.

"Your package came in today," Erin stated as she ate a spoonful of peanut butter. I closed the door behind me and dropped my bag on the floor near it before I went towards the box. "I had to sign for you."

"Cool, thanks," I said. Erin nodded before she grabbed a knife from the kitchen and handed it to me so I could open the box. I gladly took it and opened the box before I handed the knife back to her.

"What'd you pack?" she asked.

"Just the usual stuff. Some more of my clothes and whatnot. A few other little things," I replied as I pulled out a few articles of clothing. She nodded as she ate more peanut butter. I took out all my clothes and placed it on the couch so I could get to my stuff at the bottom. I had packed some more of my shoes and things like some books, picture albums, and other little things I collected over the years. I smiled as I came across what I was waiting for. I pulled out a wooden box the size of a shoe box and set it down on the coffee table.

"What's that?" Erin asked as she plopped onto the couch on top of my clothes. I sat on the floor in front of the coffee table and opened the box. I pulled out a bunch of folded papers and plastic bracelets. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked as she leaned forward and picked up one of the many bracelets.

"Yup, they're my hospital bracelets," I replied.

"You kept these?"

"Yeah, as a reminder."

"And you brought them here?"

"I need to keep reminding myself what happens if I ever do start cutting again. I don't want to go back to that nasty habit and looking back on these helps me," I replied as I picked up one of the folded papers. These were hospital release forms and the like. They were records of my time in hospitals after I cut myself.

"Nicole," Erin started. "when was the last time you cut yourself?"

"You know when. Before Will and I got together."

"And you haven't cut since?" I shook my head at her. Suddenly, I felt arms wrap around my shoulders. "I'm proud of you, Nicole. I can see you're really trying hard and I'm here for you, every step of the way. Don't lose hope," she finished as she continued to hug me from behind. I smiled and patted her arm that was around me.

"That's why I saved these," I said as I held up my hospital bracelets.

"Yeah, I know. As a reminder," she said with a chuckle. I let out a small laugh.

"Is that corny?" I asked. I felt Erin shake her head before she let go of me.

"No, I think it's exactly what you need," she replied. I nodded at her.

"Me too," I replied. I put the papers and bracelets back into the box before I closed it. "Now, I got some homework to do." I stood up and dusted myself off before I grabbed my bag near the front door. I took out my homework as I sat at the kitchen table and set to working on it.