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Chapter 8
I walked into my dorm room and immediately got tears in my eyes. Ugh, what was wrong with me. When had I become so emotional? I had already cried more on this trip than I had probably cried in my whole life. Realistically I knew the room was nothing special. It had the typical cinder block white walls, the twin bed, a desk, a dresser, and a closet, all things that probably could be found in every dorm room in America. But it was all mine. I wasn’t going to have to worry about someone barging into my room, or being locked in against my will. I wouldn’t be woken up by punches or screaming. It was in a word, glorious.
I immediately started hanging up the few shirts I had bought and the white dress the cute girl had given me. Luckily there were hangers provided in the closet since I had almost nothing with me to help put together a dorm room. I put my one pair of jeans, and my underwear and bras in the dresser, and was basically done settling in. I needed new sheets for my bed since all I had were the rags that had been on my attic army cot, but it would have to wait until I had money coming in. I was going to have to start a job hunt the next day. I was hoping that I could get hired on as a hostess or a waitress somewhere close. I needed money desperately but it would have to wait until tomorrow. The exhaustion of coming down from the adrenalin rush of escaping from the Anderson’s house, traveling by bus for hours on end, and finally seeing New York City hit me all at once. I threw my worn blankets on my bed and laid face down without bothering to change or wash my face. I immediately drifted off, feeling safe for the first time in a very long time.
I woke up groggily who knows how many hours later, forgetting for a second where I was. A feeling of desolation hit me as I worried for a second that everything had been a dream and I was actually still in the attic. A quick look around me reassured me though and I was able to lay back down and calm down. There was bright light coming in from the window. I must have slept through the afternoon and the night. I decided to go take a quick shower before I set out to job hunt. I grabbed my towel and the little bottles of soap, shampoo, and conditioner I had grabbed at a convenience store before getting to campus, and opened the door.
After locking my door, I spun around and ran straight into someone’s naked chest. Someone’s hard naked chest. I blushed, afraid to look up.
“Are you okay?” the stranger asked with a hint of a southern accent.
I finally dared to look up, passing faded blue sweatpants, then a set of yummy six pack abs, followed by a chiseled chest, until my eyes landed on the smirking face of the stranger. He was super attractive, definitely not as attractive as Damon Pierce, but who was? He had sun streaked blonde hair that was on the longer side, and twinkling brown eyes. Although he had a smirk on his face when I had first looked up, his expression had now changed to one of someone in astonishment. Maybe I had hit him harder than I thought? “I’m so sorry, I didn’t hear you behind me,” I replied, smiling softly.
He cleared his throat before answering, “I think you running into me might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he responded with a wink.
I blushed. I definitely hadn’t flirted in a very long time, in all honesty maybe I never had. I decided to excuse myself and finish finding the restroom. As I turned to go he laid his hand on my shoulder.
“Wait, I’ve never seen you before, what is your name?” he asked.
“Eva,” I replied. “Eva Taylor.”
“Well Eva Taylor, my name is Eric. I’ll be a junior this year. I’m assuming you’re a freshman?” he asked.
“Yes, I just got here last night,” I replied.
“Do you need help looking around campus…” he began, before a door opened up behind him. A pretty girl with long red hair, long thin legs, and pale skin stepped out wearing nothing but a cream sheet wrapped around her.
“Are you coming back to bed Eric?” she asked, trying to be seductive.
How awkward. He was in the hallway flirting with me and he had clearly been with her all night. While his head was turned looking at the redhead to answer her I took the opportunity to hurry down the hallway and finally take my shower.
After taking the first shower in four years where I wasn’t being timed, I put my towel around me and opened the door, peeking through the crack to see if anyone was in the hallway. Seeing that the coast was clear I stepped out and headed to my room. Once back in my room I got changed into the black blouse I had purchased, which I hoped was job hunting appropriate, my one pair of jeans, and my black flats. I combed my hair out and then left it to air dry. It would dry in loose waves and wouldn’t need me to do anything with it to look presentable. Taking one last look around the room in satisfaction, I headed out to start my job search.
