★JANIE★

†TWO DAYS LATER†

It's been two days since Luciano and I had a contention in my room and he stormed off. He hasn't attempted to call, nor did he visit the Culkin's house again.

Right now, I perched in the backseat of Mr Alan's Black sedan. Noel sat beside me, while Mr Alan occupied the driver's seat and his wife, Mrs Isobel remained in the passenger seat.

We were on our way to UC Berkeley and the ride was awfully quiet. Maybe because each one of us was occupied in our own thoughts.

Since this was going to be the start of a new semester, I decided to tag along at once with Noel just so I could fit into the hostel room assigned to me through my email.

"Janie." Mrs Isobel's voice split through the silence. "Since your Uncle visited and he said he needed to pick something up after leaving your room, we haven't heard from him."

"I tried calling his number but it wasn't going through." Mr Alan added.

Mrs. Isobel heaved a sigh and then asked me. "Have you heard from him?"

I solemnly shook my head. "No."

She issued me a glance, perhaps to read my expression then stated. "Well, I hope he's okay because he's the only family you've got. Plus he seems to care about you a great deal. Someone like that really knows what family is worth."

Her words echoed in my head but I didn't utter a word after her. Instead, I leaned my head against the window, staring at the landscapes, and pedestrian crossing as my mind lingered on what transpired between Luciano and me.

Was I too harsh on him?

Cold-blooded killing machine— The words I hurled to his face surged to the forefront of my brain and stuck. How did I even think of that?

The image of his face when I made that statement was as clear as day in my mind. His eyes flickered with hurt, he clenched his fist as though he was holding himself back from doing the unthinkable and the moment he brought his eyes to meet mine, I felt nothing but emptiness before he uttered. "Goodbye Janie, have a nice life."

To be honest, I felt really bad for what I said to him. Not that he wasn't those things, but then, I should have thought of something nicer. Something less provocative. I've seen him try to reach for redemption countless times despite committing heinous crimes, alas, if I could see him right now, I would not hesitate to apologize because I said too much.

Thus, that popular saying— words are like viper. Once uttered, they can't be taken back - raced through my brain.

If only I could show up in his mansion to apologize. But that wasn't an option.

"And here we are!" Mrs Isobel said in a singsong voice, announcing our arrival at UC Berkeley.

Yikes, I must have been so lost in my thoughts that I wasn't aware of the miles we drove across California to get here. Nonetheless, I managed a small smile and looked at Noel. "We are here."

The car screeched to a halt in front of where Mrs Isobel said to be Noel's hostel and he alighted. "There is no need for anyone to help me," he said, closing the car door to refrain his mom from coming out. "I love you, Mom." I watched him place a kiss on her cheek. Then rounded up the car, and gave a smooth handshake to his father. "I will see you around, Dad. One second, let me talk to Janie."

He stepped up to me, beckoning I moved closer to him. And once I did, his lips were against my left ear as he whispered. "I noticed you haven't been yourself lately. Get settled in, we will talk more often in school, okay?"

"Okay," I responded.

Thereafter he placed a kiss on the back of my hand and bade us goodbye. My chest rose and fell in anxiety as I watched Noel's retreating figure until he disappeared through a glass door.

How did he notice that? Have I been too obvious lately? I thought to myself. I also observed that he had been acting weird and distant since the night after the movie. He was charming on my birthday though, but after he withdrew from me again.

"This is your hostel, Janie." Mrs Isobel announced and she immediately got down from the car to open the door for me.

Shoving all the weird thoughts away from my mind, I flashed her a grin as I managed to haul myself out. "Thank you, Mrs Isobel."

She instantly engulfed me in a deep hug. "Once you return home for holiday, I rather you call me Mom. But if you don't want to—"

"No, no." I peeled myself from the hug and took her hands in mine. "You've been like a mother to me for the past few months, so Mom is just fine."

Mrs Isobel's face lit up with a bright smile. "Thank you, Jan–ie." Her voice cracked with tears as she added. "And I'm going to miss you so much."

"I will miss you too."

We hugged once more before pulling apart. Whereas, Mr Alan was busy getting my things out of the trunk.

As soon as he was done, he turned to face me. "You have been a good girl for the past months I've known you. Please be cautious now that you're in college. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to call us on the phone. You have our numbers. And if it's too urgent and you can't reach us, inform Noel, and he will attend to you." He advised.

"Okay, sir." I nodded in understanding.

"Don't keep bad friends, Janie. Be wary of anyone who isn't of good morals and face your studies, okay?" Mrs Isobel followed and I nodded again.

"Okay. By the way, say hi to Chelsea for me, tell her I hope this new school is kind to her and she should be nice to her classmates."

Mrs Isobel let out a chortle. "I will."

They smiled at me before entering into the car and I stood there waving goodbye until their car drove further and further away from me.

I tightened my grip on the boxed carton in my hand, then clutched it to my chest. It was part of the gift Luciano got for me and I haven't gotten to know what was inside yet. Although I opened it when I initially got into the car, as soon as everyone joined in, I just refrained from looking at it.

Suddenly, the euphoria of finally being in college split through me like a gush of wind. I could not believe I was finally here to study nursing. Even though it wasn't NYU like I initially wanted, UC Berkeley was still a pleasant replacement.

The corner of my lips creased into a deep smile as my eyes roamed the tall building meant to be my hostel. Finally, I'd get to meet new people, make friends, study, and unfold the new phase of my life.

Afterward, I looked down at my luggage and I was wondering how to carry them all to my dorm, but then someone tapped on my shoulder from behind and I almost jumped.

Whirling around quickly, I saw a pretty blonde girl in glasses smiling back at me. "Do you need help?"

"Yes, please."

"By the way, I'm Sandra." She stated, picking up two of my boxes, and leaving me with just one.

"I'm Janie," I replied. "Aren't they too heavy for you?"

"I can manage just fine," Sandra responded, while I picked up my last box and followed her into the building.

We rounded up a few corners, climbed three stairs, and got to a door tagged 14B. It was then Sandra and I realized that we were roommates. Her lips creased into a deeper smile and she seemed extremely delighted.

"No way!" She exclaimed, kicking the door open.

I giggled in response. "Guess it's a small world then."

Once inside, I shut the door and then looked around the room. It was a medium-sized room with two bonker beds far apart from each other, a closet, a studying table, and a corner each. I noticed Sandra already had her things neatly arranged in her position. So that meant the other position belonged to me.

"What's your major, Janie?" Sandra asked as she carefully placed my box on the bed.

"Nursing."

"Oh, that's nice. I'm a business major." She said cheerily then stretched out her hand forward. "Let's have our official handshake as roommates, college freshmen, and friends. Shall we?"

Just as I was about to drop the boxed carton Luciano gifted me, it fell to the ground, having its contents spilled.

Keys, a note, flowers, and my favorite chocolate bars; Snickers were now scattered on the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Sandra immediately crouched down on one knee then began to pick them up. I placed the other box in my hand on the bed before joining her.

I didn't realize what was inside the box until now. Putting them back into the box, I paused when Sandra picked up the floral-decorated notes and started giggling to herself.

Curiosity piqued my interest as I took the note from her and then skimmed through; I got you an apartment just around the school corner. Below is the address and the keys are there too, I hope you'll like it. Signed, Luciano.

"Awwwn......isn't that so beautiful. A freaking apartment, Janie. Then why are you in this scrappy-looking hostel?" Sandra queried, but I didn't respond.

Rather, my gaze was solely fixated on the letter and my lips parted open in disbelief.