NOVEMBER

I am completely overwhelmed the minute my feet hit the plush carpet in my old room. My mother has kept it tidy while I have been away but other then that, nothing has been touched. There is almost a staleness to the air. My eyes immediately run over all the pictures of me with Liam and I swallow hard. I move a few steps further into my room and dump my purse on my vanity. I run my hand over my old comforter and imagine all the times Liam and I laid in here, talking until my mother forced him to go home. And even then he'd become invisible and sneak back for a few more hours. The happiness I felt in this bed with him seems like a life time ago. My nostalgia is broken when I hear Teddy behind me, "Wow, you like purple."

I turn to face him and muster up a smile, "Yep. Lots of purple. Did my mom show you which guest room is yours?" He takes a few more steps into the room and I catch him running his eyes over my pictures, "Yep. She put me as far away from you as possible. I thought she was going to have me stay out in the pool house for a minute." I laugh as he stuffs his hands into his zip-up pockets. It's weird to have Teddy here but I know I needed to do it. The last thing I need is for Topher to show up in Highland Park and threaten my parents. I didn't want to come here alone.

"Well, thanks again for coming. You have no idea how much you are helping me out." He gives me a small smile and pulls the chair to my vanity out while saying, "So you mentioned to your mom that you were going to meet up with your friends. Is that still the plan?"

I nod to him as I plop down on the edge of my bed, "Yeah, you'll get to meet Harper and Lily. Maybe a few others. Harper is having a mini reunion at her house so I figured I'd freshen up and then we can leave." Teddy nods and pops up off the chair. He starts walking back out of my room but when he's at the threshold, he turns to me and says, "So all these people I am meeting tonight think I am your boyfriend?" I reluctantly nod, dreading Harper's reaction to all this. He raps his knuckles on the door frame twice and continues down the hall. My stomach is in knots because I know Harper and Lily are going to drill me with questions. Some I can answer but others I won't be able to. Lily is still clueless to my secrets and I don't need Harper barfing up my secrets if Topher comes around, which is why I haven't filled her in on the truth yet. 

I catch my reflection in my full length mirror and realize I don't feel like the same girl that looked into it right before she left to school three months ago. My hair is still short and dirty blonde and I notice I don't wear as much make up either. I've stopped dressing so revealing and blingy and started dressing more beachy chic. I no longer care about being at the top of the popularity totem pole and I wonder if I will still connect with any of the people I left behind in August. Harper and I still talk almost everyday but Lily is harder to catch. She seems to be connected to her new boyfriend's hip and if she's not talking about him it's because she's with him. He is the center of her universe.

I slowly walk into my bathroom and pinch my cheeks for some color. I can't shake my nervousness but I know I have to convince everyone that Liam is out of the picture. I rifle through my make up bag and lightly apply some eyeliner and lip-gloss. I flip my head over to get some volume in my hair and scrunch up my roots. I pull on some jeans and a flattering blouse and wonder if anyone is even going to recognize me. 

I saunter down the hall and knock on Teddy's door. A few moments later he pulls the door open and I notice he's taken a quick shower and pulled on some jeans and a Sigma tee. He runs his hands through his wet hair and stuffs his wallet and phone into his pockets before he tells me he's ready. I look to him and am glad that I am at least bringing home a handsome guy. He has sweet dimples, warm eyes and he gets along with everyone.

He follows me down the hall and my mother is disappointed that I am leaving so quickly, but I know she doesn't want to pick a fight in front of Teddy. I grab her Range Rover keys off of the counter and Teddy gets comfortable in the spacious car. 

"Are all you this rich?" He asks me and I let out a light laugh, "We are all...well off." His wondrous gaze stays with him as he runs his eyes over the houses in my neighborhood. He's excited when we pull up to Harper's house and I immediately notice Derek's Jeep parked in the driveway. I had no idea he had received an invite. I glance to Teddy as we walk up Harper's long driveway and say, "If anything gets too awkward just let me know. We don't have to stay long."

Teddy's eyes dart to me and he asks, "Why would it get awkward?" I smile and he catches on to my deviousness, "Uh oh Ellie, what did I get myself into?"

**********

When we all parted ways in August, we all promised we would get together over Fall Break. To stay connected and friendly. Unfortunately, some people change and some people don't. And right now I don't know which is worse.

Lily won't stop glancing at her phone that's been clutched to her hand all evening. Her thumbs fly over the key board as she fills her boyfriend Ben, in on every detail of her visit home. And if she's not texting him, she's gushing to all of us about him. I'm slightly nauseated by it all. I start wondering if I was so consumed with Liam when we were together.

Derek wants to bore everyone to death with his fraternity details at Stanford and he enjoys talking about people none of us know. He has a new girlfriend, Ashley, that is just as conceited as he is and he enjoys talking about her body and sex life loud and proud.

Harper continues to roll her eyes every time Derek mentions Ashley and she has now managed to rattle off at least six guys she's slept with since being at Louisville. Besides the generous details about all of her guys, she is trying to convince us all that college cheerleading is way more intense than it was in high school and everything she does at Louisville is amazing. Her sorority is amazing, her classes are amazing, her friends are amazing, her teachers are amazing. It's all just so amazing!

Mike, Aaron and Adam are here to enjoy the free beer and they still frequently hang out since they all go to school close to Highland Park. They tune out our college stories and laugh about their own inside jokes. Teddy squeezes my knee after trading frat stories with Derek and he leans in close to me, "Are you okay? You seem kind of quiet."

I nod to him and then grab his empty cup, "Yeah, I'm fine. Jet lagged I think. I'll fill us up." I take our cups over to the small keg Harper has situated on her basement bar and slowly fill them up. I look up to the group and something behind them catches my eye. I swear I see something move in one of the dark guest rooms. The one Liam and I stayed in after Harper's graduation party. I continue to look into the slightly open door but I don't see a movement again. I look to the beer and realize I might need to slow down- that I am more buzzed than I thought. I am grabbing Teddy's filled up cup when Derek makes his way over to me.

"Ellie I have to tell you, I didn't think it was you when you came down the steps. You look so different," he says as he grabs a tendril of my hair with his fingers. He looks to me and drops it back down so it hits my shoulder.

"And you haven't changed a bit Derek," I say, sharper than I meant to. He still takes it as a compliment as he reaches for a red cup. 

"So you and pretty boy are over then? I can't say I'm all that surprised that dickhead is officially out of the picture seeing you were always too good for him. And I must say El, Teddy is an upgrade. Much better choice." His gaze is to his cup so he doesn't see the hatred coming out of my eyes. When he glances back to me I muster up a small smile and nod.

"Yep. No more Liam." I snatch our cups off the counter and make my way back to Teddy. I am about to sit down next to him when Harper glances to me and waves me over. As I am maneuvering my way around her coffee table something catches my eye again. In the same guest room. My heart beat speeds up and I am terrified it might be Topher, lurking around in the darkness. Harper pats the couch, waiting for me to join her but I drop my cup on the coffee table and say, "I need to use the bathroom, I'll be right back." Harper slouches back into the couch and I give her a small smile before wandering toward the guest room. I glance behind my shoulder but no one is paying any attention to me, Teddy is back to chatting with Mike and Aaron.

I push the door slowly open and it creaks as it moves. I take a few steps into the bedroom and I run my hand over the wall to find the light switch. When I go to flip it on, the light stays out and I look toward the ceiling fan. It starts moving but the light doesn't come on. I realize I have to go and pull the string on the fan to turn it on. As I slowly make my way to the bed, goosebumps rise up all over my arms. I swear I feel someone behind me but I am too terrified to turn around. 

I stand still, at the foot of the bed wondering if there are any other lamps in the room. I realize the connected bathroom is closer than the lamp on the nightstand, so I slowly step closer to the bathroom. My heart is beating so hard I can feel it in my ears and the darkness is creeping me out. I still feel something in the room with me and I don't realize I am holding my breath until I find the bathroom light switch and quickly flip it on. I don't see anything in the mirror behind me but the presence is still there.

I slowly turn to close the door and when I click it shut I feel a hand over my mouth. Before I can scream I see a blinding flash of light and then darkness.