Free After the Rain by Lisa de Jong Page A

of having an apartment is getting to leave a bunch of the big stuff behind.
    This second semester has been bittersweet. Everything is going great with Beau and me. I was finally able to make some girlfriends I could talk to about things, but then Emery unexpectedly left. She’d started dating Drake not long after the party that Beau and Cory threw in their apartment. They’d had their ups and downs, but I think that’s normal when two passionate people come together.
    I’d walked into our dorm room one Friday, not too long after my meltdown on the anniversary of Asher’s death, and found her packing a bag. She didn’t have a trip planned that I was aware of, and the sadness in her eyes told me she hadn’t had a good day.
    I throw my backpack on my bed and begin to unlace my tennis shoes. I don’t notice at first, but Emery is throwing clothes into a duffel bag and when she faces me, her cheeks are covered in tear stains. She had told me she was visiting Drake today, and I can only imagine that he’s the cause of all this.
    “Hey, what’s the matter?” I ask, closing the distance between us.
    She stops for a few seconds before picking up some more clothes. “I need to go home this weekend.”
    “Did something happen?”
    “Of course something happened, but I knew it would. You warned me, but I didn’t listen.” Her shoulders shake with sobs as she covers her face with her hands.
    Wrapping my arms around her waist, I say, “What did he do? I swear to God if he hurt you, I’m going to kick his ass.”
    “He did exactly what I was afraid he’d do.” She pauses, shaking her head. “You know, I never completely opened myself up to my high school boyfriend because I knew it wouldn’t last. I was going to college, and he didn’t have any dreams about getting out of our small town. Drake’s different. He has dreams, and he keeps me honest. I never thought he’d be the one to break my heart like this. He lied to me.”
    “What do you mean?”
    She wiggles from my hold and goes back to throwing more clothes into her bag. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. I’m going to go home this weekend and when I get back, we’ll talk.”
    “Okay,” I reply, giving her some space. I hate seeing her like this, but I’m not surprised that Drake caused it. The two of them are so stubborn; I knew their relationship wouldn’t be easy.
    I just hoped for her sake it wouldn’t be like this.
    Emery never came back after that weekend, and when I finally found out why, it took everything I had not to go after Drake. He hurt her, and I think he knew it because he left school, too. Both of their lives are changed forever because of what happened to him, what happened to her, and what they’re trying to face without the support of each other.
    And she’s making me keep a secret … one that I don’t think she should be holding on to. I’m hoping she gets things figured out soon because it’s not something she should be carrying on her own. Maybe someday things will fall into place for her, and she’ll be able to come back to school. I’m really missing her.
    As I pack a picture of the three of us together from a few months ago, I hear my phone ring in my purse. I fall back onto my bed and grab it, quickly answering before it goes to voicemail.
    “Hello.”
    “Hey, beautiful, are you ready for me?” It’s the sexy, deep tone Beau saves just for me.
    “I’m always ready for you.”
    He laughs at my insinuation—that’s really sexy, too. “Your first year of college really changed you from my sweet, innocent Kate to my naughty little tigress. I can’t wait to see what next year will do to you.”
    Rolling my eyes, I flip onto my back. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to handle what next year does to me, Beau.”
    “Don’t worry about me. I can handle anything.” He’s not lying when he says that. There’s nothing I can really throw at him that will be worse than he’s already dealt