It had been a month since I told Raina I loved her.

Even now the sentence still replayed in my head sometimes at random moments, usually when things became quiet.

One month.

Thirty days since the words slipped out inside that hospital room while I sat beside her bed thinking I might actually lose her.

A lot had changed since then.

Our relationship had progressed fast after that night. Not rushed exactly. Just... natural. Like we had finally stopped pretending there was still distance between us when there really wasn’t anymore.

Raina stayed over at my apartment often now.

My mum adored her.

Nathan had accepted her into the family so aggressively that I was pretty sure he liked her more than me at this point.

And then there was her grandfather.

Katsuro Takahashi was still in Harrington.

That alone felt bizarre to think about sometimes.

Dinner with him two weeks ago had been one of the most intimidating experiences of my life and the man had barely raised his voice once. He had this presence around him that made every conversation feel important even when he was discussing something as ordinary as tea.

I still couldn’t tell whether he liked me or was silently evaluating me every second we were in the same room.

Probably both.

Rain tapped softly against the apartment window as I stood in the kitchen pouring coffee into a mug.

And somehow my thoughts drifted again.

To Malcolm.

It had also been a month since I saw him outside my apartment building that night.

The image still sat vividly in my memory. Him standing there beneath the weak yellow streetlight after Raina’s car disappeared around the corner. Half his face hidden in shadow. Watching me.

Then the noise from the alley.

Then Malcolm running.

And after that... nothing.

No sign of him since.

Not after that night.

The last time I saw him before now was after he came to my hostel in college to look for Felix.

My mind drifted further back before I could stop it.

To Felix.

Felix Stein.

My old roommate.

My best friend.

And the strangest part about his disappearance was that nobody ever really figured out what happened to him. One day he was there and the next he simply... wasn’t.

No goodbye.

No explanation.

Nothing.

I still remembered the day we met almost perfectly.

Freshman year.

Maxford State College.

I had arrived nervous out of my mind pretending I wasn’t nervous out of my mind.

The campus itself looked exactly like every college brochure I had ever seen growing up. Huge brick buildings. Students everywhere. Groups already formed despite the semester barely starting. Music somewhere in the distance. People dragging luggage across walkways while parents gave emotional speeches nobody wanted in public.

My Resident Assistant had walked me through the dorm orientation process, handed me my room assignment papers and spent twenty minutes showing me around the building like he was reading from a memorized script.

Laundry room.

Common area.

Emergency exits.

Study hall.

I barely retained any of it because my hands were already dying from carrying luggage halfway across campus.

By the time I reached room 214 I was exhausted.

And immediately confused.

There was a sock hanging from the doorknob.

A literal sock.

Now if college movies had taught me anything growing up, it was that a sock on the door meant one thing.

Do not enter.

Or more specifically: someone inside was probably having sex.

Normally I would’ve walked away and come back later.

Except I couldn’t.

My suitcase felt like it weighed a hundred pounds and my shoulders were begging for mercy.

So instead I knocked.

There was movement inside.

Then a voice.

"Who is it?"

"Uh... your roommate," I answered.

Silence.

Then—

"You got the wrong room. I don’t have a roommate."

I looked down at my papers.

"Ehmm... sorry to bother you but this is room 214 right? I was assigned here." I lifted the folder awkwardly. "I’ve got the paperwork and everything."

A few seconds later the door opened.

A tall Black guy stood there looking at me with visible suspicion.

About six feet tall. Clean shaved hair. Dark eyes. Basketball shorts and a grey shirt.

He looked me over once before speaking.

"Show me."

"Wha—"

"The papers."

"Oh. Right."

I handed them over.

He scanned the page for maybe three seconds before his expression changed completely.

Then he smiled.

"Well damn. You are in the right room." He stepped aside and opened the door wider. "Come on in bro."

Relief hit me instantly.

"Thank you," I said as I dragged my luggage inside.

The dorm room was bigger than I expected.

Not huge obviously, but manageable. Two beds. Two desks. Posters already hanging on one side of the room. Clothes tossed carelessly onto a chair. Open snacks on the table near the window.

Felix had clearly already been there long enough to settle in properly.

He pointed across the room.

"That’s your side. This one’s mine."

"Got it."

"First rule in this room," he continued. "Respect boundaries. You do that and we cool."

"Boundaries. Got it."

"Oh and one more thing." He pointed a finger at me. "No loud music. If you wanna play something use headphones or keep it low."

"I can do that."

"Good."

Then he stuck his hand out.

"I’m Felix. Felix Stein."

I shook it.

"Ethan Cruxs."

"Well Ethan," he said grinning, "welcome to Maxford."

The first hour passed quietly while I unpacked my things.

Felix eventually left the room for a while and I used the chance to call my mum.

She picked up almost immediately.

"Did you settle in alright?" she asked.

"I did mum."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Roommate seems cool."

"Good." I could hear relief in her voice instantly. "Call me daily and focus on your studies okay?"

"I will."

"And eat properly."

"Mum."

"I’m serious."

I laughed quietly.

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too honey."

The call ended.

About thirty seconds later the door opened again.

Felix walked back inside carrying two bags of chips and a bottle of soda.

"Yo," he said. "So tonight there’s a party over at Campus B. You wanna come?"

I thought about it seriously for a second.

A party.

Honestly? I needed this.

I barely knew anybody yet and if I isolated myself too early college was gonna become miserable real fast. Everybody always talked about how important freshman year was socially and I already felt behind.

Plus Felix seemed cool.

"Count me in," I said.

Felix suddenly threw both hands into the air.

"LET’S PARTY!"

I laughed despite myself.

That night we headed across campus around nine.

The party was hosted by Alpha Beta Phi inside one of the larger dorm buildings near Campus B and the entire place looked like something straight out of a college movie.

Music blasted through the walls before we even entered.

Colored LED lights flashed across the ceiling inside the lounge area while people packed shoulder to shoulder around cheap folding tables filled with drinks and snacks. Somebody had pushed the furniture aside to make space for dancing. The smell of alcohol, deodorant and microwaved pizza mixed together in the air.

Upperclassmen controlled the music while freshmen mostly wandered around awkwardly pretending they belonged there.

I definitely fell into the second category.

Felix seemed completely relaxed though.

Like he had already adapted to college life within a week.

We moved toward the back of the room where things were slightly less crowded.

"You want a beer?" Felix asked.

I hesitated for half a second before nodding.

"Sure."

"Aight. Stay here."

He disappeared into the crowd.

I stood there alone watching the party unfold around me.

People laughing too loudly.

Someone dancing on a table.

A couple arguing near the hallway.

Two guys nearly starting a fight before their friends separated them.

It felt chaotic.

But weirdly exciting too.

Felix was taking longer than expected so eventually I stepped away from the wall to look for him.

And immediately bumped into someone.

"Oh shit. I’m sorry I didn’t see you ther—"

I stopped.

Blonde hair.

Brown eyes.

And genuinely one of the prettiest girls I had ever seen in my life.

"It’s fine," she said.

Then she studied me for a second.

"Are you a freshman too?"

"What makes you think that?"

She smiled slightly.

"You look like you’re new to all this."

Damn.

"You got me," I admitted.

"What are you studying?" She asked tilting her head.

"Graphic design."

"Oh that’s actually cool."she said

"And you?"

"Economic analysis."

"Seriously?"

"Mhm."

She nodded slowly.

Honestly I barely understood what that even meant back then but I was too distracted to ask follow-up questions.

"Well I’m Ethan," I said.

"Susan," she replied smiling.

And right as I started thinking maybe college was about to become significantly more interesting—

Felix appeared beside me holding two plastic cups.

"Sorry it took so long I wa—"

He stopped mid-sentence after noticing Susan.

Then looked at me.

Then back at Susan.

The idiot immediately grinned.

Susan laughed softly.

"Well it was nice meeting you Ethan."

"You too," I called after her as she disappeared back into the crowd.

Felix let out a loud whistle.

"Goddamn bro. Who was that?"

"That’s Susan. She’s a freshman too."

"She’s fine."

"Okay relax."

"I’m just saying."

I grabbed one of the drinks from him.

"What took you so long anyway?"

"There was a whole fight near the beer line." He looked genuinely impressed. "Dude got shoved into the table and everything. I stayed to watch for a bit."

"So that’s what the noise was."

"Yep."

He raised his cup.

"Now come on." He grinned. "Let’s enjoy college."

And honestly?

That night felt like the beginning of something.

At the time I just didn’t know exactly what.