Caleb’s POV
The campus was bigger than I expected.
Clae University stretched in every direction—clean-cut buildings, perfectly manicured lawns, and students that already looked like they belonged.
I exhaled, adjusting the strap on my duffel bag as I made my way toward the dorms. My first day. My new beginning.
So why did I feel like my chest was caving in?
I shoved the thought away as I climbed the stairs to the second floor, searching for Room 204. My new home. My new life.
My room.
The door was already open when I got there.
And inside was—
“No fucking way.”
The guy sitting on the bed looked up, mid-laugh, already kicking his shoes off like he owned the place. He had dark curls, tan skin, and the cocky-ass grin of someone who never had to try too hard.
He jumped up, striding toward me like we’d been friends for years.
“You must be Torres,” he said, slapping a hand on my shoulder. “I’m Aaron.”
I blinked. “Yeah.”
“Dude, you got here just in time.” He turned, grabbing a bottle of whiskey off his desk. “We’re celebrating.”
I frowned. “Celebrating what?”
Aaron waggled his eyebrows. “Our first night at Clae. Duh.”
I almost laughed. This guy barely knew me, but he was already handing me a drink like we were teammates on some college football movie.
I hesitated—drinking hadn’t exactly done me any favors this past year—but I took the glass. One sip wouldn’t kill me.
“Where you from?” Aaron asked, sprawling across his bed like he’d been living here for months instead of minutes.
“Nowhere important.”
He smirked. “Mysterious. I like it.”
I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of the whiskey. It burned going down.
I scanned the room—two beds, two desks, a shared mini fridge in the corner. It was small, but it was more than I’d had in a long time.
Aaron kept talking—about campus, parties, girls. I half-listened, nodding where I needed to, but my mind was somewhere else.
Or, more accurately—someone else.
Jiji.
I hadn’t texted her since I left.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. But what was I supposed to say?
"I miss you."
"I don’t know how to do this without you."
"Everything about this place feels wrong because you’re not here."
Yeah. Not happening.
So instead, I kept my phone face down and let Aaron ramble on about some house party happening later that night.
“…hot girls, free drinks. It’s basically a requirement.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You really think I came here to party?”
Aaron grinned. “Dude. Everyone comes here to party.”
I smirked, shaking my head. Not me. Not anymore.
I didn’t come to Clae for parties. I didn’t come to get wasted or fight or lose myself again.
I came to be better. To do better.
But still, as I sat there, drinking whiskey in a room that didn’t feel like mine yet, I realized something.
For the first time in a long time, I was completely alone.
No Jiji. No old friends. No enemies.
Just me.
Caleb Torres.
Whoever the hell that was supposed to be.