Chapter 1:
Chapter One
“Mom! Mom, I'm leaving!”
I hurried down the stairs, my backpack hanging from one shoulder as I checked my phone for what felt like the hundredth time.
“I'm coming!” Mom called from the kitchen.
A few seconds later, she appeared in the doorway, still holding the dish towel she'd been using.
She looked me up and down.
“You're really leaving without eating?”
I glanced at the clock.
“Mom, I'll be late. It's my first day.”
“Kimora, you haven't even had breakfast.”
“I'll be fine.” I grabbed the strap of my bag and headed for the door. “I'll get something from the cafeteria.”
She sighed.
“You and this school of yours.”
I smiled. “I'll call you when I get there.”
She walked over and fixed the collar of my shirt like I was still six years old.
“Be careful, darling.”
“I will.”
“And don't trust everybody just because they smile at you.”
I laughed softly. “Mom, I'm going to college, not war.”
She didn't laugh.
For a second, she just looked at me.
There was something strange in her expression—something I couldn't quite understand.
Then she smiled.
“Just promise me you'll be careful.”
“I promise.”
I opened the door.
“Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, Kimmy.”
I stepped outside, completely unaware that my first day of college was about to change my life.
And that somewhere on that campus was a boy who already knew my name.
