"And what about Mason?" she asked.
"What about him?"
"Well, he's bound to be there, and you're going to bump into him."
"Well, I don't run from my problems like other people I know," I spit out, hating that the same thought had plagued me.
She sucked in a deep breath at my words.
Sighing, I sank down on the edge of my bed. "I'm sorry, Mom. I know he's going to be there, but I have to stop making decisions solely based on him."
"I know, sweetie," she said, kissing the top of my head. "Why don't you leave these and we can go grab a bite to eat. You can finish going through this stuff when you come home for Christmas break."
"Okay," I said, abandoning the quilt I was folding.
***
Carol was already in our dorm when I returned late Sunday evening.
"Hey, you're late. I was beginning to worry."
"Sorry, my mom and I decided to spend the whole day together," I said, hanging my sweater on the coat rack. "How was your Thanksgiving?"
"Hectic, busy, loud and too crowded. Would you like me to continue?" she said, smiling at me.
"Ha, so typical. Did you finish your project?" I asked, laughing.
"Yes, but only because I came back yesterday," she admitted.
"What? Did your family have a conniption fit?"
"Oh, they tried to guilt me, but I totally turned the tables on them by turning on the waterworks, claiming I'd fail out if I didn't get it done," she said, mischievously. "Now we can go out for coffee with Dan and Brad," she added, pulling out her phone to send a text.
"But it's almost ten," I objected.
"And you're worried your dress will turn to rags and your coach will return to a pumpkin?" she teased.
"Well no, but how do you even know they're back or even awake?"
"Oh they are, we've just been waiting for you to get home," she said, jumping off the couch and throwing my sweater to me.
"Why the sudden interest in them?" I asked, pulling my sweater back on.
"They're cool," she said, blushing slightly.
"Car," I said with a warning tone. She had been so busy with a guy she had met at the Halloween party that I hadn't had a chance to introduce her to Brad and Dan until the week before Thanksgiving break.
"What, you're the only one who can be friends with them?"
"No. I just don't want them hurt," I said, defending my new friends.
"Kim, I'm not going to hurt them," she said, looking hurt herself.
"Car, I know you won't intend to, but you're so full of life, and when you love something, you put your all in to it, but when you're done, you move on quickly. Brad was put through the wringer by his ex."
"What makes you think it's Brad I'm interested in," she said saucily, stomping down the stairs ahead of me.
Shocked, I followed behind her meekly.
The brothers were waiting for us at the bottom of the steps of our dorm, cutting off our conversation. I had to swallow my disbelief when Carol bent down to give Dan a kiss on the lips.
"What the hell?" I looked at Brad confused, who shrugged his shoulders, clearly as confused as me.
"Um, what did we miss?" I asked.
"Dan and I've been dating," Car confessed.
"Since when? You just met a week and a half ago," Brad said incredulously.
"Well, not all of us enter relationships at a snail's pace like you, Gary," Dan teased. "I told you two before break I was seeing someone."
"Really? You throw out a SpongeBob reference. What are we, twelve?"
"Well, you act like one when it comes to girls," Dan teased, wheeling his chair out of the way.
Car and I watched their antics, smiling. "Seriously?" I asked, nodding toward him.
"Yeah," she said, defensively.
"I think it's great," I said, meaning it. There was no denying their happiness.
We stayed out late, drinking coffee and catching up on the holiday. I glossed over my decision to let Mason go, and they had the good graces to leave it alone, which made me even more certain I had made the right decision. Instead, we talked about Dan and Car's budding relationship and Brad's solely lacking relationships.
Over the next few weeks, I watched my new friend's and my best friend's relationship grow from casual to something more, and I tried not to dwell on how easy it was for them. It became abundantly clear that Mason and I had gone about our relationship the wrong way from the very beginning. A relationship based on snarkiness and insults was doomed for failure. I didn't begrudge Carol her newfound love, and actually felt a big sense of relief that she would have someone to lean on when I was gone.
"I can't believe you're really leaving!" Carol wailed as I was packing up the last of my stuff the day before winter break started.
"Um, seriously, Car, you've known for months that I was leaving," I pointed out.
"I know, I just thought you'd change your mind or something," she admitted. "What am I going to do without you?" she wailed.
"I think you'll be fine. After all, you've been pretty absent lately."
"True," she said, smiling mischievously. "I can't help it. I think I love him. Is that crazy?"
"No, I think it's pretty cool. How do his parents feel about you?"
"I don't know. I'm going to spend the second part of winter break with them, so I guess we will see."
"Really?" I asked surprised. "Holding out on me, huh?"
"I didn't want to rub salt in any wounds."
"Oh Car, I'm over him," I said for emphasis.
"Right," she said, eyeing me knowingly.
"Well, I'm almost there," I said, laughing ruefully.
"Do you want to go grab some grub?"
"Can't. I told Brad I'd grab a coffee with him. I think he's finally worked up the nerve to ask that girl out from his Conspiracy Theories class."
"It's about time. For a while I thought he was hooked on you," she admitted.
"Nah, there's no spark there. He's a great guy and I will always treasure our friendship, but it was just missing that something special. You know?"
"Yeah, I know," she said, looking at me sadly.
Taking that as my cue to leave, I headed out to meet Brad. I found him waiting on the steps of my building, per usual. He held a cup of steaming coffee in each hand. "I picked up our poison so we could hang outside since it's so nice out."
"Good idea," I said, taking my cup and breathing in the fragrant aroma.
We settled on a bench not far from my dorm. "So, did you ask her, Gary?" I teased, stealing Dan's line.
"Nah, I figured asking her out before break was lame. I'll ask when I get back."
"You're a mess," I teased.
"And you're not?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at me.
"Oh well, we know I'm a mess."
"We can start a lonely hearts club," he said, ruffling my hair like a sibling would.
"Stop," I grumbled. "That means you'll have to move to Colorado," I teased.
"Ugh, cold weather? I think not," he said, shuddering. "I'm going to miss you though. I've never had a girl for a friend. It's kind of nice not always worrying about you getting in my pants."
"Ha-ha, you wish, big boy," I said, laughing.
"Maybe," he said, turning serious before leaning in to give me a kiss on the lips. I didn't protest when he deepened it before pulling back. "Well, nuts."
"Destined to be friends," I said, smiling sadly at the spark we were missing. I almost wished there was something there so I wouldn't feel so alone.