Two Years Ago

7:10 p.m.

Scarlett climbed out of her car and pulled her duffle bag out with her. When she got back to her car at the beach, she decided to change from the red dress and into light-washed jeans and a white ribbed tank top. She had managed to scrub off most of the mascara from her cheeks. She took some time to fix her makeup- just because she felt like a mess didn't mean she needed to look like one.

She could make it seem like everything was fine and soon enough, it would be true. Her light-brown skin looked pale and lifeless, making her grateful that she brought some concealer with her. Her friends had been texting her nonstop to check-in and she didn't want them to worry. She had to look like the girl she was a few weeks ago before everything fell apart.

She spun the keychain around her fingers after locking it. The October air was a bit colder than she thought, making her reach into her duffle and pull out her maroon corduroy jacket. She fished her phone from her bag and sent a text to her best friend of four years, who had been texting her nonstop to check-in.

hey, I just got back,

walking to our place now,

you guys getting ready yet?

yes!! we're going to some

house party later, already

poured you a shot lol

Scarlett chuckled slightly before locking her phone and letting it slip into her back pocket. She got an on-campus apartment with a few of her friends for their senior year. Her friends were perfectly crazy. They'd leave their apartments with flawlessly sculptured makeup and a buzz to last the night, then they'd return with a million new memories that would be the topic of discussion for the week to come.

Whether it be someone face-planting on the sidewalk or hooking up with three different guys in the same night, they would all laugh about it throughout the week. She met her friends early on in college and was grateful for it every day. The moment she met them, it felt so epically right and she knew she found her people. Even though some could not be more different, they were a family.

It was a Saturday night and the campus was buzzing with life. A few students were already very-clearly plastered while others were leaving the dining halls, giddy for the night. She watched as a group of boys sprinted back to the dorm, racing each other to get there first. They shoved each other and let out various screams as they all charged ahead, ignoring the person who told them to stop running. The boy who got their first shoved his arms in the arm victoriously, whooping loudly. The others slowed their pace, groaning about their defeat.

Two girls were walking hand-in-hand out of a building, grinning and staring at each other lovingly. The girl with short hair seemed to be going on about something while the other listened intently. They walked quickly and Scarlett heard one of them raving about their school's food. A few moments passed and they suddenly let out a roar of laughter and the tall girl leaned down to give her girlfriend a sweet peck on the lips before walking into the dining hall.

Her university was in New York City. They had all the perks of being in the city that never sleeps while also, somehow, having a normal college campus. Waterford had it all, she felt at home. She was majoring in culinary arts and business- both ingredients for opening her own bakery, a dream of hers ever since she was a child. Baking was how she handled any negative emotions- lately, her apartment had been a neverending stream of cupcakes and various pastries. She'd been saving every last penny to open up a bakery in the city- not cheap.

Laughter and chatter filled the air as the rush of the weekend began, and normally, Scarlett loved it. But tonight, she could not think of anything worse. All she wanted was to get away from all the smiling faces and loud noise. As she reached the doors of her building, she made the preemptive decision to not go out that night. As she reached their apartment, she could smell something burning. Her eyes widened and she quickly opened the door, fearing the worst.

"Maeve! Make it stop! We can't set off the fire alarm again!" June cried out, swatting the smoke with a towel to diffuse it. Her blonde hair was in a tight ponytail, swinging around as she tried to fix the situation. Her apron was absolutely covered in flour and cake batter- actually, everything was covered. Smoke poured out from the oven and Scarlett could vaguely smell pastries. Maeve and June were swatting away at the smoke with towels, trying to fan it out.

Maeve scoffed and turned to her, no longer fanning the smoke. Her dark-brown skin was also covered in flour and Scarlett swore she could see remnants of egg yolk on her clothes. "Oh, I'm sorry! Does it look like I'm trying to encourage the smoke?"

"I opened the windows!" Aster called out, running back into the room. She stopped short when she saw Scarlett at the door. "Scar! You're back... hey."

The two girls fanning stopped short, turning to their friend at the doorway. Scarlett gaped at the sight in her apartment. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Maeve decided to speak up, walking towards her friend. "We tried to bake for you, we know you love cupcakes."

"But then," June began sheepishly, "I might have left them in the oven for too long, I thought Aster was meant to get them out."

Scarlett was at a loss for words and she nearly broke down right then and there at the gesture. She squeezed her nails into her hands, refusing to let any tears build up. Clearing her throat, she offered her friends a smile, trying to hold it together. She was truly so grateful. "Thank you, guys. That was really sweet of you."

"Well, we didn't completely fail!" Aster said, taking Scarlett's hand and dragging her to their small kitchen table. "June made you her family's dumplings and we got that duck sauce you like!"

Scarlett was completely taken aback, she hadn't expected her friends to do anything. Maybe they'd offer her some hugs and their condolences, but they took the time to make her some of her favorite food. They had the homemade dumplings on a plate with some rice on the side. They even had a glass of rosé. She was grateful they hadn't asked how the past two days went, she had little interest in talking about the services. They made it clear that they would be there for her with these acts of kindness, and that she could talk to them if she had to. They wouldn't push her to talk and she was grateful.

"This looks amazing, really, thank you," Scarlett said, giving them all a smile. "If it's okay, I might just stay in tonight."

"We could do a movie night?" June offered, her eyes wide. "I could make popcorn!"

Scarlett took a bite of the dumpling and fought the urge to moan at the taste. June's family owned a Korean restaurant in the city and their recipes were passed down through generations- nothing could compare. June made them once in the apartment and ever since they've been Scarlett's favorite food. "No, no, I appreciate it, but I want you guys to go out and come back with some stories for the week, okay?"