psych- Leighton Murray

I

The long road trip from New York was a fun one. Emerson and her mother spent it singing along to Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey (Emerson has one of those moms), but she couldn't help feeling scared. College had always felt so far away. Something on the horizon that you ignored until it slapped your car windshield. Emerson was excited to be far enough away from her family, they were amazingly loving which was amazing, but they were very overprotective -some space was going to be nice. She looked up from her phone, taking an Airpod out to hear what her mother was saying.

"God, I can't believe my baby is going to college!" she said tearfully, wiping her eyes with both of her hands.

"Christ, mom! Drive!" Emerson reached over, steadying the car before her mom took control again.

"I'm sorry, honey, I just have been having a hard time regulating my emotions recently. You think being a therapist would help, but sadly, no." she chuckled.

"Just, don't crash the car in front of my potential suitors," Emerson grumbled, looking out the window at the freshman who were piling into a dorm.

They pulled in front of Emerson's dorm and her heart fluttered as she saw all the people. Her mother reached a hand back, squeezing hers. Her brain had been wild recently, anxiety striking her at random moments.

"Remember-" "-Call whenever I need, I know," Emerson finished, taking a deep breath. She stepped out of the car, inhaling the hot Vermont air. Her mom walked up beside her, handing her a suitcase.

They made their way up a set of stairs to Emerson's dorm. Two girls were already setting in. Kimberly and Whitney, if she remembered correctly. She sat her suitcase down, trying to be as quiet as possible. The short brunette- Kimberly- turned around, a huge grin on her face.

"Oh my gosh! You must be Emerson! I'm Kimberly! It's so nice to meet you!" she rushed over, wrapping Emerson in a tight hug. Emerson stood still, slightly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Emerson looked over at your other roommate, who just shook her head.

"Whitney." she gave a little wave. Emerson smiled. Of course, she knew who Whitney was, her mom was a badass.

"Excuse me- who the fuck are you, people?" Emerson turned around, stopping at the sight of the gorgeous blonde in the doorway.

"Leighton..." her dad grumbled, lugging her heavy suitcases into the room.

"I think we're your roommates." Emerson pursed her lips, trying not to laugh at the bewildered expression on the blonde's face.

"No- this has to be a mistake." she turned around and promptly left.

"I'm sorry for her. Just, uh, give me a second." her father gave an awkward smile, dropping her bags and following his daughter.

"Damn," Emerson whispered.

"Well! That was certainly exciting. I love you, honey, but I do have a meeting early tomorrow. I will call you as soon as I get home! Enjoy college!" Emerson's mother dropped a suitcase next to Emerson and walked out of the door. She knew she just didn't want Emerson to see her break down any more than she already had. Emerson rolled her eyes, glad it wasn't her dad dropping her off. He would lecture each of her roommates to not hurt her- as if she was going to date all of them.

The girls looked awkwardly at each other for a few seconds before Kimberly spoke up. "I'll bunk with Whitney and Bella." Emerson tilted her head at the mention of the second girl.

"Speak of the devil." Whitney chuckled as who Emerson assumed was Bella spilled out of the bathroom awkwardly.

"Hello! Oh shit, you must be Emerson! Damn you are sexy mama." She shot awkward finger guns at Emerson. Emerson chuckled, looking down at her feet.

"Nice to meet you too Bella." Emerson smiled. "I'll bunk with Leighton, if she comes back, that is." She looked to the doorway where the blonde had been standing. "I'm going to put my stuff away." She walked into an empty room, closing the door behind her. Her vision grew blurry suddenly. She sat down on the closest bed, trying her best to remember how to breathe. It hit her randomly, the wave of panic. It knocked her over and tried to keep her under.

"One, two, three, hold, four five six, breath out." She whispered to herself, watching the purple creep out of her vision.

She stood up carefully to begin busying herself with setting up her room. She folded the clothes in the way she always had and lined them up in the drawer of her dresser. It released some of the looming fear of changing that had settled in her chest. She pulled out a few books setting them on her bedside table, along with her leather-bound diary. She sat down her school supplies next to her bed, not wanting to look at them. She had pulled out her Lana Del Rey poster and had begun sticking it to the wall next to her bedside table when the door opened. She saw Leighton's tall frame push through the door.

"Oh. I guess you're my roommate."

"Temporarily, until this situation gets fixed." She motioned to the room around her. "Oh, Lana. Good choice." She nodded absentmindedly.

"I left you half of the dresser and the closet." Leighton laughed loudly at that. "Honey, I'm going to need a lot more than that." Emerson rolled her eyes.

She was going to be in for a long year.

A/N: I'm so excited to continue this book! Just thought I'd say posts are going to probably be once every week or two, seeing as how my sports seasons have picked up (practices and games multiple times a week). I hope you enjoy this first taste of Emerson and Leighton! Also- what do y'all think of Bruises from Everything To Everyone Deluxe? Lmk in the comments! I like it a lot tbh