No Promises

chapter one

"MOM, I'M GOING to be fine," I say as I pull into the student parking lot outside the dorm building on the University of California campus. "I'm just pulling up now. I'm safe and sound, I promise."

"I'm just worried about you, Robyn." She sighs into the phone as I lean back in my seat, staring at the Bluetooth screen where her contact is displayed. I know she means well. She always means well, but sometimes, it feels like she rather I spend the rest of my life under her roof and I'm just not okay with that. "I wish you would have let me come get you settled in. This is a big step, and it's scary. You're barely eighteen."

"Which is exactly why I wanted to do this on my own," I tell her, hoping it won't hurt her feelings. "I love you, Mom, but I'm not a little girl anymore. You don't have to protect me from the world anymore."

There is a long stretch of silence and I close my eyes in anticipation to hear her cry, but it never comes. Instead, her voice comes out soft and I know she's going to let me try to fly on my own for the first time. "I just want you to know that I'm here."

"I know," I tell her, combing my fingers through my coarse curls that rests just pass my shoulders. "I'm sorry. I want to be able to do this on my own, and it's not because I don't appreciate you, because I do. I just want to take this step by myself and not depend on you for everything."

"And I have to let you, I know." She exhales and I let my lips curl up. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I tell her. "I'll call you later, okay? I'm about to go get my room assignment."

"Bye, sweetie. I'm so proud of you," she says, and before I can even thank her, the line goes dead. I shake my head as I reach for my phone from the cupholder, sliding it into my pocket as I reach for my bag from the passenger seat and climb out.

My lips curl up as I drink in the building, unable to keep the excitement off my face as I head for the entrance. For as long as I can remember, I've been waiting for the moment that I finally got to leave home and go to university. It was hard being around the constant arguing and pressure of picking sides between my parents, so at some point, I stopped.

I stopped thinking about them, and started dreaming about me, and what my future could look like. Somewhere where I was in control of what happened. I didn't want to be team Mom or team Dad, but at some point, middle ground became impossible. I love my parents, I do, but divorce was the best possible thing to happen to us. Even if it made our family of six, two families of three when my mom got the job offer of a lifetime in Malibu.

I couldn't even blame her for taking the job, because for once, she was doing something for herself instead of the four kids she gave her life up for. When it came time to decide, I was ready for a new start, and California seemed just like the spot to do it. Even if it did mean leaving my life behind in Utah. I was ready for the warmth on my skin.

And if it hadn't been for that move, I never would have met Stevie and Isla. I have never met anyone and felt such an instant bond as I did with them. They made Malibu my home, and we've been stuck at the hip ever since.

"Robyn!"

I turn at the sound of my name and grin at the sight of Isla as she hurries down from the hallway, running until her arms are wrapped around my neck. I'm instantly hit with the citrus scent that has always felt like Isla. "Hi," I say with a laugh as she pulls back from me. "Are you all settled in?" I ask.

She grins. "Yeah, I got all settled in yesterday," she says. "How was your drive up?"

"It was good," I say. "If you think my mom calling me five minutes after I pulled out of the driveway good," I tell her with a smile.