Loving Knight: Book One of the Cresswell Series

1. ALIYAH

“Alright. I think that’s the last of it.”

My dad puts down the last of my things on the floor of my dorm room, wiping the perspiration from his forehead.

“Are you sure that’s everything?” My mom asks. "We didn’t leave anything at home or in the car, did we?”

“Mom, calm down,” I tell her with a small chuckle. “You’re more freaked out than I am.”

She placed both her hands on my cheeks, letting out a small sigh. “I know, sweetheart. It’s just…you know you’re my only baby and you’re finally in college and…” Tears started welling up in her eyes as she stopped her sentence. Dad comes up behind her, placing both of his hands on her shoulders to soothe her.

“She’s gonna be okay, honey,” he reassures her. “Aliyah is most definitely old enough to handle herself.”

“Dad’s right.” I grab both of my mom’s hands, giving her a small yet soothing smile. “I’ll be okay, mom. I’ll have Kira and Jennie with me, so everything will be fine.”

I could see that her sad expression was changing, but it wasn’t until I promised her that her face soon had a smile on it. “When in the world did you get all grown up?”

I giggle as she pulls me into a tight hug. “Call us every day when you can, alright?”

I nod, pulling back. “I promise I will call every day when I can.”

Behind her, Dad holds out his arms. “Can’t forget about your dad, can you?”

I move past Mom, Dad pulling me into his arms. “I’m gonna miss you, baby girl.”

“I’m gonna miss you, too, dad,” I tell him. He pulls back after a moment, kissing me on the forehead. Mom kisses me on the forehead as well. We exchange our final goodbyes before they head off.

I let out a breath, taking in the place I was gonna be at for the next four years of my life. It felt surreal, almost. It felt like yesterday I was a little girl, running around my parent’s living room. Now here I was, finally starting the next stage of my life.

I pick up one of the boxes, moving it over to the single bed. I tear off the tape and begin emptying out the box when the door opens, two familiar voices speaking to each other as they enter the room. I turn my head, the voices turning into squeals. “Aliyah!”

“Kira! Jennie!”

I rush over to them as they put their things down, all of us squeezing each other tightly in a group hug. “I missed you guys so much!”

“We missed you, too,” Jennie said, pulling back from the hug. “It felt like forever since we last saw each other.”

“It’s only been three months,” Kira smiled, “but I’m glad that we’re back together again.”

“And we’re roommates, so it can’t get any better than this,” Jennie added. She picked up her belongings off the floor, setting them down on the bottom mattress of the bunk bed on the other side of the room.

“Hey. What if I wanted to sleep on the bottom bunk?” Kira asked jokingly.

“It’s as they say. First come, first serve.” Jennie sticks her tongue out, causing Kira to throw one of her smaller pillows at her.

Jennie scoffs. “Hey!”

I giggle at my best friends, unpacking the rest of my things.
“Maybe after we finish unpacking, we can go explore the campus a little bit,” Kira suggested, hoisting her suitcase up on the top bunk.