3. Lilith

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Friday, August 21st
Waxing Gibbous Moon (Five Nights to Full Moon)

A noise at the door woke me; I’d fallen asleep during the movie. I checked my watch groggily and noted that it was two in the morning. The movie was long since over.

The sound continued. Someone was trying to get in, but having a hard time at it. At first, I was scared. My heart rate sped up and my breathing quickened. Was someone already trying to break in this early in the semester? The crime rate in this town was a little high, but that was mostly off-campus, over in the poorer neighborhoods of this nothing town.

I pulled myself into a crouch on the floor, ready to pounce on whoever was trying to break in if they succeeded. The door swung open and a girl stood there, looking helpless. Her hair was blonde and cut short with even shorter layers, framing her pretty and thin face. She had light, almost white skin, as if she spent most of her time indoors. Her eyes were a bright blue, shining slightly in the light of the hallway. Other than that, she had no distinguishing features, but she was beautiful in a scary way. She had no marks or blemishes on her face, not even a freckle. All of her features were flawless. I couldn’t stop looking at her. She was wearing a black dress made of a flowing, gauzy material, which clung to her lean, perfect figure until it ended at her feet, which were bare. The dress looked vintage and expensive.

I felt like I was dreaming, or maybe she was a ghost. Was her skin white or was it actually translucent? Could a newer building like this even have ghosts? Did I even believe in ghosts? I believed in other things, maybe ghosts weren't that far off the mark.

She looked at me staring at her with those cerulean eyes and smiled, “You must be Selene. I am Lilith.” Her voice was soft, warm, and inviting. She felt friendly and instantly likable.

“Nice to meet you, Lilith,” I said politely. I was suddenly self-conscious. My hair was messy, my clothes wrinkled, and my voice was deep and groggy from sleep.

“Oh, did I wake you? I am so sorry.” Her face instantly changed from friendly to concerned.

“No, it’s okay. Are you moving in right now? If you are, I can help you move your stuff in if you need the help.” She had nothing with her. Had her parents come with her or was she alone?

“I do not really have much, but I suppose a second set of hands could not hurt,” She said, her speech incredibly formal. She didn’t have an accent, but she sounded really old-fashioned when she spoke, reminding me of some rich old lady that sat around all day while her butler brought her tea gave her sponge baths. I shuddered inwardly at the thought of bubble-covered wrinkly skin as she led me downstairs to where her car was parked in a fire lane, hazards flashing pinpoints through the darkness of the hot, sticky Texas night. We began to quickly unload her things so she wouldn’t get a ticket, though I didn’t think a police officer would really care at this hour if anyone was parked in the fire lane for a few minutes.

All of Lilith’s belongings were contained in matching, white tightly-sealed plastic bins. We carried them upstairs and put them in her room and after a few trips, we were done. She was right; she didn’t have much at all. Most of the bins were light, and there weren’t very many of them. The trunk of her spotless, low-end silver Mercedes held three of the bins, while the backseat had two and the passenger seat, just one. Other than the bins, there was nothing else in the car. It looked like an older model, certainly not as sleek as the current ones, but I didn't know much about cars. Even if it was several years old, it was in perfect condition.

Even though she didn't have much, I'd worked up a bit of the sweat since it was so warm out. I contemplated taking a shower, but I was tired and ended up just washing my face and changing into some cute blue pajamas with ice cream cones all over them. My mom probably thought they'd make me feel cooler on the warm nights.

“I guess I’ll let you start unpacking. I think I’m going to head off to bed.” I told her when she got back from moving her car out of the fire lane. She wasn't sweaty at all. As we were unloading, I had told her about how the other two were enjoying the night off partying or who knows what. She seemed interested in meeting them, but at the same time, I suspected that she didn’t really care about them. We had a whole year to visit with Stephanie and Kelsie and decide whether we liked them or not.

“Thank you for helping. My parents were really busy tonight so they could not make the drive with me.” She opened one bin, pulling out thick, black, opaque curtains, trying to smooth out the wrinkles they’d obtained from being packed in the white bins. “Oh,” she stopped me as I was walking back towards my room. “Which bathroom am I using?”

I led her to the bathroom Kelsie had decorated and flipped on the light. “Oh, wow,” Was all she could say in response to the pink eyesore. I flipped off the light and she got to appreciate the greenish glow.

“Mine’s not much better,” I told her, showing her the other bathroom, littered with appliances. After Stephanie had gotten ready for the evening’s festivities, she hadn’t even bothered to neaten the bathroom. It was a mess, I couldn't even make it to the toilet without tripping over wires and bottles of mousse, hairspray, and whatever else she had in there.

“Well, it is better, but I agree, not by much,” She sighed.

“Enjoy,” I said, smiling and patting her on the shoulder, walking to my room. I made a bet to myself that when Kelsie got back, Lilith would have some changes to propose.

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A/N: I accidentally posted this chapter early, so if you got it before it was supposed to be posted, you're lucky. It was actually a draft of the chapter, so it had a few mistakes and some other problems.

Lilith originally had long, black hair, but I rethought it and decided it was too stereotypical. I'm trying to break away from that, so I made her a blonde and modeled her look a little bit after the roommate that she is very loosely based on. I wish I could dress like Lilith and get away with it...

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