The flames ignited the tranquil atmosphere on the desolate beach and she sat by the bonfire with her knees drawn up to her chin saying a silent requiem for her old obsession.

Helga watched it burn and along with it her feelings of love untold and probably unrequited. Gone were the years of poetry she stored in volumes of notebooks, the embarrassing shrines, the infamous red shoe she wore as 'Cecile' and the many pink ribbons she kept. They crackled and smoked in the fire and her tears welled looking at the loss. She was going to force herself to be okay. She was going to make herself move on.

She watched it all disintegrate and unlike the potion she drank as a child she didn't feel numb, she felt broken. Like somehow erasing him from her life was unnatural. But she needed to for her own sanity. How could she have a moment's peace with him hanging in her heart?

In her final act of cleansing, she grabbed the locket that hung on her neck and flung it into the flames. Standing up and walking away a sad smile crept on her face. It was really over.

Tomorrow would be her blank slate-College in a new town. Far away from this place; far away from people who couldn't look past the blustery exterior of a misunderstood girl; far away from this town who only knew her as the other Pataki girl. She was going to the other side of the country but it might as well have been another world. The feeling of no longer being fettered to her family, who showed and told her she was unworthy every day she was alive, brought her a sense of peace despite the raging surge of emotions that passed through her. This new place didn't include a father who ignored her, or mother who was incoherent or sister who tried to get closer only to prove she was perfect at everything. Helga chose this path and was going to go it alone with no help from family or no ties to the past.

Waking up in her new dorm room was strange. She was still trying to figure out who she was without him; trying to reconcile who she was without someone she had loved for 15 years. For now she was taking it day by day, hour by hour and step by step.

Today was her first class. She was already lagging since most freshmen established friendships during orientation, but working an extra week in the summer so she could buy books trumped orientation. As usual she would have to figure everything out on her own.

Grabbing her bookbag she put her wallet and notebook in before she was stopped by a knock on the door.

When she opened it, her traitorous body let her know everything she thought she accomplished on the beach was futile. Her eyes widened and she gasped, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat before she gave anything away. She burned every memory of them and never looked back. Why was he here? She let him go so why was he right back pulling her close and saying how happy he was to see her.

This was some cruel joke, some retribution she had to pay for all the times he was mean to him. She wanted to ask what he was doing here and why couldn't he leave her alone. She wanted to know if he felt any different now that she let him go but all she could choke out was a strangled "A-Arnold?"