“When do classes start?” Mom asked. “Does it say?”
I shook my head. “No. They’re sending a larger package within the next few days with all the details. It’ll have the course catalogue and the dates of when I can sign up for classes online.”
“This is so exciting! We’re actually going to have a real lawyer in the family!”
I smiled, watching her excitement build as she raced through the kitchen to retrieve her cellphone. I knew she couldn’t resist calling all the neighbors and filling them in on the good news. In a town like Savage, everybody knew everyone’s business the minute it happened. I was surprised she’d waited a whole ten minutes before sending up the flare.
Though I knew she was just proud of me and wanted to brag, it was still slightly embarrassing. After all, when I enlisted in the army, she hadn’t rushed out to tell all her friends. She hadn’t really done anything but stare at me blankly while I repeated myself twelve times. When she finally registered my words, she was so overcome with emotion that she didn’t speak to me for a week. It wasn’t until my last day at home that she hugged me, told me she loved me, and said she understood. I’d then walked out the door and we had never discussed my decision again.
Now that I was back home and safe, her bragging abilities were back in full swing. I sat at the kitchen table, listening while she made phone call after phone call. She never stayed on a call too long, always ending with, “Well, I gotta go! I’ve got more people to call, but I just wanted you to know! We’re just so happy over here!” Then would she hang up and immediately dial the next number.
By the fourth call, I hoped she would run out of numbers soon. I knew that was wishful thinking though, and that she would be on the phone all afternoon.
With a small wave, I walked out onto the front porch with my acceptance letter in hand. I sat on the porch swing and reread the letter three more times, wanting to let the words sink in.
This had been my dream for as long as I could remember.
On the third read, my mind began drifting to the past, memories of college swirling through my head.
When I had started college, going pre-law had been the only option. I’d always known I wanted to be a lawyer and my time as a Savage Soldier had only solidified that desire. Seeing how poorly some people lived made me want to bring about change in the world, and I could think of no better way to go about it than becoming a lawyer. I could fight for justice and work my way up the ladder so that I could eventually have a real impact. Some people thought of lawyers as sleazy, but I had vowed to always be the kind who fought for what was right.
Being in the Savage Soldiers had taught me more than four years in a classroom could, and it made me want to do something meaningful in the world.
As I imagined what law school would be like, I thought back to my undergrad years. Those four years at the local college had felt like a different life. Almost everyone from Savage went there, if they even went to college at all. At the time, I had never even considered going anywhere else. I had simply graduated high school and enrolled in pre-law classes the very next week.
I’d loved college, and I’d been fucking great at it. I had studied hard and partied harder. It hadn’t taken me long to learn that I could outdrink most of the football team, and they all loved to see me do it. Most of the kids there had known each other since elementary school, so we all got along well.
There were only a few people I didn’t automatically know on sight, and Anna Harper had been one of them.
Anna had drawn my attention the very first time I laid eyes on her. We’d been in a philosophy class and I’d sat down beside her. It was her major and a requirement for mine, so we both took the class more seriously than most. Thus, we quickly became study partners, then friends, then more…
I could still picture the small bird tattoo she had on her shoulder. Whenever I thought about it, I remembered what it felt like to kiss it.
As I held onto my acceptance letter, Anna drifted in and out of my mind. We had been together when my father passed and everything changed. Even though I had joined the Savage Soldiers and moved on, Anna always found a way to pop back into my head from time-to-time.
When I was overseas on a long night, I would picture her face. Then the next morning would arrive, and I would be ready to face the day. Anna had been my secret good luck charm—the little memory I carried around in my pocket and pulled out whenever I needed it.
I reread the letter for a fourth time and sighed. As I folded it up, I immediately thought about telling Anna. Even after years of silence, I knew she would be happy for me. She was the one who’d helped me study and had pulled more all-nighters for me than she did for herself.
I thought about calling her, but knew I couldn’t. I didn’t even know where she was now.
Or if she would want to hear from me…
We hadn’t parted on good terms, and it was all my fault. It wasn’t something I liked dwelling on though, because it had hurt far too much to let her go. So I let thoughts of how we met consume me instead.
CHAPTER 2
Tucker
It was the first day of philosophy.
I needed to get a great seat. The class was my first prerequisite for all my pre-law classes and I couldn’t afford to fuck it up. I knew I was smart—always had been—but I also knew pre-law classes were no joke. I wouldn’t be able to skate through college the way I had high school.
I walked into the classroom fifteen minutes early and took a seat in the front row. We were in the lab that first day, so I took the lab table closest to the window, which would also put me closest to the professor. Hence, slacking off wouldn’t be an option.
As the minutes ticked by, I sat alone in the classroom for a full ten minutes before the door finally opened.
A small girl with short brown hair walked in, letting the door slam behind her while she scanned the room. Her eyes fell on mine as she looked toward the table where I sat. I could tell she wanted to sit there too, but felt awkward with us being the only two people in the room.