Chapter 4: Back To The Beginning

Seven Years Earlier

Daniel had spent the last two years working through his gen ed credits and drinking until he blacked out. His advisor told him he had to declare a major this semester or he wouldn’t graduate on time. He closed his eyes, pointed at a course catalog, and ended up in pre-law.

Intro to Law was his first class of the semester, and he prayed to the gods of college majors that it would be interesting enough to make into a career.

He saw Angela the second he walked through the lecture hall and felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. She was beautiful and intense, studying the syllabus in the front row. She didn’t look up as people trickled in.

He sat two rows behind her, close enough to still see her, but far enough away as to not be obvious. Her body language indicated that she was upset. He wondered why, but

not long after the class began, he found out. The girl’s hand shot high in the air as soon as the professor asked for questions. He smiled at the girl as he called on her, though his face fell immediately once she started speaking.

“I would just like to know why the course reading includes books by three well-known misogynists, and one woman whose been widely discredited for her racist rhetoric.”

Daniel stared at the girl with amazement. He shot a cursory glance at the syllabus, not able to make heads or tails of the authors on the list. This girl was obviously very smart.

The professor stuttered, not really sure what to say. “Well, these are standard books for this course,” he finally managed.

“So you continue to use outdated and controversial material just because that’s the way it’s always been?” she shot back.

He went from looking flustered to looking angry. The rest of the class “oohed” at her response, while he tried to regain control. He asked the girl to leave the class, but the following week she was back, and he passed out a new syllabus with updated textbooks.

Daniel felt a desperate need to get to know her. Anyone who could affect change so quickly was someone worth having in life. He sat down next to her and tried to start a conversation with her.

“You’re going to be one h*ll of a lawyer one day,” he said nonchalantly, though his heart was pounding in his chest. He was uncharacteristically nervous.

“I’m not going to be a lawyer,” she answered, without looking up from her notebook. Her tone indicated she didn’t want to talk about it more. He wasn’t deterred.

“Then why are you taking Intro to Law?”

She looked up at him sharply, as if he were an idiot. He noticed how beautiful her blue eyes were.

“Are you going to be a lawyer?” she asked him. “Are half the people in this room going to be lawyers? I needed the credit.” She turned back to her notebook, scribbling something down.

He sat back in his chair, feeling chastised. Even so, he wanted to know everything about her. He looked down to watch her write. He noticed the notebook wasn’t full of notes pertaining to class, but rather observations she was making. He caught sight of the words “idiot,” and “classmate,” and wondered if she meant him.

“You’re a writer,” he said more assured. She didn’t look up at him but smiled anyway.

“Observant. Are you a cop?”

She looked into his eyes again, daring him.

“Yes, but I’m undercover,” he joked, putting his finger over his mouth. “I’m on a dangerous mission to ask out the prettiest girl in class.”

She snorted at his bad joke. When he asked her out for coffee, she said yes. The rest was history, a modern romance written in the stars. If only they’d known then how their love story was destined to be a tragedy.

…Present Day

Funny how the thing Diego had once loved about Angela was the same thing that that drove him crazy just now. She was tenacious and fiery. She never took “no” for an answer. Of course, right now he really needed her to accept it. He needed to get her safely away from this place before his boss came back and saw her.

He was on his hands and knees, looking for the keys she threw into the woods. The dry grass was digging into his skin as dirt caked his hands and fingernails. He wondered briefly if Germaine would notice. He’d have to come up with a cover story.

A quick glance behind him showed that Angela was sitting on the hood of her car watching him. He couldn’t decipher the look on her face. It was somewhere between frustrated and flabbergasted. He knew she’d have a word for it. She had a word for everything.

He went back to his search, feeling unsettled in a way he hadn’t in years.