13. Sabrina
13
SAbrINA
T wo days after I asked Nick if he was a coward, I shoved aside all lingering thoughts of him. It was easier said than done. Despite how busy I had to be, studying and focusing on schoolwork, he crept into my mind too often. More often than I liked.
I couldn’t forget how ruthlessly strong he was, beating up that guy who attacked that woman. I couldn’t let go of the memory of his anger when I asked him if he was a coward. And I couldn’t shake the confusion that shone in his dark eyes when he demanded to know what was wrong with me to want to help a stranger in need.
Guilt tripped me into caring far too much about him. That was why that night, after I walked home, I paid for a delivery of a reusable ice pack to be sent to his art studio. I didn’t know how else to locate him, but it was the least I could do. He had helped that woman, even if he’d been delayed to act. And he had taken a hard hit to his face, splitting his lip.
He wasn’t mine to care about. He wasn’t my problem, my worry.
But when Elise told me that the original videos and photos of “my” painting were taken down, I tried to consider that he might not be all that bad. He was flawed. I wasn’t changing my mind about him to dismiss how much of a bully and a jerk he was. But maybe he was one of those bad guys who had a sliver of decency buried deep inside.
Doubt it. I shook my head, annoyed that I was thinking about him again . As I checked my appearance before leaving my studio space above the garage, I ignored my wandering thoughts. Today mattered too much to be distracted. My outfit was the same as usual—professional office wear—but I’d taken a little extra care to really impress. In a couple of hours, I’d be in the city as one of the eight internship applicants. We would be tagging along on this trip to see how Lorsen & Spengler represented their clients in action. It wouldn’t be every day that I’d get excited to go to a jail, but this was a huge step in my internship consideration.
Full of energy, I checked in with my parents in the kitchen before taking off. “Are you sure I can use the car?” I asked my mom again.
“Bah. Stop asking.” She smiled. “Benita will pick me up for work, but I did tell Joann that I’d have my car to help load up for this afternoon’s catering gig.”
I nodded, so glad I could use the car to get to the jail today. Dad had already left for work, hitching a ride with a coworker. Mom made plans around mine. I would never take them for granted. Compromises like this were how we worked as a family.
“Will you still be able to help this time?” she asked with a cringe.
“Yes. This trip to the jail and meeting with the client should only take a couple of hours. Then the drive back. Then I’ll help you with this catering gig. And then I’ll be free to make it to the Lorsen estate for the dinner they scheduled for the applicants.” That, above all else, was what intimidated me. Dressing up and staying cool and calm for a dinner then discussion at Professor Lorsen’s mansion? Yeah, that was way out of my comfort zone.
“Sounds like it’s going to be a busy day, Sabrina,” she said with a smile. “I hope you know I’m proud of you, juggling all of this.”
I grinned back at her. “Thanks, Mom.” With her sweet words, I set out to make myself proud, too.
Traffic wasn’t too bad on the way north, and I was very happy that I found the correct parking lot near the jail and municipal building with plenty of time to spare. The other seven applicants for the intern spot showed up shortly, and the two hours that followed were a whirlwind of activity.
Learning about the law in the classroom was one thing. But being in action, witnessing how lawyers worked in real life, that was something else.
With as big of a group that we were, it was tricky to make us all fit in the room for the meeting with the CEO who had been charged with embezzlement. Still, we all adjusted to the setting.
While the actual discussions between Professor Lorsen, Mr. Spengler, and the client were interesting, I couldn’t help but judge the circumstances. The client was clearly guilty, speaking with his legal team as if it were implied that he’d, in fact, done the crime. There was no shame or regret, though, like he counted on shelling out tons of money so Lorsen & Spengler could do their magic and get him out of trouble—even though he was wrong.
Toward the end of the trip, I struggled to tune out the memory of what Elise had told me. That I wanted to practice law to help people who needed help, not to make it easier for criminals to screw others over again.
If I’m the intern this summer, this is what I’ll be dealing with. Smiling and shutting up my conscience is what I’ll have to do regularly.
Just as soon as those thoughts came, I reminded myself of another.
It would just be a stepping stone, Sabrina. Nothing more than that.
I won’t sell myself short.
I would stick with my integrity, no matter what.
We all filed out at the end of the meeting, but as we walked down the hallway, I made sure to tell the guards, the security personnel, and even the doorman goodbye. Because of the short spells of standing around and waiting for access into rooms and for the client to be brought out, I had opportunities to strike up small chats with the employees.
“You don’t have to try so hard to convince people to like you,” Tiffany muttered as we exited the main hallway to reach the foyer. She bumped her shoulder into mine, huffing like I was pathetic to be so personable. It didn’t escape my notice how standoffish she had been with everyone, like she was superior to everyone else.
I opened and closed my mouth, giving up on replying. She would only want to argue with me or try to bring me down. Ignore her. In one ear and out the other.
Professor Lorsen gathered us into a group before we exited. He summed up his opinion about how the meeting had gone, but we would talk about it later. “I will see all of you this evening where we can go over today’s events.”
Just the mention of going to the Lorsen estate filled me with nerves again. Still, I was excited. This trip to the jail was different from sitting in a lecture hall, reading, or turning in assignments, and the real-life aspect of it made me more enthusiastic to graduate and get out there.
To make a difference.
Well, I wouldn’t be making a difference with Lorsen & Spengler.
But the internship could open doors for me to be able to work somewhere else where I could have an impact.
One by one, we left the jail and headed toward our vehicles. Checking my watch, I saw that I had just enough time to get back home and help Mom with her catering gig that they were already short-staffed for. The meeting with the client had taken longer than I’d anticipated, but that was life. Nothing ever ran like clockwork. We’d been delayed because of the jail personnel, and that wasn’t something I couldn’t control.
Most of the other students left, but I noticed Tiffany approaching a separate car from the one her father had arrived in. Professor Lorsen left with Mr. Spengler, and I avoided making any contact with that vapid girl as I reached my car. It stood out like a sore thumb compared to her Mercedes Benz, but that didn’t matter. It worked. It would get me from point A to point B, and that was more than good enough for me.
Except, when I got in the car and turned the key, waving at the hot air that would be sucked out the windows once I got going, nothing happened.
“Come on.” This car was old, but well-maintained. Or so I thought.
I tried again and again, confused and alarmed when the car wouldn’t start.
Nothing.
Zilch.
It wouldn’t turn over no matter how many times I tried the key.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I couldn’t be held up now. Mom was waiting for me. The sooner I got home to help her, the sooner I could get ready for the important dinner and meeting at the Lorsen mansion.
Regardless of my attempts, the car just would not start.
I huffed a deep breath, hating how much I was already starting to sweat in the car that had been baking in the sunshine for a couple of hours.
I got out and went to the front of the car. Furrowing my brow, I noticed that the lock on the hood was still faulty. Dad tried to fix it, but the lock still didn’t latch all the way sometimes.
“Oh, what’s wrong?” Tiffany asked sweetly as she drove up toward where I stood.
Once more, I opened and closed my mouth. It might’ve been rude of me not to reply, but Tiffany didn’t deserve any polite manners. Not with that false sweetness in her tone.
It was too suspicious, her waiting to leave until she saw me standing at the front of my car.
“Did you do this?”
She gaped at me, feigning shock. “ Me ?” She scoffed. “Are you accusing me of tampering with your junky old car?”
I stared her down before lifting the hood. “Yes.”
She giggled. “How rude. That’s not a good look for you, accusing someone like me of messing with your piece of junk.” Then with a sinister grin, she shrugged. “And it sure isn’t going to be a good look when you miss the dinner tonight, either.”
Laughing harder, she shook her head and resumed driving away.
Anger burned hotter, coursing through my veins. She did this. She had totally arranged for my car to be tampered with, and now with her being the last to leave, she was ensuring that I was stranded out here.
She wanted me to fall behind and suffer, to slack off so she could get ahead. All for that stupid internship spot.
It’s not stupid. I cringed as I checked over the engine. It’s a valuable stepping stone. It’s the first step toward something else after college.
Yet, as I looked at the engine and tried my best to troubleshoot what was wrong with it, I had to wonder if getting that one spot was worth it. If jumping through the hoops of Tiffany’s bullying was worth it.
Checking between DIY repair videos on my phone and what I could find under the hood, I gave it my best shot to figure this out. If Tiffany tampered with the car too intensively, that’d be more bills to pay. Car repairs weren’t in the budget, not when we were still trying to repair our home after the last hurricane. I couldn’t even justify calling for a tow to a garage.
I spotted the coils that had been pulled, so I took off my blazer and got down to fixing that. Still, the car didn’t start.
Oh, for God’s sake…
Losing track of time, I focused on searching for the reason the car wouldn’t start. I was no mechanic, but I had to teach myself, and fast.
I had to get out of here. I had to get home to help Mom as much as I could. And I definitely needed to get out of the city so I could make it to the dinner tonight.
But without knowing what I was doing, I lost critical time sleuthing the reason my car wouldn’t start.
I need to call someone. Resting my hands on the frame of the car, I hung my head and hated that I’d be delayed—and stranded—like this. I loathed that Tiffany could hate me this much to ruin my chances of success.
Just when I wished I could give up, the sound of some men walking by reached me. They were laughing and talking, all of them tall, big, and rough-looking.
It didn’t matter that I avoided making eye contact. They saw me, approaching instantly.
“What’s wrong, sweet thing?” one asked.
Another whistled, rubbing his jaw as he eyed me like he’d devour me and spit me out afterward.
“You need a hand?” someone else asked with too much of a sleazy tone.
“No thanks, gentlemen,” I replied, determined not to show them that they were intimidating me. I was a single young woman stranded and on her own. Nothing about this setup made me feel confident, but I hoped that replying directly, and politely, would deter them.
It didn’t.
“You all alone out here?” one asked.
Fuck.
“You look like you need some help,” the other said, rubbing his hands together as he counted on an inappropriate reward for offering me assistance.
“No thanks,” I said again, getting more and more nervous as they circled me. I was caged in, and with my phone battery dying any second now, I’d be screwed. My heart raced. My hands got clammy. I never wanted to judge anyone by appearance alone. I always tried to be open-minded. But these brutes were huge, and a man only looked at a woman like that when they wanted to prey on the weak.
Please, please don’t hurt me…
I swallowed hard as the roar of a motorcycle sounded down the alley that led to this corner of the parking lot. Distracted by the noise, I turned my head to see Nick rolling his bike to a stop in the alley.
Stupidly, my heart raced even faster. Dizzy with hope, I wanted so badly to relax and know that he would help me.
I had no idea why he was here. Other than his habit of stalking me, nothing would bring him here.
All that registered was that I wasn’t alone. Not anymore. Not with my bully, my enemy, here.
He didn’t lower his sunglasses, glaring at me so expressionlessly.
As one second passed into another and he didn’t move, I lost faith that he’d help me at all.
Of course, he wouldn’t.
He wanted me to be miserable, not safe. He’d stepped in to help that defenseless stranger near campus, but when it came to my safety, he wasn’t interested.
Before I could call out to him, he revved the engine and sped off.
He saw me surrounded by these gangsters.
He witnessed me in trouble.
And he left.
I really was stranded, and I hated myself for wishing Nick could care about me at all.