Chapter 2 After Midnight #3
“We couldn’t afford another one.”
“So I learned how to fix it.”
He nodded encouragingly.
“Then neighbors started asking for help.”
“Eventually teachers.”
I smiled at the memory.
“I realized technology isn’t really about computers.”
“It’s about people.”
“If you solve the right problem, someone’s life becomes easier.”
Liam’s expression softened.
“That’s a good reason.”
“What about you?”
I asked.
“What made you study business?”
He looked toward the clock tower rising above the trees.
“My father owned a small hardware store.”
I waited.
“He worked harder than anyone I’ve ever known.”
“But he trusted everyone.”
I frowned slightly.
“That’s a bad combination in business.”
“It can be.”
His smile faded.
“He partnered with someone who slowly emptied the company accounts.”
“They lost everything.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So was I.”
His voice remained calm, though quieter now.
“I watched my parents spend years rebuilding their lives.”
He glanced toward me.
“I promised myself I’d learn enough about business to make sure something like that never happened again.”
There was no bitterness in his voice.
Only quiet determination.
“I guess we’re both here because of family.”
“I think we are.”
We reached a small bridge crossing the narrow stream that divided the academic buildings from the residence halls.
The water reflected the moonlight, making the entire campus seem almost unreal.
“My mom still thinks I study too much,” I admitted.
Liam laughed.
“Mine says exactly the same thing.”
“Really?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
He smiled.
“Every phone call ends with her asking if I’ve remembered to eat vegetables.”
I laughed harder than I expected.
“Mine asks if I’ve slept.”
“Have you?”
“Not enough.”
“Me neither.”
For another few minutes, neither of us spoke.
The silence no longer felt like the silence between two people getting to know each other.
It felt... comfortable.
Like walking beside someone I had known much longer than two meetings.
“Can I ask you something?”
Liam’s voice broke the quiet.
“Sure.”
“Where do you see yourself in ten years?”
The question caught me off guard.
No professor had ever asked me that.
Most asked where I wanted to work.
Or what salary I hoped to earn.
Not where I saw myself.
“I don’t know.”
I answered honestly.
“I’ve spent so much time trying to survive each semester.”
I smiled awkwardly.
“I never really planned beyond graduation.”
He nodded thoughtfully.
“That’s fair.”
“What about you?”
He looked ahead for a long moment before answering.
“I’d like to teach someday.”
I blinked.
“I thought you’d want to run a company.”
“I probably will for a while.”
He shrugged.
“But eventually...”
He looked around the quiet campus.
“I’d like to come back here.”
“Help students who remind me of myself.”
I thought about the way he had encouraged me in the library.
The way he listened instead of interrupting.
The way he noticed when I was struggling without making me feel embarrassed.
It suddenly made perfect sense.
“You’d be a good professor.”
He looked genuinely surprised.
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
A warm smile spread across his face.
“Thanks.”
Something about seeing that smile made my chest feel strangely light.
We eventually reached the freshman residence halls.
The brick building stood almost completely dark except for the illuminated entrance.
“I guess this is me.”
I adjusted the strap of my backpack.
Liam nodded.
“I guess it is.”
Neither of us moved immediately.
Instead, we stood there beneath the yellow glow of the walkway lights.
“Thanks for walking with me.”
“Anytime.”
He said it so casually that I wasn’t sure he realized how much the word meant.
“Get some sleep.”
“You too.”
“And Noah?”
I looked back.
“I’m glad you joined the fellowship.”
I smiled before I could stop myself.
“So am I.”
He waved once before turning toward the opposite side of campus.
I watched him disappear into the quiet darkness for a few seconds before finally entering the residence hall.
My roommate had already fallen asleep.
The room was almost completely dark except for the small desk lamp I’d forgotten to switch off that morning.
I quietly changed into comfortable clothes and climbed into bed.
Normally, after a full day of classes and several hours of studying, exhaustion claimed me almost instantly.
Not tonight.
Instead, I found myself staring at the ceiling.
I replayed the evening in my mind.
The brainstorming session.
The laughter around the table.
Everyone building on one another’s ideas instead of competing.
Liam telling me I belonged.
Walking across campus beneath the midnight sky.
Talking about our families.
Our dreams.
The future.
None of it had been extraordinary.
At least, it shouldn’t have been.
Two people had simply walked home together after a study session.
So why did it feel as though something important had happened?
I turned onto my side and closed my eyes.
Sleep eventually came, but not before one thought lingered longer than all the others.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, every memory of the evening seemed to begin and end with Liam Carter.
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