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“I must’ve missed that lesson in law school.”
“You’ve missed quite a bit.”
“Harrison James courtroom is now open,” an officer announced.
“Let’s go.” Mr. Carter turned away, and I followed him from a distance.
I wanted to find flaws in his routine, but the man was honestly brilliant.
He knew how to craft a charming argument, how to slip into the mind and convince a listener of anything.
After the judge ruled in his favor, he walked over to me.
“Am I allowed to go back home now?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “We have an emergency client who needs us. You need to ride with me.”
MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES (N.)
CONDITIONS OR HAPPENINGS WHICH DO NOT EXCUSE OR JUSTIFY CRIMINAL CONDUCT, BUT ARE CONSIDERED OUT OF MERCY OR FAIRNESS IN DECIDING THE DEGREE OF THE OFFENSE
ELIZABETH
Istared out the window as Damien weaved through traffic.
Sipping the last of my coffee, I felt my phone vibrating in my lap.
I sighed. It was my foster mother.
I’d already missed ten of her calls, and even though we weren’t close, I needed a distraction.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hey there, Sunshine!” She slurred. “How are you today?”
“I’m fine, and you?”
“Me and your father are taking his new boat for a little spin off Maine’s Coast.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Oh, it is. I remember when you used to love this as a little girl.”
“Yeah…” I remembered them telling me I could never go. “Me, too.”
“Well, I was just checking to make sure you’re still alive, hun,” she said. “Your father and I are still waiting for you to invite us to come see your work onstage!”
Never.“It’ll just be a little while longer,” I said. “I’m the third understudy for the next production, but my script made it to the finals forBumbling Under Broadway, so I’ll let you know if anything changes.
Damien looked over at me, raising his eyebrow as he switched lanes.
“You always were more of an artsy type,” she said. “I wish the legal bug had bitten you, like it bit…’” Her voice trailed off like it always did whenever the most painful strain of our lives arose. We didn’t talk about it, didn’t mention it, and I’d learned to keep my post-college career to myself ever since.
“The stage manager will be back soon with notes,” I said, saving her from making an excuse to leave or change the subject. “I gotta go.”
“I understand.”
“We’ll talk later.”
