AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She liked to act all tough and hard around the edges, but I saw through it.
Saw the vulnerable side of her.
“That’s quite a feat. Congratulations, Ruby. I’d love to speak to you about some programs we’ve set up for the kids here. We’re hoping to provide them more support to deal with the reason they are here and the challenges of being away from their families during their stay.”
“I’d like that. And I’m happy to help in any way I can. I’ll leave you my phone number and you can give me a call. Today, I’d like to focus on why River is here, what he went through, and all that he has overcome since.”
I turned, my gaze locking with hers, before shifting my attention back to the man in front of me.
“I know things were different back when you were here, and I want to apologize for that.”
I cleared my throat, curious how he’d have a fucking clue about the shit we lived through back then. “How do you know what went down when Romeo and I were here?”
“Because I was here a few months before you. It was abusive and scary as hell, and I know that you found your way into the legal world after, and I’m guessing it was to make a difference in the world. Romeo obviously became a professional fighter, and I went the route of studying psychology like Ruby. I guess we’re all just trying to make things better, right?” He smiled, and his gaze moved between us.
There was no doubt that Terrence was a straight shooter. No bullshit. I was fairly good at reading people, and there was nothing manipulative or calculating here.
“None of that was your fault. I’m glad things are different for the sake of the kids here now,” I said. “So, what exactly would you like me to talk about today?”
“I thought you could share your story from the perspective of how it affected your life after you left. How you pursued a career in the legal world. How one set of circumstances changed the trajectory of your life.”
I nodded. It surprised me that I felt relaxed and fairly at ease, considering I’d hated this place with a passion. “I can do that.”
“I was hoping you could speak to the group first and then after, maybe spend some time talking to them individually or in small groups?”
“I’m fine with that.”
He nodded and glanced over at Ruby. “Maybe you’ll be willing to stick around after and talk with the kids.”
“Yeah, I’m here for as long as River’s here,” she said, and for whatever reason, my chest puffed up like I was some fucking caveman who’d just impressed his girl.
I pushed to my feet, and we made our way out to the hallway and down to a room with maybe thirty chairs facing the front, filled with young men who looked to be around fourteen to maybe seventeen years old.
“You ready for this?” Ruby asked as we followed Terrence toward the front of the room.
“As ready as I’m going to be. Not big on talking about this stuff, but Romeo said it wasn’t too bad, and we’re here.”
She nodded. Terrence came to a stop and held his hand out for Ruby to take the seat in the front row. She looked up at me. “Break a leg, Wild River.”
I smirked before making my way to the stage, and Terrence took the microphone and introduced me.
“River was here for eight months when he was seventeen years old, and he is an attorney now. I thought he could offer some insight about his journey that you might find helpful,” Terrence said before stepping aside.
“Hey, I’m River Pierce, and as Terrence said, I spent some time here when I was seventeen years old. I think you recently met one of my best friends, Romeo Knight, and we were here together,” I said, as a few people cheered for my boy. They’d obviously remembered him. It didn’t hurt that Romeo’s name was all over the news after winning his fight recently, so he was not only a badass but also somewhat of a celebrity at the moment. I gathered my thoughts. “So, here’s what I’m going to tell you. At the end of the day, you’re going to make mistakes that are big and small. But it’s what you do with them thatmatters. My reason for being sent here all those years ago wasn’t for something that I actually did. It was for something that someone else had done. And for a long time, that shit ate me up. But the truth is, I wasn’t a perfect kid, and spending time here gave me a lot of time to think about what I wanted out of life. I spent eight months here, and it wasn’t pleasant. I missed most of my senior year of high school.” I paused and reached for the water bottle that Terrence had set there for me. You could hear a pin drop in the room, as everyone was completely silent, waiting for me to screw the lid back on my water bottle. “So, I decided to make some serious changes when I left this place. I knew that what happened to me wasn’t fair, and I was going to do something about it. I didn’t retaliate against the dude who let me take the fall for his crime, though I didn’t care for the asshole.” I paused as laughter erupted around the room. “I thought about what I could do to make a difference moving forward, and that took me to college. It wasn’t an easy path. I had to make up for the time I’d missed and repeat my senior year in high school. And guess what, I got straight A’s that year. I’d never done that before.”
A few people clapped and cheered, and I glanced over at Ruby, who was listening like I was giving a presidential acceptance speech.
“How’d you pull that off?” someone yelled from the back.
“I put my head down and worked my ass off. Because when I left here, I made a decision that no one was going to tell me who I was moving forward. I was going to decide who I was. I was going to decide who I wanted to be. And that’s exactly what I did. I went to community college first and then transferred to a larger university, and then I went on to earn a full-ride scholarship to law school. If you want it bad enough, if you stay determined, you can make your dreams a reality. I wanted to make a difference in this world. There were a lot of people whowere betting against me, but do you know what matters most at the end of the day?” I paused and glanced around the room, my gaze landing on Ruby’s briefly before turning my attention back to the center of the room. “You.Who you believe you are. Who you want to be. No one gets to decide that for you. Now, you’ve got to follow the rules while you’re here, stay the course, toe the line, and all that shit. And it’s the same thing when you leave here. You’ve got to be smart and do your time in and out of here to pursue what you want. But in the end, you get to decide your path. I work for myself now. I represent people who can’t represent themselves. I get to be the voice for those who aren’t equipped to speak on their behalf. And I get to fight for things that I believe in. That’s what you need to figure out.” I paused and took another sip from my water bottle. “What do you believe in? Who do you want to be? Because only you have the power to make that happen.”
Everyone clapped and whistled, and I chuckled and held my hands up. “I’ll hang out for a while and come around and chat with you. And if you want to know anything important, I’ve got my friend, Ruby, here,” I said, motioning to where she sat in the front row. “She’s actually a doctor, so she’s a hell of a lot smarter than I am, and I’m sure she’d be better at talking to you than I would.”
More whistling and clapping.
I stepped off the stage, and Terrence told everyone to head to the lunchroom, letting them know that we’d be in to chat soon.
“Nice job, River. They like you. They relate to you. You can make a difference here just by sharing your story,” Terrence said, leading us down to the cafeteria.
