Chapter 14
Ella
Today was the day I watched my best friend and baby sister finally graduate from high school. I had a mixture of nostalgia, excitement, and pride running through me all at the same time. My mind was definitely kept busy, especially since we had a lot of family there to help us celebrate and they liked to ask questions about Harvard and what I was studying. Law school ended up in every conversation, but I held true to my choices.
The academy was decorated in its normal blue and gold motif with streamers hanging throughout the halls and banners draped all over the gym. This year, the graduates were allowed to decorate their caps, but my sister had opted for a more traditional approach to appease my father. I sat in the stands listening to her talk about the future, opportunities, and the journey everyone was about to embark on. I thought about my own graduation day and how full of hope I had been for the future. It was nice to see that kind of enthusiasm again. I needed to hear it.
Afterward, my father threw a huge party back at the apartment, inviting all of his business partners, the family, and a million of their friends. He had told Taryn she could invite some of her friends from school, but she had decided it was already going to be too overwhelming as it was. She didn’t want to subject her friends to that kind of nonsense. I watched as she went through the same thing that I had, repeating where she’d gotten into college and talking about her plan of study. I felt bad for her, but it had almost become a rite of passage in our family.
After all the toasts had been made and the crowd had filtered through, Taryn snuck over to me and pulled me out onto the balcony so we could hide around the corner. I passed her one of the glasses of wine I had snagged, and we sat there looking out at the city with our tired, heeled feet propped up. It was the first time all day we’d had any alone time together, and I was more than happy to escape the crowd.
“Were you nervous about going to college when you started?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “But I think that was only because I wanted so badly to get away from Dad, the law firm, and Mom’s flightiness that it almost seemed like an escape from this life. I didn’t want to leave you, but I was starting to lose my mind here.”
“I can understand that,” she replied. “Dad was a lot harder on you than he ever was on me. I have to admit, though, I’m pretty terrified about starting at Harvard in the fall. I’m glad that I get one year of you being there with me.”
“I’m glad, too,” I said with a smile.
“Are you okay?” Taryn asked, tilting her head at me. “You seem a little off today,”
I sighed. “Yeah. Just tired and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people.”
The truth of the matter was, I was feeling down about what had happened between Will and me, but I didn’t want my sister to have to worry about that on her special day. So, I did my best to conceal it from her and played off my absent mind as nothing more than exhaustion from the day’s events.
“I did actually have a lot of nerves about starting at Harvard,” I said. “I mean, I had to follow in our parents’ footsteps, I had to actually commit to a Harvard education, and to be honest, I was pretty exhausted of studying by that point.”
“So what did you do?”
“Honestly? Nothing. When I got there, all the fears and nerves went away, and I was really excited to get going in my new life. They have a way of making you feel like family there. It’s pretty nice.”
“You know what? Me and you, we are pretty damn lucky.”
“Oh yeah? And why is that?”
“Because we have each other, you know? So many of my friends don’t know anything about their siblings. They aren’t close at all.”
“Aww, I’m glad, too,” I said. “You are definitely my closest friend and confidant. I don’t really have many friends at school, and I’m excited that you are going to be there with me. Hell, we don’t even have to come home for holidays anymore. We can just have our own celebration.”
She laughed. “Yeah, right. Dad would show up and crash the party.”
“True,” I replied, pouting.
“But you are my best friend, too,” she said with a smile.
“It probably helps that I’m never home anymore,” I said with a smirk.
We looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter and then shushing each other and giggling quietly, not wanting to be caught. My parents were sticklers for always being present when there were guests around, but we were so tired of the masses, we’d had no choice but to sneak away for own sanity. We had snuck away from every party my parents had ever thrown, hiding in all kinds of different places, including under the bed, in the shower, and even in the coat closet when we were younger. Having wine while we hid was a hell of a lot more fun, though.
“You know what I think really helps you?” I asked.
“My keen sense of style and my girlish good looks?”
“Of course,” I said, giggling. “But I meant with Dad. It helps that you plan to go to law school. Dad is much more open to helping you than he is me because you are doing exactly what he wants. He has dreamt of his girls taking over his firm from the time we were born. Now that I have crushed that dream with Thor’s hammer, he has turned to you to carry the flame.”
“Yeah, that’s not daunting or anything,” Taryn said.
“You know that you don’t have to go to law school, right?” I asked. “I mean, Dad will eventually get over it, or he will adopt some poor kid to carry out his dreams. Those are his dreams. You are allowed to have your own.”
“I know,” she replied. “And I can honestly say that I’m not doing it for Dad. I mean, at first I was, but once I really started understanding what kind of opportunities there are out there for lawyers, I kind of fell in love with the idea of becoming a lawyer. The only part that just seems super overwhelming and heavy is the amount of work I will have to do to get to that point. Harvard pre-law sounds like hell, so I can only imagine what law school will be like.”
“Like the worst hell ever,” I said, laughing. “But you are smart. You will be just fine.”
“So, let me ask you this,” she said. “Why are you so against taking over the family business? I mean, it’s kind of a slam dunk, really. You could be a lawyer and never have to start your own firm.”
“I don’t agree with defending criminals,” I said point blank. “Don’t get me wrong, Dad is a fantastic lawyer, but I don’t agree with what type of law he works in. I know everyone deserves a lawyer, and a decent one—that’s what makes this country great—but I just don’t think I could do it. A lot of the people our dad defends are just straight up guilty of the crimes they are being charged with. That means Dad takes a guilty storyline and twists it around to make the person look not guilty. I just don’t see that as fair and just law. I see that as pulling the wool over people’s eyes. He helps them get out and be free of any punishment or retribution they would normally have to face, and I just don’t agree with that in any way.”
“I get it now,” Taryn said, shaking her head. “Dad always makes his job seem so glamorous and important, like he is upholding the Constitution. He really romanticizes it to everyone he is around. But I agree with you. I don’t think it’s right for someone who’s guilty to get away. I’m totally still going to go to law school because it is what I want to do. However, I can’t possibly imagine myself ever going to work for our father. I don’t think I could look at myself in the mirror if I knew I’d gotten someone off who was actually guilty. It may sound hokie, but I want to use my education and the law to help people who really need it. I want to help those that have been wronged, not get people who have impeded on others’ rights off. I know a lot of people start out thinking that way and fold to the politics, but I never want to be that person. Justice and law are just too important to me to circumvent it for a paycheck. I want to do something good in this world.”
We sat there huddled up outside in the corner, talking and laughing. These were the times with my sister that I really missed when I was away at college. I missed having my best friend with me, the person I went to with my problems and frustrations. I knew exactly what she meant when she said she had so many friends who didn’t know anything about their siblings. Taryn and I were complete opposites, but there wasn’t much that we didn’t know about each other. Our whole lives we had submitted to the will of our father, been pushed to nothing short of excellence, and always kept our wits about us. It was an extremely stressful way of life for her and me, and we had always leaned on each other to make it through. I was curious to see how life would change when I finally graduated from college. Hopefully nothing would and Taryn and I would continue to go on as best friends and sisters. With the kind of life she led at the academy, I knew going to a place as huge as Harvard was going to be overwhelming for her, just like it had been for me.
After the crazy day of being surrounded by family and friends, it was really nice to have this time with Taryn. Just sitting there with her, catching up on everything in life, made me want to tell Taryn all about what had been happening with Will. The last thing Taryn knew was that I’d had a one-night stand with him. She didn’t know anything about the drama behind it all, including the texts, the Skype sessions, and his inability to let go of the past. However, I decided that for now I would keep everything to myself. Today was my little sister’s big day, and I didn’t want to make any part of it more stressful than it already was with all the family and friends here.
I turned my head and looked out over the city, watching Taryn do the same thing. We both leaned back and sipped our wine, letting all the troubles inside fade away for just a little while. Taryn’s thoughts on college and starting her new life were inspiring, and though my heart was focused on Will, she was giving me the motivation I had been missing for quite a while. Maybe things weren’t going to turn out as badly as I thought they would after all.