Chapter 10
A year later.
Fourth of July again.
I was home from Northwestern for the holiday. I’d just finished my first year. Got straight A’s. Made the dean’s list. Made new friends. Loved every second of it.
We were having a cookout.
Small. Just the three of us. Mia and her family. Det. Carter and his wife. Dr. Miller and his kids.
The smell of charcoal and burgers filled the air. Kids ran around with sparklers. My dad grilled. My mom made potato salad and peach pie.
No Lila.
No Karen.
No drama.
Just love.
I sat on the porch swing, watching everyone. Mia was chasing her little brother around the yard. My dad was laughing at something Det. Carter said. My mom was passing out lemonade.
I touched the necklace around my neck.
A lot had changed in a year.
I was fully healed. I ran three miles every morning. I played intramural soccer. I volunteered at the trauma center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital every weekend. I loved it.
I was going to be a doctor. A trauma doctor. Just like I’d planned.
Lila was still in prison. She’d appealed her sentence. Lost. She’d be there for at least another three years.
Karen was in prison too. For perjury. She’d be out in two.
Neither of them had tried to contact me since the letter.
I was safe.
Truly safe.
My dad walked over to the swing. Sat down next to me. Handed me a glass of lemonade.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he said.
I smiled.
“Just thinking,” I said. “About how far we’ve come.”
He nodded.
“Me too,” he said. “A year ago today… I thought we’d lost everything. I thought I’d lost you.”
He squeezed my hand.
“But we didn’t,” he said. “We’re stronger now. Closer. All of us.”
He looked out at the yard. At my mom laughing with Mia’s mom.
“I know I don’t say it enough,” he said. “But I’m so proud of you. You went through something no one should ever have to go through. And you turned it into something beautiful. You’re going to change so many lives, Mia. I just know it.”
Tears burned my eyes.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said.
He stood up.
“Dinner’s ready!” he yelled.
Everyone gathered around the big picnic table in the yard. We ate. We laughed. We told stories.
After dinner, my mom brought out the peach pie.
“One more thing,” she said. She handed me an envelope.
I opened it.
Inside was a letter. From the dean of Northwestern’s medical school.
Dear Mia,
On behalf of the entire admissions committee, it is my great pleasure to offer you a guaranteed spot in our MD program, beginning after you complete your undergraduate degree. Your academic record, your volunteer work, and your incredible resilience in the face of adversity have made you one of the most impressive candidates we have ever reviewed. We cannot wait to see the amazing things you will do.
Congratulations.
Sincerely,
Dr. Eleanor Voss
Dean of Admissions
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
I stared at the letter.
I was in.
I was going to med school.
Everyone cheered. Mia hugged me so hard I could barely breathe. My mom cried. My dad lifted me up, spun me around.
“I knew it!” he yelled. “I knew you’d do it!”
That night, after everyone left, the three of us sat on the porch. We watched the fireworks explode over the neighborhood. Red. White. Blue.
I sat between my parents. My mom held my hand. My dad put his arm around me.
I thought about that day a year ago.
About Lila shoving me down the stairs. About waking up in the hospital. About my dad doubting me. About Lila threatening me. About the trial. About the verdict.
I thought about all the pain. All the fear. All the doubt.
And then I thought about now.
About my acceptance letter. About the necklace around my neck. About my parents, healthy and happy and by my side. About Mia. About Det. Carter. About Dr. Miller. About all the people who’d stood by me.
I thought about the patients I’d helped at the hospital. About the lives I was going to change.
I was safe.
I was loved.
I was confident.
I was exactly where I was meant to be.
A firework exploded right above us. Bright gold. Beautiful.
I smiled.
For the first time in my life, I felt completely, utterly at peace.
The past was behind me.
The future was bright.
May you like
And I was ready.
Ready to take on the world.
