Moonlit Man (bxb)

Chapter 2 - Lost in Transit

Sam awoke, feeling the effects of the same night terror which occurred nearly every fortnight. The sharp migraine which usually lingered the day after, made the faint wrinkle on his forehead scrunch with discomfort. After sitting up from his now damp bed, he quickly jumped in the shower and washed away last night's trauma.

After a sluggish attempt to properly dry himself, he left a trail of wet footprints on the dark wooden floor which covered his dorm room. His bedroom had a double wooden bed against the wall which was opposite from the bathroom door. Two small windows were at either side of the bed, paired with thin grey shutters which were standard in the college dorm rooms of Stanford Law School, Los Angeles.

After slipping into a navy oversized hoodie and black skinny jeans, he also put on a pair of black Converse. Minutes later, he reached for a towel and ruffled his hair while walking to a mirror. He glanced at his defined face and noticed the slight bags forming under his light brown eyes. This was probably due to the restlessness caused by those nightmares on top of the pressures of law school. His slim yet defined lips were accompanied by a rounded button nose which offset his sharp eyebrows and angular face shape. He took the small waves of his honey-brown hair and shaped it so the small scar on the left side of his hairline was now concealed.

*Bing*. He grabbed his phone and read the text which said:

Dude, we're gonna be late for class. Get out now or I'm leaving your ass.

"Shit", muttered Sam as he quickly rummaged through his nightstand and crammed his laptop into his backpack, and headed out. Outside sat Kate in her silver BMW as one arm leaned on the side of the door while puffs of clear smoke from her e-cigarette floated out the half-opened window. She was a pretty girl who had soft pale skin, bright blue eyes, and a few freckles on the bridge of her narrow nose, framed by her long, pin-straight blonde hair. She wore a maroon blouse which was paired with a long sleeve black jacket and dark skinny jeans with tasteful knee-high brown leather boots.

"Well, you took your time," said Kate while she took one last hit of the pen and put the car in drive.

"Yeah, I had another rough one last night and lost track of time I guess," Sam shut the heavy door and reached for the seat belt.

"Shit. Another one? You have to go and see someone about that..." She suggested while moving some stray strands away from her face and tucking them behind her ear.

"Not all of us are made of money you know..." He retorted while looking out the window. "I can barely afford to pay for my textbooks, never mind a damn shrink who doesn't know anything about me but has the balls to tell me how I should live my life." Sam fiddled with his hoodie strings while a feeling of emptiness grew inside him.

"It's not about money Sammy and you know that. As long as I'm here, you're gonna' have whatever you need. You're turning twenty-four soon and you're still having nightmares about your shitty father. You should be at your happiest, spending your time at college with one of the prettiest, funniest, smartest girls on campus." She turned to Sam as a small grin grew on the right side of her mouth.

Sam snorted and teased, "Who is this girl you're talking about? I've yet to meet her." And just like that Kate had managed to lighten the mood and make Sam chuckle. Kate was one of the very few people who could be brutally honest with Sam and get away with it. Her sharp remarks and candid truths were ways of showing she cared. Anyone who didn't know her would see amazing clothes, pretty jewelry and notice that she smelled like those pretty French perfumes. But underneath all that, she was a people pleaser. She could never ignore someone in need and had a habit of fixing other people's problems, often at the expense of her own convenience or her Dad's deep pockets.

"So, have you done the prep for corporate law yet?" Kate asked while she looked for a parking space.

"Not really, but I'll get by," said Sam while clicking open his seat belt.

Kate brought the car to a stop and rested her hands on the black leather steering wheel. "It still boggles my mind that you're at the top of the class with the amount of effort you seem to put in. You should be proud of yourself you know. You came from nothing, went to a state school, and still managed to get a scholarship of academic excellence into one the most competitive law schools in the country."

A smile grew on Sam's face as he reflected on Kate's compliments, maybe she had a point. After years in the social care system, he managed to pull himself out of the endless cycle of hopping between foster homes and finally put down roots. It was as if she had managed to subside the emptiness and guilt which was always burrowed inside him and plant a little seed of hope. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but you know I love you right?" He said warmly as he turned to Kate.

"Yeah – I love me too." Kate grinned as she shut the engine off. Sam rolled his eyes while she let out a light chuckle. The truth is Kate felt the same too, she knew that Sam was genuine, he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and rarely asked anyone for anything. She felt like he was the only one who actually knew and understood her.

They then left the car and entered a tall grey building which stood next to a sign that read: 'Stanford's influential people in business lecture. Today's guest of honor: Mathew Krondstat.'