Accepted Hearts

Chapter 1 / Wasted Years

Chapter One
Wasted Years

A burning sensation crawled down Nolan Alexander's throat, but that didn't stop him from slamming down the shot glass and reaching for another.

"Woah, maybe slow down over there, buddy?" Devonte called out while placing his hand on his cousin's shoulder.

Nolan smiled at his cousin and gently shrugged off his touch, before reaching for the glass and downing it.

"Oh, let him live," Nevaeh said while waving a dismissive hand in Devonte's direction. "The boy deserves it after all his hard work."

Nolan nodded at his other cousin. She was right. He did deserve it.

"Four years down, and too many more to go!" Nolan yelled while raising his next glass into the air.

Nevaeh quickly reached for her own and slammed it against his, while Devonte sat back in his seat and laughed. "You sound really excited about that."

Nolan's hand stopped mid air, and he turned to face his cousin. He knew he was being sarcastic, just as all three of them knew Nolan had never felt more done with school. Spending four years acquiring his undergraduate degree wasn't the easiest, and the knowledge that he'd have to spend about another three years in a physical therapy program didn't put him in the best of spirits.

But, alas, he chose this career. No one forced Nolan to want to be a physical therapist. It was something he'd chosen all on his own, and the years and work he needed to put in to achieve this goal was all on him.

That didn't mean he didn't have the right to complain about it every now and then.

"He should be excited," Nevaeh called out, turning to Nolan after and grabbing his arm. "You should be very excited. We all should be. Five years from now, we won't be sitting at some musty bar. We'll be in your penthouse, drinking the best kind of liquor, and not worrying about a damn thing."

"Wow, you, uh, got our lives all figured out," Nolan said with a laugh.

But her words caused him to pause and think. Five years from now, that could have very well been true. The future Nevaeh envisioned wasn't terrible, and honestly sounded pleasing and rewarding to Nolan. It was the threat of what would happen during those next five years that worried him.

More classrooms and lessons and tests and responsibilities jumped out at him. It was the same mess he'd been dealing with for seven years, and for just once, Nolan wanted to exist without it.

"Yes, I do." Nevaeh reached for Nolan's discarded shot glass and claimed it as her own. "I am so ready to mooch off of you for the rest of our lives."

Nolan rolled his eyes, but smiled. "You'd rather live off of me than Tae?"

They both turned to Devonte, who's sole attention was on his phone.

"I have a better chance of supporting myself with my lousy salary than relying on this loser," Nevaeh responded, before letting out a laugh.

Nolan joined in as best as he could, but a part of him couldn't truly find the humor in her words. Despite the fact that Nevaeh was about to enter her last year of pursuing her master's degree, the chances of her receiving a high paying job were still slim.