Page 83 of Tangled in Knots

“The money exists for people who are driven and need the help,” Mr. Lars points out. “Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. It may be too late for this semester…”

“Maybe not,” Aisling says. “We’re going to visit the dean now.”

“Aisling,” I hiss at her.

“She’ll probably want you to take it slow, say one or two classes,” Aisling adds. “It doesn’t hurt anyone to fit you in. University of Lyons starts classes on February fifth. The bus system runs right by it.”

“It feels like such a big ask,” I murmur. “I don’t really have any transcripts since I was homeschooled. Everything went up in a fiery blast.”

“Like a fire or a bomb?” Mr. Lars asks, eyes narrowed.

Aisling glares at him, and I find it doesn’t hurt to talk about. I’m sure it’ll get better and worse in equal measures as I start to get time away from the event.

“It looked like explosives,” I grunt. “The crazy asshole likes to watch things go boom.”

Kane’s psychotic dark, almost black eyes, like his older brother, make me shiver.

“We can say all records went up in a fire,” Aisling says. “It’s not completely a lie. She’ll measure your ability to keep up and what you know some other way. Going to see her is the only way to know.”

The idea of being able to start school makes me excited and I nod. “Okay let’s do it,” I murmur.

“Good little omega,” Mr. Lars says, surprising me. His words aren’t suggestive the way that Jed’s were, and I force my shoulders to relax. “Go show the dean what you’re made of.”

My lips twitch at the level of pride in his voice as we leave. Aisling sighs happily as we walk, and I find that it’s easier to keepup. I need to get more exercise every day to bring my stamina back up.

I can feel my breaths get shorter as we get closer to our destination, my body reminding me of its limits. My legs may be enjoying stretching out and walking, but my lungs are flagging. I have to remind myself that every step is a building block, even if I want to be a wrecking ball.

“Miss Firestone,” Dean Verity Banks says with a stern look. “There are a lot of bricks in your way at the moment, and I’m going to use my power to knock some of those away. We had a scholarship recipient for this year who passed away suddenly and it was going to go to waste as everyone else has already chosen other schools to attend. The requirement to receive it is that you will need to pass the entrance exam. You need to take at least twelve credits for this particular scholarship. That is about four classes, which is more than I’d generally want you to take.”

Thinking about working nights and going to school full time makes me gulp, but I nod. I can do it. There’s places for me to study, there’s nothing else for me to do.

I can do this.

“I understand,” I say, my voice cracking with stress as I wince. She just smiles gently as I take a deep breath. “I’d like to try, please.”

Nodding, the dean grabs a pad of paper and writes down a date, time and place. We’re visiting her at her home currently, and Aisling swears this time she made an appointment. I’m not sure what to make of her, but she’s a miracle worker.

“Alright, Saturday morning at eight is when the exam will take place,” the dean says, handing me the piece of paper.“There’s a group of students taking another exam during that time in the room, but the teacher won’t have an issue proctoring for you. That simply means that she’ll administer the test and collect it when you’re done. The building number and classroom are on the piece of paper as well. The campus is huge, so try to get there a little earlier to find it.”

“Thank you so much,” I say, eyes wide. God, I’m going to cry. Don’t do it. Blinking quickly, I can feel that it’s going to be ugly and awful.

“Thank you, Dean Banks,” Aisling says quickly, standing. “We really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” she says. “If all goes well, I’ll see you around campus. My door is always open at school as well. Whatever you need.”

Nodding as the lump in my throat gets larger, I walk beside Aisling as we leave the brownstone.

“Are you okay?” she asks gently as I gasp, nodding as the tears begin to flow. “Did I push too hard?”

“No,” I wail. “This is amazing. I thought it was going to be so much harder to get to this point. A part of me doesn’t feel as if I deserve this.”

“You do,” she says fiercely, wrapping her arm around my waist. She’s much taller than me, and I’m tucked against her. “Just because we’re able to help a little doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve this, okay?”

It takes me at least several blocks before I’m able to stop crying.

“When is my first shift at Finnegan’s?” I ask, just now thinking about it. “I also want to see if there’s any chance I can find some study materials online.”

“Caleb wants you to start tomorrow night,” Aisling says, turning down the alley that’ll take us to the shelter. “You have afew days before the exam, we’ll see if there’s a general guide you can go over, since we don’t know exactly what they’ll test on.”

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