Chapter 82  New Beginnings

Lucas was jolted awake from his restless sleep upon hearing the harsh ring of his phone, which broke the tranquility of the morning. His heart was pounding with a sudden feeling of fear as he scrambled around for his phone, which he was groggy and puzzled about. He turned his head to look at the caller ID, and his eyes widened in shock as he realized that it was his parole manager. Lucas answered the phone, his voice strained with apprehension and filled with a flash of panic. "Hello?" "Lucas, it's your parole officer," the voice that's been heard before on the other end of the line said.  " I'm calling you because you failed to show up for your two most recent check-ins. Would you be willing to explain?" As Lucas frantically searched for an explanation, his thoughts were a mess of justifications and apologies. His mind raced as he tried to find an explanation. He stutteringly said, "I—I completely forgot," as his heart sank with the pressure of shame. "At the moment, there has been