Chapter 8
Oh my god… I can't believe she did this for me. She smiled widely as her heart fluttered. Who knew there was a person as amazingly sweet as this in the world. But how did she pull this off? She finally looked up from Ashley's note and looked at Lucas as a sudden realization hit her.
"That's why you took so long to get to the hospital." she stated while putting the note down.
"What?" Lucas asked, not really listening before.
"You helped Ashley with this didn't you?" she looked accusingly at Lucas.
Lucas put on a confused front and averted his eyes from her gaze. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't even try to play dumb Lucas, I know you too well!" Spencer said irritated.
Luke knew he couldn't lie his way out of this one. "Fine. I helped her out a little." he admitted.
Spencer let out a frustrated sigh. "I can't believe you!"
"What's the big deal?" he asked raising his voice. "The girl just wanted to make you feel better and show you she cares!" he said while gesturing to the flower filled room.
"The big deal is I didn't want her to see this shit hole I have to live in!" Shit what if she saw my stash! Spencer ran over to her beat-up nightstand next to her couch and opened it quickly, only to find it empty. She took a deep breath, trying to control her temper. "Where is it Luke?"
He shrugged. "Where's what?"
That was the last straw. She slammed the drawer shut, almost making the nightstand fall backwards against the paint-chipped wall. "You know what the hell I'm talking about, so why don't you just fucking tell me where you put it!" she yelled.
Lucas wasn't phased by it. She had many outbursts like this before. "You don't need that shit Spencer." he said firmly.
"You're not my fucking Dad Luke! I can do whatever the hell I want!"
Lucas got right in Spencer's face. "Look Spenc!" he said pointing a finger. "When Glen left he asked me to look out for you. And that's exactly what I've been doing and what I'm going to keep doing." he said quietly but resolutely at the same time.
Spencer sighed at the memory of her older brother Glen. Always protective, just like Luke. No wonder they were friends for so long. "Luke all I need is a little bit. I haven't had any in a long time." she said calmly. "Please." she pleaded while clasping her hands together.
"It's gone Spenc. Get over it!" he said with harshness. He was way past fed up with Spencer's addiction.
She groaned angrily. "Get the fuck out of here!" she yelled with a wave of her hand. She walked into her bedroom and slammed the door.
She smacked some clothes off her bed like they were Lucas' face and fell onto her back. Her ribs and head were aching from her previous sudden movements, but she didn't even pay attention to it. She was too caught up in her anger towards Lucas and her obsession with getting high.
Outside Spencer's room, Lucas moved some flowers and got comfortable on the couch. He has gone through this with Spencer a few times before. The first time he got rid of her drugs she got some more right after he left. Now he stays until she calms down, or falls asleep.
He grabbed the remote from the slightly uneven coffee table and tried to turn on the TV. Realizing there were no batteries in the remote, he got up to turn it on. It took a couple of whacks for the fuzzy image to finally appear. After a few moments of flipping through the channels, he got bored. He sat back on the couch and took out his cell phone, contemplating on calling someone.
--
"No way! You actually did that for her?" Kyla was sitting cross-legged on Ashley's bedroom floor, looking up at her sister who was laying on her stomach at the foot of her bed. Ashley nodded with a cheesy smile plastered permanently on her face. "Who would have thought you could come up with an idea as fantastic as that!" Kyla joked.
Ashley opened her mouth to reply, but was startled when her phone vibrated loudly on her nightstand. "Hey I got game little sister." she joked before picking up her phone. Hhhmmm… I don't know that number.
"Maybe, but I've never seen you use it to this extent."
Ashley chuckled and answered her phone. "Hello?"
"Hi is this Ashley Davies?" a male's voice questioned.
"Yes this is her."
"This is Aiden Dennison. Remember me?"
"Yeah, Mr. Dennison's son right?"
"Yup that's me." he stated cheerfully. "I was calling because they chose you for the internship. Congratulations!"
"Oh my god are you serious?" she asked excitedly. Realizing that was very unprofessional she corrected herself quickly. "I mean really?" She looked at Kyla with bright eyes and a huge smile. Kyla looked confused and walked closer to her.
Aiden laughed. "Yes really. You start tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp."
"Ok thank you very much!"
"You're welcome. See you tomorrow Ashley."
"Bye!" She hung up immediately and turned to her sister. "Oh my god Kyla!" she said as she started jumping up and down.
"Oh my god what?" she said mocking her sister's high-pitched voice.
"I got the internship!" she squealed.
"Oh my god that's great Ashley!" Kyla said using her real high-pitched voice.
Ashley grabbed her sister and pulled her in for a tight hug. She released her a second later. "I can't believe they chose me! You have no idea how many people they interviewed for this."
"Well I'm not surprised. You're the brains of the family after all." Kyla said plopping down on the bed.
"Ok you have to help me figure out what I'm going to wear tomorrow!" Ashley skipped happily inside her closet as Kyla trailed behind shaking her head.
--
Before he could even waste another second debating whether to call her or not, which he had done at least thirty times, his phone rang in his hand.
"Shit!" he muttered once he saw the caller I.D. "Hello?"
"Lucas…" a deep raspy voice replied.
"Hey Hugo what's up?"
"Tell me how my angel is?" he said getting straight to the point. Hugo was never one for small talk.
Lucas looked to Spencer's door as if he thought he would be able to see her. "She's doing alright."
"She'll be back to work tonight then?"
"Uh…" Lucas hesitated, not knowing if he should tell his boss the whole truth. He feared Hugo would get in another one of his bad moods. "… the Doc said she needs to rest for a week or so."
Lucas couldn't help but cringe when he heard an irritated sigh on the other end. "You know that's not going to work for me Luke."
"She's not going to be able to dance Hugo. Her ribs are…"
"Listen to me boy!" Hugo interrupted him loudly. "It's not my fault she got fucked up by some thug!" It took everything Lucas had not to yell back at him. "I'll give her three days max. My best client is coming in to see her Wednesday night."
"But sir…" Lucas tried to protest.
"If she's not there you know what will happen." he threatened. A brief moment later the line was dead.
Lucas slammed his phone shut and threw it at the couch angrily. He was too frustrated to notice Spencer walking into the room.
"What's wrong with you?" She didn't wait for an answer as she walked past Lucas into her tiny kitchen. "I don't remember anyone throwing your drugs out." she hissed while opening the fridge.
Lucas ignored her comment as usual. "I just got off the phone with Hugo."
Spencer shot up, he body tensed at the mere mention of her boss' name. She turned ever so slowly and closed the fridge. "What did he say?" Not that I really want to know.
"He said you have to be back by Wednesday because he has an important client coming to see you."
"Ugh I forgot about him." She leaned her elbows on her counter and put her head in her hands, only to shoot her head up a second later. "Did you tell him the doctor said I had to rest?" Please tell me he forgot to tell Hugo. Who am I kidding… Hugo's an ass.
"I really tried Spencer but he didn't want to hear any of it." Her head fell back into her sweaty palms. "But, I mean… you'll be ok right?" he asked trying to stay positive. "You just have to give this perv a lap dance and then you can leave, right?" Lucas hoped that was all. He looked to Spencer for confirmation.
Spencer let out a slightly disgusted chuckle and shook her head. "You know that's not all he wants."
Just like that all Lucas' suspicions were realized. He walked over to Spencer and started rubbing her back gently. "Geez Spenc you're shaking."
"You should've let me keep my stuff." she said coldly. Stuff meaning her drugs.
"Spenc…" he paused, trying to find the right words. "Does this client... force himself on you?" he spoke softly.
All Spencer could do was nod a slow yes. She couldn't bring herself to say the words aloud because that would make it all the more real. She couldn't bring herself to look up as the feelings of embarrassment and violation consumed her. A few tears fell from her eyes. It was the first time she had told anyone about this.
Lucas' face became red with anger. He moved away from Spencer and started pacing with his jaw clenched tightly. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have protected you! That's what I'm here for." he shouted. Not because he was angry with Spencer, but because of the situation she let herself get in.
A few moments passed. Spencer wanted Luke to calm down before she told him how she got in this unpreventable situation.
"I owe him." she uttered simply, finally looking Lucas in his face, eyes watering.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked a little worried about her answer.
The Client coming to see me… his name is Garrett." Spencer stopped to try and swallow the lump forming in her throat. "He's the Chief of Police." Lucas nodding, realizing where this was going. "He could've sent me to jail for a long time. But he's good friends with Hugo, and they made a deal."
Lucas hung his head in disappointment. "So Hugo makes a deal with him so he doesn't lose you and all the money he makes off of you." Spencer nodded. "And this police officer decides he wants your body in exchange for jail time?"
"Yes." Spencer croaked, her throat as dry as a desert.
Lucas' mouth opened to say something, but his phone ringing kept him from speaking. "That better not be Hugo again." he groaned as he reached for his phone. "It's Ashley." He looked up from his phone to Spencer and reached out to give it to her.
She shook her head rapidly. "I can't talk to her right now."
Lucas knew Ashley would cheer her up. He opened the phone and shoved it into her hands, so she was left with no choice but to answer it.
Spencer gave him an evil look. "Hello?" She turned her back on Lucas and leaned against her kitchen counter.
"Hey just the girl I was looking for. Feeling any better yet?" Ashley asked concerned.
Spencer sniffled. "I'm not so good right now." But not because of my injuries.
"So the uh… the flowers didn't cheer you up?" she asked trying not to sound too disappointed.
"No!" Spencer said quickly. "I mean… that's not what I meant." She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "I love the flowers. That was really sweet of you." she said sincerely. She couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face as she thought about what Ashley had done for her.
"I'm glad to hear that. So do you mind me asking why you don't feel good?"
"Umm…" Spencer stuttered. There's no way in hell I'm telling her the real reason. "I'm just in a lot of pain right now because of my ribs and head."
Ashley laughed with embarrassment. "Right. I should have known that. Stupid question." she scolded herself. I am so not smart when I talk to her.
Spencer let out a soft laugh. "No don't worry about it Ashley."
"Ok." There was a pause between the two. Both weren't sure what to say next. "Well I should probably let you go, so you can get some rest."
"Yeah I probably should go lay down again." she agreed. Except I want to keep talking to you. It makes me feel so much better. Why do I have to feel this way?
"I just wanted to make sure all the flowers didn't freak you out or anything."
"They were actually the highlight of my day." Shit where did that come from? Stop being so honest Spencer god! You sound like an idiot!
"That's what I was hoping for." she said excitedly. Now Ashley had enough courage to ask Spencer another question. "So before you go I just really need to ask you a question."
Spencer hesitated, hoping it was nothing bad. "Ok…"
"Ok well I found out today that I got this summer internship at this really great law firm and I thought maybe you could come out with me tomorrow night to celebrate?" Spencer didn't know what to say, so she stayed silent. Ashley started regretting her decision to ask Spencer out. "I mean only if you feel up to it. We wouldn't stay out late and it wouldn't be a date or anything I just…"
Spencer smiled. How cute is she when she gets all nervous. "Ashley." Spencer blurted out, trying to stop Ashley from rambling on any further.
"Yeah?" she asked quietly.
"That's awesome that you got that job and I would be happy to go celebrate with you." she said confidently.
"Really?" Ashley had to be sure.
"Mmhmm."
"Ok great. I get off work at five. Can I pick you up at five thirty?"
"Umm…" Oh what should I say? I don't want her to come back to this shit hole again. "How about I just have Lucas give me a ride over to your place?"
"That would work too. Let me give you my address."
Spencer got a piece of paper and a pen and took down Ashley's address. Once she had it down they said their goodbyes and Spencer hung up. She waited a minute before turning around, so Lucas wouldn't see the grin on her face. He saw it anyway.
He grinned back and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a soothing hug. Then he pulled away and looked in Spencer's eyes. "It's been a long day." he stated. "Why don't we just hang out. No more talking about serious stuff."
Spencer nodded and smirked. "Thanks Luke. I'm really lucky to have you as a friend."
Lucas smiled smugly. "Yeah you are."
Spencer hit him on his arm as they both laughed.
