Chapter 21

Dean's POV

Tuesday

I shouldn't of gotten so angry with Spencer, she's just a kid. I just hate to see her go down the same path that I did, she is a smart girl but she's just made some really bad choices.

Spencer reminds me of myself a few years ago, I can see an innocence in her that people used to see in me, that was a long time ago though, its gone now, along with everything good in my life. The only good thing I have left in my life is my job, I love helping people get over their addictions, its lonely though.

Other people can make friends through their work, they can create bonds with people, I can't, everyone that I work with is a recovering addict and once my time with them is up I don't see them again except when I check back. Its only Spencer that has been a repeat client, with my other clients I never even get to hear if they stayed clean or get to know how they are doing.

I sit in Spencer's kitchen, on a barstool at the breakfast bar. I wonder what went so wrong for Spencer, I suppose on the outside the Hasting's look like your normal family, two parents, two daughters but underneath there have to be secrets bubbling away, I've seen it a thousand times before, I just wonder what secrets there are here.

I became an alcohol and drug abuse counsellor because every time I detoxed from the drugs there was no one there for me, I had to go through it alone, both of my parents were and as far as I know still are heavy drug users, it was normality for me so it shouldn't of been a surprise to anyone when I started taking drugs too. My older brother went the same way as me, he's clean now though, he's married with children, I haven't spoken to him for years though, he cut off our entire family when he got clean, said that we all had bad memories for him, I understand why he did it.

My sister took drugs for a while too, the last I heard off her she was clean but with Samara who really knows, she's always gallivanting about, never stays in one place for very long and is always changing her number and doesn't get in contact very often.

Samara speaks to our parents from time to time, even though she went through the same things that I did she still wants a relationship with them, I don't understand that. I personally never want to see them again.

I'm not sure how to help Spencer, I have almost exhausted my bag of tricks. She says she wants to stop taking drugs but I'm struggling to believe her.

I head back upstairs, I know that I need to apologise to her.

"Spencer" I say and knock on her bedroom door.

Shit I left the drugs in there with her, crap.

"Yeah, come in".

I push her door open.

"You okay?" I ask her.

She shrugs her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't of shouted at you".

"I kind of deserved it" Spencer admits.

"Where are, uh, the pills?" I ask feeling stupid.

Spencer points to her bedside table and I see them sitting there, I grab them and put them in my pocket.

I sit down on Spencer's bedroom floor and lean back with my arms behind me.

"Spence, if you want to kick your habit you are going to have to put some effort in" I tell her.

"I know" she says, "I have been trying to but its not easy".

"I know, kid. From here on out you aren't going to have a chance to take drugs, I am going to make sure every minute of your day is taken up, I know I said that when I first got here but I thought you were putting effort in so I went easy on you, there will be no school and you won't have a minute alone unless your sleeping or, you know, showering" I say.

Spencer nods.

"Right so get up, get dressed. We're going for a run" I tell her and stand up. "Be downstairs in five minutes".

I get changed and go downstairs, a couple of minutes later Spencer joins me.

"Dean, I really don't want to go for a run" she whines.

"Tough luck Spencer, any cravings you have you should put into running, it helps" I tell her. "Come on".

We do four laps of the block when Spencer slows to a stop beside me.

"We done yet?" she asks breathlessly.

I shake my head. "Two more laps for your stunt last night. Come on" I set off jogging till she catches up with me and then I launch into a full run.

I hear Spencer running behind me but doesn't quite catch up, I slow my pace a little and run alongside her.

"Feeling alright?".

"Oh yeah, just dandy" Spencer says sarcastically.

I want to laugh but I have to stop being her friend and be her drugs abuse counsellor, that's what I'm getting paid to do. I have another 2 and a half weeks with Spencer and I'm determined to help her get clean by then.

We finish the last lap of the run in silence, neither of us say anything until we are back at Spencer's house.

"I'm going for a shower" Spencer says and heads upstairs.

I get the juicer out and make us both a kale and spinach smoothie.

Spencer comes back downstairs about 15 minutes later.

"What is that?" she says and looks at the glass I've handed her.

"Kale and spinach smoothie, drink it Spencer" I tell her.

She makes a funny face but drinks it anyway.

"What's that meant to do?" she asks.

"Its nutritious Spencer, your body needs the nutrients".

Spencer nods.

"Is there another meeting tonight?" Spencer asks.

"Yes".

"Are you going?".

I shake my head. "Nice try Spencer, not a chance am I leaving you on your own".

"I could, uh, come too" Spencer says a little nervously.

I turn to look at her. "Do you want to?" I ask.

Spencer nods slightly. "I, uh, think so".

Spencer swallows hard and looks at me with wide, scared eyes.

"Okay, if you want to go then we will go".

Spencer smiles slightly at me.

I look at her, she is as pale as a ghost and I can see her trembling, her skin is covered with a sheen of sweat.

I feel sorry for her, I would never tell her that, detoxing isn't easy and its not something anyone should have to go through, unfortunately plenty of people do, all the time.

I hope that Spencer choosing to go to a meeting is a good thing, hopefully this is her being proactive in her sobriety.

"Right, what do you want to do? Can't just sit there all day" I tell Spencer.

She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know".

"Why don't you read a book? Or do some coursework Spencer".

Spencer shrugs but picks a book off the bookshelf.

"I'll be back now, I have to make a call, don't go anywhere okay" I tell Spencer.

She nods.

I head upstairs.

"Hi, you" the voice on the other side of the phone comes.

"Hi Kaitlyn".

"How are you Dean?".

"I'm okay" I lie. "How are you?".

"I'm okay, getting there anyway".

"That's good. Hows rehab?".

"Shit" she laughs. "Its okay, apparently I'll be ready to leave soon".

"Yeah? That's great. Do you think you're ready to leave".

"I dunno, guess I have to at some point".

I sigh. "Yeah but listen, you stay there for as long as you need, whatever it takes for you to get clean and stay clean you do it".

Kaitlyn sniffs on the other side of the phone. "You're a great guy Dean, thank you".

I smile. "Just get yourself clean okay".

"I will, I promise. Hows that girl doing that you were telling me about?".

"Not great, she snuck out last night and tried to buy some Aderall and was given Ketamine instead".

"Oh shit" Kaitlyn says and laughs.

We chat for a few minutes longer and then say our goodbyes.

I head back to the front room, Spencer isn't there.

Oh fuck.

"Spencer?" I yell.

I run upstairs to her bedroom, she's not in there.

"Spencer" I shout again, louder this time.

As I turn round she's walking out of the bathroom.

"Relax, I was on the toilet" she says with a scowl.

Usually with the clients that I work with I don't really care about them on a personal level, I care that they get clean because that's my job but that's where it ends, its different with Spencer though, I care deeply about her, I don't know why but I feel like there isn't anything that I wouldn't do for this girl. fau

Aria's POV

"Aria, you are coming home now" Mom says.

I shake my head and pull the duvet tighter around me, I'm not leaving. This is where I feel closest to Ezra.

Emily told me she had explained what had happened to Wes, she says he took it alright but I suspect she only said that to make me feel better.

This is my fault, its all my fault. Why couldn't I have just stayed away from Ezra before all this started. If I hadn't got into a relationship with him he wouldn't be sitting in a police station right now and I wouldn't be looking at becoming a single mother.

"Aria, it is not a request, you ARE coming home with me, you don't have a choice" my Mom yells at me.

That is all she has done since she got here.

"No Mom, I am not. I am staying here".

Mom sighs at me.

"Aria, if you do not listen to me then I can't help you" she says gently.

"Its not me that needs help Mom, its Ezra, he's the one sat in a police cell because of me. If you want to help someone then help him" I yell at her.

"I am not going to help Ezra and neither is your father, he is an adult Aria, can't you see what he has done is wrong?".

"No Mom, he hasn't done anything wrong, we love each other. If you can't accept that then there is nothing for you to do here".

I see my Mom tear up and I feel a little bit bad.

"Fine Aria, if that's how you want it you can deal with this on your own, I can't help you if you won't let me".

My Mom storms out of the room and I hear the front door slam a few minutes later.

I roll over onto Ezra's side of the bed, I can still smell him on his pillow. Tears prickle my eyes.

I look up and see Wes stood at the doorway.

"Hi" I say a little nervously.

"Hi" he says back.

The room is filled with silence, the pressure of it makes my ears hurt.

"Aria, what are we going to do to help Ezra?" he asks.

"I don't know Wes, have you spoken to your Mom?".

Wes looks like a lost little boy standing there, I can see how afraid and worried for his brother he is.

"Yes, she won't help though, she said she has washed her hands of him".

I sigh. "Its up to us to help him then" I tell him.

"How are we going to do that?".

I sit up for a minute to think, my phone bleeps with a message.

'Poor Aria, your beloved is gone, your Mom is gone, who's next? I'll always be here with you though, hugs -A'.

I want to scream. Whoever this is, when I find out I will kill them.

I roll out of bed.

"Give me a minute to get dressed okay Wes" I say.

He nods and shuts the door.

I throw on a pair of sweats and a jumper with a pair of trainers, I scrape my hair back into a ponytail.

"Come on" I tell Wes.

"Where are we going?" he asks.

"To help Ezra, I just have to make a call first, okay".

Wes nods.

I put my phone to my ear.

"Mrs Hastings? Its Aria, I need your help".

I explain what has happened and Veronica tells me to meet her at her office in 20 minutes.

"Who was that?" Wes asks.

"Spencer's Mom, she's a lawyer. She's going to help Ezra, we have to go and see her".

Wes and I jump into my car and I drive us to Veronica's office.

"Aria, come on through" Veronica says, she was waiting for us in the waiting room.

"Uh, this is Wes, Ezra's brother" I tell her.

Veronica nods and turns to go to her office, we follow behind her.

"Okay, I have made some calls, Ezra has been arrested on a section 32" she tells us.

Wes and I look at each other.

"What does that mean?".

"It means the police can hold him for a period of 21 days, after that they either have to let him go or charge him with something".

"Is that good?" Wes asks.

"Yes, Judge's don't like the use of section 32's. It means it will be very easy for me to have it thrown out, the police will then have to release Ezra".

I smile.

"They can, however, still investigate him and can arrest him again at any point. It is a serious offence. I need you to tell me everything Aria, that is the only way that I can help Ezra".

I nod and take a deep breath.

As I begin to speak I feel my little girl give me a kick.

I met Ezra at the end of the summer, the same summer that Bethany's body was found. We met in a bar and got chatting, we, uh, spent some time in the bathroom" I can feel myself blushing. "I didn't expect to see him again after that but I did, at school the next day, he was the new English teacher, he said that nothing could happen between us again.. At Alison's funeral we started talking on the stairs of the church, he apologised for being a jerk, I said goodbye to him, I thought that would be the end of it" I take a deep breath and try to stop the tears falling.

"Was it the end of it?" Veronica asks.

I shake my head. "As I was walking away Ezra grabbed my arm and kissed me, I kissed him back. I tried transferring out of his class so I didn't have to see him again but the school denied the request. One night after I had been to the theatre with my Mom I was walking home, it was raining, Ezra passed me in the car and stopped just ahead of me, I got in and we kissed again after he drove to a quiet, secluded area. After that nothing happened again for a little while until I went into his classroom at break time to ask what his plans for the weekend were, I wanted to see him, he said that I should go to the party that all my friends were going to be at that weekend. That weekend the woman that my father had an affair with turned up at my Mom's gallery opening, I had to get out of there and ended up going to Ezra's, he gave me a hug and we chatted for a little while before I went home. Ezra invited me to dinner at his place the week after that so we could talk, we argued that night though, I accused him of seeing me as a child and left. We didn't speak till the next day, he made some cryptic comment in class about our argument the night before, I went to his apartment that night to find out what was going on and why he said what he did in class, we chatted while we ate and then I realised I had to go and talk to my Mom so I left".

The tears keep threatening to fall as I go over every detail of our relationship, I don't want to tell anyone about Ezra and I but I know that I have to if Veronica is going to help Ezra.

"Ezra invited me to a poetry reading a few days after, he was reading a poem that he had written, Ezra's friend was there. After the poem reading me, Ezra and his friend hung out for a bit, his friend picked up on what was going on and warned Ezra I guess because he was distant the rest of the night, When we went back to his place that night he relaxed and said I could stay but I had to get home, I said I would cook him dinner the next night. When I turned up at Ezra's he said he had seen a message from A, he assumed I had told someone about me and him and he broke things off with me. At homecoming I was assigned to work on the same stall as Ezra and I explained who A was. When I was dancing with Sean I saw Ezra looking, he looked disappointed, when he walked out of the hall I followed him, I told him that I couldn't stand the thought of him hating me, he said he didn't hate me he just regretted that he couldn't take me out on real dates, he said he only came to homecoming to see me, we went our separate ways. The next day I tried ringing him but couldn't get an answer, I went to his apartment and let myself in with his spare key, I heard a message on his answer phone confirming a job interview in New York. I didn't see him for a couple of weeks after that, he wasn't at school and I got no answer from his cell. On the day of the SAT's I saw him at school, he said that he went to New York to deal with his issues and to think about us, he said things needed to change, I walked out then".

"Aria, I don't need to hear all the little details, just the main bits" Veronica says.

I exhale and nod.

"Ezra met me at Mona's birthday party, I snuck off and we chatted in his car, he asked me to forgive him but I said no, he asked again and kissed me. Noel found out about us and was going to tell the Princapal but on the day that he was going to say something drugs were found in his locker and he got excluded. It just went from there really".

Veronica nods.

"So the relationship was instigated by the two of you?" she asks.

"Yes, absolutely" I say nodding.

"Okay, I think I have enough information. I'm going to petition to have Ezra released and then will head down to the station to talk to him" Veronica says.

"Thank you" I tell her. "You don't know how much this means. How much is this going to cost?".

Veronica looks kindly at me. "Aria, I have known you since you were a child, I can't charge you for this".

My mouth falls open slightly and my eyes well up.

"Thank you" I say as a tear rolls down my cheek.

"One last thing Aria" Veronica says.

I look at her.

"Is the baby Ezra's?".

I hesitate before I nod.

"Okay".

"When can I see him?" I ask.

Veronica sighs. "Lets just take this one step at a time, it will be family only that are allowed to visit for the minute but I will do everything I can to get Ezra out by tomorrow".

Wes and I thank her and leave.

"That's good that she's going to get Ezra out" Wes said as we left Veronica's office.

I nod. "Yeah, hopefully she can do it".

We both go home.

"I'm going to go for a bath" I tell Wes and head up the stairs.

Spencer's POV

"You still want to go to the meeting Spencer?" Dean asks me.

I nod slightly. I'm not thrilled about going but Dean is right, I need to start taking getting clean seriously and if its helped him then maybe it can help me too.

We head out to the car and the drive to the meeting is filled with silence. I am way more nervous this time than the last time I went.

"Alright?" Dean asks as he pulls up.

I swallow nervously, I feel sick. I nod slightly.

"Come on" he says with a smile and a rub of my shoulder and then gets out the car.

I follow slowly behind him.

I recognise a few of the faces from last week, they are all smiling at me.

Dean abandons me at the doorway and walks into the room, I watch him talking to a few of the other people.

"Hi" a girl in front of me says.

I look at her, she's tiny, like Aria sized with light blonde hair and pale skin. She looks like she could be Hanna's sister.

"Uh, hi".

"My names Keira".

"Um, okay, hi Keira".

"Do you want to come sit with me?".

I nod hesitantly and she leads us over to some chairs.

Ezra's POV

I'm sitting in my cell, alone. The police questioned me but I refused to answer any questions without a attorney.

My cell door opens. I see Veronica Hastings standing there with an officer.

"Mr Fitzgerald" she says. "Nice to see you again" she said humourlessly.

Veronica steps into my cell and the door is shut behind her.

"How are you?" she asks.

I chuckle harshly. "Not so good".

Veronica nods. "If I'm going to represent you I need to get something straight".

I look up at her. Represent me? Who asked her?

"You need to know that I do not condone what you've done, I have known Aria since she was a child however she maintains that she loves you and as she is an adult now and has been an adult long before her time she deserves to have the chance to realise what you are herself".

I nod. "Thank you".

"I have gotten a lot of the details from the police and Aria but I need you to clarify a few things Mr Fitzgerald".

I nod.

"Were you aware of Aria's age when the two of you met the first time".

I sigh heavily. "Yes, I knew that she was Allison's friend. I knew that they were the same age".

"Alright. Is there any reason that you didn't know the implications of getting involved with a minor?".

I sigh again and shake my head. "No".

"Just so I'm clear, you were aware of Aria's age and you were aware of the law regarding minors".

I nod and look down at the floor.

"I have petitioned to the court to get the police's section 32 thrown out" Veronica tells me.

"What does that mean exactly?".

"It means that they will have to release you, although you will still be under police investigation it is likely that you will have bail conditions, one of those conditions may be that you don't have contact with Aria".

My heart almost stops. I know I can't argue this but if that happens it will kill both of us.

"Once I hear back from the courts about whether they have thrown the police's section 32 out I will come back" Veronica says and leaves.

I'm left alone in my cell again.

What's the point of being released if I can't see Aria?

The silence consumes me, I lay back on my bunk and the tears begin to fall.

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