The Warning

Summary: Chase decides to talk to Spencer, just as Josslyn suggested.

The teenage boy was lying on the uncomfortable cot in his jail cell when Chase walked in to the area. Spencer didn't even look his way when he stopped in front of the bars. Instead, the boy just asked with a haughty air.

Chase held back a frown and replied. "I just had an interesting conversation with a friend of yours. Josslyn Jacks was very intent on me talking to you."

The brunet boy does look towards him then, still lying down, an arm across his stomach as he quirked a dark brow. "Really?" He questioned, smirk playing upon his lips. "And what in the world does she think you could talk to me about?"

His tone was cold and borderline rude, but Chase ignored it. He knew it was just the teen throwing on a persona. "Well, about something the two of us have in common." He answered. "As shocking as it may seem, I've been in your position before."

Spencer sat up with interest, fixing his eyes on the older man then. "You're talking about Nelle Benson, aren't you? I know that Joss caught the two of you kissing when she was meant to marry my dear cousin, Michael."

Chase nodded his head. "Yeah. Before I came to Port Charles, I worked this case. There was this couple in their twenties who'd went kayaking in Maine. Something went wrong, and the guy, Zachary Grant ended up dying. I met his fiancee, Nelle then. She was being investigated to see if perhaps she had to do with what had happened. I mean, there was no one else around. There was a faulty plug in his kayak and it filled with water. He ended up drowning, despite being this incredibly strong swimmer. Nelle watched it happen. Zach's older sister, Sharon was immediately suspicious of Nelle. So were the other officers on the force. I mean, he had changed his will not long before this tragedy and left everything to her. Nelle ended up seducing and manipulating me. We had an affair and she turned me in which ruined my career. That's when I realized that Nelle wasn't this innocent, sympathetic person who'd went through this awful tragedy. But I really had no way to prove what bad news she was when I eventually moved here. Not at first."

"And that's when she latched onto Joss and her family." The teen finished.

There was a harsh laugh in reply. "Yeah. Yeah she did. And she ended up faking her child's death for around a year just to hurt all of them. And before that, she attempted to kill Michael just as she succeeded in killing Zachary. Luckily, that didn't happen and he was okay. But she still managed to manipulate people and ruin lives."

Spencer stood up then, moving closer to the bars. "I don't get it, though. What does this have to do with Esme?" Of course, he knew what the man was getting at, he got what Josslyn suspected. He didn't want to believe it, though. If the two of them were right, that would mean he'd been used and that Esme had never really cared for him.

"I think you know why, Mr. Cassadine." Chase replied grimly. "Your girlfriend reminded me of Nelle right after I met her. Your friend was right about that. Maybe you should think about the things Esme has done and said and think about if those things were good. Your should get some sleep. Your arraignment is going to be early tomorrow." With that, he stepped away from the cell and walked off, back to where the main area of the police station was. He hoped that Spencer thought things through and realized how much better he deserved. He'd hate to see things end badly, the way things in Maine unfortunately had.

Spencer chewed his bottom lip and moved to lay back down, staring up at the ceiling with one of his arms behind his head. Like a tv show or a movie, he thought back on moments with Esme. Moments when her behavior seemed more than a little bit strange, going back to when they'd first met. It was strange, now that he thought about it. He'd seen Esme around for the over three years he'd believed his father to be dead. They'd never spoken, though. It felt as if they moved in different cliques. And then he'd discovered that his father had been alive this entire time and had faked his death, letting him mourn him for all those years. It was then that he realized he'd married Ava Jermome and had chosen money over his son. Spencer recalled how angry he'd been then. More than anything though, he'd been hurt. Unable to deal, he'd lashed out. Gotten in fights, hadn't engaged in class, got in arguments with the teachers. It was when his History teacher had stopped him to see if he was alright that he and Esme had finally spoken. He'd been leaving the classroom after assuring Mr. Pierre Jessep that he was okay when a slim hand had wrapped around his forearm and he'd been turned to meet Esme's eyes. She'd seemed so sympathetic and sweet then, those grey eyes of her wide as she stared up at him. He'd been confused at first. Until she'd spoken.

"Are you okay?" She'd asked, tone dripping with faux concern, hand still resting lightly on his arm. Her full, pink lips were formed into a frown and this close, he could see the very light freckles on her nose and he smelt the spiciness of her shampoo. "I've noticed you've been acting differently. How've you been doing?"

He'd stared at her silently for a few moments, more that a little surprised. Then, he'd finally answered the question. "Yeah, I guess." He paused for a moment and bit his lip, leaning against the wall and tilting his head back so it bumped against the cool marble. "Not really. I got in a fight with my father and new stepmother."

Esme's stormy eyes seemed to become impossibly wider at the confession. "Isn't your father supposed to be dead?"

Thinking about it now, the brunette hadn't sounded shocked. But in the moment, he'd just needed to confide in someone. "That's what I thought." He'd spit out angrily, curling his hands into fists at his side. "For more than three years, I've thought that. Apparently it was all a lie."

It was then that slender arms had wrapped around him, pulling him close and soft hands held him, one resting on the back of his neck, the other running soothingly through his dark hair. She'd listened and had seemed to understand that it had all been such a relief. He didn't recognize on how much she seemed to feed into his anger, encouraging it instead of trying to help him deal with it properly. He hadn't thought anything then of how she'd made suggestions on how he could get back at his father and new "stepmother". Not until he was already taking them and running with them. She'd seemed almost like an angel back then, it was only a few months ago that he'd realized how odd and dangerous her behavior truly was. She seemed so out of control. Burning Ava's car and leaving Kiki's ID card out beside of it, a card that was supposed to be buried with her in a grave was something he'd never agreed to. Nor had he agreed to sending the bear to Avery. He'd never meant for his niece to be involved. Unfortunately, that was what had occurred. And for some reason, he'd decided to lie for the girl. He'd made things even messier for himself and now, it seemed almost impossible to find a way to fix it.

The End