Ch 10
Two weeks later
As soon as she stepped into the court building, Georgie's eyes scanned the
crowded corridor for Dillon. She spotted him standing by the water fountain
with Ned and Alexis. Pushing through the crowd, she made her way over to
them.
"Hi," she said, almost shyly. She'd seen Dillon only a couple of times
since their evening out. Mac had insisted that she not miss any more school
for the trial, but she'd begged off in order to be present at the verdict.
Dillon's nervous eyes turned to her. He smiled slightly, taking a small
step toward her.
"Hi," he whispered. He started to reach out to her, then awkwardly pulled
back, just as Georgie's hand brushed his upper arm. Laughing nervously,
they wrapped their arms around each other in a hesitant hug.
"Hi," Dillon repeated, holding Georgie's body against his.
She propped her chin on his shoulder. "Hi," she echoed in a whisper.
Georgie started to pull back, but Dillon held on to her. "No," he protested
softly. Understanding, Georgie nodded her consent, laying her head on his
shoulder. "Give me strength," Dillon breathed, barely audibly. Georgie
squeezed him tighter, trying to oblige as they stood intertwined, trying to
gather strength from one another.
A commotion pulled them apart. It was time.
They filed into the courtroom. Georgie placed a comforting hand on Dillon's
arm, before she stood back to let him move ahead of her up to the witness
table. Ned guided Georgie into the row behind him.
Dillon tugged nervously at his tie. Not twenty feet away sat Tracy, the
shadow of a contemptuous smirk on her face. Ned couldn't help but look that
way in disgust. Neither could Georgie. But Dillon didn't even give his
mother a sideways glance. He had no desire to, no curiousity, no intrigue.
He wasn't wondering what kind of a woman could arrange to have her son
drugged and raped; he already knew. There was no reason to dwell.
"All rise," the bailiff called as the judge walked sedately to the bench.
"Will the defendants please rise?"
Tracy, Sage and their lawyers stood up. "Tracy Quartermaine," the judge
began. "The court has found you guilty of conspiracy, child abuse, and
reckless endangerment. You are sentenced to fifteen years in Green Haven
Prison."
A huge grin spread over Alexis's face. She rubbed Dillon's back
reassuringly. Tracy, unaccustomed to being punished for her actions, looked
aghast. She tried to look toward Dillon as if to dare him to actually let
the charade of anger continue, but he kept his eyes straight ahead.
"Sage Alcazar," the judge went on. "You have been found guilty of the
charges of conspiracy and date rape, and will be remanded to the Cayuga
Young Woman's Correctional Facility until the age of 25." He shot them both
steely stares. "And I am ordering psychiatric treatment for both you. That
this case even existed in the first place is nothing short of an
abomination." The judge turned to Dillon. "Mr. Quartermaine," he said.
Urged by Alexis, Dillon quickly rose to his feet. "Yes, Your Honor?"
The judge's steely eyes turned kindly as he regarded the teenage boy. "I've
considered your request for emancipation, Dillon," he began in a kind tone.
"And I'm denying it." Dillon nodded, defeated. The Quartermaine Asylum it
was, for the next 15 months, 12 days and-
"I am granting legal guardianship of the minor, Dillon Quartermaine, to his
elder half brother, Edward Lawrence Ashton."
And somehow it was a relief. Dillon nodded, wanting nothing more than to
get the hell out of there. The judge regarded him for another moment before
banging his gavel.
"Case closed."
Georgie began to slip out of her seat, wanting to give Dillon time with his
brother. As she stepped into the aisle, she came face to face with Sage,
about to be lead away by the bailiff.
She looked at the other girl with something almost like pity - in the weeks
gone by by, Georgie had come to fully realize how pathetic Sage was.
"Would it really have been worth it?" Georgie asked. "The money? Look where
it got you."
Sage smirked. If she felt any remorse, she didn't show it.
"Maybe," she replied. "But I did get one thing."
Georgie raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" she asked.
"I was Dillon's first," Sage replied, sneeringly. "I gave him something
that you couldn't."
Georgie's chest tightened painfully. "You're right," she said quietly, "you
were Dillon's first." She looked the other girl dead in the eye. "But at
least I was never his whore."
Georgie knew the smile that spread over her face as she turned on her heel
and left the courtroom was completely self-righteous, but she didn't care.
"When did you petition for guardianship?" Dillon asked. He and Ned were
sitting at a table at Kelly's. At the insistence of both the men, Georgie
had joined them. She watched the exchange, sipping a root beer from a
straw.
"Pretty soon after the trial began," Ned admitted. "I know you were hoping
for emancipation, but-"
"No, it's fine," Dillon nodded. "I'll just put up with the house until I
turn 18, you know?" He shrugged. "Hell, that which doesn't kill-"
Ned held up a hand, stopping Dillon. "Actually," he began, "we won't be
there." Dillon and Georgie both regarded him curiously. "I figured it was
time for a change, so I spoke to Bobbie," Ned explained. "She's renting us
the downstairs apartment at the brownstone."
Georgie gasped. "My old house?"
Dillon peered at her. "Your old house?"
"My mom and Maxie and I used to live there before we moved in with Mac,"
Georgie explained.
Dillon laughed. "Cool." He turned to Ned. "Seriously, thank you."
Ned nodded. "I know I'm fairly new to this older brother thing, but you do
still need supervision sometimes." Georgie couldn't help but roll her eyes
in agreement.
"Fine fine," Dillon conceded.
"Besides," Ned reasoned. "It'll save you on rent for now. If, once you
graduate high school, you want to get a place of your own in town, I'll
help you find something."
Dillon smiled. "Fair enough." He held out his hand.
Ned shook Dillon's hand. As they pulled away, Ned's eyes went to his
watch. "Damn it," he said. "I've got to run. I'll see you both."
"Bye Ned," Georgie said.
"Later man," Dillon added.
As the door closed behind Ned, Dillon leaned tiredly back in his chair,
closing his eyes. He opened one, regarding Georgie.
"Long day," she ventured.
Dillon nodded. "Mmmmhmmm."
"Dillon?" Georgie began hesitantly. "Did you, did you see your mother at
all?"
He shook his head. "No."
"But don't you-"
Dillon shook his head again. "No," he said quietly, but firmly. "I don't
need anything explained. I don't lie awake wondering how my mother could do
this to me, and I don't feel like I lost something huge." He leaned
forward, looking Georgie in the eye. "All that Tracy proved is that she was
never really my mother at all. I don't feel like there's anything missing
or something that needs closure. Maybe that's weird, but, it's how it is."
He leaned back once more, his piece said.
Georgie played with her straw. "You want to talk about something else?" she
suggested, feeling awkward.
Dillon nodded. "Yeah." They waited in silence for a topic to come to them,
something less mundane than school or weather, but not so personal as-
"I miss you," Dillon said softly, fixing his eyes on her. So much for
casual conversation.
Georgie nodded. "I miss you too," she whispered. They were less than three
feet away from each other, but the distance was palpable.
Dillon leaned his elbows on the table, rubbing his hands over his face.
"Can we ever go back, Georgie?" he asked, feeling exhausted.
She shrugged sadly. "I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe..." she sighed.
"Maybe you can never really go back, you know?"
Dillon sighed, defeated. "So you couldn't...couldn't love me again, like
you did before?" He closed his eyes. He just wanted to crawl into bed and
never wake up, but the feel of Georgie's hand over his made him open his
eyes again.
"I never stopped loving you," she informed him. "Not even when-" they both
winced, fighting the sick feeling. "It's just...so much has happened, you
know?" she finished lamely.
Dillon nodded. "I know," he agreed.
"So," Georgie asked. "What do we do?"
Dillon sighed. "I guess we just, do what we talked about, you know? Take it
slow." He pushed his hand through his hair. "Look, Georgie, I'm not a
complete idiot. I know that I have a lot to make up for, and I know that we
can't go back, but maybe...maybe we can try to start over? New beginning?"
He held out his hand.
Slowly, Georgie reached out, meeting him. They shook hands slowly. "New
beginning," she repeated. "We can try."
Dillon allowed himself to smile. "Good," he replied. "Do you think," he
asked as he released her hand slowly, "maybe I could take you out tomorrow
night?"
Georgie nodded, her lips turning up in a half smile. "Yeah, yeah I'd like
that," she agreed.
They looked at each other, still unsure of themselves. Georgie reached for
her scarf. "Well, um, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," she fumbled
slightly as she stood.
Dillon nodded. "I'll pick you up at 8," he replied.
"Well," she hedged. "Bye."
"Bye."
Dillon watched Georgie go, sighing heavily. Digging into his pocket, he
pulled out his cell phone.
"Damn it," Dillon muttered when he saw that the battery had died. Reaching
back into his pocket, he scrounged for a quarter, finally locating one and
making his way to the payphone in the back.
Inserting the coin into the phone, Dillon picked up the receiver and began
to dial. Suddenly, a hand grabbed the phone from him, hanging it up. Dillon
whirled around to see Georgie standing in front of him, and he wasn't quite
sure why, but his heart raced.
"I need a really big favor," she said, just like she had once before.
And then she kissed him.
The End