"Mom, is it really necessary for me to be working in this place all summer? It's not like I'm getting anything valuable out of it." Ashley was forced to work reception at a warehouse of auto parts. The only bonus she could find to this was she wasn't the only receptionist so when things around the actual office got slow she could sneak back to the warehouse and help stock the parts on the shelves. Sure she came home a little dirty to the dislike of her mother but if she had stayed in the office all day she would've died from boredom. Ashley wasn't a big car person but she knew a thing or two so shelving parts was actually a little bit fun.

"What do you mean what do you get out of it? Maybe if you'd stay in the office instead of going into that dirty warehouse doing a job respectable women shouldn't be doing you would realize what there is to learn." Christine was all about prestige and made sure while Ashley was around she acted like the lady Christine tried to bring her up as. "I don't know why you insist on undermining my authority."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was YOUR warehouse. Funny I thought it was Ken's name on the door I report to every morning. And I know you wouldn't step foot near the place so it really must be Ken's wife Marti I see hanging around. If they let me help, then I don't see a problem. I can always go stay at Alex's if my "unladylike" behavior bothers you that much."

"I thought you weren't hanging out with that boy anymore." Christine blames Alex for the rebellion Ashley developed at a young age. She hoped Alex wouldn't get into college and his bad behavior would land him behind bars but so when that didn't happen she could every chance she could to keep Ashley away from him, hence the summer jobs.

"Yeah well, thick and thin. We may not hang out as much as we used to but we have an understanding. Wait, how do you know we aren't hanging out as much? Do you have a spy at this school now?"

"Don't be absurd Ashley, he's a," her face turns to disgust, "a bagger at the grocery store. I of course was polite as always and he made some snide remark about not seeing you in a while. The nerve of that boy, accusing me because you finally grew out of his friendship." Ashley rolled her eyes and walked towards her room.

"Spencer, get your brother out of here and go help him clean his room." Paula was Spencer's step mother, sort of. Spencer's biological mother left when she was two leaving her father to raise her with her grandmother. Arthur had just started as a social worker when Spencer was born. When Spencer was seven they moved to Illinois and Arthur started working his way up to finally have his own center which is now one of the best centers in the Chicago area. Paula came into the picture when Spencer started High School and Glen was born a year after. Despite Paula's best efforts Spencer saw that Paula just wanted to separate her from her father. Her father was oblivious to this and had plans to marry her.

"Come on little man lets see what kind of damage we can do." Spencer picked up her brother throwing him over her shoulder.

"Sack potato! Sack Potato!" Glen starts chanting and beating his fists on Spencer's back.

"Alright killer, you seem to have created quite a disaster in here. I thought we made a deal?" Glen's pounding stops and Spencer slides him down to rest on her hip.

"Sowwy 'pencer. I twied but um, the toys didn't wanna go bye bye." Spencer laughs at his attempt for an excuse.

"I've taught you well, but we still need to get this cleaned up." Spencer thought for a second, "I bet you can't pick up more toys than me in one minute." Glen's eyes widened in excitement at the game.

"Ready... Set..." Glen started running. "Hey, I don't think so shorty I didn't say the magic word, drop everything in your hands and get back here." Glen dropped what he had already grabbed and slowly walked back towards Spencer. "Ready... Set...GO!" Glen ran back to the same toys he had just dropped and quickly put them where they belonged. Spencer grabbed a few things but made sure to take her time and watch her little brother speed wildly around the room, his blonde curls bouncing and hitting him in the nose. When he picked up the last toy he could find and put it back he turned to Spencer who was still holding two teddy bears in her hands.

"I win, you didn't even put your toys away." He shook his head at his older sister.

"Oops, I guess you did win, nice job! As a reward you and I will watch any two movies you want before I have to go back to school." She expected Glen to be excited, having the chance to pick out his own movie was something rarely allowed to him. Usually his mother put in the first thing she found and made him watch it while she did god knows what elsewhere in the house. Instead, Glen's eyes began to fill and Spencer could see the pink filling his cheeks.

"Don't leave me. Why can't I go wif you? I'll pick up my toys every day I promise!" Spencer's heart broke instantly. She knew that things weren't the greatest for her little brother, but felt completely helpless to do anything. While Spencer was away at school Paula had started cheating on Arthur with several different guys and started neglecting Glen. Arthur did the best he could, Spencer too, but Paula was adamant at keeping the two of them at a distance from HER son.

Spencer heard the front door slam and knew that Paula had left for the evening leaving Spencer to take care of her brother until her dad got home.

"Alright buddy, no sad faces. It's Glen time, whatever you want to do we will do but I still have to leave tonight. Look at me though," she waited until his eyes met hers, "Everything is going to be okay, I am always here. You're my little man and nothing will change that."

"Ohana?" The little boy sniffled.

"Yeah, Ohana." Spencer did her best impression of Stitch. Lilo and Stitch held so much more meaning to those two than anyone could possibly imagine.

In the time before Spencer left they played three games of go fish, in which Glen won two games and they finished their time watching Tom and Jerry cartoons that Spencer got Glen hooked to.

The summer was beyond bittersweet for Spencer, she knew this might be the last time she'd get to really spend with her little brother. She'd overheard Paula talking to someone about taking Glen and moving away. She'd wanted to say something all summer but knew that causing a fight was only going to make matters worse for Glen. By the end of summer Spencer applied to work at an electronics store, if she wasn't going to be spending her time swimming she'd might as well immerse herself in something else she enjoyed, overworking. At least two jobs since she was sixteen, she'd quit her jobs before starting college under the thought that she'd be preoccupied with swimming and when that didn't happen her preoccupation became partying. Spending the summer with Glen forced her back into reality and she knew if she'd ever get the chance to take him away from Paula she'd have to really start to get her life together.

Unlike most of Spencer's long term plans, this one was going to veer off into a place she'd never planned on.