Rayna sat quietly staring at the report on her lap. Neither spoke as Deacon drove to the nearest gas station. Rayna hadn't seen Deacon so pissed off in years. His jaw was set in a hard line. His face was red with anger. She was sure his blood was boiling.
He slammed the door as he got out to pump gas. He slammed it again when he got back in. Deacon slipped his dark sun glasses on and continued to drive away from town without saying a word. He wasn't going towards the country club.
"Deacon, please calm down!" she begged
"Calm down? Our 15 year old son stole my truck, did god knows what, lied about it, and you want me to calm down?"
"I know this looks bad, but no one got hurt and we need to d….."
"NO ONE GOT HURT THIS TIME, RAYNA! WHAT ABOUT NEXT TIME? IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, NEXT TIME HE COULD KILL SOMEONE! HE'S HAD AN HOUR OF DRIVING EXPERIENCE IN THE COUNTRY!"
"I know. Stop yelling at me. It's not solving anything." She began crying in the passenger seat
"C'mere…I'm sorry. I'm just so goddamn pissed off right now." Deacon said as he pulled into a parking lot and pulled Rayna close to him in the front seat.
"What are we gonna do with him? He doesn't listen, or even seem to care about anything anymore." She sobbed into Deacon's chest
"I dunno, honey. The girls were so much easier. I always thought boys were supposed to be the easier ones to raise. Thought we were home free once the girls made it through the teenage years ya know? They'd break up with a boyfriend and I could hold 'em and take 'em out for dinner and ice cream and make it all better."
"They learned from you how a man is supposed to treat a woman, babe. Mason did too. He did it with Kiera, and she dumped him anyway. Now he's hurting and doesn't know how to deal with it, but I think there's more to it. He's on something, Deacon. His personality is different. Something isn't right."
"OK, maybe we should search his room, have him tested, think about rehab if he is takin anyting?" Deacon suggested
"Yeah, I guess." She said quietly. "I never imagined I'd be going through this again, only now it's my son." She recalled Deacon's drug and alcohol abuse early on in their relationship, and waiting for him to get out of rehab, praying this time it worked and she'd never have to do it again.
"I'm sorry, Ray. If I had it to do over I never would have ….." he trailed off as his own eyes misted over
"I didn't mean to bring up the past. I know we've moved on, and we're better than ever, but it's just hard not to see the similarities. He's distant and doesn't talk. He's fine one second and mad the next over nothing."
"I know, Ray. He's me all over again, and I know it hurts like hell to see it. I'm seeing it from your point of view now and it sucks."
"…but there's one part I hope is the same. We survived all of it, and came out stronger. Mason will too, whatever he's dealing with. I hate to send him away to rehab, but I don't think we can help him at home." Rayna sniffled against Deacon's shoulder as they sat in the truck
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight against him trying to stay strong.
"You really wanna go to this charity thing?" he finally asked after several quiet moments
"You know I despise anything at that country club, babe. If you're giving me an out, I'll take it!" she smiled
"OK, we'll just send a check and an apology to Vince. How's that?" he asked as he started the truck and turned towards home
"How 'bout breakfast? I'm starvin. I was lookin forward to that big country club breakfast." Deacon smiled
"That sounds good. It's a little bit of a drive, but how about that country style buffet you love? The one we found on a country drive a couple years ago with the old couple and the rocking chairs on the porch overlooking the river."
"Haha…I kinda forgot about that place. Sure, we've got all day. I'm not really lookin forward to the next conversation with Mason." He squeezed Rayna's hand as he turned the truck around to head back out of town toward the buffet
"Too bad I already got gas. We coulda run out again on a country road, and made the best of our time waitin for Triple A." he smirked remembering a time years ago when his old chevy had run out of gas in the country. They made love till the tow truck driver knocked on the steamy window.
"That was so embarrassing, babe. Some big burly tow driver laughing at us as we rushed to get our clothes back on." Rayna scowled
"Yeah, but it was awfully fun. I didn't find your panties till I was cleanin out the truck to trade it in on the Suburban." Deacon laughed
The mood was a little lighter between them as Deacon pulled into the parking lot of the little mom and pop buffet 40 minutes later. The Cumberland River was so calm. It looked like glass as they walked in arm in arm.
"Mr. and Mrs. Claybourne…so good to have you back." The old lady smiled wild recognizing them as they waited for a table
"This place reminds me a lot of the cabin." Deacon said looking sad as they ate breakfast
"Why so sad, babe. You love the cabin."
"I miss our time there. Seems like we never make it out there anymore. I wanted to take Mason up there fishing while I was home, but that's probably shot to hell now. He doesn't seem to want to spend any time with me anyhow." Deacon said looking out at the water his eyes a little misty again
"Deacon, I don't think he's in the right frame of mind now. We'll get him straightened out, and hopefully get our sweet Mace back." She said grabbing Deacon's hands from across the table
"I wasn't much older than he is when I punched my dad in the nose and walked outta the house for good. I hated that man. I never wanted Mason to feel that way about me, but …" he trailed off trying not to get emotional
"Mason doesn't hate you, Deacon. This situation is nothing like yours with JD. Everything we're about to do to Mason is for his own good because we love him. He's gonna be mad and probably hate both of us for a while, but it's for his own good, and someday he'll understand that."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. We should probably head home and get this over with." Deacon said as he reached for his wallet to pay the bill.
Both were quiet as Deacon drove the 30 miles home. He glanced Rayna's direction and squeezed her hand a few times. He finally broke the silence about 10 minutes from the house. They'd been gone over 4 hours.
"You wanna call him and tell him we'll be there in 10? We haven't checked in all morning." Deacon asked
"No, he's not expecting us till tonight around dinner. Maybe the element of surprise will be a good thing."
"How do you wanna do this, Ray?"
"Well, first off I think we both need to be in the room. We need to make sure he knows we love him, and only want to help him. We need to ask for any drugs he has in the house, and search his room if he refuses."
"Where do you want to take him for treatment?"
"The place you went a couple times did a good job with you. I think it was called White Oaks. You went through this. Was it OK there?" she asked
"It's never OK when it's you bein restrained and sent somewhere you really don't wanna be, but yeah good a place as any I suppose. They have a separate program for minors. It's a little different from the adult program. A minor can't just walk out. They need parental approval." Deacon explained his voice cracking
"Deacon, I know this is hard for you. I'm sorry, but we…"
"He's only 15, Ray. I just feel like we failed somehow, ya know?" he said cutting her off as a lone tear escaped and trickled down his cheek
"We're doing what we need to do for him, Deacon. I felt the same way the day I left you at White Oaks, both times. Maybe since he's younger we can spare him this as an adult and get him past all of it now."
"I guess." Deacon half-heartedly agreed as he pulled into their neighborhood
There was a Nashville Police Department cruiser in the driveway as Deacon pulled in. He quickly parked beside it in the driveway. Rayna was out of the truck before Deacon even applied the brakes enough to come to a complete stop.
"What's going on? Is my son OK?" Rayna pleaded for information as Deacon came up behind her
"Rayna and Deacon Claybourne?" an officer asked
"Yeah, where is Mason?" Deacon asked
"He's fine, but he's been in an accident. We're gonna need you both to come down to the station."
"What kind of accident? Can't you tell us anything? He's 15!" Deacon snapped
"We'll explain everything at the station. You can call an attorney if you'd like."
"Attorney? Has Mason been arrested?" Rayna asked
"Not officially, but he most likely will be."
"Alright, look, we'll cooperate with whatever you've got goin on, but I'd like to call our attorney. Can you please tell me what I need to tell him?" Deacon asked again
"Mr. Claybourne, your son is being detained for questioning, but so far he won't talk. We believe he and another minor Kiera Johnson left the scene of an accident. We're not sure which was driving. We're trying to get answers ourselves. Both kids are OK and refused medical attention once we caught them."
"What were they drivin?" Deacon asked
"A red corvette, registered to you and your wife. That's how we got this address."
"OK, we'll follow you to the station." Deacon finally agreed and slipped an arm around Rayna leading her back to the truck
"Dammit! We never should have left him alone today, especially after we knew he took the truck yesterday!" Deacon cussed as he followed the police car
"How did he get keys for the truck or Rose? We both had our sets, and all the spares are locked in the office." Rayna asked as Deacon glanced at his keys hanging from the ignition
"It's my fault, Ray. I'm sorry. Yesterday I gave him my set so he could unlock the office and plug the router back in. I told him to leave my keys on the desk, which he did, but my Rose key is missing." Deacon admitted as he looked through his keys.
"DEACON!" Rayna snapped
"WHAT? I'M SORRY GODDAMMIT! I DIDN'T KNOW WE HAD TO WORRY ABOUT GRAND THEFT AUTO ALONG WITH ALL HIS OTHER PROBLEMS LATELY!" Deacon yelled
"Just call a damn lawyer, please? Sol Jacobs was always good when I got in trouble. I'm sure he remembers me. Vince and I gave him a lot of business back in the late 80's early 90's."
"Mr. Jacobs, my name is Rayna Claybourne. My son has gotten in some trouble and we're in need of an attorney. We're on our way to the police station now."
"Yes, that would be great. Thank you for answering on a Sunday." Rayna said just before hanging up
"He'll meet us there within an hour. He said Mason shouldn't say anything, nor should we until he gets there."
Rayan and Deacon arrived and were shuffled to a private room. Deacon quickly looked around for glass and microphones as they brought Mason into the room.
"This room is private, right? No visual or audio feeds? Our lawyers on the way. We'd like to speak to our son privately if you don't mind before he answers any questions." Deacon asked
"Yes, this room is private. We'll step down the hall to an interrogation room later for his official statement. He hasn't answered any questions." The officer said as he left Deacon and Rayna alone with Mason
Deacon sighed and rubbed his chin whiskers as he sat across from Mason. Rayna was quietly trying not to cry next to Deacon.
"Well, first…are you OK, Mace? You're not hurt?" Deacon asked
"No."
"What about Kiera? Was she hurt?"
"She said no, but they haven't let me see her since we got here."
"What happened?"
"I don't wanna talk about it, Dad."
"MASON, THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO PULL THIS "I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT" CRAP!" Deacon said raising his voice
"I KNOW I'M PROBABLY GROUNDED FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE SO WHAT THE HELL DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?" Mason snapped
"BOY, YOU'VE GOT A HELL OF A LOT MORE TO WORRY ABOUT THAN WHAT I'M GONNA DO TO YOU!" Deacon snapped back
"WELL…WHAT HAPPENED, MASON? WE CAN'T HELP YOU IF YOU DON'T TALK TO US. WE HAVE A LAWYER COMIN, BUT YOU'VE GOT TO COOPERATE AND DO WHAT HE TELLS YOU!"
**********silence**********Mason just looked away refusing to talk as Deacon's face got redder
"GODDAMMIT MASON! THIS IS SERIOUS! DO YOU WANNA GO TO JUVENILE DETENTION? HUH?…CAUSE THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE HEADED IF YOU KEEP THIS SILENT CRAP UP!"
"FINE…JESUS CHRIST IT'S HOT IN HERE! I NEED SOME AIR. I'LL BE BACK!" Deacon snapped and left the room leaving Rayna alone with Mason
"Mason, honey, please…talk to me?" Rayna pleaded once she was alone with Mason
"Mason, come on! We love you no matter what you've done. We're trying to help you, but you've got to cooperate like Dad said." Rayna began crying as she pleaded for cooperation
"Mason, I don't want them to take you away from us, PLEASE?" she begged through tears
Mason was stubborn and continued to sit with his arms crossed not saying a word. Deacon came back after 10 minutes. He had coffee for Rayna and Mason's favorite candy bar and a soda from the vending machine.
"Probably be a while before you can leave. I thought you might be hungry." Deacon said as he slid the candy and soda in front of Mason
"Thanks, Dad." Mason said softening a little as he opened the candy bar
"Look, Mace, I'm sorry I lost my temper, but this isn't a game. You're in serious trouble. Come on, please talk to us." Deacon pleaded his own voice cracking as he knelt next to Mason with his hand on his shoulder
"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to…" Mason's voice trailed off as he fell into Deacon's arms crying
"It's gonna be alright. Come on…Look at me. Tell me what happened, OK?" Deacon said as he kissed Mason's head and tousled his unruly dark hair
"Come on, Mace…let's start with the days you skipped school, yesterday we know you took the truck, and today the corvette. It's time for complete honesty. We love you no matter what, OK?" Deacon said brushing tears from Mason's cheeks
"I've been with Kiera. She dropped out of school. She begged me to spend those days I skipped with her. It was stupid, but I did it. We were at her house, and before Scarlett moved in, our house a few times when mom was at work and you were on tour."
"Doin what?" asked Deacon
"Sex, drinkin, smokin pot, she asked me to try some pills. I'm not sure what they were." Mason admitted as Rayna quietly cried across the table from them
"OK, how much of this stuff have you taken?"
"I dunno, every time I was with her, and I had some in the corvette. The police have it. I have pot and more pills at home hidden in my room, there's a bottle of Jack under my bed." Mason's confessions kept coming
"OK, alright…" Deacon sighed as he stood up and ran his fingers through his own hair
"Why'd you take my truck yesterday?"
"Kiera begged me to come over, but her car is broken down. I knew you wouldn't be back till later. I didn't think you'd notice. I drove to her house and home. She drove when we went out for lunch. She's 18. She has her license, Dad."
"…and your mother's corvette today? Why'd you take it?"
"We broke up again yesterday. She was mad when I had to leave and take the truck. She wanted to go out last night and needed a car. She dumped me for bein a pussy and not just stayin out with the truck. I tried to make it up to her today. She wanted to drive the vette. I thought I could get it back home before…." Mason trailed off crying again
"Before we got home, but then you had an accident, right?" Deacon asked
"Yeah…"Mason looked away. Deacon knew he always looked away when he lied
"There's more, isn't there?" Deacon asked putting a reassuring hand on Mason's shoulder again
"Mason…come on! This will be so much easier on you if you just tell us the truth, all of it."
****silence***** as Mason slipped back into his sulking
"She said she'd never speak to me again if I rat her out and don't take the blame." Mason sobbed
"The blame for what, Mason?" Deacon asked as Mason sobbed
"Wrecking the car. I wasn't driving, Dad." Mason admitted
"So what happened with the accident? How did it happen?"
"We were fighting. I told her I had to get the car back because you already knew about the truck. She was driving and wouldn't go back to her house. She got mad the more I bugged her about going home.
She started driving crazy and fast. She lost control and hit a couple other cars downtown and then the side of a building.
I was scared. The cars pretty bad. The whole front end is wrecked. We heard sirens and Kiera ran. I followed her. The police caught us in the alley behind Hard Rock Café."
"OK, thanks for finally bein honest, Mace. We're gonna get you help." Deacon said as he pulled Mason into a hug
"I'm glad you're OK. I'll always love you, no matter what you do, or how much you piss me off, OK?"
"OK. I'm sorry about Rose, Mom." Mason said as Rayna came around the table to hug him
"It's just a car, sweetie. I'm just glad you're OK, too."
The lawyer arrived to a family hugging and crying.
"Well this is new. Usually I arrive to yelling and screaming parents." Sol joked as he entered the room
"How the hell are ya, Deacon? It's been a while. When your wife said Claybourne I wondered if it was your son I was coming to represent."
"Yeah, this is my son Mason. I need you to tell Sol everything you told us about the accident and answer all of his questions, OK, Mace?"
"..and we did the yellin, screamin part earlier. I'm sure we're not done, and Mason knows he's still in hot water both with the police and when we get home, don't ya son?" Deacon turned dead serious again
"Yeah, I kinda figured." Mason said as Sol sat across the table from him
After Sol questioned Mason he took Rayna and Deacon to another private room to discuss his plan.
"OK, I'm gonna have him give a written statement about what happened. They don't need to interrogate him. He's never been in trouble before. He'll most likely be released into your custody when we're done here.
He will need to appear in front of a judge in the next day or so. Since he wasn't driving the charges for property damage fall on the girl. We can try to pin grand theft auto on her, but since you gave him your keys and he took the car I doubt it'll stick.
Another option or bargaining chip we may have is statutory rape. She's 18 and he's only 15. If we can get her to take all the heat for the accident we won't pursue statutory rape. That is unless of course you want to.
This of course all depends on her story too. If she lies and says he was driving we'll have to get prints off the car. Do me a favor. Don't touch the car until after I've had a chance to have it dusted.
We also have the drug charges. They did breathalyze both of the kids. Both had been drinking and they took blood so those tests are coming back soon. Mason admits to taking pills and smoking pot. He'll probably get some charges there for illegal drug use, but the girl supplied it.
"Actually we suspected Mason's drug use. We were actually planning to put him in rehab. Should we still do it?" Deacon asked
"He'll be assigned a case worker, and yes you should work with them and go ahead with that plan. It shows proactive measures and that'll help. He'll possibly be forced into a program either way."
"I strongly suggest you keep him from any contact with the girl. I'm not sure what they're doing with her, but she's 18 so she'll most likely be staying here tonight."
"Any questions?"
"Not now, but I'm sure we'll have more later. Thanks for getting her so quick and on a Sunday, Sol." Deacon said shaking the lawyers hand
"No problem. Good to see you again, Deacon. Don't worry. We'll get this taken care of. I'm just gonna get an officer to get Mason's statement. They'll probably formally arrest him and read him his rights, but he won't go to a cell. You'll be able to post bail and take him home. Just a formality."
Mason was quiet behind Deacon as they drove home. He quickly exited the truck heading for his room when they arrived home.
"Hey, Mason…I'm gonna need everything you've got hidden up there. The pot, the pills, the Jack." Deacon said following Mason up the stairs
Deacon came back down with all of it. He quickly poured the Jack down the drain and flushed the pot and pills down the toilet as Rayna watched.
"I can't believe he had all that in the house and I didn't know. I'm a horrible mother. How could I have missed all of it." Rayna sobbed as Deacon pulled her into his arms
"Shhhh…it's not your fault, Ray. He's never been in trouble before this girl. You had no reason to suspect it and not trust him."
"I'm his mother, Deacon. I knew the signs and I missed them anyway." She continued to sob against Deacons chest
"I'm so glad you're here, Deacon. I never would have been able to get through today without you. You keep surprising me. I know you were pissed, but you controlled your temper and got him to talk. All I could do was cry when he wouldn't talk at first."
"I wanted to kill him at first, Ray. After I cooled off, I just wanted to protect my little boy. It killed me to see him cry and hang on to me the way he did. He's sorry, and scared. He needs us to make it through this."
"I know. I'm just so proud of you and the way you handled him today. I love you so much, babe." Rayna brushed Deacon's cheek
"I love you too, Ray. It's OK. This is not your fault. We're gonna get through this. We're gonna ground him for life, but we're gonna get through this, OK." Deacon tried to lighten the mood as he held Rayna
"What do you wanna do for dinner?" Rayna asked
"How about Chinese from that place you love?" Deacon suggested
"You hate Chinese, Deacon."
"…but I love you and you like it. I can handle sweet and sour chicken. Just order me some of that, OK. I'm gonna see if Mace will come down and watch the Cardinals game with me. We need to keep an eye on him. He may have withdrawl symptoms since I took his stash away." Deacon said as he headed for the stairs
Rayna grabbed her cell phone and dialed the Chinese restaurant for delivery.
Deacon felt light headed as he reached the top step. He took a deep breath and steadied himself against the bannister at the top of the stairs. Feeling better he knocked on Mason's door.
"Hey, why don't you come down and watch the Cardinals game with me?" he asked as Mason lay on his bed staring at the ceiling
"I love her, Dad. I can't let Kiera take all the blame for today."
"Mason, if she really loved you she wouldn't have put you in this situation. I know it sucks, but you need to forget her and stay away from her. The girls been nothin but trouble for you. Not to mention she's 18. You're 15. That's illegal."
"Are you really gonna go after her for statutory rape?" Mason asked
"I dunno yet, Mace. We're gonna do whatever we need to, to get you out of this mess, into rehab, and back to bein yourself, OK?"
****silence******
"Mason…we talked about this with the lawyer. Our concern is you. Come on. Lighten up. Come downstairs with me. We'll watch the game. Mom's ordering Chinese for dinner."
****silence*****
"Mace, please…I know this is hard. I know you care about her, but you're 15. Things are gonna look a lot different a year from now. You'll meet someone your own age with similar interest and you'll forget all about her."
"Would you have let mom take all the blame for something like this?"
"It's not the same Mason."
"YES IT IS, DAD! I LOVE HER. SHE'S GONNA HATE ME IF I DO THIS TO HER." Mason was spiraling into a fit of anger
"Hey..why don't we get in the truck right now and go up to the cabin. We'll do some fishin. Take your mind off things. What do ya say? Come on?" Deacon asked trying to take Mason's mind off things and lighten his suddenly sour mood
"I DON'T WANNA GO FISHIN, DAD! I NEED TO SEE KIERA, NOW!"
"THE HELL YOU DO! YOU'VE BEEN RELEASED TO OUR CUSTODY. YOU'RE NOT LEAVIN THIS HOUSE!" Deacon was losing his temper and suddenly not feeling well at all
"MASON! GODDAMMIT, I SWEAR YOU STEP OUT THAT FRONT DOOR YOUR ASS IS GOIN RIGHT BACK DOWNTOWN TO A JAIL CELL FOR THE NIGHT, IF THAT'S WHAT I GOTTA DO TO KEEP YOU OUTTA TROUBLE!" Deacon yelled as he chased Mason down the steps to the foyer
"STOP! YOU'RE NOT LEAVIN THIS HOUSE!" Deacon grabbed Mason by the shoulders. Mason shoved him off harder than he intended
Deacon felt light headed again as he stumbled backwards and landed flat on his back on the hardwood floor in the foyer. He wasn't moving.
"What's going on in here? Oh my god, DEACON!" Rayna yelled seeing Deacon laying there not moving
"Deacon, wake up, PLEASE? Rayna begged holding Deacon's head
"Mason call 911, NOW!" She yelled as Mason stood in shock
"MASON! CALL 911, PLEASE?" Rayna begged as Mason finally grabbed his cell from his pocket and knelt with Rayna next to Deacon.
"I need an ambulance. It's my dad. He passed out or hit his head, I'm not sure. Yeah that's the address. My names Mason Claybourne. My dad is Deacon. Please hurry!" Mason pleaded with the 911 operator as Rayna sobbed holding Deacon
"Dad, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please be OK. I'll watch the game. I'll go fishing. Please, Dad. I'm sorry." Mason begged Deacon to be OK as they waited for the ambulance.