Well here it is the next chapter! I still need to go back and edit the last three chapters which I will slowly do over time. I wanted to get a new chapter out, this story as unfortunately been side life due to real life aka having a baby happened. =) Now that real life is slowing down I'm hoping to get back to this story.

As always feedback is welcome, the good, bad, and ugly. I appreciate it all and it helps me improve as a new writer.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 14

They drove eight hours without speaking a word to one another, Spencer waited for Ashley to start the conversation. As she drove she thought of the last ten years she had been hurt and angry at Ashley. She still felt hurt and betrayed by the brown-eyed girl even after learning that her brother told Shelby. Spencer had spent night after night pacing her living room. So many questions left unanswered. How did she not know about Glenn and Shelby? It never occurred to her that Glenn had told he was part of the secret. Why would he tell? She wanted the anger she held for so long towards Ashley to instead be directed at her brother. When the anger would start to come it only left her felling guilty. How was she supposed to be angry at her brother? Who went through the same childhood as she did, who couldn't overcome it like she did and who the police found dead in an abandoned house. Spencer glanced over at the girl in the passenger seat, Ashley had her eyes closed but appeared to be awake. She tried to begin to explain so many times in the last eight hours the words just wouldn't come. She didn't know if it was because she wanted to hang on to the belief she was justified in her years of anger toward the brown-eyed girl or the fear of facing the fact that she had been wrong and now Ashley hate her.

"I'm going to stop and stretch, want me to stop anywhere specific?" she asked instead.

"No" responded the browned eyed girl never even opening her eyes. Spencer looked for a place to pull over and stretch she was trying to be patient, knowing Ashley wouldn't talk until she wanted. Being honest with herself she didn't want to talk but if they were to ever move on they would have to talk.

Spencer stopped at a gas station no sooner than she shut the engine off Ashley got out of the car and walked into the gas station without saying a word to her. The blue eyed girl mumbled "this will be a long trip" she knew Aiden didn't do this on purpose, that he had no clue of the past between the two women. She got out of the car, stretching her legs and back, walked into the gas station. Ashley stood at the counter buying what appeared to be several bags of candy and chips. She walked right passed Spencer without so much as a glance; anyone in the gas station would assume they were complete strangers with the lack of acknowledgement. Spencer bought a few snacks herself, returning to the car she saw Ashley sitting in the driver set. She got in the car mustering up the courage to ask "Do you want to talk now?"

"No." Ashley said as she turned up the radio, put the car in drive and pulled out of the gas station. Spencer reclined the chair, closing her eyes, not realizing how tired she felt until she relaxed into the seat. She didn't know whether the flood of emotions she had been experiencing since finding out the truth or driving for the past eight hours caused her to be exhausted so she allowed herself to fall asleep.

Mother poured herself another glass of the amber liquid that Spencer hated whenever Mother drank the amber liquid she was in for a long night. Spencer quickly forced her dinner down if she didn't eat every bite on her plate than Mother would have a reason to punish her. Her brother Glenn sat across the table from her, eating his food as fast as he could. She wondered if he would stay home tonight or sneak out after going to bed. Most night's he sneaks out and stays at a friend's house, Mother used to punish both of them but more days now she focuses her attention on Spencer. She didn't know if that was because she was a girl and Glenn was getting bigger and stronger or because Mother hated her more than Glenn. Some nights after drinking Mother would hug Glenn, crying, asking him to forgive her something she never did with Spencer. Other than her games and punishments Mother never touched Spencer.

She reached across the table for the ketchup when her arm knocked her glass of milk. In horror Spencer watched as the glass tipped over and milk spilled out all over the table and onto the floor. She knew that Mother had noticed when she heard "You fucking little ungrateful idiot" while struggling to stand up in her drunken condition.

"I'm sorry, I'll clean it" the blue eye girl answered jumping up to grab a towel.

"Don't Move!" Mother said as she stumbled towards Spencer fist balled. Spencer braced herself for the pain she knew she was about to receive when she heard a loud crash and the sound of breaking glass.

She looked towards the noise where she saw Glenn's plate on the floor shattered into a million pieces. Mother stopped and looked at Glenn heading his way instead "You little bastard, what do you think you are doing."

"Spence go to your room" Glenn said just as Mother reached him. Spencer took off towards her room, shutting the door but not before she heard the sickening sound of Mother fist connecting with Glenn's face.

Spencer slid down the door, sitting on the floor with tears running down her face. She could hear Mother yelling at Glenn and the sounds of her hitting him, and him crying. After what felt like forever everything got quiet, afraid to move she remained sitting on the floor listening for the sounds of Mother heading towards her room expecting to receive her punishment. She worked up the nerve to peek open her door, she didn't see or hear anyone so she crawled down the hallway. As she past the living room she froze her Mother was sitting on the couch and Spencer was afraid that her Mother saw her. After a few minutes the blue eye girl realized that her mom had passed out, so she continued down the hallway wanting to check on Glenn. She knocked on the door when no one answered she wondered if Glenn had left so she slowly opened the door. She could see Glenn sitting on his bed "Glenn" she whispered.

"Go away Spence"

She went into his room and shut the door, standing up she walked over to him. He turned away, wiping his eyes trying to hide the tears "Why did you do that?"

He turned and looked at her and Spencer could see his eye was swelling and knew that tomorrow it would be black and blue "I couldn't let her hit you tonight. Be more careful Spencer, you know you can't do things to give her a reason to punish you." He reached under his bed pulling out the box holding his pills and alcohol he had stolen from Mother while she was drunk and wouldn't notice.

"Glenn No please don't!"

"Shut up Spencer, get out of my room." He took a hand full of pills threw them in his mouth and washed them down with the bottle of alcohol, putting on his headphones and turning the music so loud that spencer could hear it he laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. Spencer looked at him feeling guilty he took a punishment meant to be hers she left his room.

The sounds of a phone ringing brought Spencer out of her dream, Ashley answered her phone "Ashley Davies speaking, how may I help you?" Spencer continued to watch Ashley other than being older Ashley looked just like she did as a teenager. "What? Can you wait until I return?" Not wanting to easdrop on what appeared to be a private conversation. She turned focusing her attention on the scenery passing by her dream coming back to her. It had been awhile since she has dreamed of her brother, or have even thought about him. Being around Ashley and finding out, he told has brought back all the memories, memories of him distracting Mother and taking a punishment meant for her, memories of him drinking or popping pills. When she left home she didn't contact him until after finding out he had been arrested for theft while searching the news of her hometown.

Ashley hung up the phone with a loud sigh, "Everything okay?" Spencer asked wondering about the sad expression on the brown-eyed girls face. Several moments passed before Ashley said a word "You remember Marie?"

"Of course, the little girl we placed with Kelly, she is on Chelsea case load. Is she okay?"

"Overall yes, she's doing as well as can be for a child who has gone through so much shit so young. That was Chelsea calling to tell me that they found a long-term placement for her."

"Well, that's great" Spencer said when she noticed the sad emotions cross the other girls face. "Wait why is Chelsea calling you to let you about her placement?"

"I've been keeping up with Marie's case and asked Chelsea to update me on her status. They wanted to move her to her new placement on Friday but I talk Chelsea into waiting until I get back."

Spencer looked at the brown-eyed girl trying to figure out why she was so involved in Marie's case she started to ask when Ashley spoke first. "I'm tired of driving, want to stop for dinner and to stretch?"

"Sure" Spencer responded, letting the subject of Marie drop for now. The look on Ashley's face meant she didn't want to talk. Years ago the blonde would have pushed until her friend told her everything on her mind.

They found a little restaurant to stop at, they found a table in the corner sitting quietly browsing the menu neither one talking until the waitress took their orders. Spencer lost in thought about her brother again was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Ashley's voice "What were you dreaming about in the car?"

Spencer looked at her shocked that the brown-eyed girl knew she had been dreaming "How did you know I was dreaming?"

"If I have remembered anything about you it's how you respond to having a dream."

Spencer gave a small smiled not sure why the fact that Ashly remember this detail about her made her heart beat a little faster "My brother."

Ashley remained quiet for several minutes before saying "I went to his funeral, hoping that you would be there." A painful look crossed the blondes face "I wanted to go but at that point I'd been gone 6 years."

"So the day you left was the last day you saw your brother?"

"No. Four years after I left I had graduated college and worked for DCS. I would occasionally browse the news sites for our hometown, mostly looking for Mother's obituary. One day while surfing the site I came across a news article about Glenn. He had been arrested for theft. Without thinking, I drove to the jail to visit him, he looked horrible. The drugs and alcohol had completely taken over his life."

"So you went to visit him in jail but didn't attend his funeral?"

"I only visited him in jail hoping to help him change, I tried to talk him into a treatment facility. He just wanted money to bail him out and to buy drugs. I didn't have any money to give so he got angry, blamed me for everything bad in his life and ended the visit. A couple of years later when I read about him passing away there was no way of saving him. I felt guilty for his life turning out the way it did." The brown-eyed girl looked like she was about to speak and the blonde sensing what the brown-eyed girl was going to say so before she had a chance she finished quickly "I know Mother is the one to blame." They both turn their attention to their food neither one speaking again.

"We've been on the road for about ten hours today want to try to drive another four before we stop for the night?" Ashley asked after they had paid for their meals.

"Sounds good, we can split the last four hours of the drive, I'll drive first."

Ashley nodded and headed towards the bathroom. Spencer blew out a breath they had started to talk. Once back on the road Spencer found she wanted to talk, she decided to start talking while she drove. "I went to Texas a girl I met offered me a ride." Ashley turned towards her "Why did you buy the bus tickets?"

"How did you know I bought bus tickets?"

"My mom found out." Spencer nodded before answering "Not sure where I was going, I bought two tickets. Sitting at the bus station the girl who gave me a ride Jessica was there dropping her friend off at the bus station before heading home to Texas."

They drove for another four hours Spencer did the majority of the talking. She explained how she had enough money to rent a studio apartment. Quickly found a job working at night in a warehouse it paid little but enough for her to live. Got her GED, enrolled into a community college before transferring to the university to finish out her degree, working at night and going to school during the day. After a while Spencer ran out of things to talk about, so she suggested they stop for a hotel. Ashley nodding yes was the first response she gave in the last four hours. After asking about the tickets Ashley hadn't said another word or even acknowledged that Spencer as they pulled into the hotel parking lot she asked "Why didn't you trust me?"

Spencer feared this question was going to come up, the whole time she talked she only focused on the time after she had already left, never bringing up why she left. Having for ten years believed that Ashley had betrayed her and told Shelby to finding out actually her brother betrayed her she didn't know what to say so all she said "I don't know."

"That's not good enough, I never told! Not anyone. As a little girl I kept your secret, I wanted so many times to tell my mom, knowing that she would help you but I didn't tell because you asked me not too. I planned to follow you across the country and you believed Shelby of all people over me." Ashley continued on getting louder with each word until she was practically yelling. "You didn't even give me a chance, instead you took her word and left. For ten years I didn't know what happened. If you were alive or dead, and I sure as hell didn't understand what I had done to cause you to leave and never contact me again." Ashley took a deep breath, Spencer wanted to say something but didn't know what to say, about to say how sorry she was when Ashley started to speak again, this time barely above a whisper "Come to find out that I didn't do anything you believed that bitch Shelby over me. You broke my heart over something that bitch said, I'll never forgive you for that." Ashley got out of the car walking in to the hotel lobby without another word.

Spencer wiped away the tears feeling her eyes, wishing above anything else she to be able to go back in time and change how she reacted. She slowly got out of the car and walking into the hotel lobby as Ashley stormed out.

"Is everything okay?"

"No." came the angry response "they only have one room, and it only has a king size bed in it."

"We can try to find another hotel."

"The clerk said that they are all full due to some convention going on. We will manage, but I'm done talking. I only want to go to sleep."

They carried their bags into the room decorated like any other hotel room in the county a single picture of a flower bolted to the wall above the bed, a tv, desk and chair, and in the center of the room the single king sized bed. Ashley threw her bag down, grabbed her hygiene bag and head to the bathroom "I'm going to take a shower."

Spencer nodded as she herself started to get situated for the night. When Ashley came out of the bathroom, the blonde entered to take her shower. While in the shower Spencer finally let the tears she had been refusing to let fall roll down her face. She didn't know if she was crying because of the hurt look in Ashley's eyes, or the loss of what life could have been like had she given her a chance to explain. When Spencer walked out of the bathroom the brown-eyed girl was already in bed with her eyes closed. Spencer could tell that Ashley was asleep, her face relaxed and her breathing even. She shook her head and walked to her side of the bed, laying down she closed her eyes, and finally let her body relax.