I looked at the time again. It had now been sixty-three minutes since Devlin had left to fix his ‘work emergency.’ I hadn’t bothered to question why a local arts magazine would need a new employee to come in to fix an editorial problem, but now I was starting to see the holes in Devlin’s story.

He had promised me only this morning… no more secrets. Was it possible that he could go back on his word that easily… without even the faintest thought for me? Dessert had been served forty minutes ago, and now the guests were finishing up their coffee and making their goodbyes. I stayed apart from the small crowd, preoccupied and getting more and more worried as the minutes ticked by.

What if Devlin didn’t show up in the next hour? I couldn’t just stay at his parents’ house indefinitely. I would have to walk home in my heels, which was, of course, the least of my problems. What would I even say to his parents? Both of them kept glancing at me every so often as if they thought I would know where Devlin was. I felt abandoned and alone, and my anger with Devlin was slowly starting to creep back in.

“Where has your young man got to, dear?” Mrs. Roberts asked me, as she put her coat back on.

“Uh… the work emergency turned out to be… bigger than expected,” I replied lamely.

“Shame… anyway, it was lovely to meet you,” Mrs. Roberts continued. “You and Devlin make a lovely couple.”

“That was some fantastic piano playing; I really enjoyed it. Hopefully next time Devlin will stick around long enough to hear it. Say goodbye to him for us, will you,” Mrs. Roberts said.

“I will, thank you,” I nodded, as they waved to me and headed out with Mr. and Mrs. Danvers close behind them.

The moment I was alone, I grabbed my phone and tried to call Devlin again. And again, there was no answer. I sent him several more text messages, but I could tell that he even though they had been delivered, Devlin had yet to see them. I no longer believed his flimsy excuse. It couldn’t have been a work emergency. It was something else… another secret he was keeping from me.

Moments later, Mr. and Mrs. Danvers came back into the living room, and I turned to them and made an attempt at a smile.

“I… thank you so much for your hospitality… but I… I should get going—”

“How will you go home, dear?” Mrs. Danvers asked. “Devlin isn’t back yet.”

I could feel emotion clog up my voice and I realized I was very close to tears. I swallowed them back and tried to maintain some sense of composure.

“He must have gotten caught up at work,” I said.

“But he hasn’t called you to tell you that… has he?” Mr. Danvers asked shrewdly.

“I… no, no he hasn’t.”

I could see the disappointment and the annoyance on both his parents’ faces, and for the first time, I was able to see their side of things.

“He didn’t really get called in for work, did he?” Mr. Danvers asked bluntly.

I opened my mouth to try and defend Devlin, but I found that I couldn’t do it. “I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “The same thing he told you is what he told me. I think he was lying about being called into work.”

“As I suspected,” Mr. Danvers nodded.

“I… I should go,” I said, making for the door.

“Wait, dear,” Mrs. Danvers said quickly. “We can drive you back to your apartment. It’s no trouble at all, right, Gerard?”

I didn’t hear his response, however, because at that moment my phone started to ring and without even looking at my screen I grabbed it and answered, knowing instinctively that it could only be Devlin.

“Hello?”

“Zoey.”

“Oh my God,” I gasped. “What happened? Is everything ok?”

I could feel Mr. and Mrs. Danvers watching me with rapt attention, but I blocked them out and focused on the call.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and I could tell from the emotion in his voice that he meant it. I just didn’t know what it was meant for. “I’m so, so sorry Zoey.”

“Where are you?” I asked.

“I don’t have much time… I only get one call.”

“I… what do you mean?” I asked.

“I’ve been… taken into custody,” he said, in a shaky voice.

“Taken into… do you mean you’ve been arrested?” I gasped.

“Yes.”

“Oh God,” I said, feeling my knees go weak.

“This was going to be my last job, Zoey, I swear,” Devlin said. “I was going to put this life behind me after tonight. I just… the woman Larry brought with him was an undercover cop and—”

“I can’t believe this,” I said, cutting him off. “You lied to me.”

“I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Too late,” I spat.

“Zoey, please… you’re the only person I wanted to call. You’re the only person I needed to explain all this to… I have to go now.”

“Wait… what’s going to happen now?”

“I’ll end up in court again,” Devlin replied. “And then I’ll be sentenced.”

“And until then?”

“They’ll hold me here,” Devlin replied. “There is bail… but—”

“But?” I asked impatiently.

“My savings won’t cover the bail cost, Zoey,” Devlin said. “They’ve set the bail at five grand. I don’t have that kind of money. I’d use a bail bondsmen but… I’m not certain I’ll be able to pay them back and I have nothing to put up as collateral.”

“Which station are they holding you at?” I asked.

“Dresden Station,” Devlin replied. “I’m so—”

Before he could finish his apology, the line went dead, and I just stared at my phone trying to wrap my head around this night. Devlin had been arrested for selling drugs. It didn’t make sense in my head. He was better than that. He was above that. So how did he get back to this point after completing six months of community service?

“Zoey?”

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched a little and looked up at Mrs. Danvers concerned face. “Devlin has been arrested,” she said. It wasn’t really a question, but I nodded anyway.

“Yes,” I replied. “They’re holding him at Dresden Station.”

Mrs. Danvers nodded and turned to her husband, but he was looking away from both of us in pointed silence. I stepped towards him.

“Mr. Danvers…?”

He turned to me suddenly, and his eyes were filled with fire, but he kept his tone polite and calm. “I’m sorry this had to happen to you, Zoey. You’re a nice girl, and you deserved better than to be stranded here by yourself tonight. I’ll be happy to drop you off at your apartment.”

I paused. “You’re not going to help Devlin?” I asked.

Mr. Danvers raised his eyebrows. “Do you really think he’s deserving of my help… of anyone’s help?”

I looked down for a moment. “He’s lied to me and hurt me and disappointed me,” I said. “But I can’t just leave him there… and neither should you.”

“Zoey,” Mrs. Danvers said, cutting in. “We have had a very rocky relationship with Devlin. We tried to set him on the right path early on but… he chose to… become a drug dealer.”

“He chose to become an artist,” I said, turning on both of them. “He chose to follow his dreams rather than yours. That isn’t a crime, and that’s not a good enough reason to cut off your only child. In fact, I can’t think of any reason that would be good enough. You both have been very kind to me tonight, and I appreciate that, but I also need to be honest. Devlin felt he had no choice but to start dealing; he felt it was the only way he could pursue his artistic career. He had no support, and let’s be honest here… you had enough support to give him. You just wanted to punish him for refusing to follow the path you had mapped out for him.”

I could see the anger in Mr. Danvers eyes, but I continued anyway. “You don’t just turn your back on your family. He’s your son. If I could do this alone, I would, but I don’t have the money to post his bail. I need someone who people will listen to, and no one is going to listen to me if I show up at the station alone. Please…”

“How much is the bail?” Mr. Danvers asked.

“Five grand,” I replied.

Mr. Danvers looked at me for a long time. I might have been uncomfortable had I not been so distressed and desperate. “Ok,” he said, at last. “Let’s go.”

Mrs. Danvers ended up staying behind so I got into the front seat with Devlin’s father. It was a quiet drive there, but as we got closer to the station, he glanced at me.

“After everything he has done… why are you still fighting for him?” Mr. Danvers asked me curiously.

“Because I love him,” I replied. “This may very well be the end of our relationship, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to walk away and let him rot in a jail cell. I want him to be ok… even if I never see him again.”

As soon as we parked, we hurried into the station, and I waited impatiently while Mr. Danvers spoke to a few policemen at the front desk. I hung back because I didn’t want to overstep. It was a miracle that I had managed to convince him to come in the first place, let alone post bail for Devlin.

After a few minutes, Mr. Danvers came towards me. “It’ll take a little while to process the paperwork,” he informed me. “They should release him in the next few hours.”

“Thank you,” I said softly.

Mr. Danvers only nodded. I stared at the policemen in front of me, but I wasn’t really seeing them. I was thinking about Devlin and I and the future we might have had together.

“Mr. Danvers?”

“Yes?”

“Is it possible for me to be able to talk to Devlin… before he’s released?” I asked.

He regarded me carefully and then nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”