“Where are we going?” I asked the officer as he escorted me down the station’s upper hallways.

The officer looked at me indifferently and didn’t bother to answer. Finally, he led me to a door, opened it and gestured me inside. I gave him a questioning look, but again he gave nothing away. I walked in and froze in place as I came face to face with Zoey.

She was still wearing the black party dress I had left her in. I felt a deep pang of guilt, but I knew I deserved to feel guilty. I was done with excuses now. I had to accept the mistakes I had made and take responsibility for them… no matter how hard that was.

“Hi,” Zoey said, giving me the faintest semblance of a smile.

I could tell from her face that she was incredibly upset and I was the cause. I moved forward, but she seemed to cut off any contact we might have had by sitting down at the small table that had been provided. I followed her example and sat down as well.

“You came,” I said.

“Of course I came,” Zoey replied. “I wasn’t just going to leave you here.”

“I would deserve that,” I said.

Zoey bit her lip and looked away from me. “They should release you in a few hours,” she told me.

I frowned. “What?”

“Your bail was posted,” Zoey replied. “You’ll be free to go soon.”

“I… how?” I asked, in amazement. “Where did you get the money to post my bail?”

“I didn’t post your bail,” Zoey replied. “Your father did.”

I paused. “My father… is here?”

“Yes,” Zoey nodded.

“He actually… came with you?”

“Yes.”

She was not saying much, but the way she was wringing her hands together told me that I was not forgiven. Her presence here, her obvious hand in convincing my father to help me out… none of that meant that she was going to stay with me. And I didn’t blame her. I decided to make this as easy as possible… it was the least I could do for her now.

“Thank you, Zoey,” I said. “You have been there for me and done more for me than any other person out there. I owe you so much more than you realize.”

“You don’t have to—”

“No, I do,” I insisted. “Because in the end, that’s all I ever really wanted. I wanted someone I could count on. I wanted someone who would support me no matter what. And I got just that, and I didn’t know what to do with it. I know I haven’t treated you well. I haven’t been honest with you, and at the time I justified my decisions by telling myself that it would only hurt you more if you knew the whole truth, but that was just the coward’s way out, and I see that now.”

“You deserve better than me, Zoey… and you always have. My parents… they’ve been right about me this whole time. I am nothing but a disappointment. I’m not an artist… I’m just a drug dealer pretending to be something more. I don’t deserve your friendship, your support or your love. You’re better off without me.”

Zoey looked up at me, and there were tears in her eyes, but she managed to blink them away. “It sounds like you’re breaking up with me,” she said.

I smiled sadly. “I’m not breaking up with you. You’re here to break up with me,” I said, letting her know that I understood. “I’m just letting you know that… I understand and… I think you’re making the right decision.”

Zoey looked down again and nodded. “I gave you a second chance,” she pointed out.

“You did.”

“I asked you not to keep any more secrets from me.”

“Yes.”

“And you looked me in the eye and told me you wouldn’t… that was a lie.”

“I didn’t see it that way at the time,” I said honestly. “But yes, it was a lie.”

“I’ll be moving out tonight… but I won’t be able to get all my stuff out in one day. I’ll need to pick up the rest of my things in the next few days.”

“Would you prefer I not be around?” I asked, even though it was killing me to make the offer.

“I think it will be easier if you’re not around,” Zoey nodded.

“Let me know when you’re stopping by and… I’ll make sure to disappear for a few hours.”

“Thank you,” Zoey said.

“It really is the least I can do.”

She took a deep, measured breath and stood up. I wanted to stand up too but my legs were weak, and I felt as though I’d just crumble back down if I tried. She walked to the door behind me and just before she left, she turned back to glance at me.

I tried to smile, but my face wouldn’t co-operate, so I nodded at her instead. “I never thought this would be how things ended between us,” she said, so softly that I almost missed her words.

“Me neither,” I replied.

“I never thought there would be an end to us,” Zoey said.

Then before I could respond, she had left and I was sitting alone in the room, wondering what on earth I was going to do with the rest of my life. Not that I would have much of a choice if I ended up behind bars for a good long while. I looked around, wondering why the police officer who had escorted me here seemed to be MIA. I was about to get up when the door opened again, and someone else entered.

I felt my heart thud unevenly as my father walked into the room and sat down in front of me. He fastened his cold eyes on me and stared with the judgment that had made it impossible for me to find any common ground with him growing up.

“Hello, dad,” I said, reminding myself that I was the one who had screwed up here.

He just shook his head at me.

“Thank you,” I said. “For posting bail… Zoey told me—”

“I have to be honest; I did it more for Zoey than I did for you.”

“Understandable,” I nodded. “But I’m grateful all the same. I know it’s a lot of money and I will pay you back.”

“With what?” dad asked gruffly. “With drug money?”

“This was going to be my last run.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe that,” dad said firmly. “You had just finished your community service… did you even really get yourself a job?”

“Of course,” I said. “That wasn’t a lie. I have a real job… thought I don’t know if I will after tonight. I know this is hard to believe, but I really was trying to get my life in order.”

“Except for the part where you were still dealing drugs.”

“I got this job only recently,” I explained, all the while knowing there was no point. “Until then it was hard to get anyone to give me a job—”

“Shocking.”

I ignored that and continued. “I tried cutting down as far as I could manage. I got a roommate… that’s the whole reason Zoey’s in my life, I searched for a job, and I still tried to push my art, which is how I got Gordon Chadwick to give me a shot and display my work in his next exhibition. It’s just that… I needed a little money to keep me afloat until everything came together.

“Dealing was the only way I could think of to do that since I hadn’t been able to find a job. But I met Zoey, and she is… everything that is good and pure and right with the world. I wanted to be better for her. I wanted to be the kind of man she deserved. So I vowed that once I’d gotten rid of the last of my supply, I was done with that life. I know you don’t have any reason to believe me, but I’m being honest when I say this was going to be the last time. Except that I got caught instead and now… here we are.”

Dad looked at me with an unreadable expression. “That’s what the officer who busted you said.”

“What did she say?” I asked.

“Apparently her contact had been some hoodlum named Barry?”

“Larry.”

“Yes, and he had mentioned to her that you were claiming to be going out of business.”

“I was.”

“So I suppose I have no choice but to believe that… you’re telling the truth.”

It was more than I expected from him and I nodded gratefully. I was curious though. Why was he even here? It was so unlike him.

“Not that I’m not grateful that you came and you posted bail,” I said. “But… why did you come and post my bail?”

Dad looked like he wasn’t going to answer me, but then at the last second, he adjusted in his seat and avoided eye contact with me.

“The truth of the matter is that she made me feel ashamed of myself… and I have never felt ashamed of myself before.”

“Zoey,” I breathed.

“That girl really loves you.”

“I really love her.”

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“I know,” I said. “I fucked up big time.”

Dad’s eyes snapped to mine. “I wanted to make a man out of you, Devlin,” he said. “It’s part of the reason I told you to find your own way… because you were just a reckless and thoughtless child who thought being successful was easy to do.”

“I never thought that, I—”

“You chose the easy way out… always.”

“Excuse me?” I said defensively. “How—”

“If your dream was so damn important to you, then you should have waited to achieve it,” dad said, cutting me off. “You should have found a real job, saved up, built a reputation for yourself slowly over time so that you would never have had to resort to drugs in the first place. Success doesn’t happen overnight, Devlin. But you wanted it all immediately. It’s the trademark of your generation. You don’t want to wait for anything… you want it all immediately, and you forget that sometimes it’s a slow road upwards.”

I stared at dad for a moment. Was he right? Had I tried to achieve my dream too fast? Was that why I had ended up here?

“I had to prove I could make it as an artist,” I said softly. “I had to prove that I was… talented.”

“Prove to who?”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “I had to prove it to you and mom,” I said quietly. “Neither one of you ever believed I could do it. Neither one of you ever… encouraged me or praised my work. You only ever wanted me to follow in your footsteps and do something respectable that you never even gave me a chance. Did you think that your opinions meant nothing to me? Did you think that I was untouched by your indifference?”

I could see dad grow more and more uncomfortable and I realized this was the first real conversation we’d had in a long time. It was the first time I had ever confronted him about the decision that led me to put my foot down and move out… the same decision that had prompted my parents to effectively cut me off.

“I… I have to go,” dad said, standing up abruptly.

I stood up too, but I didn’t bother to stop him. I didn’t have anything more to say anyway. I had said my piece about the past, and I thought he had too. There was nothing but the future to deal with now, and mine seemed a little bleak.

“Dad,” I called, just as he was about to leave.

He stopped at the threshold and turned his face to mine without turning all the way around.

“Whatever your reasons for being here and helping me out… I’m grateful,” I said. “I just wanted you to know that.”

Dad nodded once and then just like Zoey, he was gone.