Everything happened just as Max had predicted: Drake's parents relented and withdrew the charges against Chad, and the court was swift to make state charges against him for the waste of time and resources. Savannah cried when the handcuffs were put on him and he was lead away to start serving a six month sentence with immediate effect. He made no effort to make eye contact with anyone. She sagged against her mom and Bill wrapped his arms around both of them, comforting them.
Chad was sent to a jail on the far side of the State, two hours drive away. As Chad was allowed to letters, Savannah took to writing on a daily basis. But they went unanswered. When she queried it with Bill, he assured her that there must be some logical reason for him not to answer. But he couldn't provide her with the logical reason. Neither could Kat. Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. And still, Chad didn't respond, remaining silent.
Time passed in a haze for Savannah. Somewhere along the line, Bill had become a permanent feature in the house and Kat seemed to smile a bit more because of it. She was happy for them, since Bill understood her mom's passion, even if he didn't like it all the time. He'd even started renting an apartment close by so that when their crazy schedules did free up time together, he was close by.
Savannah spent her time studying for her mid year exams, despite having no desire to pick up a book. Carly came over most days, forcing her to study, to eat, to communicate on some level. Some days it worked, some days it didn't. She tried telling her stories of her latest dramas with Dale, or that awful Spanish teacher whose name she didn't care to remember, but Savannah remained only half-interested. Exams came and went, and Savannah passed, although her marks were not nearly what they should have been.
Kat sighed deeply reading through the report card, glancing over at Savannah who's attention was divided between the TV and the window. She passed the report over to Bill, who read it with concerned eyes.
“So what do we do?” He asked quietly. “Send her to a shrink? Medicate her?”
Kat folded the report card back into its envelope, and rubbed her eyes. “I honestly don't know. I could try sending her to her Dad for a bit? A holiday of some sorts? Summer break is three weeks long.”
Bill placed a hand over Kat's, stopping her from wringing her hands. “She doesn't need a holiday. She's a love-sick teenager who just got her heart broken. She needs her Mom.”
“I don't know what to say to her.” Kat looked down. “I talk, but she doesn't hear. Responds like a robot. Monosyllabic answers. I don't know how to reach her right now.”
Bill chuckled softly and placed a kiss on her temple. “Ferocious Kat Striker... Can smack a drugged-up Juvie round the ears without blinking, but can't talk to a broken hearted teen. What's the world coming to when YOU don't know what to do?”
Kat lowered her head to rest it on Bill's shoulder, glancing over at the newspaper on the table. She read the date and sat upright quickly. “It's June 5th.”
“Yeah. So?”
“So he's being released tomorrow.”
“I'll take your word for it. I don't keep track of every Juvie.” Kat backhanded him into his stomach, to which she was rewarded with a solid 'oof' as her hand made contact. Her eyes glazed over for a second as she processed a dozen things in her mind at once.
“Bill, I have an idea... but you're not going to like it. At all.”
“Will it make you stop smacking me? You're stronger than you look.” He winced as he rubbed his stomach.
“If you say yes, I'll never smack you again.” She grasped her hands together and looked at him with pleading eyes. “I might even agree to marry you, if you ask again.” She added with a grin.
“Ah hell no. I asked you last week and you turned me down.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I'm not asking you again, Hell-Kat.” She'd turned him down because she didn't want to belong to anyone except herself. She was an independent woman, she'd argued. She wasn't some doting wife.
“Do me this favour, and I'll not only agree when you ask again, but I will even act all lovey and do the whole 'tears in my eyes' and swoon into your arms thing.” Kat mimicked the damsel-in-distress swoon and fell into his arms.
“Dammit Kat you're a pain in the ass.” Bill said gruffly, shoving her into an upright position again. “Mocking me like you do, I don't know why I even tried to ask you in the first place.” His eyes twinkled in amusement despite his words. But he couldn't fight against Kat when she pleaded. And she knew it too. “Woman next time I ask you to marry me, you'd better damn well scream yes and Facebook it. Or I'm shoving the ring right up where the sun don't shine.” He rolled his eyes. “Now what the hell kind of favour am I being suckered into this time?”
Kat grabbed her phone and dialed a number, a wide smile on her face. “Oh, you're going to hate me for this.” She tapped her fingers as she waited for the call to connect. “Dru, you and me need to have a little talk.” She said into the phone. “Meet me tomorrow morning.... Yes I know what day it is. That's why you're meeting me in the morning.” She gave Dru Bill's address, causing Bill's jaw to drop immediately. “Meet me there at 08h00.” She said goodbye and stared into the confused face of her - unofficial - fiancé.
“Dammit woman, if you're doing what I think you're doing, you're going to owe me a goddamn wedding on a beach.” He growled. “Sunset. With a white bikini.”
“Bill honey, I'm even prepared to throw in a honeymoon somewhere exotic. I might even be nice and take your last name. Hyphenated, of course.”
Savannah liked being in the garden. The flowers in Autumn reminded her of her childhood, where Gramps would be mowing the lawn and Gran would be tending her roses. Dad would usually be inside, watching whatever ball game was showing, and her mom would be trying to pull out the weeds. She would just be having a picnic on a blanket with several dolls and plastic teacups. The smells of the roses were intoxicating.
Out here, in the garden, she could almost forget that a piece of her was still missing. She could almost forget that Chad had been out of jail for two weeks and still hadn't made contact with her. She could almost pretend that she was okay. Almost.
She heard Bill's car pull up, as it usually did on a Saturday morning around this time. He liked to make them a breakfast of pancakes and syrup. She had to admit, he made good pancakes. She just wished she had an appetite to eat them more often than she did. Carly said she'd lost weight, but then again, Carly said a lot of things that Savannah really didn't pay attention to these days. She felt bad for that, and promised herself that she'd be a better friend going forward. She'd neglected Carly. Neglected her Mom. Even Bill.
She was leaning over and breathing in the scent of the roses when a noise behind her startled her. She turned quickly and came face to face with Chad, who kept his distance. His hair was now touching his shoulders, and had been carefully brushed and tied back. He wore new denims and a clean white t-shirt that made him look so much darker and tanned than when she'd last seen him. His hands were in his pockets, and he was shuffling his feet around awkwardly. His eyes were wary though, as though he was scared to approach her.
She took in the sight and grabbed onto the only thing near her for support – a thick rose bush full of thorns. She instantly winced and removed her hand, as a small drop of blood formed on her hand. In that split second, Chad had reached her and was checking her hand out, turning it over to look for other injuries.
“You could have just asked me to come closer.” He said with his familiar cocky smirk. “No need to hurt yourself more, just to have me come running.”
“Wasn't on purpose.” She replied, removing her hand from his grasp and stepping back from him. “Just a bit surprised to see you.” Chad stepped back as well, hearing the ice in her voice. “Especially since you've ignored me for the better part of seven months.”
“I thought it would be better.” He said quietly. “I figured you'd already been through enough stress because of me. With school and the court and everything.”
“So you thought ignoring me would be the best way to deal with it?” She snapped, her voice echoing through the garden. “Cutting me off without so much as a goodbye?” She shoved at him hard, causing him to almost lose his balance. He stumbled back, shocked. “And then you just rock up here without any warning! What kind of asshole move is that?”
“Apparently the wrong one, seeing as you're trying to kill me!” He shouted back, rubbing his chest. “What is it with you Striker women? Do you always assault us poor guys?”
“Just the assholes who break hearts!” She snapped back. “I wrote you letters! I must have written a hundred and you didn't reply to one!” Tears sprang to her eyes and she wiped them angrily away. “Not one! And I said to that Court were were an item! But stupid me for thinking that! Stupid me for thinking that you cared!” Chad took a step towards her but Savannah held up her hands, stopping him from coming closer. “No, you stay away from me! I'm done with you! I'm done caring about you and crying over you!”
Chad stepped back again, dropping his arms in defeat. “I guess I can't expect you to forgive me. I know I messed up. Big time.” He said quietly. “But I honestly thought I was doing what's best for you. And your Mom.” He kicked his feet around some more, shuffling the browning leaves on the floor. “I figured you'd be better off without me. I mean, it's not like I have anything to offer you. Six stints in Juvie and a criminal record now.” He scoffed.
Savannah rolled her eyes. “So what, this whole thing is about you thinking you're not good enough for me? Are you serious?” She asked, incredulously. “You cut me off because I'm too good for you?”
“I'm not stupid. I know I'm not exactly welcome in the circles you keep at Dalton.” Chad replied. “I'm never going to be accepted by your friends, or your Dad.” He raised his arm, mockingly. “Hey Dad, come and meet my nice boyfriend who just got out of jail. Do you like the tattoos?” He said in a high pitched voice. “Be realistic. Your dad will probably pull out a shotgun the second I enter the yard, Princess.”
“Stop calling me 'Princess'!” She yelled. “I'm not a princess! You think because I live in a nice house in Mayfield that I have money! We don't! My mom inherited this place from my Grandparents when they died. It's paid off. I go to a fancy school because my dad pays for it. Not my mom.” She strode forward and poked him hard in the chest. “Stop putting me on a pedestal because of where I live, and stop putting yourself down because of where you live! I'm sick of it!” She poked him again. “I'm the same as you. I cheated in my fifth grade geography exam. I stole money from my mom's purse when I wanted to try smoking. I drink too much when I party and I fall in love with stupid idiotic bad boys who think I'm too good for them!”
“Yeah and I fall in love with snobby rich good girls, who turn out to be just normal pains in the ass, who talk too damn much.” he said, yanking her towards him and wrapping his arms around her waist. “So shut up, and tell me that you love me.”
Savannah looked up a him, staring daggers at him. “I hate you.” But she still wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. “Mostly.”
“Yeah I love you too.” He grinned, as he kissed her. A tap on the window had Chad breaking off the kiss after a few moments, and looking sheepishly at Bill who was wagging a finger at him. “Yeah yeah... I know... best behaviour.” He called out to Bill, before taking a step back. Savannah looked at them both, confused. “Yeah I'm living with Bill now. And he's got some pretty hectic rules about, well, everything.”
“You're living with Bill? Since when?”
“Since him, your mom and Dru picked me up from Jail and gave me a 2 hour grilling on how things were going to work from now on. Or else.” He grinned. “I think Bill was bribed, because your mom was looking real smug about it. Since when were they an item?”
“Just kinda happened.” Savannah said, rather ashamed that she didn't know the details. “So what's the deal now?”
“Now I live with Bill. Who wakes up at stupid o clock, forces me to work out with him, then cooks a huge breakfast, then drops me off at the station while I slave away doing his filing and paperwork so he can focus on whatever it is that he does all day. I get paid, so that's cool.”
“Wait, you got a job?” Savannah's face lit up. “An actual paying job?”
“Just for now. He's forcing me to go back to school, but I've missed too much to graduate this year. So I start again in January.” He didn't look excited at the prospect.
“But at least you'll have a college girlfriend.” She said with a smile.
“Yeah. I got that going for me. Hopefully she throws a mean dorm party. I kinda like her when she's drunk.”