New Earth: Arrow

Chapter 46

That night, when Rene returned to his apartment, he was concerned to find the door open ajar as he quickly reached for his gun while also sending an SOS text to Dinah and Oliver, he walked in and was met with a case of deja vu.

"What the hell do you want?" Rene asked.

"Your junkie wife here owes me for her last high." the drug dealer said as he held a gun to Laura Ramirez's head.

"How much?" Rene asked.

"500." the dealer said.

"You bought 500 dollars worth of drugs?" Rene asked.

"Rene please, can we talk about this later?" Laura asked and Rene glared at her.

"Fine, let me go get the money from the safe." Rene said.

"Lower your weapon so I know that's true." the dealer said and Rene nodded as he placed his gun on the ground and walked over to the safe.

However, before he entered the combination, Dinah burst in.

"SCPD, you're under arrest." Dinah said as she and several cops entered the apartment, forcing the dealer to lower his weapon and raise his hands, since he knew he was outnumbered.

"Thanks for getting here so quickly. I'm just glad that Zoe is sleeping over at a friend's house tonight." Rene said.

"No problem. But Rene, I have to ask, are you still going to stay with your wife now?" Dinah asked.

"I wish I could say yes, but she let her addiction put our whole family in danger again. I can't let that slide. I know that being a cop and being Wild Dog is a risk, but at least there, I'm the only member of our family who's at risk. I'm not going to risk putting Zoe in harm's way again." Rene said.

"That's what I thought, but I wanted to make sure. I'm sure Laurel will be more than happy to help with the divorce proceedings." Dinah said.

"What?" Laura asked as she approached them.

"You heard her Laura. I told you that if I caught any more drugs that weren't prescribed by a doctor in this house again then you would no longer be welcomed in it. I mean for god's sake, if Zoe had been here, she could've been killed because of this. You need help and you can't get it while you're a part of this family and until you get clean, I don't want you anywhere near Zoe." Rene said.

"You can't do that." Laura protested.

"We'll let a judge decide on that, but considering the fact that a member of the DA's office is a friend of mine, plus I have a steady job as a cop, not to mention the fact that you were held at gunpoint by your own drug dealer tonight, I think I can. I know you love Zoe, but you made it clear tonight that you love drugs more." Rene said.

"That's not true." Laura tried to deny.

"Really? What if Zoe had been here tonight? She could've been killed tonight because of you. I'm sorry Laura, but I have to think about her first and right now, Zoe is safer without you in her life. You want that to change, then you need to get clean. Until then, I don't want you anywhere near our daughter." Rene said.

"I'm not going to let you take Zoe away from me." Laura said.

"Laura, I think you should go." Rene said and Laura could tell that he wouldn't be changing his mind anytime soon, so she decided to go pack her things before leaving the apartment.

"Dad, what are you doing home? Shouldn't you be at work? Where's mom?" Zoe Ramirez asked as she entered the apartment after her friend's mom dropped her off.

"Peanut, there's something I need to tell you and you might want to sit down." Rene said.

"What is it?" Zoe asked as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"Your mom and I are getting a divorce." Rene said.

"What? I thought that you love each other?" Zoe asked.

"We did, but honestly Peanut, I don't think that your mom and I being together is a good idea, especially since your mom is currently working through some stuff." Rene said.

"Is she okay?" Zoe asked.

"I hope she will be, but something happened last night that showed me that she cannot be a part of this family right now." Rene said gently.

"What happened? Did mom get drugs again?" Zoe asked.

"How did you know about that?" Rene asked.

"You and mom weren't as quiet when you talked about it as you think." Zoe said and Rene conceded that.

"Yes, she did, but this time, her dealer came by and it got violent. I'd already warned her that if I found out she was using drugs again, I'd kick her out, but this went far beyond anything else. I just can't stop thinking about what would've happened if you'd been here last night." Rene said.

"So, what's going to happen now?" Zoe asked.

"Well, I'm talking to a friend of mine about the divorce proceedings, but she says that I've got a good chance of keeping custody of you and everything else." Rene said.

"What's going to happen to mom?" Zoe asked.

"Hopefully, she'll get her life together and enter rehab, which I think she needs. Especially since I told her that until she gets clean, I don't want her near you, since that puts you in danger." Rene said and Zoe nodded in understanding, since while it was hard for her to hear, she knew that her father was only doing what he thought was best for her.