Long hours of interrogation have lead to a confession from both Wendy and Gina. It's not the one that Lear would have expected. They truly had nothing to do with the packages. They couldn't tell you anything that was in them. They just want to be free from the responsibility of it. Lear shakes his head. This is not the answer that he wants to hear. He wants these monster to go to jail for as long as possible. This is only going to shorten the sentence if their lawyers bring it up in court. He looks at the bright side of it though, this means trial can come sooner. This is going to be hard for the teens to get through. He doesn't know how he's going to break the news.
Basketball has been going insanely well for Aaron. All of his college applications are filled out, he's a straight a student, and they're going to the state championship. Life couldn't be going better. He hates moments like this because every time something seems to go well it goes back downhill. He keeps a positive outlook on it though. He's been through a lot and he's maintained enough with his grades so far, so if anything gets thrown at him, he thinks he'll be ok. He hopes so because college acceptances come out this week.
Roni has applied to every college that she can, but her mind is set on one college. Her project is finished and sent in. She's very anxious about what the outcome is going to be. She already has anxiety and this is really heightening it. She tries to keep her mind off of it and on Aaron and Kian. She's super proud of them for making it to the championship.
Mariah is a little overwhelmed by the fact that a majority of her family is leaving and going off to college. She forgets that she's the youngest sometimes. It does hit her during weeks like this. They have so many things to do and she's not involved in a lot of them because she's not their age. This would have bothered her a lot more when she wasn't a mother. She has bigger priorities now than being jealous of her older siblings. She has new life to take care of. She's decided that Luke can go to school more than her. She's alright with online because she misses Malaya throughout the day. She also thinks that it's beast for Luke. Seeing how much that her older siblings had to work to get back to a place where they we even considered by colleges, showed her that Luke's football dream has to start way before senior year. If one of them is going to go to college, it should be him. Cosmetology school has always been more for her and she's happy to support her boyfriend through whatever he wants to do.
School has been kind of tough for Alex. He's had to deal with hundreds of questions and has had to face the football team. It's not like their mad at him. They've been very supportive. It's the fact that it reminds him so much of his addiction. He hates that. Football was his passion and now it just serves as an eerie reminder. A lot of things in life serve as reminders. He hates the color green because it was Andrew's favorite. He cringes looking at a football because it's almost like he can feel is vein pulsing for a needle. Sometimes he hates mirrors because when he looks in them it serves as a reminder that he's still himself.
Nessa excited this week for Kian and his championship. She's also excited for him to get his application back. She knows that she might not get into anywhere special but she excited for him to get into where he wants to go.
Kian is just as excited as Nessa. He's glad that art and photography has become a part of him. He's made the best out of finding out that his talent came from his parents. Instead of sulking in the sad truth behind it, he uses it to motivate himself. He's never done that before and it feels nice to apply something so positive to his life.
Dinner tonight consist of all the family together and Lear coming home to enjoy the meal. Roni, Nessa, and Mariah are helping out in the kitchen. The guys are talking the latest sports talk, while Malaya crawls from lap to lap. Lear comes through the door. He hates to be the bad guy and ruin the mood, but it's coming.
The table is set. They all say grace and get ready to dig in. Grace is a new habit of theirs that Sherry enforces. Everything goes smoothly until the talk of work comes up. Lear loosens his tie a little. Aaron is usually good at paying attention to details, but he doesn't notice this.
"Sone good and bad news has come up at work." Lear says. Everyone places their forks down. "As you know, I have been trying to get down to the bottom of the packages. I finally found out who was behind it. The "hive" who started it, had nothing to do with Gina or Wendy. They were forced into this. This means their sentence might be lower. The good news is that trial is almost here and we will have a date for it as early as tomorrow." Lear drops the bomb and waits for the explosion. Surprisingly everyone takes it well.
"That's not bad news." Mariah says.
"It's almost over." Alex says. Everyone feels a sense of relief. As much as the twins want their mom to spend as much time as possible in prison, it's a relief that she's not behind those packages. They know she's going to be in prison for a long time anyway so it doesn't matter. Everyone is just relieved that the trial is coming soon.
Everything from dinner is cleaned up. Aaron goes upstairs for bed. He thought that this whole trial thing wasn't going to bother him but as he settles down for the night, he can feel his chest getting tighter. His air feels thicker like he can't breath it in. It's a panic attack. He's always had a calm demeanor so this is totally new to him. He chugs water and takes pumps of his inhaler. He's gotten himself under control but it was scary for minute. This PTSD and anxiety thing is no joke.
