Nicotine | Ashton Irwin ✔

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word count; 1592

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16 year-old Arabella Lee, and 14 year old Teddy Manning sat in the back on the car that cruised down the street.

A lot had happened in the past few months. Ara had been hospitalized with gunshot wounds to the chest, Teddy had been suspended from school for the fifth time that month, and their father had been arrested for the murder of their mother.

And now they were going to be staying with Ara's biological father.

Before Ara was born, her mother was married to a man, and then divorced him. Dana hadn't know she was pregnant, and had been to afraid to call up her ex to tell him. When Teddy was born, Ara's mother had been with Craig for two years.

Teddy had grown up believeing his father was a great man. He was spoiled rotten, but that was most likely due to the fact that teddy was his, and Ara wasn't. Teddy hadn't always been the nicest to his sister either, the two always found themselves bickering. Then one night when he heard him beat his older sister, Teddy lived in fear of his father ever since.

Not gowing up in a nice neighbour hood, the two acted out. A lot. Ara had a criminal record for petty crimes, and Teddy bounced around to a lot of schools. He didn't play well with others, and even earned himself a trip to the station once.

Ara sighed, and leaned up against the seat, her feet up against the chair in front of her. It was raining outside, not hard enough, just a light drizzle. The soft sound of raindrops splattering against the window was oddly calming to Ara. She just relaxed into her seat, listening to the sound of the rain fall.

Caitlyn Hasco, the cop who arrested their father, sat in the driver's seat, ocassionally looking back at the two, making sure they were alright. She had been one of the first to arrive on the scene when a call came in about a noise complaint. Caitlyn heard one gunshot sound upon arriving, and rushed into the house to see a man fatally shoot his wife in the head with a 9 millometer. She then noticed the two teens across from them in utter fear. Before Caitlyn could yell "freeze" the man raised the gun, aiming for the boy but the girl jumped in front, taking three bullets to the chest. Caitlyn shot the man in the leg, grounding him, and called for backup. Thankfully, much to her, Ara survived.

Caitlyn felt responisble for the two, and was the one to find Ara's biological father. What was surprising was that it was the captain of her precinct, her captain to be exact.

Looking back, Caitlyn noticed how calm Ara looked. "You okay?" she called back waking the girl. Ara glanced at her, her eyes cold, and lifeless.

"Do I honestly look ok?" Ara grumbled before looking out the window.

"I don't expect you to be." Caitlyn said. "Not after what you've been through. Honestly, I'm just waiting for you to go into shock, and have a mental breakdown."

"Yeah, well crying isn't something I do anymore." Ara said.

"Alrighty. Nervous?" Caitlyn asked.

"Why would I be nervous?" Ara questioned.

"Because you're about to meet someone whom you've never met, and he never knew about you. I would be panicking."

"I'm not nervous." Ara said truthfully. "I'm annoyed."

"Why would you be annoyed?"

"Because." Teddy spoke up. "We've just gone from an abusive father to a cop who will most likely be breathing down our necks, and watching our every move. Not the life we want." he said.