Her Probation / Paul Lahote

THIRTY SIX

"How sweet? Did you make the trip just for me?"

"I wanted to see my star pupil off, face-to-face!" Garrett grinned broadly at Fern. "And I needed a few signatures from Sue."

"You ever heard of email, old man?" Fern teased.

"Are you going to let me in, kid? You're letting the hot air escape."

"Yes, get out of the dumb cold" Fern mumbled and stepped back to let Garrett into the house. Garrett wiped his feet on the mat, by the door, before stepping into the warm house. Fern closed the door behind her probation officer and followed him into the kitchen and dining space where Sue had greeted him.

"Coffee?" Sue offered. Garrett lifted his hand in declination, lifting his brief case to rest on the dining table.

"I've had two already today. No, thank you, Sue." Fern sat down on the dining table, where Sue and Garrett joined her as they exchanged small talk briefly. The weather, his flight, the awful weather again.

"So, it was someone's birthday the other day..." Garrett trailed, his eyes slowly moving to Fern. Sue sent her a smile as well. The smile lifted on Fern's lips sheepishly as she lifted her hands to her cheeks and nodded. The small gathering Sue had organized to celebrate her birthday came to her mind. There was a divine dinner and delicious cake to make the night complete. They sat around the table laughing and chatting, a stark contrast to her previous birthdays. At one point of the night, Collin even pulled out the board game Monopoly, which effortlessly gripped the group into the late night. Definitely a difference to her previous birthday "celebrations".

"You know, I had to pluck a grey hair the other day, it made me think of you." Garrett laughed and shook his head.

"Quiet you, otherwise I won't give you your birthday present." Fern's eyes lit up.

"You bought me a present? Garrett, you shouldn't have... where is it?" She smiled brightly. Sue laughed and rolled her eyes playfully, wrapping her hands around her coffee mug and bringing it to her lips observantly. Garrett pulled a slim blue bracelet box from his bag and passed it to her. Fern took it from his hold with care, looking up at him for a moment before lifting the lid of the small box. A quiet gasp left her lips as she looked into it. Inside rested a simple silver belcher bracelet with a bird charm hanging from the middle of the bracelet. "Oh... Garrett, this is so cute!"

"I thought it was appropriate. When I think of birds, I think of something that is free...just like yourself now." Fern lifted her eyes to meet Garrett's and she felt her eyes glisten. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. This moment made her think of everything he had done for her and how he saved her. Her mind cast back to Garrett arriving at the police station with his wife and the patient expression on his face as he had explained the situation she had landed in and offered a path for her to crawl out of. At the time, Fern had remembered how she thought it'd be a waste of her time.

At the time, she remembered being so angry and so scared. She was angry with her father, for his weakness in falling apart and leaving her to fend for herself when it was his responsibility to protect her and teach her how to survive in the world. The resentment rested in the pit of her stomach, as it became compressed with other pent up emotions. Fern felt fearful and conflicted about her separation from Enzo. While she was glad to be away from his destructive self, she was also afraid of him finding her; a promise he had constantly made to her.

But Fern also remembered hearing a voice in her head that urged her to go with Garrett and Fern was glad she listened. It wasn't an easy ride for her, despite Garrett's efforts. The first week in his recovery home was awful. She was surrounded by other tortured souls her own age and she was asked to do chores to contribute to the up keep of the house (something that she never had to do). The other kids made her weary and uneasy, which meant that her wall was higher than the Empire State building. Fern's best defense was the mask she pulled on and sarcasm, in fact sarcasm was her best friend. She avoided the boys in the home as best as she could, not trusting them in them slightest. After a string of bad weeks, the suffocation accumulated and the frustration piled on top of itself to the point where Fern found the opportunity to run...and she took it. Garrett could have given up on her after she messed up with the grand theft auto charge, but he didn't and instead helped her dig her way out of the trouble she'd landed in.