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'Abandoned'

The next week went by very slowly. Wess hugs Sarah as she fights back tears, "His court date is today. Everything is going to be okay." Sarah's makeup stains Wess' shirt as she wipes her face, "Sorry." Wess shrugs, "It's just a shirt." Lance walks into the room. "Nice suit." Wess says as he points to Lance. Lance shakes his head and hands a dress wrapped in plastic to Sarah, "Get dressed. Look presentable." Lance looks at Wess and hands him a black suit with a maroon undershirt and a black tie, "You have to look decent in front of the judge. For Cody's sake." Wess looks down and reluctantly takes the suit from Lance. Lance gives off a half smile to Wess and then walks out of the room with Sarah. Wess sighs and changes into the suit, "You're lucky that I love you Cody." he whispers.

Cody looks back to Wess and Sarah and smiles slightly. He turns his gaze back up to the judge and swallows hard. Lance squeezes Sarah's hand hard as she chokes back tears. Wess looks to his right and sees Blake's family glaring at Cody. "Cody..." the judge's voice booms, "This is your first offence, am I right." "That's correct." Cody's lawyer squeaks. The judge sits there for a moment, he shuffles through the papers in front of him and sighs. He takes off his glasses and looks at Cody, "Since this is your first offence and since you're so close to turning 18, I'm going to take it easy on you. Cody Axton, I sentence you to 9 months of anger management and 100 hours of community service. You will be on probation. If you break any of the following rules you will go to jail. The following rules apply, mandatory school attendance, curfew restrictions, substance abuse counseling, anger management classes, community service, and you will have to stay away from Blake Mildenstein until your probation is over on your 18th birthday." "We will be meeting again after your 18th birthday." The judge slams his gavel down and stands up. Everyone in the courtroom rises and Cody runs to Sarah, Lance, & Wess. They all hug Cody and he holds onto them as tightly as he can.

Cody's hand shakes as he goes to open the door of his house. He hasn't seen his father since the morning before he was arrested. He inhales deeply and opens the door. The room is completely empty. Cody looks around and everything is gone. A few boxes sit packed in the corner of the living room. "Dad?" Cody yells panicked. He runs down into the basement. His room is thrashed. His dresser and clothes litter the floor. His bed is rolled over and glass is scattered on the floor from his mirror. Cody falls to his knees and starts to cry. A knock on the door draws his attention away. Cody wipes his eyes and stands up. He slowly walks up the stairs and into the living room. He opens the door to a tall man in a probation uniform. Cody looks up at the man and holds his hand out to him. The man smiles and shakes Cody's hand with a firm grip, "I'm Otis Mason. I'll be your probation officer for the next 9 months." He looks into the house and down at Cody's red eyes, "Is everything alright Cody?" Cody nods, "Yes sir." Officer Mason looks into the dark room, "Where's your father?" Cody looks down, "I.. I don't know." The officer walks in and looks around the room, "Did your father leave you here alone?" Cody nods, "I haven't heard from him in a long time. Since I was arrested. Sir." Cody looks down at the ground. "Do you have anywhere to stay?" "Maybe with Lance and Sarah." The officer nods and grabs his phone out and a notepad, "I'll need their number and address." Cody nods and gives him the information. The officer smiles, "Grab some stuff and i'll take you over there." Cody runs down stairs and grabs a bag and stuffs his clothes into it. He runs up stairs and walks outside with the officer.

They slowly pull up to Lance's house. The officer stops the car and sighs, "Okay, we need to go over some stuff. You're 17 years old, that being said your curfew is at 11:00pm from Sunday through Thursday. 1:00am on Friday and Saturday. Lance is over 18, correct?" Cody nods, "Yes sir." The officer steps out of the car and lets Cody out of the car, "He's going to have to sign some papers to make him your temporary guardian. Cody nods and walks up the steps and knocks on the door. "Another thing, I Know that you smoke and occasionally drink. That's no longer acceptable. Alright? This is why you'll be going to substance abuse counseling." Cody nods, "yes sir." Lance opens the door and stares at Officer Mason, "Come in." Lance moves aside and lets them inside.