Turn Back Time (The Night Shift)

Chapter Six - Downhill

It had been a couple of weeks. Drew and Rick had taken Taylor in. Since they took her in, they hadn't been able to have a single civil conversation. All they had done was argue. Argue about school. Argue about grades. Argue about her staying out late. Argue about her drinking habits. Argue about her drug habits and the biggest argument of all - her mom and Seattle. It was a Wednesday night and, yet again, Taylor was out. Drew and Rick were sat at the table in the kitchen waiting for her to get home. 

'We need to do something about Taylor.' Drew stated.

'She doesn't listen to either of us.' Rick replied.

'I know.' Drew nodded. 'But she can't keep doing this. Every time she walks out that door, I wonder whether that will be the last time I see her because she's OD'd or stumbled into the road drunk and gotten run over.' Rick put his hand on Drew's wrist to comfort him. 'I can't keep going through that.' 

'We've got to start being tough.' Rick told him. 'Locking the doors, the windows, telling her what will happen if she keeps taking drugs.' 

'And what if she can pick locks?' Drew raised an eyebrow. 'What if she completely ignores our warnings? Which is what she's doing anyway.' Rick stayed silent. 'I know you're only trying to help. We need to do something and whatever we do, we need to do it now. She's going downhill. Fast.'

It got to 2am when Taylor finally walked in. Drew and Rick, who were sat in the front room, stood up and walked into the foyer.

'Curfew was ten.' Drew told her.

'So?' Taylor laughed. 'I was at a party.'

'When I tell you to be home for ten, I expect you to be home for ten.' Drew folded his arms.

'Actually, you never specified whether it was ten am or ten pm.' Taylor smirked. 'So technically, I'm early.'

'Don't get cocky.' Rick stepped forward.

'I don't need to listen to you. You're not the boss of me.' Taylor scoffed.

'Whilst you're living with us, yes he is.' Drew nodded.

'Whatever, I'm going to bed.' Taylor muttered.

'We'll have a proper talk in the morning.' Drew said. Taylor shook her head, ran up the stairs and to her bedroom. Drew turned to Rick. 'She can't keep talking to you like that.' He shook his head. 'I'm sorry.'

'It's fine.' Rick replied. 'I didn't expect her to instantly like me or accept that we're married so I was kinda expecting her to be like this towards me.'

'It's not fine.' Drew said as he shook his head again. 'Let's go to bed. We'll talk more in the morning.'

.

The next morning, Taylor walked into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. Drew and Rick were making a fry-up. When she walked in, they both turned to face her.

'Sit down at the table.' Drew told her. 'We're going to have a little chat.' Taylor groaned but did as she was told.

After breakfast was over and done with and Drew and Rick had cleaned up, they sat at the table with Taylor.

'We haven't had a chance to tell you the ground rules.' Drew stated.

'Ground rules?' Taylor mocked. 'I'm not five!'

'Rule number one.' Drew started. 'You do chores. Washing up. Laundry. Cleaning.' Taylor rolled her eyes. 'Rule number two. You're home by ten pm. Any later than that and we take all of your technology off you.'

'What?!' Taylor exclaimed.

'Rule number three.' Rick continued. 'No drinking or drugs.'

'You can't tell me what I can and can't do outside this house.' Taylor shook her head.

'Taylor, we just don't want you getting hurt.' Drew put his hand on his daughter's wrist but she moved it away. 'Anything can happen to you. You could OD. You could get run over. People can take advantage of you.' Taylor remained silent. 'Rule number four. You treat myself and Rick with respect. Rick may not be related to you my blood but he's my husband. He's your step-dad. He's family.' Taylor looked down.

'Rule number five. You have a tracking app on our phone which you keep on at all times.' Rick added.

'Come on!' Taylor exclaimed as she looked up. 'This isn't looking out for me! This is coddling me! I can take care of myself. I appreciate the sentiment. I've rarely had any trouble with drugs and alcohol. I've had to be streetwise.' Drew's phone went off and he looked at it.

'I've got to go to work.' Drew informed them. He looked at Rick. 'You stay here. If Rick goes out, you go with him. Understood.' Taylor didn't say anything. 'Understood?!' He asked louder.

'Yeah.' Taylor nodded. 'Understood.' Drew stood up alongside Rick and they kissed.

'I'll walk you out.' Rick told his husband and they both walked off. A few minutes later, Rick returned. 'Get dressed.' He said to Taylor. 'We're going for a drive.' Taylor didn't move. 'Now!' Taylor did her infamous eye-roll before standing up and walking up to her room to get changed.

An hour later, Taylor walked back down the stairs. Rick was waiting for her by the door.

'Are you ready?' He asked.

'Yeah.' Taylor sighed, nodding.

'Let's go.' Rick smiled slightly. They both walked out and Rick locked the door. They walked to the car, got in and put their seatbelts on.

'Where are we going?' Taylor questioned.

'Like I said, for a drive.' Rick replied as he started the car and pulled out of the drive.

.

Half an hour later, Rick pulled up in front of the police station.

'What are we doing here?' Taylor asked.

'Come with me.' Rick said as he got out. He closed the door and after a couple of minutes, Taylor got out. They both walked into the station. After signing himself in and then signing Taylor in as a visitor, he leads Taylor to the holding cell area.

'What are you doing?' Taylor queried.

'This is where you're going to end up if you don't get your act together.' Rick simply stated.

'Did you really think that this would scare me?' Taylor raised her eyebrow. 'If I was 6, yeah.' She nodded. 'But I'm not 6. I'm 16.'

'I'm not trying to scare you.' Rick shook his head. 'I'm trying to show you what real life is like. People don't do stupid things like getting high and not deal with any consequences.'

'Why are you even doing this?'

'Taylor, there are people out there who care about you. Your dad. TC. Jordan. I even care about you. You're Drew's daughter, which means you're my daughter too.' Rick responded.

'I'm sure my dad wouldn't agree with you doing this.' This time, Rick was the one who remained silent. 'He doesn't know, does he?' Rick shook his head. 'He's gonna be pissed.'

'Nothing else is working, Taylor.' Rick said. 'We can't get through to you. Your actions will always have consequences. Whether you like it or not. You're at the age now where you can be trialled as an adult. If you want to stay out of prison, something needs to change.' 

~~

Hi guys! Chloe here! Hope you liked this chapter! Let us know what you think!

Much love

Chloe (& Dharma)