"The Cut"

Chapter 55- Newsflash!

Chapter 55- NEWSFLASH!

"I feel so much better now that the weight has been lifted." said Evan as Grace cut through Coquina Key Estates and onto Beachfront Avenue. They were heading to Bailey's for a visit before returning to his house. "I should have spilled my guts to him when we caught them in the first place. I mean, I would have wanted to know. He took it pretty well, though, don't you think?" he asked Grace. He picked at a frayed thread on the corner of his Velcro boot strap.

 She nodded her head as she came to the next stop sign and made a right turn. She was glad that the Coopers finally knew the truth-it didn't seem right to hide anything from Sherri, Bud, and most of all, Chase. While they were on the subject of hiding things, Grace contemplated mentioning the note she delivered on Saturday at the front office mailbox. At any given moment,  an FHS staff member would receive the news on Coach Tim Lafoe and Erin Colbert.

 "As if the entire school didn't just have a bomb dropped on them already!" she thought.

"Yeah, he took it like a champ." she finally responded. "I think he realized we were in a bad position. It was a 'no win' situation, but now everything is out. And we can all move forward with our lives. I texted Bailey that we told Chase. She seemed relieved, too." 

 Grace came to a four-way stop sign and pumped the brakes. Then proceeded onto Center Street, which was about ten minutes from Bailey's court. The weather was gorgeous, and her parents were golfing for the afternoon, so she had the house all to herself. Grace had informed her that their visit wouldn't be a lengthy one due to Evan's injury.

"I'm glad Avery is coming home for the weekend. I think it'll be good for Chase. And his folks. They need a diversion from everything that's gone down. Plus, you'll get the chance to meet her. I think we could all use a distraction at this point. If I didn't have this stupid thing on, I'd suggest we hit the beach, but that won't be happening for quite a while." He gave his unwieldy boot a tap and tightened the top strap. He grimaced and stretched out his leg.

 Grace could see Evan was downplaying his pain. She'd grabbed the medication from his mother and placed it in her purse- just in case. It looked as though Evan might be needing that Vicodin sooner rather than later. She figured he could hold off until they reached Bailey's house.

"Oh, I forgot- Bailey said she spoke to Jess. Apparently, they've already set a hearing date. I think it's two weeks from Friday. They sure didn't waste any time at the courthouse. She also said that Carson was being discharged from the hospital sometime this afternoon. I wonder who is going to take care of her? I mean, I know she's old enough to be alone, but she should have family or a close friend stay with her for a while. It would be awful to go back to that big, empty house with all of those feelings right now. I sure hope she has a ride home."

 Grace felt her stomach pivot like the axles of the Rubicon.

 Carson was not her favorite person by any stretch of the imagination, but she wasn't heartless. Grace knew she had a world of problems that she could never comprehend, and was empathetic to an extent. It wasn't her fault that she'd been abandoned by her own parents for the last several years. Now both would be incarcerated for who knows how long? Grace couldn't even fathom losing either of her parents over such a gruesome event.

"Did Carson even get to say 'goodbye' to them?"  she wondered.

 She pulled into Bailey's neighborhood while Evan spoke of the Pierce's best friends, the Marsilis. Anthony and Cynthia were Carson's godparents and Anthony had known her father since his college days. While the Pierce's still lived in New York, Anthony and Mitchell had jump started their own brokerage company. When it soared and the Pierce's moved to South Florida, Mitchell opened his own firm which became an overnight success.