Baze felt the bed move. His eyes fluttered open and he saw Cate getting out of bed. He glanced at the clock. It was only 2:39 am.
"Can't sleep either?" Baze asked.
Cate shook her head. She bit her lip. "What if we lose her?"
"That's not gonna happen," Baze said soothingly.
"But what if we do?" Cate said softly.
"Then we'll do whatever it takes to get her back," Baze said firmly.
Cate sat down beside Baze and rested her head on his shoulder. She was so tired.
Lately it felt like nothing was going right. She wasn't working and she didn't know when, or even if, she would be going back to work.
She'd lost her daughter. She missed Lux so badly. She felt like a piece of her heart was missing.
Cate could only imagine Lux's reaction if they didn't get custody today. Lux was already so mad at Cate. Cate knew Lux would be beyond furious if she wasn't able to come home.
Would Lux run again? Cate didn't know.
Baze rubbed Cate's back gently. He'd been so good through all of this. Cate turned to him and kissed him. She wanted to be in his arms. She craved the comfort of being close to him.
Cate and Baze exchanged a nervous glance. They instinctively clasped hands and crossed the threshold of the courtroom together. The lawyer was already sitting up front. They joined him.
It felt like the hearing dragged on forever. The lawyer presented documentation showing the state of Cate and Baze's finances. Even though Cate wasn't working, she'd been making good money and her bank statements proved she could provide for Lux. Baze had hosted some of the events Cate had recommended at Open Bar and the fledgling business had finally started turning a profit.
Fern told the judge that Lux had been caught stealing and that Lux's grades weren't good. The lawyer pointed out that Lux had been caught stealing before living with Cate and her grades had never been stellar.
The judge studied the paperwork in front of him. "Lux ran away?"
"Yes, your honor," Fern replied.
"After Fern told her she would be returning to Sunnyvale Home for Girls," the lawyer added quickly.
"Is Lux here today?" The judge asked.
"No, your honor. She's at school," Cate replied.
"Lux is fourteen. I usually give children who are fourteen and older an opportunity to tell me who they would like to live with," the judge explained.
"She wants to live with us," Baze said quickly.
Fern nodded. "Lux made it very clear in her evaluation that she wanted to stay with Cate."
"I see no reason to return the child to foster care. She wants to be with her biological mother and her parents obviously want what's best for her. The behavioral problems are typical and, to be honest, minor for children with Lux's background. I am granting Catherine Cassdiy and Nathan Bazille custody of the minor Lux Cassidy," the judge announced.
Cate released the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. Baze breathed a sigh of relief. Cate hugged Baze, smiling brightly. She felt more relaxed than she had in weeks.
Lux didn't think time could pass any slower. She kept darting impatient glances at the clock in the back of the classroom. The glances were frequent enough that mere minutes had passed.
Sitting in class felt like Chinese water torture. How could she be expected to pay attention to English when her future was up in the air?
Lux was still mad that Cate hadn't let her miss school to attend the hearing. It was a hearing to decide Lux's future. Lux should be there.
Lux had no idea who would be picking her up from school. Who she would be going home to.
"Lux?"
Lux heard her teacher calling on her and froze. She had no idea what the teacher had asked her. She blushed slightly and shrank down in her seat.
Jones whispered the answer to her. Lux smiled gratefully and repeated the answer.
"Very good, Lux," the teacher commented.
"Thanks," Lux said as they walked to the door.
Jones grinned. "Hey, it's the least I can do. I am your tutor."
"As far as tutors go, you're a pretty good one," Lux said.
Jones' grin widened. "What's wrong? You seem distracted."
Lux hesitated. She felt like she could tell Jones anything. He was so nice. So understanding. But she didn't want him to know she was in foster care. She didn't want anyone to know. "Just family drama," she said vaguely.
"If you want to talk about it, I'm here," Jones said kindly.
Lux nodded. "I know." She hugged him.
"Hey, man, back off!" Bug shoved Jones backward, away from Lux.
Lux looked up in surprise and saw Bug's bike parked at the curb. He'd been waiting for her.
"Bug, stop it," Lux said firmly.
"Stop it? You want me to let you be with him?" Bug demanded angrily. "No way. You're mine."
"We were just talking," Lux protested.
"I may not be at your fancy school, but I'm not stupid. You're doing a lot more than talking," Bug retorted.
Lux crossed her arms in front of her chest protectively. "We're friends."
"How stupid are you? He doesn't want to be friends with you. He just wants to know what it's like to hook up with damaged goods. Were you as easy with him as you were with me?" Bug shouted.
"Hey, that's enough," Jones said.
Bug turned to Jones, his expression dangerous. Lux recognized the expression. She knew all too well that Bug was about to lose his temper and Jones would be on the receiving end.
Lux stepped in between them right as Bug moved to shove Jones. Instead, Bug ended up pushing Lux hard. She fell down to the ground.
Jones helped Lux up.
"Get your hands off her!" Bug shouted.
Lux pulled away from Jones, not wanting Bug to hurt him. Bug grabbed Lux's wrist roughly and dragged her to his bike.
"Baze and Cate are coming to pick me up," Lux said, trying to break free from Bug's grip. At least she hoped they were.
"You're coming with me," Bug said firmly. "You belong with me. No one knows you like I do. No one loves you like I do."
"Hey, if she doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to go," Jones said.
Bug punched Jones in the face. Lux heard Jones' nose break and winced.
Jones felt blood dripping from his nose. When he looked up, Lux and Bug were gone.
Cate and Baze pulled up to Westmonte in Baze's blue Jeep. Neither of them could wait to tell Lux the good news. They were going to go out to dinner to celebrate Lux's homecoming.
They saw other kids milling about, but didn't see Lux anywhere. They exchanged nervous glances.
Cate bit her lip. "Do you think she ran again? You know, because she didn't know if we'd get custody."
"No," Baze said.
"If she thought there was a possibility of her going back to foster care…" Cate trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Baze jumped slightly when he heard a knock on his window. He rolled down the window.
"You're Lux's dad, right?" Jones asked nervously.
"Yeah. You're Jones. She went to the movies with you," Baze said knowingly.
"Yeah, uh, we were talking after school and this guy showed up. He started screaming at her. He shoved her," Jones said.
"Did this guy have a spider web on his neck?" Baze asked quietly, his tone dangerous.
"Yeah," Jones replied.
"Where are they?" Cate demanded, her voice laced with concern.
Jones shrugged helplessly. "I tried to stop him, but he made her leave with him."