"I did something illegal," Chase couldn't lie to save his life so when he's sitting across from his father at the dinner table and Derrick asks how everything had been going for him he can't help it when the words leave his mouth.
"What?" Derrick sits his glass down. Staring at his eldest. Chase was a grown man. A wealthy grown man and Derrick would hope he was a good enough parent that his son hasn't decided to head into a life of crime. He didn't need to do anything illegal. He could basically get whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.
"I don't think I could go to jail. Or maybe I could. It's not like I stole an identity. I made a fake one. No harm no foul," Chase rambles. He was almost thirty and was still like the same teenager all those years ago. Rambling when he thought he was going to be in trouble.
Derrick pinches bridge of his nose, "What did you do?" He wasn't even sure he wanted the answer, "You know what don't tell me. Do you need a lawyer?"
Chase snickers taking a drink from his glass, "I don't. I swear," Then he grows quiet. Derrick didn't like quiet. Not from his sons because usually it meant they did something stupid, "I went to see Aaron a few days ago."
Silence. It was so quiet Derrick could hear the air particles as they fell. That wasn't possible. Chase was on the list of people who couldn't visit. Then Derrick thinks about what he said. A fake identity. He couldn't. He wouldn't. Apparently he did. He's not sure what to say. What could he say.
"Is she okay?" He got reports from her therapist but that wasn't enough. He wanted to see her. He wanted to hold her. Let her know he was there. She would just push him away. He knows that.
Chase doesn't say much. He doesn't say anything actually. Not for a while, "I won't lie and tell you she's peaches and rainbows," He looks at his father seriously, "She's...alive. I think that's what's important above everything right now."
What the hell did that mean? How bad was it? Derrick has to wonder if it was all a mistake.
"I think she's trying the best she can."
Another beat of silence.
"Did you talk to her? How is she feeling?"
"She's not feeling anything really."
Derrick could feel his stomach churn. He knew what that meant. Chase had once said the words to him. It was scary to watch play out and not know what to do. Chase hadn't needed the same type of help Aaron needed but he could only imagine what it was like for her. He didn't know what to say. He was getting the best care for her. He couldn't do much more. He wishes he could. If he could take those feelings from her and put it in himself he would. No hesitation.
"What can I do?" He felt so helpless. There was always some type of solution. He always found a way. He had to make things better for her. He wanted to see her grow up and make a life for herself. He didn't care if he wasn't in it. He needed to see her happy and healthy and thriving. She deserves that more than anyone.
"Nothing," Chases tone was definite. Too definite. No, there was always something, "She has to dig herself out and decide if this is something she wants to come back to. She has to decide if she wants a life. We can't force her to want one. You can't fix this."
He could. Derrick would force her. It wasn't an option. He couldn't imagine her not being here. He couldn't take the thought. The gears turn in his head. Chase was young. He didn't know what he was talking about. How was he supposed to sit here and wait for a traumatized teenager to decide if she wanted to be alive or not. This all felt permanent but it's not. Her brain wasn't even fully developed yet.
"So I'm supposed to let her die—if that's what it comes to? I'm supposed to just let it happen?" Chase opens his mouth but he doesn't give him a chance to speak, "What the hell is wrong with you? I know you don't have the best feelings towards her but how can you look at me and tell me that?"
