the only exception

chapter 9

"Will do! Thank you!" Phoebe smiled, turning towards the door to wait.

The ride there was mostly quiet until Sam spoke up, "So, what are your friends like? Names?"

"Their names are Jess, Kristen, and Ryder. We've been friends since we were like five. Since school started, really." Phoebe replied, unsure what to say about them.

The two fell into small talk about it, and as they pulled up to the park, Phoebe felt instant relief wash over her. One, because they were actually there and she wasn't gonna have to walk to one of their houses. Two, because they weren't doing anything incriminating, just sitting on the swings laughing about something.

"Do you have a phone?" Sam asks before Phoebe can exit the car.

Phoebe nods, "Yeah, but it doesn't really work at the moment." Phoebe told her.

"We'll look into getting it running so we can stay in contact when you're not home." Sam told her, before gesturing for her to get out of the car.

Phoebe nodded happily, before getting out and approaching her friends.

"Jesus, what happened to you?" Ryder asked quickly, seeing as he was the first one to spot her. Phoebe grimaced, having half forgotten about what she probably looked like.

"Long story short, I'm in a new foster home. Yay? I guess." She shrugged.

Jess frowned, "You're okay though, right?"

"Yeah," Phoebe nodded, "Except my phones not working anymore. Can I borrow one of yours real quick?"

"You got some secret friends you're hiding from us?" Krsiten asked, kicking herself back on the swing.

"Something like that," Phoebe grinned, accepting Ryder's phone. "Just give me a second, kay?"

Her friends nodded as she walked over to one of the picnic tables, sitting down on top of it and copying Hayleys number from her phone to his.

The phone rang for a while, and Phoebe started to get a little nervous that Hayley wouldn't answer due to it being a random number. However, just as she was about to give up, the line clicked.

"Hello?" A masculine voice answered, but Phoebe could hardly hear it over all the sounds going on in the background.

"Taylor?" She tried, having slightly recognized the man's voice, "Is Hayley there?"

"Phoebe?" He asked, earning a nod from the girl till she realized he couldn't really see her.

"Yeah," she answered, before asking again, "Is Hayley around?"

"Yeah, let me get her." He answered, letting the line go silent beside the random ruckus in the background.

She tried to listen to the sounds in the background, only picking up bits and pieces like someone announcing five minutes left. She was unsure what it meant, but seeing how hectic it sounded she felt a little bad for interrupting whatever Hayley was doing.

"Hello?" A new, feminine voice asked from the other side of the phone.

"Hayley! Hi," Phoebe smiled, relieved to hear her voice again.

"Is everything okay? Whose number is this?" Hayley asked, and Phoebe thinks she went into another room considering everything in the background got quiet.

"Yeah, the new foster family is nice. Only downside is my phone no longer has service. Just wanted to let you know. This is my friend Ryder's phone." Phoebe told her.

"Oh, okay." Hayley replied, and Phoebe could practically hear her frown, "I'm glad the new family is nice, that's great news! I told you everything was gonna be okay."

"Yeah," Phoebe replied, unsure what to say because she still was sure everything could change in an instant.

"I really wish I could talk to you more, I miss you, but I have to get to work." Hayley sighed.

"It's alright," Phoebe frowned, a little upset she couldn't talk to her longer.

"I'll talk to you soon, okay? Just call whenever. I'm sorry your phone isn't working."

Phoebe shrugged, "It's okay. I see my friends almost every other night. I can talk to you when I'm with them. If that's okay?"

"Of course!" Hayley smiled, "I will say it's typically better to get a hold of me before or after seven. Most nights I'm busy between 7 and 9ish. At least for the next few weeks, anyway."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind." Phoebe agreed, "Talk to you soon, then?"

"Definitely, bye hon."

"Bye." Phoebe smiled, taking the phone away from her ear and hanging up.