“What happened?” she asked, moving behind him to massage his neck.
“Ace was caught vaping at school. He’s fucking fourteen, doll. Where did he even get it from?”
Her chuckle was dry. “Believe me, there are places that don't care. We try to catch them, but it’s hard to find them all.”
“A shop sold a vape to a fucking fourteen-year-old?” He thought back to the things he’d been able to score at that age, and it all made sense.
“Maybe, or he got it from a friend. His friend could be older, or they stole it from their parents. Or the parents gave it to them.”
Flynn snorted, thinking of all the shit his parents hadn’t cared about. “I can see that, sadly. The type of parent who would sooner hand a bottle of Jager to their kid than be a real parent.”
“It’s a constant battle to keep those kids off the streets. Their parents don't have the capacity to see how they're hurting their children, and often CPS has too much else going on to pay them a visit. Worse, when the state lets it go because there’s no space to put a kid once they take them.”
His heart thumped painfully. “I have to go to the house.”
“I know.”
“Do you want to come?”
Her hands paused on his neck. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
As promised, they arrived at Mercy House in approximately ten minutes. As they walked up to the door, they could hear Mitch shouting. Flynn let them in without knocking.
“What were you thinking, Ace?”
Not that the boy was likely to answer anyway, but Mitch plowed on.
“Do you want to end up in jail? Is that your goal here?”
Ace sat on the couch, his face rounded with adolescence and raised defiantly. His black hair curled close to his head, a faint scar visible over one eyebrow from the time his mother threw a plate at his face.
“Mitch.” Flynn said it quietly, but the older man turned to him.
“Great.” Turning back to Ace, he said, “Now look what you’ve done. As though Flynn has nothing better to do than lecture you, too.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, Mitch, but I wouldn't be anywhere but here. My brother needs me.”
Throwing his hands in the air, Mitch left the room. They could hear him muttering all the way down the hall.
Flynn sat beside Ace, who sat with his hands dangling between his knees. Neither said anything for a few minutes, and Bristowe finally sat on a chair on the other side of the room.
Ace broke first. “Joey gave it to me.”
“And you thought using it at school was a good idea.”
“I don't know, man, okay?” Launching to his feet, Ace stalked around the living room furniture. “He and some other kids were telling me I didn't have the balls.”
“And you wanted to prove them wrong.” Flynn kept his voice calm, attempting to keep any hint of judgment out of his tone.
“Yeah. I tried it at home first, but I didn't really like it.” Scrubbing his hands over his face, he glanced at Bristowe. “I know it’s not legal to have one at my age.”
“It’s a pretty serious offense, Ace,” she said.
“They’re talking about sending me to the alternative school for a while.”
