“Yes,” I replied. “They’re holding him at Dresden Station.”
Mrs. Danvers nodded and turned to her husband, but he was looking away from both of us in pointed silence. I stepped towards him.
“Mr. Danvers…?”
He turned to me suddenly, and his eyes were filled with fire, but he kept his tone polite and calm. “I’m sorry this had to happen to you, Zoey. You’re a nice girl, and you deserved better than to be stranded here by yourself tonight. I’ll be happy to drop you off at your apartment.”
I paused. “You’re not going to help Devlin?” I asked.
Mr. Danvers raised his eyebrows. “Do you really think he’s deserving of my help… of anyone’s help?”
I looked down for a moment. “He’s lied to me and hurt me and disappointed me,” I said. “But I can’t just leave him there… and neither should you.”
“Zoey,” Mrs. Danvers said, cutting in. “We have had a very rocky relationship with Devlin. We tried to set him on the right path early on but… he chose to… become a drug dealer.”
“He chose to become an artist,” I said, turning on both of them. “He chose to follow his dreams rather than yours. That isn’t a crime, and that’s not a good enough reason to cut off your only child. In fact, I can’t think of any reason that would be good enough. You both have been very kind to me tonight, and I appreciate that, but I also need to be honest. Devlin felt he had no choice but to start dealing; he felt it was the only way he could pursue his artistic career. He had no support, and let’s be honest here… you had enough support to give him. You just wanted to punish him for refusing to follow the path you had mapped out for him.”
I could see the anger in Mr. Danvers eyes, but I continued anyway. “You don’t just turn your back on your family. He’s your son. If I could do this alone, I would, but I don’t have the money to post his bail. I need someone who people will listen to, and no one is going to listen to me if I show up at the station alone. Please…”
“How much is the bail?” Mr. Danvers asked.
“Five grand,” I replied.
Mr. Danvers looked at me for a long time. I might have been uncomfortable had I not been so distressed and desperate. “Ok,” he said, at last. “Let’s go.”
Mrs. Danvers ended up staying behind so I got into the front seat with Devlin’s father. It was a quiet drive there, but as we got closer
to the station, he glanced at me.
“After everything he has done… why are you still fighting for him?” Mr. Danvers asked me curiously.
“Because I love him,” I replied. “This may very well be the end of our relationship, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to walk away and let him rot in a jail cell. I want him to be ok… even if I never see him again.”
As soon as we parked, we hurried into the station, and I waited impatiently while Mr. Danvers spoke to a few policemen at the front desk. I hung back because I didn’t want to overstep. It was a miracle that I had managed to convince him to come in the first place, let alone post bail for Devlin.
After a few minutes, Mr. Danvers came towards me. “It’ll take a little while to process the paperwork,” he informed me. “They should release him in the next few hours.”
“Thank you,” I said softly.
Mr. Danvers only nodded. I stared at the policemen in front of me, but I wasn’t really seeing them. I was thinking about Devlin and I and the future we might have had together.
“Mr. Danvers?”
“Yes?”
“Is it possible for me to be able to talk to Devlin… before he’s released?” I asked.
He regarded me carefully and then nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
31
Devlin
“Where are we going?” I asked the officer as he escorted me down the station’s upper hallways.
The officer looked at me indifferently and didn’t bother to answer. Finally, he led me to a door, opened it and gestured me inside. I gave him a questioning look, but again he gave nothing away. I walked in and froze in place as I came face to face with Zoey.
She was still wearing the black party dress I had left her in. I felt a deep pang of guilt, but I knew I deserved to feel guilty. I was done with excuses now. I had to accept the mistakes I had made and take responsibility for them… no matter how hard that was.