you ask me if i'll get along, i guess i will some way (for lou, others welcome)

[doublethepain]

It hardly seems fair that his luck should be so awful. Coming off the heels of learning that the curse on Siren Cove is real, nearly having his workplace crumble to the ground thanks to the loose Hydra, and being used as a chew toy for a sea beast only to arrive home to find the police waiting for him makes him wonder what it is, exactly, that he's done in the past week that has provided him with such bad karma.

At least the officer who approaches him has the decency to look regretful, Spencer thinks. He's shown a photograph, one picturing him with a shovel in the cemetery on that night he'd gone digging with Lara--though she is thankfully missing in the shot--and sighs heavily, neither confirming nor denying anything. It's hard to deny photographic evidence, though, and as he's being cuffed and read his rights, all he can think about is what he'd said to Lara that night--truly, no good deed goes unpunished.

He's given his one phone call nearly an hour after sitting in his small cell and he's grateful that this time, he doesn't have to share it. He stares at the phone for a long moment before picking it up, his fingers hovering over the numbers as he considers who he should call. Not Cosette, he'd never ask her for the bail; not Lara, he wouldn't want her to incriminate herself in any way just for his sake; not Joel, and Spencer doesn't even know why Joel's come to mind. It hits them then, the right person to call, and he quickly dials the number he'd committed to memory after seeing it listed once in her library patron file.

"May I speak with Louise Abasi? Hi, hello, Lou, this is Spencer Waters. So sorry to be a bother but I was hoping you could do me a favor..."

Comments

[louise_abasi]

Mister Ferdinand, the master of the Abasi house, had almost lied down in front of the door to prevent Lou from leaving. Which was super dramatic, because her super dramatic moment was long past and she was already almost used to those stupid crutches.

And besides.. what better distraction than someone else's problems?

"Hello, police office!" Even though most of her work happens outside town, Lou wouldn't be Lou if she wouldn't make sure the authorities knew of her.

Ten minutes later, a helpful young police man had put her in a chair in front of Spencer. "Sir. Do you know why you're here?"

[doublethepain]

Spencer has to actively stop himself from rolling his eyes, only now starting to second guess whether this had been the right decision. He could have paid Cosette back the cost of bail immediately upon his release, after all, and the last thing he wants is for this to be another drawn out thing that gives people reason to gossip about him. Spencer Waters caught digging around a graveyard in the middle of the night? The Jasper brothers would have a field day.

"I'm here because I've been arrested," he answers dryly.

[louise_abasi]

"No shit", she continues in the same tone. "I thought you were the brains of this town. I was talking about the grave digging. You're the only one who was brought in, which is only slightly dubious because of who you are."

Lou scratches her knee. "Your file is already in my bag, in case you don't particularly trust the people here to respect your privacy. Anything to say for yourself in defence, Spencer?"

[doublethepain]

"Well, you asked." It's probably the wrong time for his patience to be running short but Spencer isn't interested in drawing this out any longer than necessary. His last visit to prison hadn't exactly made him keen on being here, after all, and the longer he sits in this chair, the more restless he becomes.

He takes a breath, reminding himself that he'd called Lou in to help and he's sure that's what she's doing; he just wishes it could be in a different way. He leans back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest and pursing his lips for a moment before answering. "It isn't what it looks like?"

[louise_abasi]

She gets up. "I'll give you the night to realize what you're doing right now." The chair almost sabotages her in-one-go-get-up, the legs stuck around her plaster leg. "Fuck."

"There were two shovels, but I know no-one will admit to doing illegal things with Spencer Waters Jr. His bad name might be contagious. His brawn towards the wrong person at the wrong time might end him up in a serious jail, instead of this bumfuck place in Siren Cove. Do you want help, or am I the only one allowed to see you at a new low point?"
Lou grabs onto the chair. "What does it look like, were you set up? Photoshopped picture? I can have you out with one legitimate answer, at least for the night. I'm just not here for your-

I hate my fucking life", she mutters. "Spencer, do you want help or someone to grumble to?"

[doublethepain]

What she says catches him off-guard and he shrinks even further back against the chair, lowering his eyes to the ground. He hadn't expected this from her after the way their last conversation had gone, but he supposes there's a reason he doesn't put his trust in most people so easily. "Right," he answers softly, and he's quickly realizing that maybe this whole thing is a bust, that maybe there's no point in hoping that people will stop seeing him as 'that man who probably killed his family' because the evidence is pretty glaring that it won't.

He keeps his eyes on the floor, not sure whether he's disappointed or angry or just tired, as he continues, "I didn't dig anything up, I didn't disturb the peace, I was just investigating a claim I'd read in one of the town history books. Nothing came of it."

[louise_abasi]

She turns the chair - slowly, avoiding the legs - and drops herself on it.

"I'm sorry. I'm ..sorry, Spencer. You were investigating in a claim you read in one of the town history books. This involved grave digging? Did you consider the legality of it before undertaking the action and did you consider - of course you didn't consider telling anyone." Here you go again, apologizing for having emotions and bad times.

"The file says there was an anonymous call and two witnesses sighing you arrive at the funeral on two different nights. This is so blatantly obvious that I would have a good judgmental chuckle over it if my head wouldn't be hurting so much. Do you think you could bring yourself to an apology of "I didn't know, officer"? Because I will back you up for not being a fool on a daily basis. I got proof."

She rubs her temples. "Else I'll go find Alex and fill my night with some soothing discussing over why Godzilla could pull any level 3 kaiju apart. How are we going to move, Spencer?"

[doublethepain]

He raises an eyebrow at that. "I was only there the one night, unless you want to count me visiting the headstones of my mother and brother on an entirely different occasion the second. I will plead ignorance on knowing that in particular was a crime. And like I said, I didn't do any actual digging. The shovels were there, I picked one up for the sake of picking one up, another non-crime."

That's not entirely true. The shovels had been there, yes, but he'd brought one of his own and the intention to dig had certainly been there. Had the mist that had cornered him and Lara not shown up, he'd probably be in much more serious trouble right now but considering the fact that none of the officers seem to be especially nonplussed, Spencer's fairly certain that this will ultimately won't be much of a black spot on his record.

He meets Lou's eyes again, trying to remember to have a little compassion for the person who'd left her home with a broken leg to come to the station simply because he'd called. "Look, I asked for you because I thought you'd be able to help me. If you think telling them I didn't know that you're not supposed to gravedig in a cemetery at night will work then fine, I'll do it."

[louise_abasi]

"Of course I want to help you, although I don't think my presence is even necessary here. If you'd wait out the night in silence they'd be surprised by morning that there's someone in the cell and let you out with a "Don't let me see you again", you know the police men of this place."

She sighs. "If I'd be in the mood for jokes I'd add to your file that you have a things for vampires, but I don't think your image needs a closer push to the loony bin. And I know, I'm sure you don't care about what other people think.
The shovels were there? Right, I'll put them on that. Possibly are lost youth trying to have fun. Either way I'm going to take your file home to see if there are no recent additions that I don't know of."
So that would make her look obsessed, see if she'd care.

"Because I don't know about you, but I don't trust some people here to ever let off the hook. To have "he held a shovel" be the thing that puts you on death row would be a blemish on my work. And I don't do blemishes."
She set her jaw. "So yes, that's it. You can be home in 20 minutes."

[doublethepain]

"Hilarious, Lou," he replies dryly, actually going through with rolling his eyes this time though his shoulders relax a bit. "If I wait out the night, it's a guarantee that more people will see me walking out of here tomorrow than they would tonight. I--"

He cuts himself off, shaking his head as he wets his lips. He's started to tap his foot on the floor, a nervous tic that surfaces only when he feels an onset of strong anxiety or stress, and he puts both his hands over his knee to try to keep it at bay. He doesn't want to admit it, that he cares about what people will say if he's caught doing the Walk of Shame out of this police station.

"Anyway. I don't think trespassing in the cemetery will secure me a place on death row but if you can get me home in twenty minutes like you say, I'm going to owe you far more than I can probably even give."

[louise_abasi]

"I'm a very funny person, people just refuse to believe so." Her leg is pounding and itching, her head is demanding for her to turn right back to bed this instance, but her mind is clearing up. Sometimes you just need some hard ball, but being Lou Abasi makes it hard to get in Siren Cove.

"And you worry that people might change their mind about their librarian? Wouldn't want the donations can to suffer from that. Think you can give me a ride home later? I can never get cab drivers to understand that I don't want the radio on."

[doublethepain]

"Precisely the opposite, actually," he says. "They'd be likely not to change their minds at all and why should I care, right? I didn't do it. I shouldn't care." He's veering off topic, he knows it, but he's on a roll now and he leans forward, resting his elbows on his legs.

"Did you know that there have been 316 cases of post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States? Eighteen of those 316 people served time on death row and the average length of time served in prison by those people is 13.5 years. Did you also know that the average age of exonerees at the time of their wrongful convictions was twenty-seven? That's how old I was when I found my mom dead in our backyard. Two years is a long time to have my name cleared but it's not really cleared, is it? For most people, it's not enough. With the murders starting back up, the attacks, the destruction of the town? People want someone to blame. I'm not willing to be that person, not again."

He can't remember the last time he'd said this much in such a short period of time, and he regrets it a bit because Lou doesn't deserve to have all of this unloaded on her. He lowers his head, rubbing his hands over his face as he takes a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Lou, I just can't be here. I'd give you a ride home, but I don't drive. I'd be willing to ride in the cab to make sure the radio stays off, though."

[louise_abasi]

You poor, poor thing. She has to remind herself that he is a human being, an individual, not a puppy she can bring home and make everything all right with lots of hugs, food and blankets.

Lou closes her eyes for a second. Maybe a long second, but she's sure to meet his eyes before he looks away. "Last time I checked the number was 314, but I have been out of it for a while. I'm going to get you checked out now, before the sun rises. I'd appreciate it if you would be my cab-nanny. A lot."

"And I'll cover you with alibis until the moon and back to prevent that from happening, Spencer. The civilians of this town have to open their mind to new possibilities."