“She’s gone Spence, Madison she’s gone. She took the kids and I…I…” with that he lost it again.

Spencer laid his head in her lap. Stroking his hair gently and whispering to him that everything would be okay, she couldn’t help but remember that it hadn’t been so long since their roles had been reversed.

 It wasn’t long before Aiden had passed out from pure emotional exhaustion. She carefully, as not to wake him, lifted his head of her lap and pulled the blanket she had draped over the back of the couch on top of him.

She didn’t know what to think. Before his complete breakdown all Aiden had managed to get out was that he’d somehow fucked up and that Madison had taken the girls and left him.

Her mind started to wonder as to what her bet friend could have possibly done to force someone who loved him as much as Madison did to just up and leave him. Then she decided that guessing what horrible thing Aiden might have done, when it all might have been some big misunderstanding was insulting to their long history together. Spencer would just let him sleep for now and he would tell her what had happened when he was ready.

Spencer finished the last of her work and was getting ready for bed when she heard a light knocking on her door. Looking at the clock she saw it was close to midnight. It was too late for any normal social visit……. unless. She bolted for the front door chanting over and over in her head for it to please be Madison.

Throwing the door open she was both disappointed and shocked to see Ashley standing in front of her door.

“Spencer.” Ashley finally let out after a few minutes of awkward silence.

Taking a deep breath Spencer spoke to Ashley directly for the first time in nearly a month.

“What do you want Ashley?” her tone was not angry like she might have expected instead it sounded tired and numb. The long evening with Aiden weighing heavily on her.

“I need to talk to you, Spence.”