“I said get down!” A male voice ordered towards Ashley, who was the only one left standing. He pointed the gun at her meaningfully, causing Spencer to yell and urgent, “Don’t!” It caught the man by surprise who turned to face her as they assumed a quiet argument. Ashley couldn’t quiet tell what was being said, but a moment later the man had lifted his hands and shoved Spencer backwards, “Back off!” Spencer stumbled back a few feet, turning her head to get one last look at Ashley before she dropped the gun from her gloved hand and bolted out the door.

Ashley forgot that there were guns pointed at her and followed suit, managing to escape out the door while the rest of the robbers were still in a bit of shock over Spencer’s disappearance. She spotted Spencer’s back running down the street and followed her, her heart pounding in her ears. She was steadily closing the ground between them, and by the time Spencer had turned into an alley, Ashley was close enough to grab her elbow and force her to turn and face her.

Her breathing was ragged as she stared at Spencer, hand lifting to yank the hankerchief down  as she took a moment to just look at her, “What… The… Hell…Spencer” She spoke between breaths, the back of her hand lifting to wipe the sweat from her brow. Spencer shook her head slightly, swaying from the right to the left in effort to get around Ashley before deciding that wasn’t going to happen. She opened her mouth the yell at Ashley, demand she back up, go away, and never touch her again. But, their must have been some disconnect between her brain and her mouth because all that happened was that she just started sobbing.

Stepping backwards Spencer’s back found a wall and she slowly slid down it, not stopping until her butt hit the cold asphalt on the ground. Ashley took a seat beside her, wondering if she put an around her whether Spencer would react positively or negatively. Deciding it was now or never, she slipped an around  the quivering girl’s shoulders, pulling her in towards her. Much to her surprise and relief Spencer softened, leaning into her warmth with an almost urgent need. “Shhhh…. It’s going to be okay…” She soothed, rubbing her back in small circles.

“No… Not it’s not. It can’t be.” Spencer spoke, not moving and the tears still flowing like they hadn’t for a long time. “Glen and Clay are gone, I haven’t seen my parents in over 5 years, I just tried to rob a fucking bank. Nothing is okay.” She was clearly panicked, and it made Ashley feel guilty for being so happy that Spencer had finally caved.
 “I’m here now. I’m not going to let you get hurt anymore.” Ashley whispered, pulling the girl beside her in a bit tighter.