The two girls continued to sit in a comfortable silence, each pondering her own thoughts. When Spencer looked at Ashley again, she realized the other girl had fallen asleep. As the young woman slept, the teenage mother examined her. Spencer was truly amazed that even when this girl was crying and had make-up running down her face, she was still beautiful. Her chocolate eyes shone with unshed tears and seemed to hold a sorrow far greater than they should know. A sorrow that Spencer herself understood more that she cared to admit. All Spencer wanted to do was walk over and take Ashley into her arms. She just wanted to be there for Ashley in a way that no one was ever there for herself. She was sure Ashley was one of those people that rarely showed her emotions to anyone. She was also sure Ashley was a person who put others people’s needs ahead of her own and strived to protect the ones she loved. But Spencer wandered who took care of Ashley? Spencer decided right there that she would take care of Ashley. Sure, they had just met, but Spencer had this funny feeling in the pit of her stomach that Ashley was just what she and Justin needed.

Finally, when Spencer looked at her watch, she was shocked o see that it was already 3pm. Had she really been sitting there that long with Ashley? They had left school at noon. Spencer rose from her seat on the couch and walked into the kitchen to get a notepad and a pen. Once what she was looking for was found, Spencer wrote Ashley a note and left it on the coffee table next to the couch Ashley was sleeping on so it would easily be found. Spencer had to pick Justin up from the daycare he was enrolled in and then she had to be at the café by 3:45pm so she wasn’t late for her first ever shift there. After Spencer laid the note on the coffee table, she stood and just looked at Ashley for one more minute. Before leaving the apartment, she slowly bent down and gave Ashley a soft kiss on the forehead and whispered quietly into her hair, “I’m here for you Ash. I always will be.” With that said, Spencer left the apartment, careful to shut the door quietly on her way out.