The glass window in the car was cool, transparent, and foggy for fleeting moments when her breath hit the surface. It would dissipate almost as soon as it appeared and that’s all Spencer focused on the entire ride. Just like the window, her life would have interspersed moments of fog and haze and in those times, she would be running blindly, trying to find her way on the ever turning path that was her life.

Now, the scattered instances of obscurity were merging and blending into one giant blockade that was preventing her from progressing, and it pissed her off. She had just figured out and finally admitted to herself that the lingering glances she would give a beautiful girl and the feelings she felt for Ashley were more than just a healthy appreciation for the human body and mere intense friendly emotions. The journey was confusing and strenuous but she came out of it with new understanding, clarity, and some courage, ready to take action and be decisive for the first time in a long while. Then her mother threw her back into the fog.

The decision was already made though. She would choose love over family. The blood bond and familial ties that she held with the woman who gave birth to her were severed when that same woman choose a book over her only daughter. A fucking book. It was ridiculous.

Religious indoctrinations and biblical diatribe had forced the split of their connection and had made a woman who had at one time been in Spencer’s eyes; a strong, proud, and ethical human being worthy of hero worship, look like a coward. Paula Carlin was a coward who was too afraid of what might happen after Spencer was dead and buried to accept or at least tolerate who she was while she was alive. It was ridiculous.

Then there was the whole ‘bad influence’ crap she tried to pull. As if she knew Ashley, she went and passed judgment on her based on an assumption that she had the audacity to stick to as fact. It was all done on hearsay from her idiotic brother and the horrid decision of pegging the girl based on her family life or lack thereof. It was ridiculous.