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Iris practically ran to her phone at the notification. Seeing his message she immediately felt herself let out a tense breath, relief flooding her. -That's so good to hear! How much was the fine?- She replied.
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-uh, so funny story but, um.- He sent, nervous slightly as he sent the second text. -kinda got pulled over and drove off :) - Caden threw his phone at the couch, regretting sending it. -Good God almighty, why did I do that?- He thought, pacing.
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Iris thought when he'd said that he hadn't been arrested, that the cop had just given him a lecture, issued a fine, and maybe held back his driver's liscence for a month or something. But here Caden was saying that he'd... Run away from the officer?? The way he texted it made it sound like it was no big deal, but she knew it wasn't. She also knew he didn't feel that way. So instead of ranting on in a text about how that was so much worse than the time in jail he would've spent, she took a calming breath and typed: -Caden, you may not know this, but when I said you could outrun the police, I didn't mean it literally.- She could chew him out later, but for now she thought it best to calm both of them down.
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Caden picked up his phone again, stressing about it already. -i know and im sorry i dont know why i did that and now im worried they're gonna find me or something by my plate but they can't since i have stuff on there that makes it not show up on cameras which is ALSO illegal so that makes it even worse and it'd make the most likely jail time even longer which means away from school if they even take me back afterwards and also away from you which is even worse- He sent, running a hand down his face. -man i need to calm down- The man texted after a moment, already debating if he should drink everything away.
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Iris waited the agonizing moments while Caden texted, and after reading what he'd said she felt even worse. Clearly she was failing in her job to keep him calm. But she should try harder, or else he'd disappear on her in stress and worry. -Pause. Just take a breath. Yes, it was wrong of you to drive away and yes it means more jail time when they find you. You're right about all those things. But there are things you can do instead of waiting for them to find you. You finished all your finals and, if they let you stay at the school, the teachers will forgive a few weeks of abscence, especially if you dedicate to catching up. I think maybe the best thing you can do about getting arrested is turning yourself in. I think they'll have more mercy on you if you admit to be at fault and honor their punishment. If you keep running from them I'm worried you'll soon have officers searching for you everywhere and tracing you down just as fast, but with even more consequences. There's more I want to say... Can you call?-
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-yea- He sent, mind already fogging with everything as he called her, not facetiming as he knew his expressions would just make everything worse---plus he found it sorta embarassing. "I mean how am I supposed to? What if they're not looking for me?" Caden asked in a panicked tone, figuring he'd lock himself in his house for the next few weeks.
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Iris was honestly relieved to not see his face or for him to see hers. It would just make things more awkward. But hearing his voice gave her comfort that he was okay. "Even if they're not looking for you, they'll be surprised to see you turn yourself in. But I think they are looking for you."
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"Okay but then what if they aren't looking for me and they technically can't track me since my plate won't show up, plus im wearing what anybody could wear. So, what if I turned myself in for no reason?" He asked, tone growing tight as a wire.
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Iris dragged a hand down her face. "I don't know! I'm sorry, but I don't have all the answers." She said this more forcefully than she first meant to, but the pressure and stress was getting to her.
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"Yeah uh....i'l just....i'll just call you later, kay?" He hung up on her, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he dragged a hand down his face, deciding a hangover wouldn't be his worse problem the next morning as he grabbed the scotch bottle once more.
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