Georgie sat on the stairs of Jeff's house and waited. She had no idea when her brother would get home from work since she had not even let him know she was coming to stay at his house beforehand and she didn't have her cellphone with her.
The young girl had had a talk with Jeff about her coming to live with him at Ty and Amy's wedding late last year, but the brother had figured it was best for Georgie to stay at Heartland with her parents, even if things were getting harder for her because of Lou and Peter's separation.
So a part of Georgie feared that if she had called Jeff before running away, he would have said the exact same thing he had said her at the wedding. But Georgie's teenager logic was counting on her presence being a big key in persuading Jeff to let her stay; it would be harder for him to turn her down if she was already there. When he would see how much she was hurting, he couldn't just turn a blind eye, because it wasn't like it was with phone calls; as soon as he could end the call, Georgie would no longer be his problem.
But if she was at his front steps, he would have to deal with her.
As Georgie's bum was getting numb against the cold cement, she got up and decided to look for a spare key. There were no flowers in the yard, so any hideaway out of that sort was out of the question. She went through all the corners of the stairs, but when there was no key to be found, Georgie got frustrated and wondered if she could just break in. She had broke into places before, so why not now.
It's not like I will take anything, I just want in, Georgie thought.
Her stomach growling made the decision-making easier for her and she decided to find a way in.
Jeff's house had many windows, but it would have been foolish of Georgie to break in from the front yard, which was why she walked toward the backyard, climbing over a fence and jumping into his fenced garden. When she was right by his bedroom window, Georgie tried to find a latch that could help her open it, but as the frustration took over and her fingers kept slipping from the corners of the frame, she grabbed a stone and smashed a small side window in. Smuggling her arm inside, careful not to hurt herself with the shreds, Georgie twisted open the indoor latch and thus arranged herself a way in.
Jeff will understand, Georgie thought.
When she had finally found her way in, Georgie put down her backpack and looked around. She had never been inside Jeff's new house, but she immediately noticed stuff that belonged to her brother. There was a picture of their parents on the shelf, his motorcycle helmet was under the living room glass table and his favorite flavor of chips were forgotten half-eaten on the couch.
Georgie wandered to the kitchen and started raiding Jeff's fridge. There wasn't much to eat, just leftovers from a Thai place he had probably went to night before, a random citrus and some eggs. When her stomach growled again, Georgie decided she would go with the eggs, taking the carton out to the table.
After she had found a frying pan, some butter and a spatula, Georgie started cooking. But not long after, she was interrupted by someone entering the house. Georgie froze in fear, but since it didn't sound like a forced entry, she took off the frying pan from the stove and curiously went to see who it was.
Maybe Jeff had a girlfriend? Or a room mate.
As she was about to leave the room, Georgie saw Jeff taking careful steps toward the kitchen from the hallway.
"Georgie…? What the hell?"
"Hey, Jeff. Nice to see you too", Georgie said, smiling awkwardly.
"What-what are you doing here?" Jeff said, almost out of breath because he had been so afraid of approaching "the stranger" in his kitchen. "I thought you were a burglar because I received a notification, telling me someone had broke into my house!"
He then went to set the alarm off now that everything was under control.
"I didn't hear any alarm", she frowned, even though she had wondered about that for a minute before breaking in. "I just couldn't find a key, so I let myself in through your bedroom window."
"It's one of those silent alarms, so I can make it home before the burglars are scared away by the sound", Jeff explained, even though it was not the thing that really mattered to him the most right now. "You didn't answer my question: what are you doing here?"
"I told you; I came for a visit", Georgie said.
"Right… If that's so, then would you mind explaining why Jack just called few hours ago and said there's a possibility that you might have took off?" Jeff asked.
Of course they called Jeff, Georgie cursed inside her head. At least they noticed I'm gone, she thought. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"I just missed you and then I thought, why not go and visit Fort Mac", she replied, casually shrugging, and got back to her eggs. But her big brother wasn't done with her yet.
"Georgie, what's going on?" Jeff asked. He knew things had been awkward at Heartland with Lou and Peter's separation, but he had never wanted to take too much part in the decision-making, because Georgie was not his responsibility seeing she had her family now.
"Nothing", Georgie tried, but Jeff knew better.
"Yeah right. Just tell me. Why would Jack say that you ran away from home?"
"I don't wanna talk about it", Georgie said, fully focusing on her eggs, then flipping them over. Jeff wasn't going to leave it at that, so he kept pestering his little sister with more questions.
"You have to. I'm not your guardian, but I'm your brother so I need to know. Sounded like Jack was really worried about you too. If you want to visit, that's fine, but you can't just… run away without telling anyone."
This wasn't the first time Georgie had done something like this, but when Lou and Peter had officially adopted Georgie and she had gone on and on about how amazing place Heartland was to live in, Jeff had thought those days would be behind her.
Apparently they weren't. And her silence spoke for her.
"Georgie! Say something!" Jeff demanded when there was no response from her sister's end. She wasn't taking this seriously and it frustrated him. "Is this because of Lou and Peter's… situation? I know it sucks, big time, but you still have it good. In fact, even if things are bad, you've never had them this good, and that's saying a lot. You have a loving family, people who actually want you there and care about you. Not to mention great friends, your own dog and horse - or horses - and just… Your life is everything Mom and Dad would have wanted you to have, or even better. I know having your parents separating isn't exactly what anyone wants, but you still have a great support system and… everything has stayed pretty much the same way anyway, right? Peter's always been in Vancouver and it's not like he has abandoned you now either. He'll come visit you and you go visit him. You'll make it work."
"You don't get it. Everything's changing!" Georgie interrupted angrily and turned around, holding the spatula like a weapon. "Paint's gone, Stephen's gone, Peter's gone - everyone thinks I'm just a kid and no one takes me seriously. I'm falling apart and no one cares because everyone's so busy with their own life and their own problems. But what about me? Oh, but wait - I'm just a kid whose problems don't matter", she said, holding back tears. "I was supposed to be on a road trip with my new friends, but apparently I'm too young for that sort of thing. Well, I wasn't too young to make my way here, so they were wrong!"
"And you think running away will make them take you seriously?" Jeff asked. "You don't grow up by doing the wrong thing while knowing you shouldn't be doing it. If you really wanna go on that road trip, there are other ways to show that you aren't too young, but this isn't one of them. I know it isn't ideal, that you just want things to happen now, but you gotta prove yourself to be worth the trust, and that takes time. But in the end it's worth it."
"I can handle things! I just wish people would let me do my thing and wouldn't get involved", Georgie spit out. "But no one cares what I want. And it doesn't matter… Everyone always leaves anyway, so why bother." She frowned stubbornly.
"So you decided to hurt them by doing what hurts you too? You say everyone's leaving, but so did you, so you're just being a hypocrite by saying that", Jeff pointed out. "And is that what you really think; that they are being pain in the ass because they get involved? That they enjoy doing that just so that they could make your life harder than it is? You have it twisted - they get involved because they care about you. I know that's a new concept for us, but that's the way it works."
Jeff had only visited Heartland few times, but he spoke with Georgie on the phone frequently and based on everything he had heard, the Bartlett-Fleming-Morris family was doing great job giving his sister a loving home.
"When I was there, just visiting, they even cared about me. And I know that kids like us, who have been in the system, don't often get things that good. If they are being tough on you, it's because they care. And I don't mean the kind of tough where they beat you or threat your life, but setting rules and having boundaries is a form of caring. I know it doesn't really make sense at first, especially when you're young and becoming more independent, but now that I've gotten older, I know those things are meant to protect you. I don't think Lou and Peter have it easy either, it must be hard for all of you involved, but it doesn't help if you keep running away from them. It's not gonna solve anything. Soon you'll just be scattered all over and no one will have the energy to pick up the pieces."
"Well, I'm not gonna keep running away, because I'm gonna stay here, with you", Georgie said, making up her mind.
"Oh yeah? Says who? You can't stay here, Georgie", Jeff said strictly. "I'm nowhere near as good guardian as your family is. Besides, what would you even do here? Watch TV all day long? You know you'd get bored in no time. With the Bartletts, you will always have someone there for you. And even if it's not a person, then it's Phoenix or Remi. Someone will always listen and care."
"You just don't want me, no one wants me…" Georgie thought she had it figured out. Jeff walked behind her and looked at her. She had grown taller and looked more mature, but deep inside, she was still the same little girl who had ran away from the foster family few years ago, looking for something better.
And Jeff knew she had eventually found it from Heartland.
"I do. I do want you in my life", he laid his hands on Georgie's shoulders. "But… things are complicated. I have debt and I need to pay people back or they'll come for me. And I don't want you in the middle of that. Your family has problems, you have problems too, I get that, but they are not gonna get solved by running away or by lying. You are only able to move on into better things if you just face those problems. I know it's tough and it makes you feel bad to go through all that crap. I know it because that's what I'm currently doing too. But it builds a character and it will help you survive in this world even better. Because no matter how far away you'll run, you can never run away from your problems. They will always follow you", Jeff said.
Georgie's lower lip trembled and she felt the cry coming out. Jeff waited patiently and when the girl turned around, he embraced her lovingly, waiting for the tears to come out. When she was done, Jeff asked her to go watch TV while he would order them something better to eat than her eggs.
After placing a pizza order, Jeff called Heartland, trying not to make too much noise so that Georgie wouldn't decide to take off again upon hearing what he was doing. From the sound of Lou's voice, she was worried sick and the thank yous she kept repeating made Jeff sure that Georgie did in fact have the perfect home with the Bartletts.
When they were done with the pizzas, Georgie fell asleep on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. Jeff watched her sleep and wondered if running away was just Georgie's second nature. What if she was never able to like it anywhere so much that she would settle down. The things and patterns she had learned over the years were hard to unlearn which caused friction and fights, and Georgie was not the most patient person in the world. If she didn't like something, she would either state it or get rid of it - or alternatively run away if things got really bad.
For years now, Heartland had felt like a heaven on earth, a perfect spot to place Georgie, but Jeff couldn't help but think about the other options. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with a better one than the ranch where horses and hearts were magically healed.
Georgie knew a lot about life, Jeff had to give her that, a lot more than most kids her age, but she was still, well, a kid. Jeff wished there was something or some way that he could take most of her burden away and let her be just a kid for once, not worrying about people abandoning her or her place in the world. Even though Georgie had her family now, Jeff still felt protective of her, and in some way he felt like he had let her down. Maybe he could have set a better example, because it wasn't like he was the kind of person who admitted problems when he had them. It wasn't until there was no way out that he had to face the facts.
But at least he was trying to change that now.
Later, when the doorbell rang, Jeff hurried to open the door so that Georgie wouldn't wake up. On his yard, there was Georgie's family, all worried out of their minds.
"I didn't know she was here at the time of your phone call. If I had, I would have told you, of course", Jeff said, worrying the people in front of him would think that she had planned this escape with him all along.
"I believe you. Thanks for calling us back", Jack spoke, while Lou pushed through in order to find her oldest daughter. Behind Jack, there was Lisa, holding Georgie's baby sister Katie, and last but not least, Tim and Amy.
"Is she okay? She's not hurt, is she?" Tim kept asking.
"She's okay. We ate. It seemed like she had not eaten anything since yesterday based on the way she destroyed that pizza…" Jeff said. "She's sleeping now."
"You did good", Lisa agreed with Jack. "Good thing she was here and not where we thought she was…" She didn't even want to think about the scary scenarios that had popped inside her mind as soon as she had gotten home and heard the news about Georgie.
In the living room, Lou was caressing Georgie's hair, hoping to wake her up gently. Lou was sniffling and her eyes were red from crying. She was angry, for sure, but more than that, she was thankful Georgie was okay.
"Oh, Georgie… I was so worried about you…" Lou said, feeling relieved. Georgie woke up to the sound of her mother's voice and was caught off guard by the audience that had slowly gathered in the living room.
"What–What are you guys doing here?" Georgie said, quickly swinging up into a sitting position. "How did you–" she saw Jeff at the doorway and her eyes narrowed. Of course her brother had called them as soon as she had fallen asleep…
"Georgie!" Katie yelled in delight when she saw her sister.
"Are you okay, honey?" Lou asked. Based on the way Georgie looked, she seemed like she was alright. But who knew what might have happened since Lou had last seen her.
"I'm fine. I can take care of myself", Georgie declared like a typical teenager.
"Barely", Jack laughed but with no hint of amusement in his voice. "What were you thinking? Do you know how worried your mother has been - how worried we've all been? We even sent out a rescue party after you!"
"Yeah, and why would you leave your phone behind?" Tim asked.
"Well you shouldn't have worried about me. I'm okay", Georgie said, not really realizing how much trouble she had caused by running away, especially without telling anyone and simply leaving her cellphone behind.
"And how were we supposed to know that?" Amy asked, upset on the behalf of her older sister. "You didn't tell us where you were going, so how did you expect us to react? You could have been anywhere, you could have gotten hurt, even died, and no one would have known anything. And on top of it all, you stranded Phoenix when he really needed you! You're lucky Ty figured out he was poisoned before it was too late."
"Poisoned?" Georgie gasped. "How?!"
"It's a long story, and one we will tell you on the way home, but he needs you right now", Lisa said. "So we better get going."
Georgie got on her feet and took her backpack with her.
"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Georgie asked. She was quickly back to her usual self, worrying about her beloved horse. But even when the focus had shifted from her to Phoenix, she knew this was far from over. She would have to deal with the consequences of her rebellion later, but right now nothing felt as important as Phoenix's well-being. Even the fact that she would have to listen both Lou and Peter yell at her for this wasn't nearly as bad as thinking Phoenix being close to dying.
Lou wrapped her arm around her daughter and kissed the top of her head.
"Your Dad is gonna be relieved to know you're safe and sound. He will have a word with you when we get back at Heartland. And you and I are gonna have a talk too…"
She didn't want to be all over Georgie right away, even though she was really upset and disappointed in her, but Lou still wanted Georgie to know in some way that this sort of behavior was not acceptable and she would not tolerate it from her. So as soon as the fear of Phoenix's situation would pass, they would have a long talk about everything, starting from setting new rules and the length of her grounding that would follow from the lying and running away.
"Do I get a hug or are you mad at me…?" Jeff asked carefully. He knew Georgie had asked him not to call her family, but he wanted to believe it was the right thing to do - and besides, had they not come here to get her, Georgie had not known anything about Phoenix's current state, and it was clear that she cared about the horse more than anything.
"I guess I'm not completely mad", Georgie admitted proudly and came to hug Jeff goodbye. She was a little mad because Jeff, much like all the adults around her, had gone against her wishes, but he was still her brother and he had taken care of her while she had been here.
"You know you can come visit me sometimes, right? And I don't mean like this, but like actually visiting", Jeff said as they were hugging. Georgie pressed her cheek against his chest, sighing a little.
"Yeah. I know", Georgie replied.
"So… we're good?" Jeff checked again.
"I guess so. I mean, I did break your window, so I guess this makes us even", Georgie said as they drifted apart. Jeff looked at her weirdly.
"You broke my window…?"
"Yeah. Sorry. – How did you think I got in anyway?" she wondered, more lighter tone in her voice.
"I don't know, using a key, maybe?" Jeff suggested. "I thought when you said you came through my window you meant you opened it…"
"Well, I sort of did, but…" Georgie said, shrugging. "Besides, I couldn't find any key. If I had, I wouldn't have used a window."
"The key was under the– Nevermind", Jeff sighed. "Just go", he said and messed up Georgie's hair. She slapped his hand off quickly and rearranged her hair back to the way it had been. "See you, Squirt", he said and smiled.
"See you, bro", Georgie said. "We can go now", she announced to the rest of the family and they all left after saying their goodbyes to Jeff.
When Jeff closed the door behind them, he listened to the silence. The emptiness of his plain apartment returned when the sounds of the family were no longer filling the empty space. He knew that no material would ever make a place feel like home the way family did; the sounds of their worry and the sighs of their relief. One day he hoped to have what Georgie already did: a real family and a real home with people who wouldn't - or couldn't - mind their own business.