A/N: This story is set at the end of Series 2 of The Dumping Ground but doesn't really take into account any of the webseries: Liam's Story.
Current people living at Ashdene Ridge include Frank, Tee, Johnny, Carmen, Harry, Rick, Tyler, Jody, Faith,Floss, Mo and Bailey.
Chaos filled the entire kitchen of Ashdene Ridge care home. With breakfast often came arguments about the quantity of food each person received, as well as the quality. Loud chatter also added to the deafening sound coming from the single room, mixing conversations about football with girly gossip, playful pranks and the younger children's creative games.
Normally, it would be unusual for an arrival at the front door to be heard over such a racket. On this particular day, however, one person's eagerness to get into the house was much louder than the excited chatter coming from the children and teenagers that made up the majority of the house.
A loud, frustrated and angered knocking (obviously ignoring the use of a doorbell) successfully brought the kitchen to silence - a deed of which both May-Li and Mike, after many attempts, had deemed impossible.
Intrigued by the furious knocking, and what sounded like shouting to him, Bailey pushed back his chair, allowing the legs to scrap against the tiled flooring. Leaving the kitchen, he headed straight for the door, fully aware from the scraping noise that had erupted behind him, that he was not alone in his short journey.
Before he could reach out to open the door, Mike had stepped in front of him, deciding to do it himself. The person knocking seemed especially irritated and he thought it best if an adult answered the door to whoever was on the other side.
As Mike opened the door, there was a burst of movement as the teenagers behind him, since the younger children had remained in the kitchen with May-Li, too hungry to be distracted, attempted to peer around him to get a good look of the knocker.
The knocker, meanwhile, was too preoccupied arguing with a policeman to acknowledge Mike and the teenagers staring at him in amazement.
Bag in one hand and black jacket in the other, the teenage boy in front of them also possessed a rucksack hanging over his left shoulder. His brown eyes flickered in anger as he stared at the policeman, better known to him as his brother.
A grin appeared on Frank's face as he recognised his former close friend: Liam O'Donovan. They had, at one point in time, been close like brothers but that bond had slowly drifted apart after Liam had left the Dumping Ground to live with his older brother: Jack. Until this moment, Frank had been annoyed with the slightly younger teenager for not staying in contact but all memories of this anger had escaped him at the sight of his old friend stood on the care home doorstep, bag in hand.
Liam, however, was currently too busy arguing with Jack to acknowledge Frank's existence.
"Now you're just overreacting and causing a scene! I'll only be gone for five days - 14 maximum!" Was the first part of the argument that Frank picked up from with Jack looking desperate to calm Liam down.
"If it's not that long, why were you trying to get your new-found girlfriend who, by the way, I know nothing about, to look after me? I'm seventeen! I can look after myself for two weeks! It's hardly rocket science!" Liam snapped back in response. Although he knew deep down that it wasn't Jack's fault that he had been given an undercover mission, it was the fact that his brother had constantly been treating him like a toddler that drove him insane. And the idea of a babysitter was the last straw. Deciding his only bet was the place he had spent some time of his life in, Liam had set off on foot towards Ashdene Ridge, not expecting Jack to follow him the entire way.
"Can you blame me? After that party you threw when you were home alone for a single night, do you seriously expect me to trust you for five days?"
"Stuff your five days," Liam snapped, pushing Mike out of the way as he stepped into the care home. "I always felt more welcome here anyway."
Jack opened his mouth to respond but no response was heard. The only thing heard by the teenagers was the sound of the front door slamming shout as Liam let out all his anger on the door. In a swift movement, the door was locked and the key nestled safely in Liam's pocket.
His hand clenched in a fist, in both anger and to secure the key from anyone else's grasp, in order to delay the opening of the door until the spare key was fetched, Liam span round to face the onlooking crowd, consisting of many faces he recognised and those he did not.
As Liam's eyes swept over the faces of the crowd, his eyes rested on Mike's mouth, which had just opened, obviously ready to speak. Unable to face one of Mike's short attempts to get him to 'see the other side of the story', after Mike had not spent the last few years living with Jack, Liam pushed his way through the crowd and hurried up the stairs, ignoring the calls from behind him.
Having not been in the house before, Liam was unsure as to where he was going. The long, brown corridor held many doors, all of them leading to the unknown for Liam. Taking the second door on the right, Liam quickly entered, not wanting to be found yet – he didn't want to have to explain himself to anyone. He had his own reasons for being fed up with Jack –and it wasn't just because of the most recent events. That had just been the final straw for him. He didn't, however, want to live alone in one of those halfway houses. The responsibility of keeping his own house in check was something that scared Liam quite a bit – although he would never admit that to anyone.
Meanwhile, downstairs, the kids had returned to their breakfast after being encouraged by Mike that it was best to leave Liam alone until he chose to rejoin them. Until then, to the annoyance of Bailey and Jody (both of whom were fairly impatient) they would need to remain downstairs.
"This is pointless," Bailey complained. He sat leaning back in his chair, his breakfast bowl empty in front of him. "Surely he doesn't need all of upstairs to himself."
Many of the others mumbled and nodded in agreement, many of them having something that they wanted to do in their bedrooms.
"I'm sure he doesn't want twelve kids pestering him right now either," Came May-Li's response.
Mike was in the office, facing Jack who sat on the sofa. To Mike's confusion, Jack didn't seem too upset about Liam's angered decision to returned to the care home - which would be impossible without a valid reason as to why a seventeen year old shouldn't be going to a halfway house.
"I must admit, I have sensed this coming for a while now," Jack spoke, obviously concluding that he should do his best to provide an explanation. "I've just been trying to help Liam to build a stable future for himself and he just didn't seem to like the authority."
Mike nodded slightly. Having known Liam for quite some time, it did sound a lot like something that would annoy him. "I'm sure once he's calmed down though and ready to come down, he'll be willing to return with you."
Jack sighed. He leant forwards, placed his head in his hands and remained silent for a few seconds. He then lifted his head back up and shook it. "I'm sorry, Mike. I've tried but it just hasn't worked out." With that, Jack stood and left the office, letting himself out of the house.
Back up stairs, oblivious to the events that were occurring below, Liam looked around the room that he had stumbled into, it didn't take him long to come to two different conclusions. Either they had a room free of they were expecting a new arrival.
The room was bare of any decorations, filled with only the relevant furniture and a single bed tucked away in the corner, the mattress bare. The walls were a dark brown and it was evident in some places that wallpaper use to nestle in that spot. Liam smiled. There may be room for him.
A knock on the door told Liam that Mike had finally found him. Stepping forwards, Liam placed his hand on the doorhandle and froze momentarily before pulling it open.
Mike stood in the doorway, a certain look on his face that Liam had seen many times before. "Liam, about Jack..." He began.
Knowing what Mike was about to say - about how he had been returned to his old home once again - Liam interrupted him. With a grin, he glanced around the room. "So, is this where I'll be staying?"
Mike, who understood that Liam had assumed what he was going to say, shook his head. "We have three siblings arriving some time soon. This is for the younger boy. I'm sure the two twins will be happy to share. I just need to have a conversation with your social worker. Really, you should be going to a halfway house."
Liam sat down on the bed and looked up at Mike. There was no need for words. In one small second, Mike noticed a flash of fear. It was over in an instance, but he had seen it.
