Chapter 2: The Decision.
" Where are you going Pops?" A ten year old Avery asks watching the dad lace up his boots.
" Shopping. Don't mind me. Just look after the house till I get back." Dad says as he quickly puts on his hat.
" You're not going to go burgle someone's house again? You'll get arrested again." Avery says.
" What did I say about the questioning?" He snaps angrily at his kid as he stands up to size over the child.
" Don't ask." Avery mumbles immediately. Intimidated by the old man.
" Good. Now. If everything goes right, I'll be back by dawn. If not, there's spending money in the honey jar. Worst case, the ammo to the Winchester is on top of the bookcase." He says heading to the door.
" But I've never hunted before!" Avery argues.
" Then learn." Dad says before slamming the front door behind him and in front of the child.
The door slamming wakes Avery up from sleeping a better of the day. The teen sits up to see Joan come in with firewood.
" Afternoon Avery." Joan says as she places more wood into the stove. " About time you got up. I'm starving and I don't have your cooking skills."
" You never were a good cook to begin with." Avery smirks getting up from the couch and heads to the kitchen to cook up the only thing that the teen can cook right now. Leftover Chili.
After heating up the chili on the stove, Avery turns down the heat and says, " Come and get it."
The chili was its usual. Nice and hearty. Especially given the weather outside. Though the conversation that accompanied with it can't get more annoying thanks to Joan's questioning about what happened early.
"I mean. That's no ordinary animal. Why did it came? Where did it came from? And who were those people?" She keeps asking.
"It doesn't matter. They are not our problem." Avery says shrugging off the leather jacket thanks to the warmth of the house.
"You sure that was a good idea?" Joan asks. " I mean. Leaving them to those crows."
"They'll be fine." Avery says. " What matters is that they won't find and hurt us."
"What if they do find us?" Joan argues back.
"That's why the family has the Winchester. In case of times for survival. Not just hunting for our next meal." Avery says gesturing to gun leaning by the door to the teen's bedroom.
" What's going to happen? I mean is Dad coming back?" She asks.
" Like I said from when I last talk to him, he'll be released from jail this week. It was only a misdemeanor luckily this time around." Avery says.
" He spends more time in prison than with us." Joan frowns. " And when he's home, he's like a stranger that we are put up with. Especially when it comes to his….. "
" Look. Dad maybe a stranger to you, but he is the reason why you are not in foster care. Especially when your mom died." Avery says
" I may have lost my mom two years ago, but she was there for me. Dad took off the moment he found out she got knocked up with me." Joan says.
" He didn't take off. He paid Child Support and did occasionally see you. Your mom happened to have lived across the country and given his prison record, she didn't want him around you as much as you would have liked it. Plus, if you recall, he had another kid to take care of. Me. So no, Pops isn't exactly father of the year. But he tries." Avery says to Joan.
" What drives me nuts more than anything is being stuck in the middle of nowhere in this forsaken cabin! We can't go anywhere. Dad won't let you use the truck." Joan complains. " Why are we here in the first place?"
Avery scoffs. Understanding somewhat the frustration Joan is having. She's used to live in a busy town in a summer like state unlike the coldness of Midwest. When her mom died, she was given the option to live in foster care or with Dad and her sibling. She chose the latter and now is in unfamiliar territory despite being here for almost two years now. Plus she doesn't fully know about Avery's secret that ties to being the reason the family lives in the middle of nowhere. But she is slowly piecing it together.
The teen finally says, " I'm not having this conversation. I've had a long day Joan. Just go do your homework."
Joan scoffs in frustration and heads to her room to do so. Avery sighs before collapsing onto the the couch with thoughts over what had happened.
"Please be on your best behavior dad for my sake and Joan's." Avery mumbles before the only phone to the house starts ringing in the main living area.
Avery comes out of the kitchen and slowly goes over to the phone to answer.
" Hello." Avery says cautiously in a voice that no one would be able to make out if it was male or female. Which luckily is the teen's natural voice already.
" Hello this is Social Services. My name is Carrie. Are you Joan Jensen?" A woman says.
Avery's heart stops in response. No one knows about Avery's existence and there's a good reason behind it. But Joan is another story. Something's wrong.
The woman continues, " Well. I'm letting you know that I am coming over to your house. I should be there within the hour. There is something I need to discuss with regarding your welfare given the circumstances."
" What circumstances?" Avery demands slowly in a low tone. Having a sinking feel in the pit of the stomach.
" Please. Just wait until I come over to speak with you. It's very important that I talk with you." The woman says in a kind tone. Not at all explaining what's going on. But Avery pieces it together quickly.
" He's dead. Isn't he?" Avery says. When the woman doesn't immediately respond, it pretty much answers the question.
" Just let me…" The woman tries to say but Avery hangs up the phone.
Avery breathes heavily in a panic and knows that something has to happen now and fast before the social worker arrives. Only one thing comes to mind.
" Joan!" Avery shouts rushing to the girl's room.
Joan comes out the bedroom in confusion over why her sibling sounds worry. Meanwhile Avery grabs the gun by their bedroom and rushes up to her in response.
" Pack everything you need." Avery says. " We're leaving!"
" What?!" Joan says in confusion.
" No questions! Get to it! We need to leave in five minutes" Avery shouts at Joan.
Joan rushes to her room to do so. While Avery grabs several bags from the only closet in the house and grabs various items from the house from the cooking gear and nonperishable food from the kitchen to the blankets from the bedrooms and living area. Along with a tent from the closet that is only used for long trips in the woods.
Avery rushes outside to the old pickup truck and throws the bags and the gun into the large trunk. Joan breathes heavily as she follows with several large bags of her own.
"I packed a bag full of your clothes and other stuff. Including the violin." She says.
"Thanks." Avery nods. " Is there anything else from the house?"
"No it's cleared." Joan says. " Now tell me what's going on?!"
Avery realizes that there's no ammo to the Winchester and rushes back into the house and grabs the bullets. After realizing that money is needed as well, the teen goes to the honey jar and grabs the money and a debit card Pop have left in Avery's name in cases like this. The teen takes a last look in the house before rushing back outside.
Avery says nothing to Joan climbing into the driver's seat of the pickup. Joan sighs as she hops into the passenger seat.
The teen lights the ignition with the spare keys Pop has left them and pulls out of the driveway and onto a dirt road. Leaving the cabin that raised the teen for sixteen years in a matter of five minutes.
"Now tell me!" Joan demands.
"Let me get a few miles away from here and I'll explain." Avery says.
"What are we doing? Where are we going?!" She demands.
"Just!" Avery growls in frustration before calming down. "Let me get a few miles away from here. Then…. I will explain."
Joan sighs as she leans back into the lumpy seat of the old truck. She rarely has been in this truck and is surprised that Avery can actually drive it. She has never seen her sibling drive before.
When they finally turn onto a concrete road and the ride becomes smoother, Avery finally talks.
" Dad died today." The teen says.
" What?!" Joan says in shock. " How did you know?"
" A social worker said she was coming. I knew from then that something's happened to him."
" Then why did we wait…" Joan says before realizing. " We're making a run for it. Aren't we?"
" Yeah." Avery says.
" Under what circumstances do you think this is a good idea!?" Joan says.
" It's all I can think of!" Avery says. " I don't want neither of us in foster care. Making a run for it is all I have for ideas!"
" What about long term? Where will we go? Where will we live?!" Joan asks frantically.
" Somewhere. I don't know where exactly, but it's somewhere. I promise you that I will take care of you. I'm not breaking that." Avery says looking out of the road ahead of them. "Do you trust me?"
Joan nods without hesitation.
"Good. Luckily we have a full tank. We should be able to get some distance." Avery explains.
" Ok." Joan says looking out the window.
Avery quickly glances at her before focusing back onto the road ahead of them. Avery realizes that there's something that Joan does not know and could get them in very big trouble if anyone finds them.
Because Avery has no record of existing, no one can assume they are siblings and Avery is technically sixteen.
Now that Joan is taken out of the house without permission from social services, it has now become a legal problem which the police obviously jump on for who knows when. Which means what Avery has just done was kidnap Joan and could be charged with the kidnapping of a minor. So it isn't foster care that Avery could end up in if caught, it would be jail.
Nevertheless the teen mumbles, " I will not break that promise. And just simply keeps on driving.
Drama central in this chapter. I hope you all like it because I am not happy at all today and it doesn't take two and two to figure out why. I'm not going to talk about it though became I don't want to bring it into the one place I can escape to at my shitiest.
I might not have the siblings meet with the Crystal Gems for a while. I think I will stick to the two of them for the next couple of chapters just because I think it would make it a little more interesting.
I know right now it's a bad time for a lot of people, but I hope it cheers people up a bit given that we all could do with some cheering up once in a great while. So read all the fanfiction you need and want. Even if it's not mine. I hope for things to get better.