"It is you!" Johnny and Indie said at the same time, their eyes wide.
"Oh my god!" Indie squealed, and she threw her arms around Johnny's neck and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug, laughing. "I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Same here!" Johnny exclaimed.
There was a rush and a happy cry of "Indie!" before Indie found herself being jumped at and hugged tightly by Tee, another one of her best friends.
"Tee!" Indie hugged her back. "It's so great to see you guys!" she said, as she put Tee down and smiled at her and Johnny.
"I knew it was you, from the moment you came in. I just wasn't sure if you remembered us." Johnny said.
"I recognized you instantly, but…I wasn't sure, I thought maybe my mind was playing tricks on me…and how could I not remember you? You guys are my best friends! Jesus, I've missed you." She said genuinely, wiping at her eyes.
"As emotional as ever, I see." Tee teased, laughing as she wiped at her own eyes.
"You and me both." Indie giggled. "So you've been here for all 5 years you've been gone?"
"Well…Tee got fostered for a bit, but then she came back…but apart from that, I guess we have been, yeah. And what about you? Where have you been?" Johnny asked.
Indie shrugged. "Here, there, everywhere." She said, giggling. "Listen, I really want to stay and get to know everyone down there and talk to you more, but I have to go…I have plans with a couple friends who have some stuff to give me…left it at my old care home." She was a very skilled liar, and so Johnny and Tee nodded.
"Okay, see you later!" Tee grinned.
"But we have to catch up at some point today or tomorrow." Johnny said.
"Okay, I promise we will." Indie said, and grinning at them, she walked downstairs. She let Tracy know she was going out and then left, heading for the alleyway Andy had mentioned to her. Her phone beeped in her pocket as she got there. There u are, I can see you. Good luck wiv the job, I won't b watching this time but nxt time I will b x
Indie suddenly had an idea. Andy wasn't watching…so she didn't have to kill this guy! She walked quickly into the alleyway and cornered the guy. He looked at her and his face paled.
"Y-you're that girl from Andy's gang." He said, starting to tremble. "Please don't kill me!" he begged.
"Keep calm and speak quietly." Indie hissed. "Give me the gear, and I'll let you go, but you'll have to get far away from here, and never come back, so Andy thinks you're dead. And give me something that will make him think you're dead."
"Th-thank you!" the guy whispered. He handed over the drugs, and a picture of his son. "I have another one, so take it."
"Thank you. Now quickly, get out of here, take your family and leave the country. Understand?" Indie whispered.
"Yes, yes! Thank you!" and with that, the guy ran off. Indie pulled her penknife from her pocket, breathing heavily. She cut a little blood from her arm and let blood drop onto the photo. Perfect. She quickly put her knife away and covered her arm well, before walking towards where she knew Andy and the gang would be.
"Is it done?" Andy asked as she approached.
Indie handed over the drugs and the bloody photo. She hadn't realized how bloody her hands were, but Andy seemed to think it was the guy's blood.
"Very nice work Indie. Wish I'd been watching. See you next time, honey." Andy breathed, coming closer.
Indie moved away, turned on her heel and walked back to Elm Tree. There was a hose in the garden, so she slipped in and cleaned the blood off her hands before entering the house properly. As soon as she turned around, Tracy was there.
"That only took you an hour." Tracy said, grinning. "Was it a date?"
Indie laughed. "Nah, just hanging out with some friends. Got scratched by a stray, though." She said, revealing her bleeding arm.
"Yeesh. Let me get that cleaned up for you." Tracy said, sitting her down and going to get the first aid kit.
Indie closed her eyes and prayed that Andy wouldn't find out where she was living, and that she hadn't killed that man. Because if he found out either of those things…he would kill her and everyone else.
She could not afford to let that happen. Tracy bandaged and cleaned up her arm, and then led her into the living room.
"Hi!" a girl in pink rushed up to her. "I'm Carmen!" she was wearing all pink and she seemed way more excited than she should have been.
Indie smiled. "I'm Indie."
She was introduced to everyone and at dinner, she sat next to Johnny and Tee.
"What's your full name?" a boy named Gus asked, holding his pen over his notebook expectantly.
"uh…" Indie began.
"Just go with it." Johnny whispered. "He has this thing about writing the residents in his notebook."
"Okay…my full name is Indigo Catherine Edwards, but I hate my full name, so everyone has to call me Indie." She said.
"How old are you? When's your birthday?" Gus asked, after scribbling her name in his notebook.
"I'm 13, and my birthday's on July 8th." She responded.
"So you're only two months younger than Johnny." Gus muttered absently, scribbling away in his notebook. "What's your favorite color?"
"All of them."
"Favorite food?"
"Uh…pasta."
"Favorite dessert?"
"Cheesecake."
"You have good taste." Gus noted, scribbling away. "Why are you in care?"
Indie paused,, eating silently for a moment. Then, "I don't want to talk about it."
Gus was about to complain when Sapphire nudged him and shook her head warningly. Indie kept her focus on her food, but some of the kids could see that she'd gone very pale and her eyes had darkened.
Something told them that it was best not to ask.