Chapter 4

One month. I have been back home for one whole month. I only got in one fight and I walked away without any harm, so my brothers never found out. One month back home has been amazing. I feel like I truly belong at a place. I am never excluded and I am never treated differently. Life was good.

I only saw Chris one other time and he just snarled and me and gave me a creepy smile as he passed. I ignored it and continued to walk.

I was working on homework with Pony again and I've been getting better. I knew most of the answers with certainty and didn't need to ask him for help.

The doorbell chimed and I froze. No one rang the doorbell at our house. It was always unlocked and everyone who usually came by knew that. I listened as Darry opened the door. He had a early day, so he was home.

"Oh, Laura, how nice to see you." He said.

Why on earth was Laura here? It wasn't our monthly check in and I didn't do anything bad. Did I?

I slowly got up and walked into the living room, Pony right behind me.

"Please come in." Darry said and Laura stepped inside.

I then noticed Tim was with her. He stepped in after her and just stood behind her. I gulped and waited for the words.

"Upon your request, we are here to take Jay from your custody." She said.

Those words. Those words right there I was so used too, but I never thought I would hear them again.

"Upon request?" Darry asked, clearly confused.

"We got your call and we stamped the paper work. Jay is once again the states property." She said and motioned for me to start packing.

Anger grew inside of me and I stomped down the hall to my room. I slammed my door and started packing my clothes.

Darry wanted me gone! Darry called the state and gave me back to the state. I was the states problem now. Darry didn't like me here. Darry couldn't stand that I was getting along with everyone and was happy again after six years. Darry was evil.

Why would Darry even want me gone? I didn't do anything bad. Compared to other homes I've been at, I was a complete angel here. I didn't know why Darry gave me up once again, but I wasn't gonna dwell on it. That boy that decided to change for the better to save his relationship with his brothers was now gone. The old Jay was back and man did I miss him.

I stuffed my last shirt in the bag and zipped it up. I opened the door and walked out the door of the house without a word or a goodbye. Darry was saying things to me, but I didn't listen at all. I heard Pony's soft voice say goodbye, but I didn't care enough to stop and return it. If my older brother didn't want me, why would any of my brothers want me?

I got in the car and stared straight ahead. I didn't know if Darry and Pony walked out of the house and I didn't care if they did.

I waited for Laura to come to the car and drive me off to another foster home. It was official, I broke the record for shortest time spent at a home. One month.

/\/\/

We drove for a good hour before stopping. The whole time I felt complete anger wash over my body. I needed to hit something, anything, but knew Tim would sock me if I tried.

Laura turned around in her seat after she cut the engine and looked at me.

"I don't know what you did, but this is the only home we could find within short notice. I really thought you were good at your real home." She said and looked disappointed.

I wanted to say I don't know what I did either, but I kept it inside.

"This is the Ronald house and they have all foster children. They have two boys and a girl. The one boy is seventeen and the other is twelve. The girl is eight. They all seem to get along and Mr. And Mrs. Ronald were so kind to take you in. They've been looking for another child to foster, but couldn't find one until now. You will be homeschooled by Mrs. Ronald. Don't mess this home up too Jay. Pretty soon it will be just the orphanage till your eighteen for you." She said and got out of the car.

I grabbed my bag and climbed out. The house was huge. It was a milky white with green touches. The door was green and it looked welcoming. I didn't care where I was anymore as long as I had a roof and three meals a day.

I followed Laura in and Mrs. And Mr. Ronald met us at the door.

"Hello, Laura. You must be Jay." Mrs. Ronald exclaimed excitedly.

I just nodded and didn't say anything. I didn't really care about first impressions. I felt like any happiness I had inside of me was drained out and fed to a hungry tiger.

"Please come in. Henry can show you your room." Mrs. Ronald said.

We walked in and I noticed the house was white and big on the inside. Everything looked expensive and old. Lined up by the stairs were three kids.

A boy that must have been the twelve year old stepped forward.

"Henry will show you around as well." Mrs. Ronald said, sweetly.

He started to walk and I followed.

"I'll be back in a week Jay." Laura called after me.

I didn't turn around or answer her. I just followed Henry and looked around.

The stairs had paintings of people going all the way up it. It seemed to be everyone in the family from years ago.

We ran out of stairs and turned down a hallway. At the fourth door we stopped.

"This is your room. Mine is the next one, Paula's is the second one, and Drake's is the third one. Mr. And Mrs. Ronald's room is the first one. Dinner will be served when the bell is rung." He said, formally and headed back down the hall.

That was the weirdest twelve year old I've ever met.

I opened the door and looked inside the room. It was huge and had a big window that looked out into the back yard. The walls were white and there was a closet that I could live in. The bed was a queen sized and the dresser was huge with a mirror connected to it. This house was amazing.

I plopped down on the bed and threw my bag across the floor. I could get used to this lifestyle, but something felt empty. I felt like it wasn't loud enough. It felt like there wasn't any arguing. There wasn't much action. There was no Pony, or Soda, or even Darry.

I stopped. No, I couldn't have these feelings overcome me. Darry called them in and sent me away. He is the reason I'm away from Ponyboy and Soda and the gang. He is the reason my anger and frustration is back. He is the reason I'm not gonna be sad about being separated from my brothers, because without Ponyboy around, I didn't have to turn for the better. If my brothers weren't here for me to hurt them, then I could let my anger out.

/\/\/

I heard the bell and remembered that meant dinner. I got off the bed and followed the older boy, uh, Drake, down the stairs. We walked into the kitchen and I smiled at its size. This would be good if I ever got hungry.

He sat down and everyone else did too. There was an empty seat next to the little girl, Paula and I sat down.

"Do you like your room?" Mrs. Ronald asked.

I nodded and looked at my plate. My food was already plated and it was a lot. A big chicken leg with mashed potatoes and gravy. The mashed potatoes and gravy tasted homemade.

We ate in silence and I noticed Drake kept looking at me. I ignored it and continued to eat.

When we were done Mrs. Ronald took the plates and did the dishes while Mr. Ronald told the three kids to show me a complete tour of the house.

"This is the piano room." Henry said.

He already showed me the bathroom, living room, family room, basement, garage, and classroom for our homeschooled sessions.

"That's about it." Drake said, clearly bored with the tour.

"What do you all do around here all day?" I asked, trying to just start some conversation.

"We do our lessons for school and then whatever." Henry explained to me.

Paula then started waving her hands at Henry and he returned the weird hand motions.

"She is deaf. Mrs. Ronald will teach you sign language as one of your lessons." Henry told me.

I nodded. This girl was deaf. That must be hard. I slapped myself. No, I don't care about these people. I don't care about anyone any more because if I can't trust my own brothers then who can I trust? I walked away from them and found my way to my room.

I sat on the bed and thought about what the last month was like. I laughed at myself. I was such an idiot to think my life would go back to normal. My life was nothing but normal.