Chapter Four

Once sure that she was safe of being undisturbed, Lorna pulled the pink blanket out of her bottom drawer and unravelled it to retrieve her scrapbook. Closing the rest of the items back into the drawer, she opened the book to reveal a stash of photos still yet to be stuck in. With a sigh, Lorna took the glue that she'd found in the storage closet and began to glue a particular picture onto the cover.

This picture was one of her, Rueben and their parents. It seemed awfully cliché, but the last week or so had really shown her how much family meant. It represented her. Promises, love and acceptance. Somewhere she belonged, not like Elmtree house.

With help from a few colourful crayons, also from the storage closet, Lorna managed to make the front of her scrapbook colourful and meaningful. She couldn't help a slight laugh at the cheesiness, mixed with the good memory belonging to the photo. As she turned the page to stick another one in, the handle of her door began to turn. Anxiously, Lorna slammed the book shut and stared at the door.

"Jeff wants to come in!" an out of breath Harry poked his head around the door, whispering frantically as he ran into the room, closed the door and sat in the corner with his giraffe teddy.

Shocked and confused by the notion, Lorna cocked her head to the side. A pair of feet flew past her door, and she immediately assumed that Harry and Jeff were hiding from them. When he sighed in relief, her suspicions were confirmed. Grinning again, Harry scrambled up from the floor and hurried over to her bed, inspecting the scrapbook.

"Who's that?" he asked curiously, pointing to the little boy in the picture. Seeing that he was getting no response, Harry pointed the giraffe's head at the photograph. "Jeff says he thinks that boy's your little brother."

Unable to surpress a gentle smile, Lorna nodded and opened up the book. Inside, a pile of pictures came tumbling out. Pulling a few certain ones out, she lined them up on the bed covers and Harry jumped up to sit next to her. He happily flicked through them, stopping sometimes to look at the little boy and his proud parents. There was something about the expression on his face as the time dragged on. Wishful longing for the scenes that the photographs held inside them.

Noticing the analysis in Lorna's eyes, Harry sat up straight and spoke for the first time in what felt like a good while. "Sapphire's my mum. But she left me. Carmen said she'd be my mum, but she didn't want to any more."

Unsure of what Harry was saying, Lorna furrowed her eyebrows. Carmen... was this the Carmen she lived with? Perhaps they'd been playing some sort of a game. But then who was Sapphire? A wave of empathy and a desire to comfort washed over Lorna, but she didn't expect what happened next. Little Harry flung himself into her arms, throwing Jeff around her neck.

At first, she did nothing. Bewildered, she just sat there. But then her arms wrapped around his small figure and hugged him tightly, allowing his head to rest on her shoulder. Something in her head was screaming that this was wrong, it was getting in the way. Harry wasn't Rueben. Yet she couldn't bring herself to pull him off.
They stayed sat there until Gina called them down for lunch. A rumble of Harry's tummy signaled that he needed food, and he leapt out of Lorna's arms and off the bed.

"Jeff's hungry!" he announced.

Hurriedly, Lorna stuffed her things back into the drawer and hesitated before she took Harry's outstretched hand. With a deep breath, they made their way down to lunch. Still being the new kid, Lorna had all eyes on her when she entered the room. Two spaces were left next to Rick, so she set Harry down between them. A sort of invisible barrier - Harry was Rueben, and without taking him back she couldn't get to Rick.

"Juice?" Rick addressed both Harry and Lorna. Harry nodded Jeff's head and Lorna nodded her own, accepting the cranberry juice with a silent thank you in her eyes.
"Are you going to talk to us yet?" Gus took a seat opposite Lorna, notepad at the ready once again. He was not about to give up any time soon. Rick scowled at him, but he ignored it. "I need your answers for my notebook. Everybody here has had to answer my questions and I can't stop asking you until I get the answers."
Wary and now a little scared of Gus, Lorna tucked into her food and chose to ignore the numerous eyes staring her way. Eventually, when Tracy cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows at them, they left her alone. Nobody seemed to speak much, no doubt something had happened whilst Lorna had been locked away in her room. It was an eerie atmosphere, but she didn't mind.
Finally finished, along with most of the other young people, Lorna washed up her plate and glass, then doing the same with Harry's. As she turned away from the sink, the view outside caught her eye. A garden. A huge garden. It was almost like a mini forest, hidden away in a care home. Instantly, curiosity won her over. That was where she was going next. Passing carefully through the rest of the children, Lorna made her way outside and into the garden - ready to explore.

The countless trees and leaves played at her adventurous senses and excited her. So much to explore and... places of sanctuary. A peaceful place to hide. Now officially grateful for this, Lorna took a seat on a rusty bench surrounded by huge bushes. Only the sound of distant birds chirping and the breeze flying through her hair drifted into her ears. No Gus to mider her, no Carmen to talk non stop about ridiculous girly things and no Tyler to creep up and scare her.

At last, she had some time to herself to think. Think and breathe fresh air in the closest she had to the wilderness. Of course, the first thing she thought of was Rueben and her plan to get him back. But how? So far, the plan was going disastrously. Rick, Carmen and Harry had been far too nice to her. Even Jeff. But there were no emotional attachments, right? It wasn't as though she liked them, liked their company.

"Sitting alone?"

A voice shot Lorna out of her daydreams and her head snapped up. Rick. He wasn't smiling or laughing, or frowning or scowling. Rick had another look of understanding spread over his face, that same look that sent dread running through Lorna's body. He sat beside her.

"It's all right," he seemed to have noticed how tense she was. "I'm not going to make you talk or fire questions at you. "But I understand. I mean, I..."

For a few minutes, he didn't speak. Lorna was beginning to think he was going to leave and give up. She wasn't so lucky. "I had-have-a friend. She used to go here, but they moved her to a special home. You... you kind of remind me of her. There's reasons why certain people do certain things. There's a reason she didn't talk to anybbody, and there's a reason why you do the same."

Suddenly, a rush of worry swam through Lorna. Had he figured her out? It wasn't like it was a big deal, the fact that she was trying to get her brother back, but... there was something else.

"I just wanted to let you know that I plan on finding out your reason," Rick stood up from his position. "But don't worry, I won't tell anybody. I'm not a snitch."
With that, he was gone.