A/N: The next two chapters start off slow but they pick up. Trust us... And there tends to be a bit of graphic content involved in the next few chapters. Drug use, etc. So You have been warned. Enjoy :)

Chapter 11

Jo couldn't sleep. It was already past midnight and Jack and her brothers still weren't home. She had really messed up this time.

She and Evelyn had had a long talk while they ate dinner in her room.

Her mother was quiet while she talked. Her face the only thing that gave away her true emotions, and even that had been subtle. To Jo's surprise, Evelyn hadn't seemed that angry with her when she told her what had been going on. She looked more worried and upset than anything else.

Jo turned to lay on her side. Curling her body up into a ball and hiding under the covers despite how warm it actually was in the house.

"How long has this been going on Evelyn had asked her.

"Started a few weeks after school began." Jo had informed her. Evelyn frowned, hurt in her eyes. It was the middle of March.

Jo sighed deeply and climbed out of bed.

Her mother's bedroom door down the hall was slightly ajar.

Jo gently tapped on the door before opening it a little more and entering.

Evelyn stirred slightly in her bed before turning to see her youngest standing in the doorway.

"Joanna?"

The figure nodded.

Evelyn sat up in her bed and turned on her bedside lamp. Her face flashed worry as she stared sleepy eyed at her daughter. "What's wrong?"

She motioned for the trembling girl to come closer.

Jo climbed onto her mother's bed and allowed the older woman to hold her.

Evelyn wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter. The girl was troubled. She had known that when she and Jack had first come to live with them years ago, but had hoped she had buried most of her demons back then. Now it was becoming clear that that was not the case.

Evelyn rocked her daughter in her arms willing the young girl to go to sleep. She would need the rest. Tomorrow was going to be a big day for her.

Evelyn looked at the sleeping figure in her bed and frowned. She had hoped what she had seen last night was just her eyes playing tricks on her because she was so tired. Jo wanting to sleep with her was not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, Evelyn normally welcomed her daughter in her bed. But last night she had seen a side of Jo that she hadn't in a long time and it made her heart heavy with worry at seeing her youngest child in that state.

Even now, it took all of her strength not to erupt in tears as she watched the young girl sleep.

Jo's arms were bare. Something Evelyn just realized she hadn't seen in a long time and now she knew why. Jo had gone to bed in a tank top and shorts instead of her usual oversized t-shirts and sweats. It wasn't the old scars that bothered her as much as the new bruises. There was also something else new. Something she was fairly certain hadn't been there before and it caused Evelyn to be even more concerned for her daughter.

There was a clatter downstairs that sounded like it had originated from the kitchen. Stealing one last glance at the sleeping teen, Evelyn donned a saddened smile and went downstairs to see what the noise was about.

Bobby greeted his mother in the kitchen with a smile as he peeked from underneath one of the lower kitchen cabinets.

"Morning ma." He called out to her grabbing the frying pan he had been searching for.

Evelyn smiled at her eldest son. "Need a hand?" she asked.

Bobby shook his head and placed the pan onto the stove. "Nah ma. I'm good. Thought I'd give you a break and make breakfast this morning."

Evelyn smiled and poured herself a cup of the already brewed coffee before taking a seat at the kitchen table to watch her son cook. Bobby had always been a morning person.

"Late night." Evelyn commented. "You boys only got in a few hours ago. I didn't expect to see any of you until this afternoon."

Bobby placed strips of bacon on a pan before placing it into the already pre-heated oven.

"Thought you weren't going to wait up?" he said

"Bobby…."

Bobby cracked a few eggs into a bowl and turned to face his mother as he stirred them. "Yeah I know ma. Angel and Jackie got into some trouble and we went to go handle it."

Evelyn sighed deeply and ran a tired hand through her white curls. "Okay, what happened?" she asked. "Are Angel and Jack alright?"

"Yeah ma. They're fine. Angel just owed a guy some money. I took care of it though. It shouldn't be a problem anymore."

Evelyn frowned. "I talked to him about that. I don't think he gets how serious it is."

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, but I think he understands now. It shouldn't be a problem anymore."

Evelyn looked at the counter and the contents of the bowl Bobby was mixing. "Are you making French Toast?"

Bobby smiled. "Yeah. Couldn't sleep so I figured I might as well eat."

Evelyn nodded. "And Jack?"

"What about him?"

She took a sip of her coffee. "You said Angel and Jack got into trouble. What happened with Jack?"

Bobby turned back to the frying pan and bread he had on the counter.

"Did you talk to Jo?" he asked dipping the piece of bread in the batter he made and placing it in the pan.

"Yes…."

"We went and talked to Jack and Jo's old foster family."

Evelyn's eyes widened in alarm. "The Marx family? Bobby please tell me you didn't. Those people are very dangerous."

Bobby shrugged. "We're fine ma. Nothing happened. We just had a little talk that's all."

Evelyn was standing next to Bobby. She had moved to get some plates down from the cabinet and noticed his bruised hands.

"Looks like you did more than talk Bobby Mercer." She scolded.

Bobby reached for one of the plates.

"I'm fine ma. It's barely a scratch."

Evelyn shook her head. "I mean it Bobby. The Marx are bad people. Please stay away from them." Her tone was stern. "If there is a problem let me know and we can let the police handle it."

Bobby looked at his mother. She says was dead serious. "Okay ma." He said. "We will stay away from the Marx Family."

Evelyn smiled and kissed his cheek then poured herself another cup of coffee.

"Shit!" Bobby yelled as smoke rose from the frying pan.

"Language Bobby," Evelyn scolded. "Let me help."

Bobby moved out of his mother's way and let her finish making breakfast.

"Morning Jelly Bean." He called as Jo walked into the kitchen.

Jo frowned. She hated when Bobby called her that. "What's burning?" she asked wrinkling her nose at the smell.

Evelyn smiled at her daughter noting the change in the way she was dressed, but didn't say anything.

"Your big brother here burnt the French toast," Evelyn smiled at Bobby. "I'm making more."

"Okay, then what's burning now?" Jo pointed at the oven where black smoke was rising near her mother's waist.

"Oh dear, the bacon."

Evelyn took out the ruined strips of meat and tossed them into the trash. "I'll make more," she told them.

"What happened Bobby? Been away from home so long you forgot how to cook?" Jo egged her brother.

Bobby feigned hurt.

Jo rolled her eyes and smiled. "Good thing nobody wanted tea. Chances are you would have burned the water too."

"Whatever," Bobby grabbed at his little sister who quickly moved from by him to the other side of the table laughing.

Bobby raised his eyebrows and changed the subject. "Hey, why are you dressed like that? You cold?"

The smile on Jo's face faded. The comment had caught Evelyn's attention, but she didn't turn around. Sometimes it was better to let her children think that they were just having conversations amongst themselves.

Jo shrugged. "I'm going to go watch TV. Call me when breakfast is ready?"

Bobby stood up and followed Jo. The girl had come downstairs in Basketball shorts and an oversized sweatshirt. It was the end of March and the weather had been uncharacteristically warm this year. So why was Jo so covered up? Bobby thought about it for a moment and realized since he'd been home Jo had only worn long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. Short of the night they had found her at the skating rink, she had even gone to bed dressed the same way. But even that night all of her clothes were oversized. She had worn his old shorts and T-shirt.

Bobby sat down beside Jo on the couch. The teen was watching some cop show.

"Hey," Bobby tried. "Aren't you hot in that thing?"

Again Jo shrugged.

Bobby sighed. A million thoughts were racing through his mind. The main one being that his little sister was hurting herself again. He had gone through this with Jack too and had a feeling that he was about to have to have a similar conversation with Jo.

Bobby went direct. "Jo let me see your arms."

Jo looked at him. "What? Why?"

"I just want to see Jo."

"But Bobby I-" Jo started.

"Jo, take off your sweatshirt. It's not like I haven't seen the scars before. I just want to make sure that you're okay."

Jo shook her head and moved away from her brother. "I'm not wearing anything under it."

"JO….."

Jo sighed deeply and rolled up the sleeve of her right arm to her elbow. "Happy?" her voice was small and Bobby noticed that she was shaking visibly.

He, however, was not appeased.

"All the way Joey. And the other one too."

"Bobby…." Jo whined.

Bobby frowned and crossed his arms. His position on the issue non-wavering.

Jo surrendered rolling up the sleeves of both arms to her shoulder.

The scars from old cuts and burns that Bobby remembered were there along with a few new ones that he didn't. The same could be said about the bruises that were on her arms, but then again the one on her neck hadn't healed yet either. But what captivated Bobby's attention were the track marks on her arms.

"You're using?" Bobby asked. His voice barely above a whisper.

Jo frowned. It sounded as if someone had knocked all of the wind out of her eldest brother. And that was exactly how Bobby felt. He didn't want to admit it but he had been expecting to see that the young girl had been hurting herself by cutting or burning. Looking at her now, he almost wished that had been the case.

"Bobby I can explain." Jo said hurriedly. Tears were forming in her eyes.

Anger flashed in Bobby's eyes and he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"Breakfast is ready." Evelyn called from the kitchen. A moment later she appeared in the doorway.

Bobby looked down at Jo and realized he was holding her arms. He released his hold and Jo quickly rolled down her sleeves.

"Is everything alright in here?" Evelyn asked concerned for her children.

Bobby nodded, "Everything's fine ma." He kept his eyes locked on Jo.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow but smiled. "Alright. Joanna sweetheart, will you please go wake your brothers up for breakfast."

"Sure ma."

Bobby turned to follow Evelyn into the kitchen.

Jo grabbed his arm. "Bobby….Please don't tell ma. It's not what you think."

Bobby didn't respond as he pulled back his hand and shook his head as he walked into the kitchen.

At breakfast Jo was quiet. Angel had been in the shower when she had gone to wake up her brothers and it had taken more than a few minutes to wake up Jack. But now the Mercer boys, excluding Jerry who was at home with Camille, were sitting at the table chatting away with their mother while the youngest sat in silence.

"Bobby will you give me a ride to work?" Angel asked.

Bobby swallowed a mouthful of food before answering. "Why not? I got a couple of errands to run."

"You're going to work today?" Jack asked his brother.

Angel elbowed his brother playfully. "Yep Cracker Jack. We can't all be suspended from our day jobs."

Evelyn looked up. "Suspended?"

"Oops," Angel winced.

"I may have been suspended from school for a three weeks." Jack said hesitantly.

Evelyn's eyes grew wide. "You were suspended? Jack, what happened?"

"I found out what Vice Principal Andrews had been doing to Jo. Ma I couldn't let him get away with it!"

"Jack, what happened?" Evelyn's voice was calm.

Silence.

"Jack…"

"I hit him."

"Jack!"

"He deserved it ma. And worse."

"I'm not denying that. I'm just pointing out the consequences of your actions." Evelyn scolded. Her tone was stern. "What Vice Principal Andrews did was wrong, but assaulting him could have legal ramifications and it caused you to get suspended from school. What happened is a matter for the police to handle."

Jo spoke up for the first time. "Ma, do we really need to go to the police? Can't Jack and I just switch schools?

Evelyn frowned. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea, but we still need to report the Vice Principal. What he did was wrong and it's the only way to make sure that he doesn't hurt anyone else."

"What about JT?" Jo asked.

"He's not going to be a problem." Bobby informed her. "That situation has been taken care of."

Evelyn shook her head. "I don't even want to know what that means." She told them with a frown. "You children need to stay away from Marx family do you understand?" Evelyn was looking at Bobby.

"Yes ma. We get it."

"Good."

The rest of breakfast was finished in silence. When Bobby offered to help with the dishes he was reminded that he had promised to take Angel to work. When the two had left, Evelyn asked Jo to stay and help her with dishes while Jack ran back upstairs to shower and get dressed.

Jo had just finished drying the last plate and was placing it in the cabinet when Evelyn asked, "Jo, sweetheart? Is there anything else I should know before we report Vice Principal Andrews?"

Jo looked at her mother and shrugged. "Like what?"

Evelyn offered a soft smile. "Anything."

Jo thought about it for a moment and shook her head.

Evelyn took her daughter's hand. "You know that none of this is your fault right?"

Jo nodded. A few tears had formed in her eyes and she was struggling now to keep them at bay. She just wanted all of this to be over. To forget that it ever happened. She knew what her mother wanted to hear but that wasn't the truth. She knew everything that had happened was her fault. None of them would be in this situation if it wasn't for her.

Jack came back downstairs a few minutes later and Jo used it as an excuse to leave the room. She quickly showered and dressed in one of her long sleeve shirts and a pair of jeans. When she came back downstairs Evelyn was just getting off of the phone.

"Ready sweetheart?" Jo nodded. "That was my job. I might have to go in for a few hours to rap something up when we get back. Will you and Jack be okay here by yourselves then?"

"Yeah ma. We'll be fine. We're not little kids."

Evelyn kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Good. I already called Detective Reese. He knows we're on our way?"

Jo nodded. Now was the moment of truth.