"Never let me get grounded again, Tyler," Jody called over her shoulder as she stepped into the kitchen through the patio door. "I'll never take walking down the road for granted again."
"Like I can keep you from doing anything," he quipped, following closely behind. "Especially when you're trying to help out a mate."
He had a point there. "True, but you can still try to convince me that there's a better way."
"What better way?"
She grinned, twirling a lock of her newly cut hair in between her fingers.
"Are you two Jody and Tyler?"
The new boy stood in front of her, holding the creepy puppet/doll he'd had since stepping foot into Ashdene Ridge. She hadn't had the chance to learn his name yet; he'd only arrived that morning and she'd literally whizzed past him the first chance she got, eager to experience freedom again after a full two weeks of being grounded.
"Yeah," Tyler answered, coming to stand next to her. "Why?"
"The bossy girl told me to find you and tell you that your parents are here," the kid replied timidly. "But she didn't tell me which of your parents she was talking about."
Tyler and Jody exchanged a glance, the former saying, "Today? They're not supposed to visit until next week." He frowned. "What if something's wrong?"
"Don't go jumping to conclusions just yet," she warned hastily, sensing that he was getting paranoid again. "The last time you did that, she turned out to have good news for you. Maybe it's the same this time."
"Yeah but there's nothing good left to happen; they're already married," he said before stopping cold, his features morphing into an expression she rarely saw on him. She couldn't quite decipher it but it seemed to border on disbelief. "No way. She's way too old!"
She tried not to snort. He was getting way ahead of himself. There was no way Sally would have another kid while she already had one in care. Right? She faltered. Sasha's mum, Johnny and Tee's mum and Lily's dad had all done it, and anything was possible as long as a woman was still under fifty. Oh, God...
"Well, there's no point standing in here and talking about it," she stated bluntly, noticing that the new kid was still standing in front of them, looking like he didn't know what to do with himself. "Go and talk to them."
"Right, yeah," he responded, snapping out of his mental woes. Taking his parka off and dumping it on the breakfast bar, he looked at the boy. "Thanks for letting me know...?"
The kid stared at Tyler for a bit before seemingly realising he was supposed to answer. "Sid."
"Sid," Tyler finished, casting another apprehensive glance Jody's way before disappearing through the kitchen's main door.
Giving Sid a once over, she wondered where the other two newbies were, especially the other boy who struck her as the definition of long-faced. She rolled her eyes at Tyler's parka and picked it up, knowing that May-Li would start nagging if she saw it there before its owner was done talking to his visitors. Besides, it gave her an excuse to linger around in the lobby.
Upon walking into the lobby, she found that the door to the Quiet Room was wide open and no one was inside, and that the blinds on the office windows and door were drawn all the way, indicating that whoever was inside was not be disturbed at any cost. She shivered involuntarily. The last time that had happened, she'd been the one sitting in there as the police interviewed her about her mother's death. Shaking her head, she hung the parka up on the coat hanger and shrugged out of her own, proceeding to do the same with hers. Tyler didn't have any other family besides Sally and Kamal so he was hardly being informed about a death that would actually matter to him.
"Jody!" Floss called, her voice wafting in from the lounge. "Come in here! Ella's on TV!"
Jody scowled. "I thought Mike banned us from watching that show!"
"It's just an interview!" Candi-Rose shouted. "Hurry up, she might mention Ashdene Ridge!"
She seriously doubted that—if Ella was going to mention any care home, it was going to be Boland House—but went inside anyway, seeking a distraction. Sure enough, over the next ten minutes or so, Ella didn't mention a single care home by name and the one she did talk about was clearly the one she'd spent most of her years in. It didn't stop Candi-Rose and Floss from hoping, though, especially because the latter had an enemy in Ross of Boland House and couldn't stand to let him 'win'. So absorbed were they that no one besides Charlie noticed her new haircut.
In the end, she turned out to be only half watching because as soon as the office door cracked open, she spun around to see Mike showing Sally and Kamal out. Tyler stood in the doorway with May-Li, nodding at something she said as he waved his mother and stepfather goodbye. As soon as the front door closed, Jody ran up to him and put her hands on her hips.
"That's a nice haircut, Jody," May-Li commented, returning to her desk.
"Err, thanks!" Jody called after her before turning to Tyler. "So, what's the verdict then? New family member"—Mike chuckled at that as he passed them on the way into the office, silently acknowledging the haircut—"or a long lost dead one who happened to put you in his or her will?"
He dug his hands into his pockets. "Neither," he replied quietly, bowing his head. "Mum reckons she's ready for me to move back in with her now that she's settled." She stepped back, her heart plummeting to unknown depths. He looked back up at her, his lips pressed together in a thin line. "Well... aren't you going to say something?"
"That's great!" she forced herself to say, her face growing hot. "I'm so happy for you!" He took on a strange expression then, and she didn't know what to make of it, feeling more and more flustered by the second. She had to get out. "I—I've just got to run down to the gym. You know, since I haven't been in so long and all. I'll talk to you when I get back, yeah?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she sprinted straight up the stairs, vaguely registering him calling an agreement out after her. He was leaving. Two years after Sally had first asked him to move back in with her, he was finally leaving.
.:. QK .:.
Punch. Punch. Punch.
She should've seen it coming, honestly. After all, it made perfect sense from Sally's point of view: her illness was under control; she had a steady job, a new house and a new husband; and all that was missing from her life now was the son she'd been forced to give up a decade ago. Tyler going back to her had been inevitable since the day her doctor had cleared her; if it wasn't for her still thinking of him as a five-year-old two years prior, he would've moved back in with her that very week. The harsh truth was that he was never meant to stay at Ashdene Ridge as long as he had, and Jody was never supposed to get the idea that he would still be there until her last day in care.
As adulthood continued to draw ever closer, she'd concocted fantasies of the two of them leaving care together like Carmen and Tee albeit two years older (since young people could now stay in children's homes until they were eighteen) to go off to uni or whatever else but now it was abundantly clear to her that they were going to have to be more like Frank and his best friend Liam. Her hands stilled. From what she'd heard, Frank and Liam had fallen out precisely because their lives had gone in such different directions and it hadn't escaped her notice that the one who'd started ignoring the other was the one who'd left the other behind. While she wasn't completely without blood relatives and Tyler was going back to his mother rather than an older brother, the parallels still worried her.
To top that all off, it wasn't just their friendship she was concerned about. Following her break-up with Brandon, they'd come to an unspoken agreement to put the romantic aspect of their relationship on hold until they were old enough to leave care but now that he was leaving earlier than 'planned', she didn't know where they stood. Would they have to start dating right away? Would he be offended if they didn't, especially since the house rules against in-house dating would no longer be standing between them? Would she lose out on her chance to be with him if they didn't take that step now? Quite frankly, she wasn't sure that she was ready. She finally felt comfortable around him in a way she hadn't since she'd first discovered certain feelings, and she didn't want to disturb that newfound (or re-found?) comfort by prematurely advancing their relationship.
Punch!
This was all Sally's fault. Why couldn't she have met Kamal and settled down with him a few years later? Tyler had less than two and a half years left until he turned eighteen and left the care system anyway so what was the point of taking him back now? He'd spent two-thirds of his life in care and had grown accustomed to it; he wouldn't be able to adjust to a normal life, especially a new stepfather. After all, it was one thing to occasionally see one's stepdad but it was quite another to actually live with him. No, it simply wouldn't work. Tyler belonged at Ashdene Ridge with her and the others, not in a normal house with Sally and Kamal, and Sally had no business taking him away from her. Sally had Kamal. Why couldn't she just be content with him?
Jody suddenly froze in horror. What was she thinking? She usually had nothing but respect for her best friend's mother but her inner ramblings sounded so unkind that she felt as if she was thinking of an enemy. How self-absorbed could she be? Of course, Tyler belonged with Sally; she'd given him life, for God's sake, which was the very reason Jody had such a supportive and wonderful best friend in the first place. How could she even think of keeping him to herself the same way Millie did Luke? The reality was that he was Sally's son first and everything else second, and she had to accept that and support him every step of the way. It would be hard enough for him to leave Ashdene Ridge as it was; she didn't need to make it any more so by making him worry about her and her hurt feelings.
She delivered one last punch before removing her boxing gloves. That was quite enough for today. Besides, she had a feeling she'd be frequenting this place an awful lot over the next few weeks.
.:. QK .:.
After she got back home, Jody took her time changing out of her gym clothes and showering, preoccupied with figuring out how to put on a brave face until Tyler's departure (whenever that was). By the time she went downstairs in her PJs, she was surprised to see that everyone was bustling around in the kitchen, already getting ready for dinner—she'd apparently spent near an enough an hour upstairs.
Quietly taking a seat, she surveyed the faces of those around her and wondered how they all, bar the three guests, felt about Tyler leaving. Obviously, none of them were going to be as upset as her but Floss had known him nearly as long as she had and Ryan and Finn had known him for at least three years. Her eyes met his from across the table and she smiled weakly at him, realising that while the others would undoubtedly miss him, she would be the only one who'd have difficulty adjusting to his absence. Did that make her pathetic? Well, any more so than Bailey who'd brooded after Mo had gone back to live with his granddad or Carmen who'd cried upon Lily moving away from Pottiswood?
Jay sat down next to her, knocking her arm in the process and effectively interrupting her train of thoughts. "Oh sorry," he muttered, and she replied with an 'it's alright'. He turned to Floss who sat on his other side and started grumbling about a weirdo. Looking at the other end of the table, it wasn't too hard to guess who he was talking about. She sure hoped that their guests were as temporary as Mike and May-Li had claimed because she already remembered how annoying it was to have to squeeze thirteen people around one table or three in front of the breakfast bar every single meal time.
"So, do any of yous know a girl called Sasha?" asked Freya, their sole female guest, the moment Mike and May-Li left the kitchen.
Jody raised an eyebrow. She'd expected dinnertime conversation to centre around Tyler leaving, not around someone who'd already left. If they were even thinking of the same Sasha, that was. "Sasha who?"
"Sasha Bellman," the other girl answered with a sickeningly sweet smile. "She's not an easy one to forget, seeing as she's a dwarf."
Dwarf? The term wasn't considered one hundred per cent rude per se but it still left a bad taste in Jody's mouth; everyone around her had always referred to Sasha and others like her as 'small people'.
"Yeah, we all know her," Floss replied flatly. "Her and her brother went back home last year."
"Dex?" Freya asked, appearing to be surprised. "I didn't know he was in care as well."
"Dexter," Jody corrected, not liking how familiar this stranger seemed to be with the Bellmans. Sasha's last acquaintance from outside school had been a loser thief who'd let her down. "He was here for less than a year and he went home before Sasha. How do you know them anyway? Do you watch her vlogs or something?"
Freya chuckled. "I do, actually, but that's not how I know them. We were in the same children's home for a while."
"The same children's home or Secure?" Ryan spoke up.
"Ryan!" Chloe hissed.
He looked at her as if she was stupid. "What? We all know that Sasha was on her way to Secure when she came here."
"It's okay," Freya assured. "Yeah, I went to Secure. We were supposed to go there together, actually, but she got diverted here and I never saw her again."
Candi-Rose turned to her. "Why didn't you just visit her after she left care?"
Freya shrugged. "She moved house, didn't she? I mean, her mum moved in with her stepdad, right? I don't know where they all live."
"I could tell you!"
"You really shouldn't," Floss protested, making Candi-Rose frown.
"She's right," Jay added. "We can't just go around giving ex-cons confidential information like that. Who knows what she'll do with it?"
"Jay," Bird warned, shaking his head.
Jody glanced at Freya who had her eyes fixed on Jay and, for the briefest of moments, she could've sworn she saw a hint of malice in them. Shaking her head, she allowed her eyes to drift to Tyler who was picking at his food and wondered why no one had mentioned his leaving yet, especially since they were literally talking about departed ex-care kids. In fact, why hadn't he brought it up himself in an effort to quell the hostility around the table?
As dinner progressed, the conversation turned to a lighter, more mundane topic and by the end, it became abundantly clear to her that no one had spoken of Tyler's upcoming departure because no one else besides her actually knew about it. He hadn't told anyone. Why? He'd proudly blurted it out to everyone almost immediately the last time around. What was different this time?
Since he was conveniently on washing up duty that night, she hung around in the kitchen until everyone else left to either watch TV in the lounge or go to bed before confronting him.
"How come you haven't told anyone yet?" she inquired, getting straight to the point. "Is it because you think they'll act all weird and shady again?"
He sighed deeply, shaking his head. "Do you remember when you decided to come back to Elm Tree House? Do you remember what you told me afterwards, just before Gus got fostered?"
"Uhh, yeah," she responded after a pause, a little startled by his question. "I said I'd rather live with my Dumping Ground family than my real family. I didn't really mean Luke, just Mum and Kingsley, but yeah, that's what I said and I stand by it. I should've never let my guard down in front of Kingsley and Mum; I had the right idea the first time 'round." She suppressed a yawn, peering up at him. "How do you even remember that? It was ages ago."
"It just popped into my mind today," he answered, turning the tap off. "When I was in the office this morning, actually."
Maybe it was because she was tired after hours of excessive training at the gym but she was confused. Why had he recalled those words during a meeting where his Mum had asked him to move back in with her? "What are you saying, exactly? I don't understand."
"I'm saying—well, I guess what I'm saying is that maybe I don't want to leave."
She staggered backwards, his words hitting her at full force, and suddenly found herself growing angry. She would've given anything for her mother and eldest brother to be decent people she could see herself living with (along with Luke) but here Tyler was, talking about turning his loving and caring mother down for no good reason. Did he think being a care kid was fashionable or something?
"You can't be serious," she spat half-heartedly. Of course, he was. She could see it written all over his face: the honesty behind his words. "How could you even say something like that?!"
A/N: So, Freya's in this but only because I figured that she and the other two still would've passed through Ashdene Ridge if Sasha had moved out back in Series 6. Is it bad that I would've loved to see Freya vs Ryan? Interestingly enough, he was on her side until it became obvious that she was the culprit. I was disappointed that he wasn't able to see straight through her much earlier. He's supposed to be good at that stuff. If anything, he should've wanted to take her down because he'd feel threatened by another cunning being living in the same house as him, even temporarily.
Thanks for the reviews!
Charlie—Well, I don't think Jody and Alex's attachments were too weird, considering that he was with them for a couple of episodes in Series 5. I'm not quite sure how much time passes between each episode (I just have it down as usually one week in this fic) but I feel like he was with them for at least two weeks. After going off to find Alex with Kazima, I can definitely see him making phone calls without informing Dee.
Almost full circle? I'm guessing you'll consider it completely full circle when Jody either meets Millie or Luke breaks up with her?
yourfire—I'd already planned to skip Christmas altogether well before I read your review so there's no Christmas party, I'm afraid!
School is very rarely mentioned and the kids seem to be home all day on non-holiday weekdays (just look at the calendar in Utopia; theme park trip on a Tuesday/Wednesday, I believe) but rumour has it, there's a prom episode in Series 7B and Brandon and Piper (Tyler's boss' daughter who some fans think has a crush on him) will both appear in it, meaning that we might actually see a school! As for how I come up with these plans, I just think 'what would this character do?' while also trying to maintain a sense of realism. I am honoured that they remind you of the Tracy Beaker plans though I have to ask whether you mean TSOTB, TBR, or both.