Chapter Ten!

Ronnie couldn't believe how quickly her first month with the Camdens passed by. She had started going to a new high school, beginning her mornings by having a quick breakfast with whoever had answered the early call of their alarm clocks, and getting into a car with Lucy and Simon, while Eric drove the teens to the high school on his way to the church. Ronnie was finding it easier to make friends now that she felt better about herself, and she soon found herself included in small circle of friends who accepted her for who she was, and Ronnie enjoyed hanging out with them.

It had only taken Ronnie a couple of weeks to completely heal from the gunshot wound. She no longer required antibiotics, but there was still a scar that would always stay with her; a constant reminder of what had been done to her, but she knew she didn't have to deal with the inner pain of what had happened alone. She felt she had grown closer to every member of the Camden family, allowing herself to talk to Eric and Annie about the fear she had about her parents ever coming back and about how guilty she sometimes felt about the fact that if her parents were ever caught, they would most likely go to jail. The police still hadn't found Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, but they were still looking.

It hadn't taken long after Ronnie had moved in with the Camdens for the adoption to be finalized either. Only two weeks after Ronnie had moved in, Alice called the Camdens and announced the adoption would become final once Eric and Annie signed a legal document. They had both gone down to city hall with Ronnie and signed the papers, making Ronnie an official member of their family.


Ronnie waited outside of the high school on a warm Friday afternoon for Lucy and Simon to come out. She sat on the stone steps patiently, when finally, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Lucy smiling at her.

"Oh hi Lucy." Ronnie smiled back. Lucy sat down next to her.

"Why are you always the first one out? One of these days I'm going to beat you." She joked.

"Oh I didn't realize it was a race. In that case, do I win some sort of prize?" Ronnie asked with a grin. Lucy pushed Ronnie gently and Simon finally appeared too. Soon afterward, Eric Camden pulled up and the three teens ran to the car to go home.

They arrived home and Ronnie went outside in the backyard to practice some basketball. She wanted to join her high school basketball team, just like Mary did in high school, but she needed to do some practising before she was ready to be on a team. Mary had been coaching her on and off for the last couple of weeks, and Ronnie was improving, but Annie still recommended taking it easy, being the overprotective mother she was.

"Still practising hard I see." Mary commented as she stood in the door frame leading out to the backyard. Ronnie jumped, not knowing anybody had even been watching her. Ronnie smiled and sighed out loud.

"You scared me half to death Mary." She said as she hurled the basketball at her. Mary caught it with a smirk and threw it in the net, making a clean basket.

"You're getting better." Mary complimented as she sat down at the picnic table. Ronnie smiled and joined her.

"You think so? I thought I was getting worse." She said as she sat next to Mary. Mary shook her head.

"There's no possible way you're getting worse, trust me. I honestly think you're ready for the team." She said with a proud smile.

"Really?" Ronnie said excitedly as Mary nodded.

"Of course, it's a little late in the year now to start, but the coach at your school is really good. When he finds out you're a Camden, he'll want you on the team for sure. He remembers me." Mary said modestly. Ronnie smiled and hit her gently.

"Don't let it go to your head." She giggled.

Matt arrived at the Camden household that evening for dinner. He brought a large box of pepperoni pizza for the family and they all sat around the dining room table, digging in. Each of the Camdens had stories to tell about their days at school, or at work, or at home. Dinner was always the time when the family was the most chatty. Especially when Matt came over to visit because it was a special occasion when the whole family was together again. Ronnie had never told anybody, but she loved dinner with the Camdens. They were interested in her life, in her activities, in her social life. Ronnie was so happy they wanted to know about her life. Her parents had never asked her about her life; they never showed an interest, but the Camdens did and Ronnie felt so blessed. She loved to hear about everybody else's lives too; it made her truly feel like a part of the family.

"I got an A+ on my science test today." Simon shared as he stuffed a large piece of pizza into his mouth.

"Oh Simon that's wonderful! I told you if you studied hard, you would do great!" Annie cheered. Simon nodded.

"It paid off because I did study hard. Really hard. Ronnie helped me though. She asked me questions from my textbook so I could review what I studied." He explained. Ronnie blushed and Annie smiled.

"Well that was very nice of you Ronnie." Annie commented.

"So now I owe Ronnie. I told her next time she has a test, I'll help her study." Simon said.

"Except she's a grade ahead of you. You won't understand half the stuff she's studying." Lucy pointed out. Simon shrugged.

"I'm pretty smart; I might be able to figure it out." He said modestly.

"Maybe you should deflate that ego a little." Matt laughed and the rest of the family joined him.

"Well, congratulations Simon. You are very smart and we're proud of you." Eric said as he patted his son on the back.

The family spent the evening playing Twister. Matt hung around, since it was Friday and he planned to spend the weekend at home with his family. After the tenth round, everybody got up and stretched.

"I think I pulled a muscle." Eric commented as he held his leg. Everybody laughed.

"Maybe you're just getting too old for this game, dad." Mary said with a giggle. Eric glared at her.

"Alright, who wants some ice cream?" Annie asked.

"I do!" Sam and David said at the same time.

"Okay, let's go." Annie took their hands and led them into the kitchen.

"I'm actually going to go work on some homework, if you don't mind." Ronnie said as the family headed to the kitchen.

"Ronnie, it's only Friday. You have the whole weekend." Simon said as he narrowed his eyebrows.

"I know, but I have a lot. I have to start writing an essay for English. It's probably going to take me all weekend to finish. Plus I have other homework, so I should start now." Ronnie explained.

"Alright, well there's lots of ice cream if you want to come down later." Annie said as everybody disappeared into the kitchen. Ronnie headed up to her bedroom. She turned on her radio as she entered the room, liking to listen to music as she worked. She sprawled out on the floor, pulling out her math textbook, wanting to get that out of the way first. She sighed as she stared at the long figures in front of her. I hate math. She thought to herself as she pulled out her calculator. I wish I was as smart as Simon was.

She spent an hour doing homework, struggling to keep her eyes open as boredom set in. Her favourite song had just finished playing on the radio and the radio DJ announced the evening news would be coming on next. Ronnie shrugged.

"I could take a little break and listen to the news." She said to herself as she leaned up against her dresser, waiting for the commercial to end. She sometimes liked to listen to the news to know what was happening in Glen Oaks, but when the news anchor began talking, Ronnie felt her stomach sink.

"In the news this hour, it has been reported that Troy and Allison Jenkins, wanted criminals who have been charged with the attempted murder of their 15-year-old daughter, have been found. The police were called when the couple was spotted outside of their home on Oakdale Drive, shouting at each other loudly. Witnesses report the shouting progressed until Troy Jenkins pulled out a gun and shot his wife, and then pulled the gun on himself. Paramedics are on the scene of the crime right now, working hard to save the Jenkins and proceed to take them into custody where they will be charged with attempted murder. That is, if they even survive." Ronnie felt her heart in her throat as she turned off her radio quickly and stood up, not even knowing what she should do. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Her parents had been found but were now fighting for their lives. This is all my fault. Ronnie thought as her heart raced faster and faster with every second that passed. Impulsively, she grabbed a sweater and ran from her bedroom.


Eric took Simon, Ruthie and the twins out for a walk after they all had their ice cream. Matt, Mary, Lucy and Annie began cleaning up the kitchen from the ice cream mess.

"I wonder how Ronnie's homework is going." Annie wondered as she rinsed the cloth in the sink.

"Well she's been up there for a while now. About an hour now. I guess she must have had a lot of homework." Lucy pointed out. The others nodded.

"Hey do you guys mind if I turn on the radio? I want to hear the news." Matt said as he flipped on the radio switch in the kitchen.

"An update on Troy and Allison Jenkins. 15 minutes ago, I announced they had been found shouting outside their home when Troy Jenkins shot his wife and then shot himself. Paramedics are still trying to save them but from what I am told, it looks hopeless at this point." The news anchor said only fifteen minutes after Ronnie had heard the same news. Mary, Lucy and Matt all stared at their mother with worry in their eyes.

"Aren't those her parents?" Lucy asked with wide eyes. Annie felt her stomach drop as she knew they were.

"Yes, they are." She replied quietly, feeling more pain for this poor young girl who had been through so much already.

"She should know mom." Matt said after a moment of silence. "She should know what's going on. You told me she keeps asking if they've found her parents; I think she needs to know."

"I know; you're right. I'll have to go tell her." Annie said and she walked up the stairs, leaving Mary, Lucy and Matt alone.

"I can't even begin to imagine what sort of man this Troy must have been. To try to kill his daughter and then shoot his wife and them himself. Ronnie didn't deserve a father like that." Matt said as he sat at the table. His two sisters joined him.

"I know; she deserves so much better. She's a great person. Her mother was the same way though. Maybe she didn't shoot her, but from what Ronnie has told us, she stood by and let it happen. Ronnie didn't deserve to have parents like she did. I'm just so glad she's with us now." Mary replied as her heart went out to this girl.

"How do you think she's going to react when she knows her parents are fighting for their lives?" Lucy asked.

"If you ask me, I think it's for the best. For all we know, Ronnie might not be safe if they were still out there." Matt replied as he crossed his arms.

"You're not saying you're wishing people dead, are you?" Lucy asked, staring hard at her older brother. Matt sighed and shook his head.

"No, I'm not hoping they'll die, but they definitely have no place in that kid's life. What they did was wrong and they deserve to pay for what they did." He said and before the girls could say another word, Annie came running down the stairs. Matt, Mary and Lucy immediately knew something was wrong.

"Mom?" Matt could see the fear and the tears in his mother's eyes and knew something was wrong with Ronnie.

"She's already gone. Her radio was on the same station. She's already heard what happened and now she's gone." Annie said as she shook with worry.

"She's gone? Where would she go?" Lucy asked, her voice raising a little.

"Where do you think she would go? You know she's felt guilty about her parents since they became wanted criminals. She probably heard the newscast and went back to her old house to see them for herself." Mary replied as she stared at each member of her family.

"We have to go get her." Annie said as a tear rolled down her cheek. "She shouldn't be alone as she deals with this."

"I'll go mom. You should stay here and let dad know what's happening when he comes home with the rest of the family. Besides, Sam and David will want you to tuck them in." Matt offered as he grabbed his car keys. Annie nodded slowly and then stood up.

"Alright, you go. The address is 54 Oakdale Drive. Please bring her home right away so I can talk to her. She needs a mother right now. She needs to know she isn't alone." Annie was crying as she spoke to her oldest son. "Oh and Matt, bring her jacket. It's getting really cold outside." Matt nodded and gave his mom a kiss.

"It will be okay. She'll be okay; I'll bring her home." He said as he started heading out.

"I'm going with you." Mary spoke up as she grabbed her coat as well as Ronnie's and followed Matt out the door, leaving Annie and Lucy together to pray for Ronnie.