Chapter 13
John: The past three weeks have been strange. Jodi ran away from her foster home and fractured her ankle. She went back to stay with Bob and Jemima and I was finally moved back with her. She gets her cast off next week but until then she's on crutches.
Jodi: It was a Friday. John and I sat in the lounge, just talking after a day in school. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It was our social worker. She came in to speak to us. She explained that neither mom or dad were charged when they were arrested, so they've been back home for weeks now. She went on to say that our dad was seeking help with drugs and alcohol and that our home has been assessed. She said she would take us back home tomorrow, permanently.
I didn't know how to feel about it. I was glad to get away from Jemima and Bob, but I didn't want dad to start beating us again. I didn't believe that he's changed. Men like him never change.
John: This social worker didn't waste any time; 9am the next day she was driving us home. I was sat in the front passenger seat with Jodi sat behind me. We were nearly home and she hadn't said a word all the way. I reached my right hand back and tapped her knee. I could see her in the mirror; she held my hand and I squeezed it gently, making her smile. I hope she's alright. She must be thinking the same as me. As soon as we go back home things will be exactly like they were before.
Jodi: John entered the house first, followed by me on my crutches with the social worker behind me. Mom and dad were sat in the lounge, waiting for us. They both stood up when they saw us. Mom came running towards me.
"Oh Jodi! What on earth happened to your leg?!" Her voice was filled with fake concern. John could sense it too, but our social worker was none the wiser.
"I fell." I muttered.
"Okay well I'll just leave you guys to catch up, goodbye!" Our social worker said as she left. Great. We're alone.
Mom and dad sat back down. "Johnny boy! Get me a beer yeah?!" Dad shouted. Reluctantly, John handed him a beer from the fridge. I noticed there was actually some food in the fridge for once. This then made me realise that the house had been cleaned. Wow, they really made an effort to get us back. Not because they want us though, probably because they don't want us to tell everyone what they do to us.
John and I kept our heads down around the house for a few weeks. Dad had some dodgy job that made him work strange hours so we could never judge when he would be home. John was also working quite a bit; I suppose it gave him an excuse to get out of the house. Andy came over quite a lot too, usually through my bedroom window. He even took me to go get my cast off; my leg had healed fine.
School was boring as usual. John and I had both had a few detentions each, some together. But neither of them had been as good as that time when Andy, Claire and Brian snuck into school to see us. We had all been hanging around a lot more recently since our midterms were over. Brian and I aced ours, Claire and Andy got mainly Bs, and John and Allison just about managed to pass the majority of theirs.
Next week is my birthday, and John's of course. I'll be 16, John will be 18 and a few days later Andy will turn 17. Since all three of our birthdays are close together, we've planned to go camping the weekend after, which just so happens to be the start of spring break.
We had everything planned. Andy was going to borrow his dad's car and take us all camping straight after school the day after his birthday. We would drive out until we got fed up, and then pick a spot to camp. We would camp for about two weeks unless we decide to come home early. It's going to be great.