So, three chapters left. And I was going to start this chapter already on Friday but with some events I couldn't because I didn't have my laptop with me where I was. Well that sounded weird… Anyway, moving onto this chapter. And hopefully you'll all like it.
Oh, and if anyone wants to see the towels that are explained in this chapter, and also the ones for the other characters. I made a polyvore that you can find in the collection for this story and the when- series. You've got the link to the collection on my profile.
A few hours later, when I had gotten on a pair of things that we had too bought today in form of galaxy printed sweatpants, a plain black hoodie and galaxy printed sneakers all the residents from Elm Tree House sat around the living room and in our arms we held each bath towel that we had gotten to buy each of from a store where they had gotten in truckloads of towels with different prints.
"Let's take a look at yours Soph." I unfolded mine, black with white polka dots, hearts, stars and peace- marks. "Nice one… Gus? Can you show us your new towel?" Tee was right now in charge of whom showed their towel next. And Gus held up his printed with Thomas the train. "I didn't know you liked Thomas!"
"I don't. It doesn't make any sense because trains can't speak. But I believe Stan thought it took too much time for me to choose because he just took it, gave it to me and said that was the one I had to get. What does your towel look like Tee?" Tee smiled and held up hers that was all blue and had "Hello Sunshine" written on it.
"Hello Sunshine." Mike read out loud as he came into the living room with Gina walking behind him and a paper in his hands. "And hello all of you guys. It has now been decided all of them who will come with us to Manor Hall House." He smirked as he sat down in the sofa and held the paper in front of him. "Of course all of you, I and Gina will be coming. And also Faiz, Alvaro and Magdi… and we have also called around to some old residents and people and…"
"Is Emma coming?"
"No Johnny. We did not call Emma. You know she lives too far away since she moved back to Sweden so that would be kind of hard so we didn't even call her." I had not an idea who Mike and Johnny were talking about.
"Who's Emma?" I, Shawn, Stan and Joe asked all on the same time.
"Emma Peterson used to live her before you came. She lived her from… June to… October I believe. But she was from Sweden so she decided to move back home. I had a phone call that she had gotten there safely but then I haven't heard anything else from her."
"Yeah and she and Johnny were together but then Johnny cheated on her with a girl in the same neighborhood as the foster home he and Tee were in for like five minutes." Mike scolded them to be talking like that, and I couldn't help but notice that Johnny seemed to be both ashamed, angry and somewhat sad. Even though I could tell he was trying to cover up for it and switched the subject.
"Speaking about Emma. How's Jess doing? And Jordan?"
I didn't have any idea of who Jess and Jordan were either. So I decided to not listen to much to what they were talking about as I didn't feel like I had anything to do with it. Mike answered that Jess was doing better, but for her privacy's sake he couldn't tell more than that.
I looked to Johnny and Tee for a little bit, so they had been in a foster family but been sent back? I had heard about that had happened to Johnny and Tee at least once before and… well since I came here a couple of months ago it had turned out to be a very common thing. It hadn't happened to anyone while I was here but I had heard stories about it.
I looked from Johnny and Tee to Stan and Joe. The twins were turning sixteen tomorrow, and it was well known here that when someone turned sixteen they would be thrown out of the care- system so they'd have to move on. And so it had been known that after we came back from Manor Hall House they would have to pack up their things and leave as soon as they could.
I looked down to the floor while the others were talking about Jess and Jordan and Emma and also it seemed like daddy Patzer's name was Jordon so Ivy was really charmed by the fact that someone that had just lived here had almost the same first name as her dad while Elias was listening to music and couldn't be taken contact with.
Maybe… I hadn't answered Faiz about if I wanted to move in with him or not yet. Maybe if I didn't- I would end up like Johnny and Tee, and having been sent into one foster home after a while and then sent back, or like Stan and Joe- and been living here until I couldn't anymore and I had to leave.
"Sophia? Sophia? Sophia?" Mike calling my name brought me back to reality and then turned back to his paper. "Okay, now when everyone's back here and nowhere else. The rest of the people that have been decided to come with us are Molli, Michael Jr. And Michael Sr. And Gina's daughter Mia. But we also decided on the fact that we needed to bring some more adults and so decided on George, Tracy and Cam. And those are everybody. I and Gina will decide who will be sharing room with who and we will decide so as many as possible will share with people they don't know too well."
The protests were wild! Everybody wanted to share with their best friends. But Mike had already made his decision and wouldn't change his mind about this.
"I am going to make sure all of the room- combinations are the best that they possibly could." Mike promised. "And well… Today is August the twenty sixth, that makes tomorrow Joe and Stan's birthday, and the day after that the day we're going to Manor Hall House. So I guess depending on how much you want to pack and all of that you might want to start today…"
"Oh please Mike." Carmen stated. "I started like a month ago." She laughed and Mike chuckled kindly and rubbed his head. "And who else have started?" Carmen glanced around the room, not being surprised or maybe she was when the only one that raised his hand was Joe. "Oh My…" there were a few spread chuckles in the room. But something else had caught my attention and I didn't mind to actually find out who were still laughing.
As soon as I possibly could, even though the others were still showing off their towels and what else they had been shopping for, I left the living room and went upstairs into my room. In a drawer in my dresser I had lying a big envelope full with all of the drawings and I took the envelope and walked up to the attic where I sat down on the floor and started putting the drawings out on the floor.
"Hey." I was just sitting there looking at all the drawings when the door opened and Tee came into the room. "Oh whoa… these are a lot of drawings." She sat down by the other side of the drawings I had put out and took the one I had done without even knowing of the picture I had seen the night that Adam and the children died. "Oh… You know you can for sure draw!"
"I can draw… Sophie could write, Luce could sing, Aaron could dance- well. He was four when he died but he could dance… I never were half as good as Sophie at writing and she couldn't draw a stickman without messing it up. But we'd always do it the best if we did it together… I'm sorry I don't know why I'm suddenly talking…" Tee gestured to me to go on. "We had plans that when we were adults, Aaron would have a show where he danced in front of a big screen where it would show drawings made by me, music that Sophie had written the lyrics too and we together had put melody on together all four. And it would be Luce singing."
"That was a good plan!" Tee stated after hesitating for a few seconds. "That was a good plan!"
I hesitated, laid my legs crossed in front of me and glanced over the drawings again. One of the drawings had a picture of a girl that looked like Sophie and I that held a mirror- but in fact she wasn't holding a mirror but only an empty frame. And she was looking not into her own eyes in the mirror but into the eyes of her identical twin.
I put that drawing to the side and took up another one, that had been made out of a picture I had in my memory of Faiz and dad standing talking, Faiz was laughing at something dad just said and mum was standing with some barbecue things….
"Forgive me for saying this Tee but… I don't want to be like you and Johnny that have been sent into a foster home and then back into care God knows how many times…" She gestured to let me know it was okay. "And I don't want to be like the twins and having lived in care since this summer until I don't have a choice and have to leave…" I looked down on Faiz's face on the drawing that I had done my best to make as realistic as possible. "Tee… I think I have made up my mind about what I want to do with this that Faiz wanted to foster me!"
I collected all of the drawings that I had put around on the floor and put them back in the envelope and went downstairs to talk to Mike. It was only that with how much he was planning and fixing for Stan and Joe's birthday and me never saying right out what it was that I had actually decided I didn't get one chance to tell him during the whole night.
And the next day was for Stan and Joe. I couldn't do it then!
Joe POV
"Happy birthday dear." I had barely even gotten out of bed in the morning when Zachariah stood outside the dumping ground's front door and I stood in tonight's sleepwear and opened the door. "And…. What are you wearing? Swimming shorts and a shirt that looks like a hamburger." He snorted with laughter.
"I just came out of bed and all of the things I usually wear for sleeping was in the laundry okay?" Zachariah snorted with laughter again. "Okay. Look who's talking! Backpackboy!" Zachariah had a black and red backpack he was always carrying that was covered in pins for LGBT- rights as well. And now he was laughing again- oh that sound still made me feel all weak in the knees.
"Happy birthday Stan." Zachariah greeted my twin brother whom of course had the same birthday as I did. "I'm sorry I don't have a present for you Stan but I do however have one for you…" Zachariah pulled out a wrapped present from his bag and handed it to me. "… Happy birthday honey." Zachariah had the biggest, silliest and cutest smile ever on his lips.
I slowly unwrapped the silly, princess- patterned wrapping paper and unfolded the shirt I found inside. A T-shirt with three quarter's sleeves, white and black with a text- print that I read out loud from to the others.
"I love my nerdy boyfriend. Aw, yes that I do." Zachariah smiled even bigger and walked closer to kiss me. "Ehrm, Zachariah. There are children here… I don't think Mike would appreciate if we did this in front of them." I glanced towards Ivy who stood in the hallway watching us with big eyes- I could guess that she had never seen anyone kissing before.
I grabbed Zachariah by his hood and pulled him with me up the stairs, through the hallway and into mine and Stan's room. When I closed the door after us I could hear the others make sounds about what I and Zachariah would be doing but for once in her life it seemed like Ivy Patzer was completely silent.
"What are you…" Zachariah started, but I didn't let him finish his question before I grabbed the front of his hoodie, leaned closer and kissed him. Hard and for I don't know how long.
I could have stayed like that forever! Just I, my boyfriend Zachariah and nothing and no one else in the whole wide world. But of course- we had to let go and lean out of each other's touch silent and kind of out of breath.
"That was…" Zachariah panted. "… awesome!"
"It was." I agreed, and leaned in again. But didn't have the time to do anything else before Mike knocked on the door and stated that this wasn't what should be done in a children's home so we backed away again and I opened the door to see Mike standing there with a quite impressed look on his face while my twin brother looked mostly puzzled and questioning.
"Joe… Jody and Tee have got presents for you downstairs and I think they're waiting for you to come downstairs for them to give those presents to you." Mike told me. I nodded and walked into my room again, and grabbed a pair of casual jeans and a T- shirt so I could change into usual clothes before I went downstairs.
"Oh that's better." Zachariah smiled when I came into my and Stan's room after changing my clothes. "Oh and if you'd ever show up at school in that hamburger- shirt. I don't know you, okay?" I laughed slightly but Stan agreed, and Stan and I looked exactly alike so that would be kind of hard. Wouldn't it?
I, Stan and Zachariah left the extra clothes and Zachariah's backpack in our room and then headed for downstairs to check what it was that Jody and Tee had thought of for this time, we wouldn't have to wonder for long though. Because the first thing I spotted coming into the kitchen was two presents- one medium sized and one small one lying on the kitchen island only waiting to be opened.
"The big one's from me and the small one is from Tee… oh that rhymed!" Jody stated and I jumped up to sit on the bench and took the big one onto my lap as I knew that Tee could wait for longer before she went mad and crazy from waiting than what Jody could so I might as well open the one from Jody first. Even though I opened it very slowly and before I had had the time to open the pieces of tape and unwrapped the paper Jody was jumping where she stood while I unfolded the second shirt I had had today.
"I can't even think straight." I read out loud from the print- that had one word written in rainbow pattern. "Oh, thank you Jody. This is perfect." Not minding about who saw- they'd see me without shirt at Manor Hall House when swimming anyway so… I pulled my old T- shirt off and pulled the one from Jody on. "Oh this is perfect. Thank you Jodes."
"Now open the one from me." Tee seemed excited to see what I would think about the one from her and if I knew her right she had made something herself and I slowly unwrapped the paper to find a small, hand- made box that I lifted the lid off to find a wristband made in black and rainbow- patterned of rainbow loom bands and I pulled it over my hand to find that it suited my wrist perfectly.
"This is perfect. Thank you Tee." She gestured that it was actually nothing and I pulled up my cellphone out of my pocket and put up Facebook. "I wrote something on Facebook last night but never posted it. I meant to do that now and today." I looked up and so read out loud what I had written for everybody to know. "I guessed that today would be the best day" I stated at first. "Since many of my friends will get on my profile to wish me happy birthday and I'll pin it to get it on top oh well… here we go."
There is this something that the people that I live together with and other people close to me have known for a little while now that I am now choosing to come out and tell everyone I know. And that is the fact that I like boys.
I am gay, and I am lucky enough to call Zachariah Smith my boyfriend.
I looked up again. No one said anything, but Stan had a weird look on his face and at last took a deep breath in and decided to come right out and ask me the question I had just waited for him to ask.
"Joe, when you came out to me you said you were in love with Marc Eden. But that must have been around the same time as you got together with Zachariah…" Stan stopped talking and raised an eyebrow at me. While Zachariah who I hadn't told him about how I came out to Stan and why looked hurt.
"Explanation please…" Stan and Zachariah had gotten to know each other quite well and maybe it was because they were so different they could be such great friends. And even though Stan was who he was one thing that he couldn't accept was someone hurting his friends without a very good reason.
"Zachie… Don't worry, I've never been in love with Marc Eden, and I never will be. Stan… When I came out to you I almost told you that I was in love with Zachariah but… only you were so angry and so … violent right then I was afraid that you'd go right out and punch whoever I was in love with in the face and Marc was the only one I could think of would be big and strong enough to be able to defend himself if you would do that." The room fell silent for another few seconds while everyone were looking at me and Zachariah and Stan seemed to be wondering about what to say next.
"So you're not in love with Marc who is sporty and muscular and…" Zachariah could have gone on but I interrupted.
"That sporty- guy- ness doesn't talk to me. I like my boyfriend more nerdy and cute and…" Zachariah smiled when he realized I was talking about him and peered with his eyes in that way that too made me feel all weak in the knees- well too good I was sitting down because that might also have been that I was nervous about what Stan might say about all of this next.
Stan was silent and hadn't spoken for good two minutes when he looked up at me with a serious expression on his face.
"Can you promise me one thing Joe?" His voice sounded weirdly serious as well. "No matter what happens in the future. You can always trust me okay? No matter what happens, and no matter how angry or whatever I will be you… you will still be my bro!" He held out his fist and I hit it with mine, not minding about some of the girls seeming like they thought this was super- adorable!
"Now… if you two 'bros' are done…" Mike stepped in. "We have got one more birthday present for you Joe." I looked around. "Well… we couldn't wrap it but… we were wondering… what you would say if we would bring one more person to Manor Hall House" Mike nodded slightly towards Zachariah and my chin dropped.
For real?
"AAAAAH" I jumped down from the bench screaming wordlessly with happiness. "AAAAAAH" I took Zachariah's hands and started dancing around. "AA… wait… Does Zachie want to come too?" I had been so happy I hadn't really noticed that Zachariah didn't seem too sure about what to answer and just as surprised as I felt.
"Well… let's ask him shall we. Zachariah do you want to come with us to Manor Hall House?" Mike showed Zachie a flier he had about Elizabeth's place. "From tomorrow and for a week." Zachariah frowned while he looked to the flier and for a moment I was afraid he would answer no and I would have to spend a week away from my boyfriend.
But so he looked up with a kind of mischievous look in his eyes
"Are you kidding, I've got eight younger siblings and the youngest- whose name by the way is Elizabeth too screams all night ever night. Are we leaving yet?" Mike smiled and high- fived him. "Wait? Tomorrow? Joe come on I need you to come and help me choose what to bring…" Before I had had the time to protest Zachariah had grabbed my hand and pulled me through the house to get his backpack and then down the street towards his house.
"Oh and by the way." Zachariah turned around on his porch steps. "My oldest younger sister, Kristina. She's PMS'ing. She's a bit scary right now but as long as you don't do anything to piss her off she's harmless."
"Oh come on Zachie… wasn't it you who too have something like PMS once a month and was pissed last week?" Zachie knew I was speaking the truth but still shrugged and hesitated. "There is no way she can be any scarier than that!"
So that's it. Two chapters left. And in the next chapter they will leave for Manor Hall House, and some time before they leave to go back to the dumping ground it will come out what happened to Luce.