To Belong | Protector 5.25

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

       School went by even slower once I got the text. My mind just couldn't get away from it, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. I even tried sleeping in class, but I couldn't fall asleep. I didn't want to believe the text was true but knowing them, it was.

       I didn't even know if I should tell anyone about it. I could try ignore it. Block the number so they wouldn't get in contact with me.

       In the end, I decided it was probably best if I didn't keep it a secret. I wasn't alone in the world anymore. I had a loving family and an annoying but supportive boyfriend. They would be able to help me with this. They probably knew better about what to do than I did.

       Nolan and Jerome were definitely the first people I had to tell. It wouldn't be fair to keep it a secret from them, let alone have them find out from someone else about it. Not after everything they had done for me.

       As soon as I got home after school, I waited for my siblings to be away from Nolan and Jerome before I could talk to them. It didn't take too long; most of them went up to their room. Kingsley was the only one who left right away after dropping me and Anuhea off.

       Nolan and Jerome were in the kitchen, like most of the time whenever we got home from school. Nolan was usually making a snack or working on a book while he was eating, and Jerome was usually there just to bug Nolan.

       I got to the kitchen and sat down on one of the stools at the counter. "Can I... talk to you about something?"

       "Ooh, sounds interesting," Jerome said.

       Nolan sighed. "Jerome, please don't use our children's personal life as entertainment. That's what TV is for."

       "I'm not using it as entertainment," Jerome said. "I just said it sounds interesting since the last time Arjun wanted to talk to us like this, he was questioning whether or not he's madly in love with Webster."

       "That kind of does sound like you're using it as entertainment," Nolan said.

       "Can I talk now?" I asked. "It's... really important."

       "Sorry, go ahead," Jerome said.

       Not knowing how to bring it up, I take my cell phone out of my pocket and opened up the text message I received. I slid the phone across the counter so my parents could look at the message. "I... got this during lunch," I said. "I thought I could just ignore it, but... Obviously that's not something I can ignore. I thought... I thought they were in prison."

       "They should be," Jerome said. "And you definitely should have been notified if they were released. I'll go call Nova. See if she could figure this out." Dad left the kitchen to have more quiet when he was on the phone.

       "Do you... Do you think this is a prank?" I asked. "Because Papa is right. I should have been notified that they were released and there's no way Nova knows and decided to withhold that information and--"

       "Arjun," Nolan interrupted. "Just take a deep breath. We'll wait until we figure out for sure if they're out." I took some deep breaths as Nolan continued. "I don't want to scare you, but I don't think this is a prank. I mean, who exactly knows about your Neeta and Sujan?"

       I was able to breathe a bit better, so I said, "Just you guys. And Webster. But Webster obviously wouldn't do that. And he was with me when I got the text message, so..."

       Jerome walked back into the kitchen. "Nova wasn't told about it either, so she's going to get in contact with the police or someone to find out. She said it might take a while.

       I nodded. "Okay. I'll just... try to get some homework done, I guess."

       I didn't feel like being alone in my room while I did my homework, so I brought it to the kitchen to work on it. Besides, maybe Nolan would be able to help me with it if I got too stuck. I might even use Webster's weird technique about looking up the book and just making up things as I go along.

       I couldn't even focus on my assignment, though. I was too anxious waiting for the phone call to figure out if my birth parents were truly released from prison. I couldn't think of any other explanation for the text message. It couldn't have been a prank. The only people who knew what I went through with my birth parents would never pull a prank like this.

       No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't focus on my homework. I was probably just going to have to try after I got the news. Though if it was the news I thought it was going to be, I wouldn't be able to focus on it afterwards.

       It wasn't even until Nolan started cooking dinner for everyone that Jerome got the phone call from Nova. This time, he didn't leave the kitchen to take the phone call. He knew I would get even more anxious if he didn't answer it around me, so he let me listen in on it. Or at the very least, listen in on his side of the conversation.

       And judging by how it was going, the news wasn't good.

      Jerome hung up the phone with a heavy sigh before looking at me. "I'm sorry, Arjun. They were released from prison. But Nova is already getting a restraining order. In the meantime, block that number, okay? We'll even get you a new one tomorrow if that will make you feel more comfortable."

       I nodded before placing my face in my hands. "I thought I was done with them when they were arrested the second time."

       "Hey," Nolan said softly. "You are done with them. Once the restraining order goes through, they're not going to be able to go near you. And you don't have to worry about the foster system putting you back in with them. You're out of the foster system now, remember?"

       I took a deep breath before moving my hands away from my face. "Yeah. It's just... Not an easy thing to forget. Can I stay home from school tomorrow? This assignment is due then and I don't think I'll be able to finish it tonight."

       "Yeah, of course," Jerome said. "We'll call the school tomorrow morning to let them know you're staying home."

       I smiled my thanks before gathering my stuff and deciding to go upstairs. Maybe I should just take a nap before dinner. See if all this anxiety and pain would go away by the time I woke up.

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jerome and nolan are already grabbing the shovels :D honestly, the whole family will probably grab the shovels once they hear what's going on.

i'll join them oops