Going the Distance

chapter 2

I sat on my bed, quietly looking through scrapbooks from the past. The pictures help fill some of that empty space from having lost both of my parents, who died six years apart from one another after being stabbed. Being alone in my bedroom makes me happy, not only is it my own, but it 's smell is amazing. It makes me feel as though I'm floatingdown a river with fresh roses swirling around me in the current. I also love the vibrant orange painted walls that seem to rap around you like a friend's hug. The only objects in my bedroom are two books, a lamp, night stand, bed, and tote for my clothes since there wasn't room for a dresser. I try my hardest to keep this small bedroom clean, but sometimes carelessness takes over, and it becomes messy.

I was awaken from my daze when there was a loud knock on the door, and then it was opened promptly afterward.

"what do you need joey?" I asked in a calm tone although I was slightly annoyed at how he came in. Joey is like the little brother I never had, his big eyes looked up at me happily as though the world was perfect.

"Mommy and Daddy want you to make cookies," he said loudly, but in a hushed tone continued, "can you let me lickthe batter off the spoon when you are done?"

I smiled, he loved to lick the spoon when I was done with it, sometimes I wondered if cookie batter actually did taste good, I had never tried it because I either washed the spoon or snuck it to him when iwas done using it.

"Sure, since you have been very good at minding you're manners lately," but with a slightly stern tone added, " I think we need to review the entering manners again."

"Thank you Mary, I will work harder on my entrances too!"

After he left I laughed to myself he was so grateful and didn't mind learning manners much for a 6-year-old. He had lived at the foster home since he was three, nobody wanted him because he had been diagnosed with bone cancer, and was only expected to live until the age of 7. I will miss him dearly when he goes, I just wish he could have a family who would love him in those final days. Nobody wanted a boy that would die soon, he only had 3 or 4 months left.

I decided to go ahead and start making the cookies, they are chocolate chip, my favorite. After getting out all of the ingredients I decided to give the oven time to preheat while I visited with Jake. I'd had a crush on him ever since I arrived at the home, and I think he kind of likes me too.

When I arrived at his bedroom door, I could hear music blaring out of his speakers. I hesitated before knocking loud music usually means he is angry.

"What do you want!" he shouted

"It's Mary, may I come in Jake?" I replied

"Sure," he said turning off the music and opening the door.

There were dark circles under his eyes, and I spotted a long cut down the side of his face.

He must of meant to cover the cut before I came in because I heard him quietly curse himself under his breath. "It is nothing, just a little cut," he reassured me in a shaky voice. That is when I spotted the beer bottles, he must have been out drinking last night and gotten into a fight. How could he do that he was to young to be drinking, and it always brought out the bad side in him.

"You were drinking again weren't you!" I shouted, "You're only 15, my age and I don't go around drinking and getting in fights."

"You don't understand why I do what I do, you haven't seen what I've seen, you have no right whatsoever to judge me."Jake said in a hushed tone.

"You are such a jerk," I said before leaving. I turned off the oven and retreated to my bedroom. I decided to go back and make the cookies for Joey' s sake though. How could I have even thought that I liked him, he did nothing but drink and get in fights? I knew he had a sweet side but he sometimes would suffer from depression which caused him to rage.

This is how life for me went at the foster home everyday, sweet Joey, sweet and sometimes angry Jake, and me always seeming to get caught in the middle of things. I would keep Jake's secret, but I was unsure if I still had feelings for him. I always ended up talking to him and he would say he was sorry, and then I would fall in love again.

* 25 minutes later *

I decided to go get Joey because I heard the timer on the oven go off.When I knocked on the door there was no answer, how odd I thought to myself. I heard I a loud thud, so I opened the door, Joey was having a seizure and there was a lot of blood on the floor beside him.