The One Who Ran Away

Chapter Five

Jo shot straight up into the air with a jolt. She looked around the room wildly, her hands up ready to attack. Her room was empty, the glowing numbers from her clock illuminated the room in an eerie green glow. Shadows stretched across her wall, making her nervous.

A banging noise knocked her out of her thoughts. It came from somewhere in the house, somewhere near the door.

Jo rubbed her hands over her face, angry with herself. She hadn't planned on falling asleep. A glance at her clock told her it was almost five in the morning. Cyrene was supposed to be home an hour ago.

Jo flipped the covers off her body revealing little, red shorts and a large t-shirt that had been her father's. She stumbled out of the bed and made her way towards the door, convinced Cyrene was finally home because of all the banging. She was either raiding the house for booze, which Jo had hidden earlier, or she had brought a man home. Jo sincerely hoped it was the former.

A groan came from the kitchen, not helping her confirm her guess. Jo marched into the kitchen, prepared for the worst. Inside, she saw Cyrene, tottering around on her heels, searching through cabinets and slamming them shut with a groan when there was no booze housed in them. A tall, dark skinned man was struggling to sit upright in a tall chair around the counter. His dark hair was tousled and he had large bags under his bloodshot eyes. He was wasted.

"Babe, you got a joint around this place?" he asked in a smooth, drawling voice. He sounded like Fat Tony from the Simpsons. Jo sneered at him.

"What is he doing here?" Jo suddenly spoke up. Her sudden appearance caused the man to actually fall of his chair with a loud thud and Cyrene to spin around on her heels so fast she had to clutch the counter to keep from toppling over.

"Josie! I didn't know you were up! Did we wake you? I'm sorry, sweetie. Derek, this is my daughter Jo. Jo, this is Derek," Cyrene managed to spit out. There was quite a lot of giggling and hiccuping but Jo was used to this speech by now.

"Hey, Jo baby! Nice to-" He belched loudly. "meet you," he struggled to say. Jo's nose scrunched up in disgust while Cyrene giggled like a school girl. She helped him sit up and they both fell to the floor in a heap. Jo watched as Derek slid a hand up the back of Cyrene's dress and Cyrene cooed and pet his chest through the opening of his shirt.

"Get up," Jo growled, "And get the hell out of my house." Derek and Cyrene froze in place. They looked up at her, as though they had forgotten her existence.

"Josie! Don't speak to Derek that way! She's sorry, Derek, baby, she's a troubled kid," Cyrene started to tell him. Jo had had enough. She stalked around the counter and ripped the pair apart. She pulled Cyrene to her feet and pushed her against the wall. Then, she gripped Derek's arm and hauled him off his butt. She pushed him towards the door.

"I suggest you get out. Right. Now." Jo glared at him and he held up his hands in surrender.

"See you later, Cyrene baby," he blew her a kiss as he left. The door shut with a slam that made Jo flinch as she heard a sob come from Patrick's room. Cyrene turned to glare at Jo.

"What did you do that for?"

"He has no business here."

"He's a friend! He came home for some extra drinks and to get to know me," Cyrene wailed. Jo rolled her eyes.

"The only thing he wanted to know was what you had under that dress."

"So what? I liked him..." Cyrene trailed off and Jo saw instantly what she meant.

"Oh no. Don't you ever bring him back here!" Jo shouted at her step-mother.

"You're not the boss of me! I'm the boss of you! Now go to your room!" Cyrene shouted. She started rummaging through her purse for something. Jo watched in dismay as she pulled a joint from her purse. As far as she knew, Cyrene had never done drugs before, at least not at home. This was the first time she had brought drugs into their house.