The One Who Ran Away

Chapter Six

The rest of the week went remarkably similar to the first few days. Jo got hardly any sleep waiting up for her drunken step-mother and Patrick grew restless with his mom gone most of the time. Jo had blown up on Cyrene when she found out she was locking Patrick in his room during the day and letting him out when she knew Jo would be home. Jo quickly realized that Ricky was being malnourished as well. The stress weighed heavily on her shoulders.

On Friday, she was called down to the office during lunch. The occupants of the lunch table shot her puzzled looks, but Jo, just as confused, shrugged and headed for the office.

"Your mother called, Ms. Josephine," the greying receptionist said when Jo opened the office door. "You're being excused for the rest of the day. Your mother says to come straight home immediately."

"She's not my mother," Jo grumbled. The portly woman shot Jo a glare and shoved a clipboard under her nose. Jo hastily signed her name under the "sign out" column and rushed back to the cafeteria.

"What's up, Jo?" Addie asked when Jo reappeared. Jo shook her head, silently begging them not to ask. She gathered her tray up and threw the contents away. She went back to the table to pick up her backpack. She slung the strap over her shoulder just as Frankie stood up.

"What's wrong, Jo? You look furious." In front of her, Addie nodded and gestured for Tina to agree as well. Tina studied Jo's face.

"What is it?" she inquired.

Jo sighed and realized she couldn't leave her friends in the dark. She pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut and explained, "My mother pulled me out of school for God knows what reason. I can only imagine what she wants." Jo watched five faces contort into similar looks of confusion. It was the first time Jo had spoken of her home life and she had made it sound awful. Jo sighed deeply.

"I gotta go," Jo said curtly. She walked out of the cafeteria, leaving her friends behind in varying states of concern.

***

Jo scowled as she parked her car on the curb. The car spluttered for a moment and Jo was concerned it would break down right there. However, nothing happened except the shutting off of the car. Jo grumbled all the way to the door, resisting the urge to kick the sleek Camaro and unfamiliar Dodge Challenger that was currently invading her parking spot. Jo was amazed she knew cars by appearance but nothing else about them.

Jo banged into the house and glanced in the kitchen as she breezed by. She scowled at the familiar man sitting on a stool.

Derek stood up and made as though to greet Jo. His eyes were bloodshot again and he struggled to stand still. Jo didn't bother to greet the druggie and she moved on to find Ricky.

She jiggled the door to Ricky's room, pleased to find it unlocked. She peeked in and saw him passed out on the floor with a few trucks scattered around him and Rabbie clutched in his arms. Jo smiled at the little boy and quietly shut the door, not wanting to awaken him.

Jo found Cyrene in her room, located at the far end of the house, through the living room. Cyrene had her back to Jo and was holding two dresses, one in each hand. One was a slim red dress that looked like it would barely cover her ass and the second was a just as short, deep purple one. She was holding them against her body, one at a time, gauging in the mirror which would flatter her figure better. Jo rolled her eyes.

"What the hell did you call me out of school for, Cyrene?" Jo greeted her. Cyrene didn't bother to turn around, instead looking at her in the mirror.

"Which looks better? Purple or red?"

"Neither. Go in a nun's habit," Jo suggested. Cyrene screwed up her face.

"What's that?"

"Never mind. Answer my question," Jo demanded. She crossed her arms in front of her body and leaned her shoulder against the door frame. Cyrene pursed her lips together and sighed, finally tossing the purple fabric on the ground behind her, adding to the already mountainous pile. She set the red dress down gently on a dresser and slipped the white tank top she was wearing over her head. She then slid her teeny tiny shorts down her long legs before slipping the dress up her body. The fabric molded to Cyrene's body like a second skin. Jo frowned at the unfairness of having a gorgeous step-mother.