Status: On hiatus again sorry guys.
Poprocks and Coke
Chapter 1
“Angie?” Johnny’s voice dragged me from my thoughts. I turned my head to face him.
“They will like us this time won’t they?” he asked with a worried look on his face. My heart sunk. It was my fault this time. He’d been happy living with the last family and they had adored Johnny from the moment we’d arrived in their front room. It was me who fucked this time. It was my fault that they’d decided that they couldn’t put up with me anymore.
I’d tried to get Johnny to stay with them. I told him that I would be ok in our new foster home by myself; that he should stay where he knew he was loved, where he’d be happy, but he didn’t listen. He told me that he couldn’t lose me as well. He needed some form of continuity in his life, and now I was it.
I sighed deeply before forcing a weak smile across my lips.
“I hope so Johnny, and I promise to make more of an effort this time.” I assured him. He smiled and nodded before turning his head back to face the window of the SUV they were in.
It was then that I made my decision. No matter how bad this new family were, no matter how much they hated me, as long as Johnny was happy I would persevere. I couldn’t fuck things up for us again. This last two year had been hard enough for us as it was.
It had all started a little under two years ago. No, scrap that, actually it started fourteen years ago. It started the day their Dad broke contact with us. It was from then on, in my opinion, that I and my two siblings only had one parent. We only had our mother.
For almost twelve years we coped. Of course the three of us missed our father. Charlotte more than me, me more than Johnny on account of our ages. Charlotte had always been a daddy’s girl so it had hit her the hardest when he stopped calling and sending letters and cards. I was two years younger than Charlotte and had been closer to my mother. But don’t get me wrong, I still missed him. He was still my father and I loved him. Johnny on the other hand was barely a toddler when we lost contact with dad and only has a vague memory of him, at Christmas, and that had more to do with the presents than being with his father.
In my opinion, Johnny was the lucky one. They say you can’t miss what you never had, and although Johnny had a dad for the first year of his life, he’s not someone that Johnny truly remembers.
Twelve years after losing contact with our father Johnny and I had our lives ripped apart again.
It was just a normal Monday, with one exception. Instead of going to work, mom was driving up to San Francisco to drop Charlotte off at college. She was just about to start her third trimester of her first year of her nursing degree.
Johnny and I had said good bye to her before going to school that morning, thinking that we would see her again as soon as she’d sat her exams at the end of the first year. If I’d known how wrong we’d be I would never allowed her to leave. You see on the way back up to San Francisco our mom’s car was hit, face on, full force by a car that was being driven by a drink driver. According to the Paramedics and the autopsy our mom had died on impact. That was one thing that had given me some comfort. She hadn’t suffered. She hadn’t been in pain.
Charlotte on the other hand had survived the crash, although she had suffered multiple broken bones and serious head trauma. The doctors at the hospital had strived to fix her, to keep her alive but they failed. There was nothing they could do to save her. Johnny and I were left with only each other.
We were put in foster care. The first family lasted four months, but they were always going to be temporary. We were told that from the start. We were only with them until they found a ‘suitable’ family to look after us.
We didn’t have a problem with the second couple who were fostering us. They didn’t have a problem with us. We would have stayed with them but circumstances change and we get told that we have to move again.
The third family we ended up with, the family we just left, well, they would have been happy if Johnny didn’t come with an older sister. From the moment we arrived they seamed to take an instant like to Johnny and regarded him as their son. Me on the other hand, that was a different story. They already had a daughter of their own, they didn’t need me. It didn’t bother me though. Johnny was happy and I had a roof over my head. I had just turned seventeen. In a few months I would be an adult and I could get a place of my own. I could survive a few months with them, if only for Johnny’s sake. Or so I thought. Apparently they couldn’t wait a solitary year to get rid of me.
They picked holes in everything I did. I tried not to argue with them, for Johnny’s sake, but that’s just not the person I am. I won’t just sit there quietly and let someone say stuff about me, no matter how trivial.
Then they found their perfect excuse to get rid of me. But I think they under estimated how much Johnny was intent on staying with me. They found out that I’d been smoking pot….with Johnny. Not that they cared that he was smoking as well. They made it out like I forced him to smoke. That I was a bad influence. They told our social worker that they thought it may be best if we got separated, that I was leading Johnny astray. Little did they know that it was actually Johnny who’d gotten the stuff in the first place. Anyway, they told our social worker that they couldn’t put up with me any longer but wanted to keep Johnny.
Johnny was having none of it. He didn’t want us split up. He told them that if I went then he went. He didn’t want to lose another family member. So it was decided that we would move to a new foster home. We’ve been lucky this time, it’s only taken three weeks for Social Services to find us a new home.
So here we are, in the car with Sarah, our social worker, making our way down the freeway towards Huntington Beach to meet our new foster family. James and Maria Baker. Sarah said that they have three children, but it’s only their youngest that still lives with them. She told me he’s my age, Zack I think she said his name.
With our new home we also need to change schools, something we’ve avoided doing so far. It’s not something that’s ideal when I’ve only got one more year of high school, but I’ve dealt with worse. School is the least of my worries. My main concern is Johnny. I’m the only one he’s got. He’s my responsibility and I’ve got to make sure that he’s ok; that he’s happy.
I quietly watched out of the window as we drove past the large “Welcome to Huntington Beach.” Sign. We were almost there. Almost with our new family. My heart began to race and Sarah turned down another street. I glanced over at Johnny who was still staring out of the window just as the car started to slow. I turned my attention back to the street Sarah was now driving down slowly.
“Ah, here we are 2375.” Sarah said as she stopped outside one of the houses. I followed her gaze and Johnny leaned across me to take a look.
“Looks nice hey?” I asked quietly with a weak smile. Johnny looked up at me and nodded.
“Are you guys ready?” Sarah asked. Johnny and I looked at each other before sighing deeply and nodding.
“They will like us this time won’t they?” he asked with a worried look on his face. My heart sunk. It was my fault this time. He’d been happy living with the last family and they had adored Johnny from the moment we’d arrived in their front room. It was me who fucked this time. It was my fault that they’d decided that they couldn’t put up with me anymore.
I’d tried to get Johnny to stay with them. I told him that I would be ok in our new foster home by myself; that he should stay where he knew he was loved, where he’d be happy, but he didn’t listen. He told me that he couldn’t lose me as well. He needed some form of continuity in his life, and now I was it.
I sighed deeply before forcing a weak smile across my lips.
“I hope so Johnny, and I promise to make more of an effort this time.” I assured him. He smiled and nodded before turning his head back to face the window of the SUV they were in.
It was then that I made my decision. No matter how bad this new family were, no matter how much they hated me, as long as Johnny was happy I would persevere. I couldn’t fuck things up for us again. This last two year had been hard enough for us as it was.
It had all started a little under two years ago. No, scrap that, actually it started fourteen years ago. It started the day their Dad broke contact with us. It was from then on, in my opinion, that I and my two siblings only had one parent. We only had our mother.
For almost twelve years we coped. Of course the three of us missed our father. Charlotte more than me, me more than Johnny on account of our ages. Charlotte had always been a daddy’s girl so it had hit her the hardest when he stopped calling and sending letters and cards. I was two years younger than Charlotte and had been closer to my mother. But don’t get me wrong, I still missed him. He was still my father and I loved him. Johnny on the other hand was barely a toddler when we lost contact with dad and only has a vague memory of him, at Christmas, and that had more to do with the presents than being with his father.
In my opinion, Johnny was the lucky one. They say you can’t miss what you never had, and although Johnny had a dad for the first year of his life, he’s not someone that Johnny truly remembers.
Twelve years after losing contact with our father Johnny and I had our lives ripped apart again.
It was just a normal Monday, with one exception. Instead of going to work, mom was driving up to San Francisco to drop Charlotte off at college. She was just about to start her third trimester of her first year of her nursing degree.
Johnny and I had said good bye to her before going to school that morning, thinking that we would see her again as soon as she’d sat her exams at the end of the first year. If I’d known how wrong we’d be I would never allowed her to leave. You see on the way back up to San Francisco our mom’s car was hit, face on, full force by a car that was being driven by a drink driver. According to the Paramedics and the autopsy our mom had died on impact. That was one thing that had given me some comfort. She hadn’t suffered. She hadn’t been in pain.
Charlotte on the other hand had survived the crash, although she had suffered multiple broken bones and serious head trauma. The doctors at the hospital had strived to fix her, to keep her alive but they failed. There was nothing they could do to save her. Johnny and I were left with only each other.
We were put in foster care. The first family lasted four months, but they were always going to be temporary. We were told that from the start. We were only with them until they found a ‘suitable’ family to look after us.
We didn’t have a problem with the second couple who were fostering us. They didn’t have a problem with us. We would have stayed with them but circumstances change and we get told that we have to move again.
The third family we ended up with, the family we just left, well, they would have been happy if Johnny didn’t come with an older sister. From the moment we arrived they seamed to take an instant like to Johnny and regarded him as their son. Me on the other hand, that was a different story. They already had a daughter of their own, they didn’t need me. It didn’t bother me though. Johnny was happy and I had a roof over my head. I had just turned seventeen. In a few months I would be an adult and I could get a place of my own. I could survive a few months with them, if only for Johnny’s sake. Or so I thought. Apparently they couldn’t wait a solitary year to get rid of me.
They picked holes in everything I did. I tried not to argue with them, for Johnny’s sake, but that’s just not the person I am. I won’t just sit there quietly and let someone say stuff about me, no matter how trivial.
Then they found their perfect excuse to get rid of me. But I think they under estimated how much Johnny was intent on staying with me. They found out that I’d been smoking pot….with Johnny. Not that they cared that he was smoking as well. They made it out like I forced him to smoke. That I was a bad influence. They told our social worker that they thought it may be best if we got separated, that I was leading Johnny astray. Little did they know that it was actually Johnny who’d gotten the stuff in the first place. Anyway, they told our social worker that they couldn’t put up with me any longer but wanted to keep Johnny.
Johnny was having none of it. He didn’t want us split up. He told them that if I went then he went. He didn’t want to lose another family member. So it was decided that we would move to a new foster home. We’ve been lucky this time, it’s only taken three weeks for Social Services to find us a new home.
So here we are, in the car with Sarah, our social worker, making our way down the freeway towards Huntington Beach to meet our new foster family. James and Maria Baker. Sarah said that they have three children, but it’s only their youngest that still lives with them. She told me he’s my age, Zack I think she said his name.
With our new home we also need to change schools, something we’ve avoided doing so far. It’s not something that’s ideal when I’ve only got one more year of high school, but I’ve dealt with worse. School is the least of my worries. My main concern is Johnny. I’m the only one he’s got. He’s my responsibility and I’ve got to make sure that he’s ok; that he’s happy.
I quietly watched out of the window as we drove past the large “Welcome to Huntington Beach.” Sign. We were almost there. Almost with our new family. My heart began to race and Sarah turned down another street. I glanced over at Johnny who was still staring out of the window just as the car started to slow. I turned my attention back to the street Sarah was now driving down slowly.
“Ah, here we are 2375.” Sarah said as she stopped outside one of the houses. I followed her gaze and Johnny leaned across me to take a look.
“Looks nice hey?” I asked quietly with a weak smile. Johnny looked up at me and nodded.
“Are you guys ready?” Sarah asked. Johnny and I looked at each other before sighing deeply and nodding.
♠ ♠ ♠
I've re-posted the first chapter so that it doesn't get deleted from the site.I promise I am working on this, and it is coming along slowly, but I've got quite a few stories on the go at the moment and I'll be working on them each in turn. I'm hoping to get an update up soon so bare with me please :)