Chapter 17.

The 17th Chapter...

Judy left the house shortly after their conversation, leaving Jason by himself in the kitchen to finish his cereal. The paper still sat in front of him, but he made no effort to pick it back up after she�d gone. Suddenly the day�s news, and whatever arrests and murders lay within, didn�t interest him very much.

In fact, he�d kind of lost his appetite for his cereal as well, and he moved his spoon around in it a little dejectedly before eating one more spoonful. Then he set the spoon down and sighed.

So. That was that.

There was a lot to think about.

He was really glad that Judy trusted him with all of that information, although additionally he realized that she had called him and suggested he come home for a reason more than babysitting. He wasn�t sure exactly what, or what he was supposed to make out of all the information she�d just shared with him, but he knew he ought to figure it out.

Ian and Michal would obviously be an influence on the kid too. But they were teenagers and distracted. Which reminded Jason that he should wake up Ian so he could go to work. He was working at a little auto repair shop a few miles away for the summer. Judy had reminded him before she left to make sure he got him up.

Jason pushed his chair back and slowly got up. He put his half full bowl of cereal in the sink and then left the kitchen to head upstairs.

Ian was a pain in the a*s to wake up. As soon as Jason walked through his bedroom, Ian rolled over and covered his head with his pillow.

�Wake up, Ian,� Jason started. �I�m honestly not in a good mood so don�t piss me off, ok? Ma asked me to make sure you get up for work.�

�Don�t feel like work�� Ian mumbled from beneath the pillow.

�Well, ain�t that a shame. Get your a*s up. Now.� Jason pulled the pillow off of his head, immediately inducing a loud groan.

�I have like fifteen more minutes.�

�So great, you have time to shower. Now get up or I will drag you out of bed and turn off the hot water while you�re in the shower.�

Ian rolled back over and glared at him. �You�re such a dick.�

�Thank you.�

�What crawled up your a*s and died?�

Jason shook his head at him. �Get ready for work. If you miss the bus I hafta drive your a*s, and I don�t need that today.�

�Why�What better things have you got to do?�

�Wouldn�t you like to know�� Jason replied.

�Get a life, Jason. Or a girlfriend. Maybe then you wouldn�t be so annoying��

�Annoying? I�ve been here for like a day, Ian. Grow up. I hate your mood in the morning.� Jason threw the pillow back at him. �Make sure you get up.� He started for the door. �I�ll be back to check.�
Ian muttered something back that was ignored as Jason moved across the hall to peer into Conner�s room since the door was open. At first glance the room looked empty. The bed was made and no one was in it. His bag sat in the corner, still not unpacked. Upon further inspection, which included the closet and beneath the bed, Jason confirmed that the room was indeed empty.

Perplexed, Jason walked back out to see an open bathroom door. He checked and found no Conner in there either, so he went back into Ian�s room, where his brother was still in bed.

Alarmed at his brother�s early return when he hadn�t gotten up like told, Ian sat up and began to say, �Alright, I�m up, I�m up. Alright already��

�Nah, you�re fine,� Jason answered. �I just wanted to ask, did you see Conner?�

�Huh? I am just getting out of bed,� Ian said as he moved to sit at the edge of the bed. �Does it look like I�ve seen him?�

�Yeah, I didn�t know if you heard him or anything.�

�He not in his room?�

�No.�

�Maybe he�s downstairs.�

�Well, I was just downstairs and no one was there. Ma just left.�

�Well, then I don�t know. I�m not his keeper.�

Jason watched him rub his eyes to awaken himself and just sighed. �Okay.� He left Ian�s room and quickly checked Ma�s room. Then he headed back downstairs to look around a little bit for Conner. He didn�t know why he was immediately worried. He hadn�t really looked and it was just a moment ago he noticed he wasn�t in bed.

A survey of the first floor of the house produced no results. He definitely wasn�t here.

�D****t,� Jason muttered, somehow feeling responsible for this turn in events. He was the one that scared the kid half to death last night. Conner had already made it quite clear that he wasn�t averse to running away and would do so if needed. Despite their deal that he give the house a chance before making that decision, Jason wouldn�t be surprised if he forgot or ignored it. Especilly after last night.

He wasn�t sure what to do exactly. Ma had just left. Why couldn�t they have noticed this before she left. She would know what to do.

He looked at the clock. Ian had to hurry up. He needed to shower within the next five minutes and be out for the bus within the next ten.

From the bottom on the stairs, Jason shouted up, �Ian! Are you up?�

�Yeah!� came the shout back.

�Are you sure?�

�Yeah I�m sure!�
Jason sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He wasn�t sure what to do. This morning was not going well. That was just about all he was sure of.

With another frustrated sigh, Jason took a step forward and opened the front door for some fresh air, revealing Conner sitting on the front step.

Conner looked up behind him through his shaggy hair with big eyes, a little alarmed by the opening door.

�There you are,� Jason muttered. �God. You�re a handful.�

Conner just looked at him quizzically and shifted uncomfortably.

�Did you see Ma go to work?� Jason asked.

�Yeah.�

�She should have told me you were out here.�

�Why?�

�Why? Because I f*****g thought�� Jason cut himself off and stopped. Calm down. Don�t scare him again. He took a deep breath. �Because. I wasn�t sure where you were, that�s all.�

�Oh�� Conner turned back around and looked at the sidewalk. �Are you mad?�

�Yes,� Jason admitted. �But I have no reason to be. It�s just a bad morning kind of mad.�

�Oh.� Conner paused and continued to stare at the pavement. �Are you going to punish me?�

�What?� Jason stared at the back of his head. �For what? Sitting on the front step?�

�For making you mad�� Conner continued.

Jason was a little taken aback. �No. Of course not. You didn�t do anything, Conner.� He walked out, keeping the door open behind him, and moved to sit next to Conner, who he noticed stiffen up immediately when he did so. �You know who I�ll be mad at in a minute, is Ian, because he�s gonna be late for work if he doesn�t get going soon.�

Conner didn�t say anything. Jason noticed the shift in his posture that the kid had made when he sit down, almost turning away. His hand was ducked down below the step, like he was hiding something.

�What are you doing?� Jason asked.

�Wha� What?� Conner asked, a little nervously. He swallowed and looked at Jason. �What do you mean?�

�What�s in your hand?�

�Nothing.�

�You lying?�

Conner didn�t say anything.

�Here, show me. I�m pretty sure I don�t care. Show me.�
Conner licked his lips indecisively and then moved his hand. He threw a half done lit cigarette out in front of them on the sidewalk. And then after a second suddenly jumped to his feet and tried to dart away.

Jason moved quickly and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him back, nearly into his lap. He held him securely against his knee and said, �I didn�t know you smoked.�

Conner just swallowed and breathed a little heavily. He tried to pull away a little but realized he was pretty much stuck where he was until Jason decided to let him go.

�Ma doesn�t like smoking, you know. And you�re a little young for that, aren�t you?�

�No.�

�No? You can�t even buy cigarettes.�

�Are you mad now?� Conner asked.

�No, I�m not mad. I just wish you wouldn�t run away from me. Where did you get cigarettes?�

Conner shrugged and tried to pull away a little again.

�Don�t smoke in front of me or Ma. Promise?�

�I was trying not to in front of anybody,� Conner muttered.

�Well, then you�ll have to be more careful or stop, huh?� Jason replied. �One more question. Why did you try to call Anthony last night?�

Conner�s brow furrowed and he began to fidget again. �I don�t know.�

�At that time of night? Did you want to ask him something?�

�I don�t know.�

�I think you know. It�s ok. Then don�t tell me.�

�Are you mad now?�

�For God�s sake, stop asking me if I�m mad.� Jason let him go and Conner took a thankful step away from the man and stood there, staring at the ground.

Before Jason could say another word, Ian appeared in the doorway.

�Jason,� he said.

�You oughtta get moving,� Jason said, looking up at him.

�Can you drive me to work? Please.�

�Come on, Ian. The bus stop�s two seconds away.�

�I know, I know. But I�m later than I thought.�

�I told you to get out of bed.�

�I did,� Ian insisted. �Can you please just drive me and stop giving me a hard time? What else is a f*****g car for if you ain�t gonna drive it?�

�Ian.�

�Can I borrow your car then?�

�I�ll drive you, calm down.� Jason got up. �Let me just get my keys.� He waved Conner on to follow him. �Come on, Conner. We�re gonna drive Ian to work.�

�I don�t want to go,� Conner said.

Jason looked at him, a little surprised at the objection. �Why not?�

Conner just looked uncertain.

�Come on, it�s not far.�

�Just leave him here then,� Ian retorted. �Let�s just go.�

�I don�t want to leave him here,� Jason answered. �And we�ll leave in just a second. I want you to come, okay, Conner?�

Conner just nodded.

�Fine. Okay, let me grab my keys. I�ll be right back.�

Conner just looked at Ian as Jason disappeared inside.

�How you doing?� Ian asked him.

�Okay,� Conner answered.

�Yeah. Want to go to work for me?� Ian asked. Then he laughed. �Just kidding. God, I am so tired. I wish I was this tired at night so I could go to bed at a decent time.�

�Take sleeping pills.�

�Huh?� Ian looked at him.

�That�s what Kevin did��

�Who�s Kevin?�

Jason came back through the door. �Okay, ready?�

�Yeah,� Ian replied. �Let�s go.�

Author's Note

I loved the little chat between Conner and Jason^^. Sorry for the smoking thing, I had to think of something. If anyone's accutelly reading this, review and tell me! PLEASE!!!