And then he shifted, gripping Bob’s shoulder in a friendly gesture, and I realised that this was no boy, but a man, his back several inches broader than Jonah’s, a relaxed confidence to his stance instead of Jonah’s wary posture. I shook my head, annoyed and embarrassed at my pounding heart. Then again, I supposed it wasn’t too surprising I’d had a false sighting, after the person called Ellis had booked onto my class, dredging up old memories.
It was only later, when I was on my way to pick up the kids, that I realised Jonah King was the same age as me. He was no boy any more. I tried to imagine how Jonah would appear at thirty, but it was impossible. His future had rested on a knife’s edge at the point I’d last seen him.
Literally, on his darker days.
I’d occasionally given in to the temptation to search for him online in the aftermath of Brayden leaving us, but brief searches had yielded nothing, and so I’d always given up before it became anything more than a fleeting curiosity.
But now, as I parked the car and hurried over to the school field, it burned in me with the fire of a teenager’s first love.
What had happened to Jonah? Had he coped with moving to a strange town, from a family to an institution? Had he ended up a statistic, or a success story?
The last thing I wondered, before Isla ran into my arms, bursting into tears because she’d scored her first goal, was whether he’d ever wondered about me.
9
THEN
Over the next few days our family adjusted as usual to having a new person living in the house. Mum continued driving us to school, and once home I was either finishing off my GCSE coursework in my bedroom or Jonah was out with my mum or dad, replacing all the things he’d left behind, or never had – clothes, toiletries and a phone.
At mealtimes he was polite enough with my parents, although he mostly remained quiet unless asked a direct question, and he occasionally chatted with Nicky about their similar music taste. For me, it still felt strange. Jonah King was an enigma at school. Silent, friendless, slightly terrifying because no one knew what lay behind that blank face and badass attitude. Far too cool to notice someone like me. At home, we shared the same bathroom, drank the same juice, and when I opened a carrier bag, thinking it was the Topshop jeans I’d bought with my birthday money, I found a pack of Topman boxer shorts.
I nodded when I passed him in the hallway at home. Did the same at school. But when it came to more than that, I couldn’tseem to get the friendly, welcoming words bumbling about inside my head out of my mouth.
Honestly? Every time he looked at me – and this boy was bizarrely good at making direct eye contact – my breath caught. I didn’t trust myself to speak to him because I didn’t know what this was or how to handle it.
After five nights of my ducking my head and being even quieter than usual at mealtimes, my parents called Nicky and me into the dining room while Jonah was visiting his younger brother and sister, who were now living with a foster carer in a nearby town.
‘So, Jonah is still with us,’ Mum said, using her Serious Voice.
‘What, he’s still here?’ Nicky asked, her face a picture of innocence. ‘Oh! So that explains why the bathroom stinks of Lynx and the snack cupboard empties within moments of you restocking it. I was wondering who the giant trainers in the hallway belonged to.’
‘Social services are having a really tough time finding him a longer-term placement.’
‘Well, duh!’ Nicky rolled her eyes. ‘A teenage boy with a violent criminal record? I can’t imagine why.’
‘He’s not got a criminal record!’ Dad retorted. ‘Where did you hear that?’
She shrugged. ‘Rosie’s brother said he beat the crap out of someone. And he’s been done for stealing.’
Dad took a deep breath. ‘When his mother’s boyfriend hurt Jonah’s sister, there was a minor physical altercation. And yes, he has stolen food. Again, for his siblings. And you two know never to repeat this information outside this house.’
‘Is he staying longer, then? Is that what this is about?’ I asked, not wanting to think too hard about Jonah’s six-year-old sister, Ellis, being hurt.
‘We’ve been thinking about it. We really like Jonah, and we can’t bear the idea of him being moved so far away from Ellis and Billy after everything they’ve been through. He’s basically raised them himself. But obviously we all need to be happy with the decision. So, please be honest. What do you think about us offering Jonah a home here for a while longer?’
‘How much longer?’ Nicky asked. ‘Until they can find a long-term placement nearby?’
‘No. We’ll be the long-term placement.’
‘Until he’s eighteen?’
‘At least until then,’ Dad replied.
‘Fine.’ Nicky shrugged, playing with the end of her artificially orange plait. ‘I’ll be gone in September, anyway.’
Nicky had an offer to study medicine at Cardiff University. I was proud and miserable about her moving away in equal measure.
‘Libby?’ Mum asked. ‘I know this might be strange for you, with him being at the same school. But it’s only another few months, and in September he’ll be starting college. How would you feel about him staying with us?’
