Bookends | Jody & Tyler | The Dumping Ground

Fire | Five

It didn't make any sense to her. She didn't get it. Why would he?

"He knew about Kingsley. He knew..." she gritted her teeth, trying to stop her emotions taking over.

Rick sighed, they all knew about Kingsley. It might not have been said explicitly in the DG, but Jody getting all those nice brand new things during her short stay with the Jacksons wasn't and couldn't be simply down to a bit of thievery.

She remembered how the smell used to stick to the fresh new carpets, how she would try and talk to him but find his gaze unfocussed and distant. Cold, even.

But nonetheless, that was him on the good days. The weed relaxed him. Calmed his hot temper. Made him almost brotherly.

Then there was the flip side. The secret wads of money stashed into duffel bags. The sheer rage when she'd been caught fiddling with one of the miniature packets, about to tip the grass into the bin.

She'd not understood at the time. What would her brother want with all this dirt. What was so special about some random leaves?

He'd handled those packets with more tenderness and care than he'd ever given to her. 

The realisation had clicked in her head years later. A school lesson on drugs. The last thing she'd expected was to see a picture of those same packets her brother had handled years ago. And yet it was such a normal thing.

Kids her age, some even younger... going to parties, getting high out of their minds. They enjoyed it. This stuff meant a lot to them. Being able to chill out. Not having to think. Just... be.

She could understand that. But it was one thing buying and another thing dealing. They were completely different worlds. 

She saw that now. Her brother in prison for numerous things; dealing, being one of them.

"From what I understand, it started in St Lucia. He got mixed up with a bad crowd there and well, I don't think it was something he could really get out of."

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

Rick rubbed his eyes.

"Well, everything's just completely different over there. People carry guns in their houses, weed is... well, it is something that everyone has done at some point, and the dealers call the shots. Tyler knew some people, who knew people... and before you know, he was part of that gang. No way out, really."

Jody couldn't be more shocked. How had she not heard about this? Every time they'd spoken on the phone, it was as if things couldn't be rosier or any more like paradise. 

She watched Rick curiously. Was this why he'd been acting so oddly earlier? 

"Last year, he called me up, out of the blue. Asked for a loan, said it was for his mum, that Sally had been in hospital and he needed to cover the bills. I trusted him, I mean... why would he lie? I knew how hard it could be financially, so I lent it to him."

"Next thing I know, Sally's calling me up asking for my bank details. Said that Tyler had gotten into some trouble with a dealer and needed the money to pay him back. The whole hospital story was a lie."

Jody gasped audibly at that. Things had really gotten that bad. And now it made sense why Rick was angry. 

"Sal paid me back. But it doesn't change what Ty did. I mean, he could've explained or said... but he tricked me."

Jody felt her heart splitting into two. All of this, and she'd been none the wiser. She had no clue about any of it. What else had Tyler been lying about? What other secrets was she yet to find out about him?