Foster Brother

Chapter 6 : Curious about Jeff

Chapter 6

Jeff POV

I sat down on my bed. I noticed Emmy kept looking at me. 

"So how old are you?" Emmy asked.

"15," I said, quietly.

"I'm 16."

"I'm almost 16..."

"What do you like to do for fun?"

"Read..."

"What do you like reading?"

"Fiction..."

"Cool... So do you have any questions or anything for me?"

"A-are you g-going to hit m-me?"

"No. And neither are my parents. So you don't have to worry. Why? Did your parents hit you?"

"Um... No..."

I know I'm lying, but nobody can know about this.

"Jeff! Someone brought your stuff!" Paul called.

I made my way to the living room. Paul handed me 2 bags. One had my book and diary in it. And the other had my clothes and pjs. I took them, and went back to Emmy's room.

I sat on my bed, and took out my diary.

"Um... Emmy?" I asked, quietly.

"What?"

"Do you have a pen I can borrow?"

"Sure."

Emmy gave me a choice from her gel pens. There were a lot of colors. I chose the purple one.

Dear Diary,

I'm super nervous right now. I don't like being in unfamiliar places.

Paul said I would only be here for a few days while they're investigating my dad. I don't know if the police are going to ask me anything, but I'm not telling them anything dad does to me. I'm ok with how it is at home, and I just want to go back to how things normally are.

"What do you write about?" Emmy asked.

"Um... I don't know... Just my thoughts, I guess..."

"Oh... Jeff?"

"What?"

"Um... I was just wondering if you wanted pain medicine or ice."

"Why?"

"Well... It's just that your eye... It looks painful. And your cheeks... And your nose..."

"Um... Can I use the bathroom, please?"

"Yeah. Do you need me to show you where it is?"

I nodded.

Emmy led me to the bathroom. I shut the door, and studied my face in the mirror. My face actually didn't look as bad as I was anticipating. It's looked way worse in the past.

I had slight black eyes, slight bruises on my cheekbones, and my nose looked... not so good... It was very sore when I touched it.

Emmy POV

I was very concerned about Jeff. If that's what his face looks like, I can only imagine what the rest of his body looks like. He was wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt, so I didn't know. But I could imagine...

Jeff didn't come back right away. I was wondering if he was ok. 

And I was curious what was in his diary...

Jeff walked back in the room. He didn't make eye contact with me, and he was just staring down at the floor.

He climbed into his bed, and went back to his diary. I was so curious what he was writing...

I went on my phone, and tried not to pay attention to him. I mean, I don't want him to feel like I'm constantly staring at him. But I'm really curious.

Later...

Emmy POV

"Emmy! Jeff! Dinner!" Dad called.

I looked over at Jeff. He was completely out. He fell asleep a little while ago, and he hadn't moved since. 

I got up, and went over to him.

"Um... Jeff?"

He didn't move. 

"Jeff?"

I gently started shaking his shoulder. Within seconds, he woke up, and jumped away from me, looking petrified.

"Sorry. Dad called us for dinner. Are you ok?" I asked.

"I'm fine."

I could see he was shaken up. 

I left the room, and he followed me to the kitchen.

"Jeff, do you like pizza?" My dad asked.

Jeff nodded.

I sort of watched him eat. He seemed very hungry. I don't really know that much about kids who get abused. I don't know if he's starved or if he's just hungry. 

And I don't really care if he says he was abused or not. It sure looks like it. And he reacted weirdly when I woke him up. 

Later...

Emmy POV

Jeff got changed for bed, and then he was out in less than 5 minutes. I don't know why he's so tired. But I shut the lights off, and just played on my phone for a while. 

But I noticed Jeff kept moving around in his sleep. He seemed uncomfortable. 

And then he sat up in bed.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Um... Yeah... Could I um... Um..."

"Do you need something?"

He nodded.

"What do you need?"

"Um... You said before... Um... You asked if I needed..."

"Pain medicine?"

"Yeah."

"Do you need some?"

"Yes, please."

I got up, and went to the bathroom closet. I got Jeff a cup of water and a pill. When I brought them back to my room, Jeff was sitting up in bed, and he had a weird look on his face.

"Are you ok?" I asked, handing the pill and water to him.

"Yeah, just... nothing..."

"No, really. Are you alright? Do you need something else?"

Jeff took the pill. 

"My back is just bothering me a bit..."

"Is something wrong with your back?"

"No! Um... It's just sore, probably from gym class. I fell in gym class, and went home early the other day."

"Oh..."

"I'm ok."

I nodded, and got back into my bed.

"If you need anything Jeff, just let me know, ok?"

"Ok."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight..."

He laid down again, facing away from me. 

When Jeff first got here, I was sort of expecting something else, based on the boy who was here last time. The other boy was quite violent and angry. He'd been abused. In fact, he had marks just like the ones on Jeff's face. But Jeff seemed like a genuinely nice person. I mean, so far. I barely know him. 

I just hope he stays nice. But I guess if he isn't, he'll be going back home in a few days when things get sorted out, so it won't really matter anyway...