The Old Tuck Shop

FIFTY-FOUR

I walked back into my bedroom. I saw Ton sat up in bed, plugging his headphones into his phone. He looked at me and lowered his eyebrows.

"I was wondering where you went," he chuckled, placing his headphones on his bedside table.

I sighed and placed my bag on the floor. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

He looked up at me. "What?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were getting fostered?" I repeated.

He looked down at the floor. "I tried to find the right time-"

"When is the right time, Ton?" I snapped. "You're leaving next week... Do you not realise that?"

"Of course I realise that," he said. "But after you told me about Poppy and Mr Callaghan... I... I didn't think it would be the right time... You were hurting... And I wanted to respect that."

"Well, thanks for the heads up," I scoffed. "I thought you could've at least told me, yourself."

"I know. I should've. I'm sorry."

"Just save it," I said, crawling into bed.

"You just came so suddenly... I didn't know when the right time was... Can't you understand that?"

I rolled my eyes and turned to face the wall.

"You were so adamant that you were leaving, and never coming back... It was a shock to see you back here."

"So you were just going to leave, and not tell me?" I asked.

"Finn, I didn't know you were coming back... And I couldn't just say no to them in case you did come back."

I sighed and then smiled. "I understand... I shouldn't have snapped like that... It wasn't fair at all... I'm happy for you. Honestly."

He looked at me. "You sure?"

I nodded. "What are they like?"

His eyes lit up. "Well, the woman is called Lisa... She's super kind and plays the keyboard. And the man is called David... He plays the guitar."

"Very musical," I chuckled, and then looked down at the floor.

He sighed. "You sure you're okay with this?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"They're coming to see me tomorrow... You can join us if you want," Ton added, putting on a t-shirt.

"I might," I said. "But they might prefer me over you," I joked.

He laughed, and put his headphones on, before diving under his sheets. I switched my lamp off and removed my hoodie. I then turned to face the wall and fell into a deep sleep.