The Delinquents

Chapter Two

            I had only one suitcase with me. It sat on the floor of the car by my legs and kept knocking against my knees each time the car turned. I had said goodbye to my mother that morning. I had clutched her hand and tried to make her understand but all she comprehended through the drug induced haze was that I had been arrested. After she knew that, it was easy for her to let me go.

            “We’re almost there,” the female officer from the station—who I learned was named Kristina—said. She was a cautious driver, the kind that looked both ways twice before turning any corner. I found myself able to relax in her presence.

            I nodded, “Okay.” I watched as the city buildings turned into open fields and then eventually into thick forest. Apparently, this group home was tucked away in the middle of nowhere so the troubled youth wouldn’t be influenced or distracted. 

            “Now, the judge said that you could be here for a while. Ultimately it’s up to Evan—Mr. Meyers to decide," Kristina informed me. I later learned that she worked mostly around youth related issues which explained my comfort around her. She had been trained to handle kids like me. 

            I nodded again, “I know.” I wasn't sure how I felt about Evan Meyers controlling my future, I had seen two different sides to him and was unsure which side was the true reflection of his character.

            Kristina smiled at me, “It won’t be so bad.”

            “I’m not worried about it,” I said nonchalantly. In actuality, I was scared out of my wits. I mean, I was a tough girl. However, all I could picture were teenagers who had murdered people and kids with long scars running down the side of their faces. How was a shoplifter supposed to fit in with such shady characters? 

            It wasn’t long before the thick vegetation turned back into open field as we arrived at our destination. Kristina smiled at me again before hopping out of the car. I stared straight ahead at the large house for a moment. My breath was caught in my chest and my stomach was twisting around. I wasn't entirely sure if I was able to move.

            After a few moment, I gathered the courage I needed. “Here we go,” I whispered to myself as I left the safety of the car. I grabbed my suitcase and wheeled it out behind me as I walked. Kristina was already ringing the doorbell by the time I got there. We waited for someone to answer and when no one did, Kristina banged on the front door with her fist, sending a shy smile to me as she did.

            The door creaked open and revealed a petite girl with short, choppy black hair. She has warm brown eyes and dark skin that was smooth and unmarked. She looked bored as she took in Kristina and glared as she saw me. “Can I help you?” her voice was like ice. Her tone told me that her lovely exterior did not match her personality.

            “Lily! I got it,” Evan came sauntering up behind the small girl—Lily—and tossed us an easy smile. “Piper, it’s nice to see you.” Lily snorted at Evan's comment, her dark eyes meeting mine with hostility before she turned and left. Evan didn't seem bothered. I found myself slightly uneasy.

            “Hello Mr. Meyers,” Kristina said, “I trust all is well?”

            Evan nodded, “Yes, it is. Sorry about the wait, the doorbell is broken. Are you ready Piper?” I looked up at Kristina and wished desperately we were back in the car, three hours ago. Knowing that I couldn't tread backwards, I looked to Evan instead and nodded my head.

            “Yeah,” my voice broke and I cringed internally. How could I stand up to police officers, steal effortlessly, parade around in court but I couldn't seem to get a grip on my vocal chords? 

            Evan’s smile stretched into a grin, “Let’s go then, I’ve got the gang all rounded up. Which is not something that happens very often.” My stomach all but imploded.

            Kristina nodded once at Evan and turned to me, “Goodbye, Piper. And good luck.” I swallowed once but there was a lump in my throat that refused to budge. Was it possible to turn around? To leave with Kristina and dwell in the police station until Judge Harvis let me out?

            “Bye,” I squeaked. Evan and I watched as Kristina walked back down the long path and retreated into her car. We both stood still until the sound of tires on gravel faded completely.

            “Well let’s go then,” Evan said in a cheery voice, clapping his hands together in excitement. Of course, it was all fake. Who would be excited about harbouring yet another teenage criminal?

            For some reason, I couldn't stop myself from asking. “Is this what you meant when you said you would be seeing me soon?” What strings had he pulled to get me here? 

            Evan just smiled, “Come on.” I followed Evan into the large house and left my suitcase at the door. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and tugged at my sweater. It suddenly felt too tight, too itchy. Why had I decided to wear the green blob at all?

            “I hope you are going to like it here, I want to help you,” Evan said lowly.

            I snorted, “Sure you do. I’m pretty sure you just want your paycheck. But hey, I can respect that. So I’ll pretend to be happy and cured at the end of this and you can pretend to be proud. You will get your money and I will finish my court sentence.” Lying came almost as naturally to me as the five finger discount.

            Evan stopped walking and I knocked into his back, he turned to face me slowly, anger threatening to rise. “I am not in it for the money, Piper. Believe it or not—I want to help.” He didn’t say anymore as he continued to walk but I was thinking twice about using snippy language around him.

             I decided to change the subject. "Is it just you who runs this place?"

            Evan shrugged, "For the most part, yeah. A cleaning service comes in a couple of times a week to keep stuff nice, they bring groceries too. There's a small police station not far from here in case of emergencies but I'm the primary caregiver."

            We took a few turns and ended up in a large open room. One wall was entirely made from windows which let in a lot of the mid afternoon sunshine. The rest of the room was decorated sporadically, none of the furniture really matched at all. Of course, the feature that was hardest to ignore was the fact that gathered around two large sofas and a plasma screen television, were five teenagers.

            “Hey guys! This is Piper, she’s going to be staying with us for a while,” Evan said. None of them responded. They all kept their attention glued to the screen. The only one who glanced my way was Lily, and that was only to glare at me.

            Evan frowned, “Hey! Guys!” No one moved or turned their heads and Evan’s face went red. He lunged forward, grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the television off. For a moment, they all stared at the now blank screen before they all turned to look at Evan and then me in turn.

            Evan smiled, frustration ebbing. “Now that I have your attention, this is Piper. She will be staying with us.” I stared at the five  teens and they all stared at me.

            “What did you do?” One boy asked, he was young, probably fifteen at the most. He had brown hair and a smile that could make most fifty year old woman drop to their knees. A young lady killer of cougars. 

            “Travis!” barked Evan, “You know we don’t discuss that.”

            Travis smiled at me, his perfect teeth gleaming. “I used to light things on fire, watch them burn. It was a great way to pass the time." I forced myself not to react, guessing this was his way of trying to unnerve me.

            I smiled crookedly, “I stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and didn’t get caught for three years. Actually, I wouldn’t be here if Evan didn’t tackle me to the ground during my last adventure.”

            Travis smirked at me, “Nice.”

            “How long will she be here?” Lily asked, glaring at me. I noticed now that we were the only two girls amongst the group. I suddenly understood the hostility.

            Evan frowned, “As long as she needs to be, Lily.”

            Lily narrowed her eyes at Evan and tossed out a simple, “Whatever.” She stood stiffly and exited the room without breathing another word.

            “What a bi—”

            “Gabe, don’t,” Evan warned. Gabe rolled his eyes. He had dirty blonde hair and nice green eyes, but beyond that, his features didn’t stand out. His body, which was long and lanky, stretched across the entire sofa. This was most likely the reason another,  gloomy looking boy was sitting on the floor.

            “Why don’t the rest of you introduce yourselves?” Evan suggested. And so they did, one by one. I already knew Lily, Travis, and Gabe so that left two. The boy sitting the farthest away was the first to speak up, his voice polite.

            “I’m Derek,” I shook his outstretched hand and blushed. He was by far the best looking in the group. With short, brown hair and a significant amount of muscle, it was hard to take my eyes away from him or stop my face from flushing when I noticed his eyes on me. 

            The boy on the floor was the next to walk up to me. He was tall and thin with glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. His hair was long and shaggy looking, and looked as though it needed to be washed. “Simon,” was all he said before exiting the room after Lily.

            “Alrighty then—oh wait, where's Keegan?” Evan asked this question in the sort of exasperated tone that told me it was an inquiry he made often.

            Travis grinned, “Probably out, he heard you were doing paper work in your office and went out for a run while you were occupied."

            Evan swore, “That boy is an awful lot of trouble.” I found this to be a funny remark as that boy and everyone else here were delinquents. Of course we'd be trouble.

            Travis turned to me and smirked, “If you should be afraid of anyone here, it’s Keegan. He’s a little off his rocker.” Travis continued to make gestures that reinforced the idea that Keegan was crazy.

            Derek punched Travis in the arm. “Come on, he’s not that bad.”

            “You have to stick up for him your his cousin,” Travis said.

            Gabe rolled his green eyes as he rolled onto his stomach and planted his cheek firmly on the couch while his right arm hung off it. “Don’t try and scare her, Travis.”

            Travis laughed, “Come on Gabe, all you did was steal a few cars but Keegan—”

            “I’m not sure if stealing and trashing fifty of the world’s most expensive cars is considered ‘stealing a few cars’ I was trashing Porches and Lamborghinis, pyro."

            Travis rolled his eyes, “Whatever, still we all know what Keegan did was way worse.”

            Derek glared at Travis and Gabe. “It doesn’t matter. We aren’t supposed to discuss what each other are here for unless we have permission. And since Keegan is out, we can’t talk about it.”

            Evan decided it would be a good time to intervene, “Does anyone want to show Piper around?” I was suddenly jolted back into focus as I reacted to the sound of my own name.

            “I’ll do it,” Travis offered, “Come on then, Pipes.”

            I glared at him, “Don’t call me that."

            Travis only laughed in response, “Whatever you say Pipes!” We walked together around the house. He showed me the room I would be staying in and helped bring up my suitcase. We then decided to go and walk outside.

            The first thing I noticed was the large cherry blossom tree in the back corner of the yard. It was beautiful and reminded me of when I was a kid. I stared at it, feeling my eyes prick uncomfortably and my throat tighten. I bit my lip, trying not to cry as memories surfaced. There was nothing comforting about that tree.

            “Pipes? Are you okay?”

            I shook my head and looked dow. “I’m fine. Let’s keep going.” I wouldn't form connections here. Not around a bunch of messed up kids. I wouldn't let them know me.

            Travis sent me a look, “Okay, well I can show you the pool.”

            I grinned, trying to shake the feelings from earlier. “There's a pool here?”

            Travis nodded, “Yeah, but Evan only lets us swim if we are good or if he thinks it will help with therapy.” We walked over to the side of the house and pressed our noses up against a chain link fence. Just beyond it was a beautiful swimming pool.

            “Wow, I would love to go in that,” I said. Suddenly, my whole body was itching for a swim. It was a shame I hadn't thought to pack my swim suit.

            “Yeah, we usually sneak in every Friday, but we got caught two weeks ago. Evan nearly had our heads. He wasn’t that mad though—he can’t really ever get mad at us. At least he doesn't get mad mad. He loves us all too much. Don’t know why though, we’re the worst kids you’ll ever meet.” Travis sent me his crooked grin and I began to feel uneasy.

            “So, you’re an arsonist?”

            “Was,” he corrected, “I was an arsonist. I stopped all that, Evan helped me realise it was pointless. What's the point of reducing things to ashes? It doesn't change what you hate about your own life."

            “Why do you did you do it?” I asked.

            Travis smirked, “Now, that’s for me to know and for you to wonder now isn’t it, Pipes?”

            I laughed, “I guess that’s fair. But if you were an arsonist—past tense—then why are you still here?” How long would I have to be an ex-thief before my own release?

            Travis grinned, “I still like to play with matches.” Travis winked at me and started walking back towards the main yard. I followed him to a swinging two-seater. We took a seat and rocked back in forth, I was enjoying the sunshine and so was Travis. I was enjoying the silence more.

            Right after I managed to relax, a rustling in the trees just beyond the edge of the yard startled me. I jerked upwards, no longer relaxed and looked to Travis. He was still at ease, his eyes closed and his hands folded behind his head.

            “Relax,” he said, without looking at me. “It’s just Keegan—well probably just Keegan, it might be a mountain lion.” I punched him in the arm and turned my attention back towards the forest. Surely enough, it was a boy who stepped out of the tree line and not a giant cat.

            “Is that Keegan?” I inquired.

            Travis opened one eye and nodded, “Sure is.”

            “Why is he here again?” Travis pretended to zip his lips closed and threw away the key.

            “Can’t tell.” I turned my attention back to Keegan and watched as he made his way towards the house. He was tall and built—much like his cousin. But had long dark hair and dark eyes. He looked intimidating and unfriendly. But he was certainly good looking—more so than Derek.

            “Keegs!” Travis shouted, “Come on over!” I blushed suddenly as Keegan stopped and looked us over. My whole body tingled as he came closer. Nerves suddenly invaded my stomach. My head was starting to go a little fuzzy. Boys.

            “What?” Keegan grunted as he stood in front of us. He didn’t even spare a glance my way. He just stared at Travis.

            Travis grinned lazily, “This is Piper, she’s a newbie. Evan recruited her.”

            Keegan looked at me for half a second and shrugged, “Cool.”

            Travis sighed, “What a warm welcome,” he said sarcastically. Keegan turned and stared at me for a good moment before turning stiffly and walking back towards the house. As soon as he was out of sight my stomach unknotted itself and I was able to breathe.

            Travis sighed, “I don’t think he likes you.”