Chapter 43: Violet - The Foster Child

I spot Lori get onto the train at Exeter but she doesn’t see me, she’s lugging a suitcase and has a nasty bruise on her face. I wonder if she fell or if someone hit her. Maybe Jacob. Although he doesn’t look like a ‘handy with his fists’ kind of guy. I bet he can be cruel with his words though, he acts like everyone is beneath him.

I guess she’s on her way to Cora’s, home for the Christmas holidays. Lucky her to have a home to go to. I bet Cora will spoil her, and she and Elliot will take her out, treat her, make her feel special.

Not like my bloody selfish ‘out for what she can get’ mother and no-good drunken father. I never hear from them unless they have a crisis, like last week when a neighbour phoned me up to say my parents had both been taken into hospital with pneumonia. I went over to see them, they were rough but recovering. ‘Stay in the house,’ Mum said, giving me a key. I thought she was being kind to me, for once, but no, she was out for herself again. The house was a tip and she wanted me to tidy it up for them. I did, of course. I had nowhere else to stay and couldn’t leave it like that. They wanted me to stop and look after them when they came out but there was no way I was doing that. I arranged for a nurse to come in and left. They never looked after me when I was young, why should I look after them? They won’t be happy when they find out that I’m going home, but tough, I don’t owe them anything.

She’s getting on at my coach! I keep my head down as Lori walks past and sits on the opposite side of the aisle, two rows in front. She’s too wrapped up in her own misery to look around though. She checks her phone a couple of times but mostly she stares out of the window. I wonder what’s happened.

Cora’s at the station waiting, of course. I watch them hug and walk off to Cora’s car. I’d love a lift but they haven’t even noticed me. So I grab a taxi to take me home, drop off my case then set off to visit Cora. I’ve bought them a Christmas present each, they won’t be able to turn me away with those. Then once I’m inside I can put my plan in action.