Why Bother?

“Hi, Mom,” Joanne greeted her mother after school a few weeks later. “Why are you home so early from work?”

Looking at her daughter with a smile, Mrs. Anderson shrugged. “Well, I just wanted to tell you in person as soon as possible. I got a call from the officer who your father and I spoke to last weekend,” she said as she motioned for Joanne to join her on the couch. “It seems the police were able to gather enough evidence to put Mr. Reynolds under investigation.”

Crinkling her eyebrows, Joanne looked at her mother. “Under investigation?” she asked. “What does that mean exactly?”

“Well,” Mrs. Anderson said, putting her arm around Joanne. “It means that between the statements that you and Mark gave, and the evidence the police collected, they found that child abuse in the Reynolds home is both a possibility and a probability. For at least a while, Mr. Reynolds will have to meet with a therapist to discuss his drinking and anger issues. Also, a social worker will be making random visits to their home, speaking to their neighbors, and speaking to school officials on a regular basis.”

Cringing a little at the information, Joanne looked up into her mother’s perplexed face. “I’m sorry,” she told her. “I really appreciate all you’ve done. But it just sounds like all this is going to do is embarrass and annoy Jake and Eve more. I was just hoping something, you know, real, might happen to Mr. Reynolds. Like jail.”

“Well,” Mrs. Anderson stroked her daughter’s hair lovingly. “That’s still a possibility. It depends on what the therapist and the social worker think is best.”

Nodding, Joanne tried to take in the information without seeming ungrateful. In truth, though, she couldn’t figure out why she and Mark had bothered. Jake and Eve hated them, and Mr. Reynolds was still walking around a free man. The only thing telling the truth seemed to have done was make Jake and Eve’s lives even more complicated and difficult. Letting out a sigh, Joanne looked back at her mom. “Well, thanks for all you’ve done.”

Leaning over, Mrs. Anderson kissed Joanne’s head softly. “Do you want to go out and get an ice cream or something?” she asked her daughter kindly. “My treat. Cookie dough with sprinkles, maybe?”

“Thanks, Mom,” Joanne gave her mother a small grin as she rose from the couch. “But I’m not really hungry. I think I’m just going to give Mark a call and let him know what’s happening. Then I have a test in biology that I should study for.”

“I understand,” Joanne’s mother told her gently. “I’ll let you know when dinner’s ready.”

“Thanks,” Joanne picked back up her book bag and headed towards the stairs.

“Honey?” Mrs. Anderson called out tentatively. Joanne looked back at her questioningly. “Joanne, I know this is all a terrible situation, but you have to remember that you did the right thing. Also,” she paused, looking at the desolate expression on her daughter’s face. “I just want you to know how sorry I am that you and Jake broke up. I know you love him, and I know this hurts. I just want you to know that if I can do anything…”

“I know mom,” Joanne nodded, willing her eyes not to fill with tears. “Thanks.” With that, she turned and sprinted up the stairs, shutting her bedroom door just before a sob took over her chest. Throwing herself on her bed, Joanne let herself cry – cry over the unfairness that Mr. Reynolds might get away with what he had done; cry over losing the best friend she ever had; cry over feeling like the pain in her heart, this hole left in her by Jake’s absence, might never go away.

-----

Things seemed to turn around fairly quickly though, and it only took a few weeks for Mr. Reynolds to catch the angry attention of the social worker that was assigned to his case. After coming home drunk one evening while the social worker was there for a random visit, he became enraged and belligerent. It only took five minutes of watching his behavior as he yelled at his wife, his children and the social worker herself for the police to be called and Mr. Reynolds to be arrested.

“I heard their dad is going away for drug dealing,” Mary was saying to Nicole as Joanne entered the bathroom at school one day. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Mary’s eyes grew wide. “I mean, that’s what I heard,” she added hastily.

Rolling her eyes at Mary, Nicole turned towards Joanne. “Look,” she said crossing her arms over her chest. “I know you hate me and all, but the truth is, people are worried. You aren’t the only person in this school that cares about Jake, you know. And he and Eve have been absent the last three days. Now, there are all these rumors going around about his father and the cops. Can you at least tell us what’s going on?”

Court is what had been going on, Joanne knew. Mr. Reynolds had decided to go to trial and fight the child abuse charges. The fear that had been gripping Joanne over the outcome of the trial had been keeping her awake the last three nights. Now, with Nicole standing in front of her, Joanne’s exhaustion and fear melded into a form of anger in the pit of her stomach. Taking a step towards Nicole, Joanne felt good seeing fear in the girl’s green eyes.

“Like you told me in the beginning of the year,” Joanne’s voice was cold. “Apparently, Jake and I weren’t meant to be together. I haven’t spoken to him in months. I’m sure you’ve noticed; I’m sure you’ve loved it. So please do me a favor, Nicole, and don’t ask me questions about Jake or Eve – or anything else, for that matter – ever again. I have no desire to speak to you; I have no desire to look at you; I wish there was some way I could just pretend you don’t exist. Is that clear?”

A sudden round of applause made Joanne jump, and she turned around to see three other girls standing in the bathroom. All were normal, average girls – the kind Nicole and her friends loved to torture to make themselves feel good. Turning back to Nicole, Joanne had a triumphant smile on her face. “One last thing,” she added. “Being popular and being liked are two VERY different things. You may be beautiful, Nicole, and one of the most damn popular girls in this school. But there are very VERY few people who like you.”

Nicole just watched with her jaw dropped as Joanne sauntered back out of the bathroom. Looking over at the smallest of the girls who had been clapping, Nicole’s eyes slit nearly closed. “Are you laughing?” she asked hostilely. “Is something funny?”

Her smile suddenly fading, the girl shook her head. But as soon as Nicole turned back to Mary, the girl looked at the two others she was standing beside and felt the corners of her mouth turn up once more.

-----

“Six months to a year,” Mark had a smile on his face. “AND he loses his job. That’s awesome.”

After almost two weeks of trial, a decision had been made in Mr. Reynolds case. Mark had come over Joanne’s house immediately after school to get all the details from her mother, who had been contacted by the advising officer earlier that day. Now, Joanne and Mark were up in her room. Mark was bouncing with excitement at his spot on the floor, and Joanne was lying on her stomach, on her bed, her face buried in a pillow.

“I don’t know,” Joanne’s muffled voice could barely be heard.

“What?” Mark had no idea what Joanne had just said.

Sitting up on the bed, Joanne frowned at Mark. “I said ‘I don’t know’,” she repeated. “I don’t know if this is awesome. This is all the stuff Jake was afraid was going to happen. He told me this. Now what’s going to happen to Jake and Eve and Mrs. Reynolds? They can’t afford that house, and they have no income. And what happens when Mr. Reynolds gets out? What’s going to make Mrs. Reynolds stop from taking him back? And then what’s going to happen to the family?”

Tears of fear and frustration had begun rolling down Joanne’s cheeks as she spoke, and Mark quickly rose to take a seat beside her. Putting his hand on her shoulder, he didn’t speak for a moment, just giving Joanne time to cry out her dissatisfaction with the situation. When her tears finally subsided, she looked at Mark.

“Mr. Reynolds can’t hurt Jake tonight,” Mark told Joanne softly. “That’s what matters right now. Everything else, well… that’s still all got to be figured out. But Jake and Eve, they’re safe right now.”

Sniffling, Joanne gave Mark a small smile. “I guess you’re right,” Joanne answered. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Mark returned Joanne’s smile. “That’s what friends are for.”

-----

“Mom, I’m home,” Jake called out as he entered his house. Even he had to admit, it felt good to be able to simply walk through the door of his own home and not be afraid of being assaulted. That didn’t mean he wasn’t still tense about what was going to happen with his father in the future, and what fate befell his sister and mother. But just that little bit of relief helped lighten his heavy heart.

“Hello, honey,” Mrs. Reynolds walked into the living room and looked at her son. “How was your day?”

It was hard for Jake to believe that this was his mother. His father had only been arrested a couple months earlier, which was when she had begun seeing a psychologist. In that short time, she had managed to find a strength in herself Jake never knew was there. She now was working to make up for her transgressions towards her children, to overcome her issues with prescription pills, and to deal with the core issues that had caused her to allow her husband to be so cruel to her and her children for so long. Now, she was focused on her children and herself.

“School’s fine,” Jake said as he slid his bag onto the floor and sat down on the couch. “How was your day?”

“Well,” Mrs. Reynolds looked nervous as she took a seat next to her son. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“What’s up?” Jake asked, his stomach churning in nervousness. Were they out of money already? Had his father been released through some technical mistake? What was making his mother look so afraid?

“I wanted to tell you before I told Eve,” Mrs. Reynolds put her hand on her son’s forearm. “I met with a lawyer today. I’m going to divorce your father.”

Taking in a sharp breath, Jake wasn’t sure he had heard his mother correctly. “Can you?” he asked. “I mean, I know you CAN, but… what about money? How will you survive?”

Biting her lip, Mrs. Reynolds looked at her son’s face and touched his cheek lightly. She had been doing that ever since her husband had been arrested. Jake was pretty sure it was a sign of relief, touching a part of his face that his father had abused so much over the years. “Well, I won’t be rich,” she told Jake finally. “But there’s a decent amount of equity in the house, and the lawyer says that I should be able to get 50% of all your father’s assets. That would be more than enough for a down payment on a smaller house. I’ll have to find some kind of work, and it would mean a lot of changes for you and Eve, too… less luxuries, less discretionary spending, and you’ll have to take out student loans for college-”

Before Mrs. Reynolds could finish her sentence, Jake took her by surprise. Throwing his arms around her, he pulled her into a hug. “I can’t believe you’re going to do it,” he whispered into his mother’s hair, sounding so much like a little boy. “I can’t believe you’re actually going to leave him. I’m so proud of you, Mom.”

Pulling back, Mrs. Reynolds had tears in her eyes. “There’s no reason to be proud of me,” she shook her head sadly. “I was a terrible mother for years. I never protected you. I’ll never forgive myself for what I let you go through, Jake.”

“That doesn’t matter anymore,” Jake used his thumb to wipe some tears off his mother’s cheek. “You’re doing it now. And I am so proud of you.” Pulling his mother into another hug, Jake felt her crying into his shoulder. He knew that these tears were a mixture of relief, regret, anxiousness, and excitement. He knew, because he was feeling the same things.

“What’s wrong?” Eve’s petrified voice came from behind Jake, taking him by surprise. She must have just returned from school. “What’s the matter? Why are you guys crying?”

Turning towards his sister, Jake gave Eve a smile. “Nothing’s wrong,” he told her. “It’s over. Mom’s getting a divorce.”

At the words of her brother, Eve’s eyes grew wide in disbelief. A moment later, she threw herself at both Jake and their mother. As Jake laughed at his sister’s exuberance, he tried to figure out what was wrong with him. This was such great news. So why did he still felt empty inside?

-----

“Bye, April,” Joanne waved across the parking lot at the girl she had just finished studying with in the library. “Call me later.”

“I definitely will,” the small brunette called back. “I want to tell you how my date with Paul goes. Wish me luck!”

Smiling to herself, Joanne unlocked her car door and sat down. It was hard to believe that finals were actually approaching. So much had happened that year, it was hard to take it all in. But here Joanne was, having finally begun moving on in her life.

Mrs. Reynolds had contacted Joanne’s parents a few months earlier to thank them for their role in having her husband arrested. At that time, she had also told them about the divorce and her plans for her family. The news had come as both a surprise and a joy to Joanne when she heard it. Even if she had lost Jake and Eve, at least there was a good reason. At least their lives would turn out better for it.

And the rest of Joanne’s life was getting better by the day, as well. After her showdown with Nicole in the bathroom earlier in the year, Joanne had become a mini-celebrity for a while. Now, she had a small group of friends, including April. They were neither popular nor unpopular, just a group of nice people to spend time with, study with, laugh with. While no friendship would be able to compare with the one Joanne had shared with Eve, it was nice to have friends.

Besides, even Eve and Jake weren’t hostile towards her anymore. Neither mentioned anything to her about their family, nor spoke to her very much, but they always smiled when they saw her now. A few times, Joanne had caught Jake staring at her in the halls, but as soon as she met his eyes, he would turn away. ‘I guess that’s the price I had to pay in order for things to turn out right,’ Joanne thought sadly as she began driving home.

Mark was sitting outside Joanne’s house, holding a cigarette in one hand and a small cardboard box in the other, when she pulled up. She had to smile when she saw him. If it hadn’t been for Mark, Joanne wasn’t sure she would have been able to make it through the last few months. His friendship meant the world to her now. Besides, he was her last link to Jake and Eve, and she was pretty sure he held her in the same nostalgic view.

“Are you and Mark dating now?” Joanne’s mother had asked just a week before, taking Joanne completely by surprise. “I mean, you see so much of each other…”

“Ew! No,” Joanne exclaimed, laughing. “That would be, like, incestuous. No, no, we’re just friends.”

When Joanne had told Mark what her mother had asked, he laughed out loud. “No, it’s funny,” he explained. “My mother asked the same thing last week. I tried to explain to her that it would be like dating, I don’t know, a first cousin. I don’t think she quite got it, though.”

Joanne didn’t really care if anyone else understood her friendship with Mark. She was just glad she had him to rely on. “You know my mom will fry you if she sees you smoking,” Joanne grinned at Mark as she approached the porch. “Do you not remember the last time? She shot you with a hose.”

“How could I forget?” Mark smiled wryly as he stood up. “Here, see if you like these.” Handing Joanne the cardboard box, he stubbed out his cigarette and put the butt in his pants pocket. “I don’t know what colors you like, so I got white,” he explained as Joanne opened the box.

“Not again,” Joanne groaned, looking down at the corsage in the box. “Mark, I appreciate this really, but I am not going to prom this year. I already told you that a million times.”

Prom was coming up that weekend, and Joanne had decided months ago there was no way she was going. Even when the cute, quiet, shy boy from her English class asked her, she had turned him down. Mostly, she was afraid that Jake might be going. But when she had told Mark, he had been insistent. “Joanne, please, let’s just go for an hour,” Mark begged, looking at her with wide eyes. “Come on, you know I’m not being completely selfless; I would just love to see Eve again, even if I don’t get to talk to her.”

Looking down at the beautiful arrangement of white roses and baby’s breath, Joanne felt a surge of sympathy for Mark. It must be so hard for him, getting all his information about Eve from Joanne’s parents, never even getting to see her. “Okay,” Joanne conceded reluctantly. “One hour.”

“Yes!” Mark’s face lit up. “Okay, I’m going to go now, then. It’s probably going to be hard to rent a tux two days before prom, but I’m going to do it if I have to wear a powder-blue ‘Saturday Night Fever’ number.”

“Please try for something in black,” Joanne called after Mark as he quickly moved towards his car. “Oh, and you’re taking me to dinner first as a thank you! I like Italian food!”

“You’ve got it,” Mark grinned as he opened his door. “I’ll call you tomorrow to make arrangements. And Joanne,” his face softened slightly as he tilted his head to the side. “I just want you to know I really appreciate this.”

“I know,” Joanne gave a small smile to Mark and then watched him pull out of the driveway and drive away. Looking back down at the corsage in her hand, she tried to swallow a lump in her throat. ‘Maybe Jake won’t even be there,’ she told herself. ‘After all, it’s Junior Prom, and he’s a senior.’

Somehow, though, Joanne knew he would be.

-----

“You have thirty-three minutes left,” Joanne warned jokingly to Mark at prom. “Then I’m out of here, and I’m telling the administration I’ve never seen you before.”

Scanning the room from their seats at a table, it was clear Mark was trying to spot Eve. “I know,” he said, sounding a little depressed. “I just can’t believe she didn’t come. She always lived for this kind of thing.”

“Who always lived for this kind of thing?” Eve’s voice came from behind Joanne and Mark. “Hey Joanne,” she gave her former best friend a small smile. “Hi, Mark.”

“Hi, Eve,” Mark rose, his eyes wide and his cheeks tingeing pink. Although seeing Eve – speaking to her – had been what Mark had hoped would come from the evening, actually having her standing before him put a huge knot in his stomach. Seeing her standing there in a long, form-fitting black evening dress wasn’t making things any easier, either. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” Eve gave Mark a small smile. “Um, would you like to dance?”

Looking at Joanne for a moment, who of course gave him an encouraging wave, Mark turned back to Eve and nodded. “I’ve love to,” he told her. Joanne smiled once more at Eve as she watched the two walk onto the dance floor together.

Watching the roomful people in front of her moving to the slow rhythmic music, Joanne tried to push the bad feelings out of her head. She hadn’t even wanted to come tonight. She had only gone as a favor to Mark. She had hoped Jake wouldn’t be there. So the fact that he wasn’t there was no reason for Joanne to be depressed…

“Hey, would you like to dance?”

Turning around in her chair, Joanne looked up in shock at Jake’s face. ‘This must be a dream,’ she thought to herself. ‘Maybe I dozed off at the table, or maybe somebody spiked the punch…’

“Just one dance?” Jake asked again, his voice hopeful.

This time, Joanne nodded dumbly and rose, following Jake to the dance floor. She put her hands nervously on his shoulders, and felt him place his hands on her hips. They began moving together, and Joanne had to blink to stop herself from crying at how familiar it felt, how Jake’s scent filled her senses, how his hands fit the curve of her waist, how she just wanted him to pull her closer.

“So you came with Mark?” Jake asked, looking down at Joanne.

“Yeah,” Joanne finally spoke, looking into Jake’s dark eyes. “He just wanted the chance to see Eve once more.”

Nodding, Jake studied Joanne’s face for a moment. “I came alone,” he finally said, answering her unasked question. “I mean, Eve put me down as her guest. It’s hard to believe, but Eve Reynolds actually came to prom stag. She turned down every guy that asked her.” When Joanne didn’t respond, he pushed on. “It’s unbelievable that the year’s almost over, huh? I mean, I graduate in two weeks. Then I’m doing a soccer camp thing for most of the summer, then off to UCLA. It all seems to be happening so fast.”

“Well, that’s all great stuff,” Joanne forced herself to say. “Congratulations. It must be a very exciting time for you.”

“It is,” Jake agreed. “Listen, Jo, I just… I had to talk to you once before I go. I just have to let you know that I understand why you did what you did.” Joanne just stared at Jake, unsure what he meant, so he continued. “I mean, things turned out for the best in the end. And I want you to know I hope your life turns out really well.”

“Without you…” Joanne whispered, unaware that the words had even left her mouth until Jake replied.

“I understand why you did what you did,” Jake repeated. “But I still can’t move past it. Things luckily turned out well, but they could have gone horribly wrong.”

Furrowing her eyebrows, Joanne pulled back slightly from Jake to look at him incredulously. “So you asked me to dance so you could get one last jab in?” she asked, hurt evident in her voice. “The last five months weren’t torture enough for me? You had to make sure I don’t forget that you hate me?”

Pulling Joanne to him suddenly, Jake felt Joanne melt into his chest. They were no longer dancing, just standing still holding each other. “I asked you to dance,” Jake’s voice was soft as he spoke into Joanne’s hair. “Because, no matter what happened, I need you to know that I meant it when I said I loved you. I meant it with every ounce of my body. A part of me will always love you.”

Joanne didn’t say anything for a long moment. Instead, she just allowed Jake to hold her, knowing this was probably the last time he ever would. Finally, she pulled back and looked up at him, her eyes glassy with tears. “Well, that was better than saying you hate me,” she tried to give him a little smile.

The song was ending, and Jake leaned down to kiss Joanne’s cheek. “Take care of yourself, okay?” he asked softly.

Nodding, Joanne took a step back. “You too,” she replied to Jake. “And good luck with… everything.” With that, she turned around and started walking back towards her table, hoping Mark would be ready to leave soon. Joanne had no desire to burst into tears in the middle of her Junior Prom.

“From the look on your face,” Mark gave Joanne a wry smile as he approached her a moment later. “Your dance with Jake went about as well as mine did with Eve.”

“Did she say goodbye?” Joanne asked gently. Mark nodded.

Sitting in silence for a few moments, Mark then turned to Joanne. “Are you ready to go?” he asked. “I feel like picking up a large pepperoni pizza and renting ‘Prom Night’. What do you say?”

Standing up, Joanne gave Mark the biggest smile she could muster, which wasn’t very big at all. “I say that sounds pathetic,” she replied. “Just like us. Let’s go.”

-----

STILL FOUR CHAPTERS TO GO, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, SOME VIEWER RESPONSES:

FOAMYFAN15010: I DON’T HAVE AIM OR YAHOO IM, BUT I GENERALLY RESPOND TO EMAILS. I’D LOVE TO GIVE YOU ANY ADVICE OR WHATNOT THAT YOU’D LIKE. IT MAKES ME FEEL SO AMAZING TO KNOW THAT SOMEONE THINKS I’M GOOD ENOUGH TO GET ADVICE FROM!

SILENT_ENVY: DON’T MISS WORK ON ACCOUNT OF ME! I DON’T NEED TO GET ANYONE FIRED!

CU-KID: YOU ARE RIGHT ON ONE POINT, AND SOMEWHAT RIGHT ON ANOTHER. THAT MAKES NOTHING CLEAR, DOES IT? HEE.

PSYCOSNAKE: I DIDN’T GO INTO MRS. REYNOLDS PSYCHOLOGY TOO MUCH IN THIS CHAPTER, AND I DON’T PLAN TO. I JUST HOPE READERS GET THAT SHE PROBABLY CAME FROM AN ABUSIVE BACKGROUND AND FELT HELPLESS.

LUSTFUL X MAGIC: THANKS FOR THE OFFER. I THINK I’VE FIGURED OUT EVERYTHING NOW, BUT I MAY TAKE YOU UP ON THAT IF THE EVIL ‘WRITER’S BLOCK’ HITS AGAIN.

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