Trouble in Paradise

Since Christmas vacation:


Jacob Peeler ended up being kicked out of the house he was living in, so we offered to let him stay with us for a week until he received his paycheck and could get a new place. 
Dasya moved back home at this stage. 


At this time, Jacob and Amarantha were not dating and we had their word that nothing funny would go on. Boy, we were naive. We found texts on Amarantha's phone that showed Peeler was sneaking into Amarantha's room at night (after we'd gone to bed) and they were having sex. Under our own roof, after they'd promised nothing like this would happen. 


We kicked Peeler out when we discovered their relationship. 
My friend's son just arrived to stay with us. He was renting our trailer from us until he'd gotten on his feet.


This was the first time that Amarantha ran away. We drove all over town trying to find her and spoke with several of her friends, including Peeler. All of her friends lied to us. I was able to track down Peeler's parents on Facebook and spoke with them. Later I received a call from his mother informing me that they'd arrived at her house and were safe. I wriggled her address from her and told her that I'd be there in the morning to pick her up. They live in Burns which is about 3 hours from my house. Around 4:30 am my rear truck window and Robert's driver's side window were smashed out. Robert and Dasya left for Burns. 


When they arrived at the address, they saw Peeler's car and called the police. They came and released Amarantha to Dasya. Everyone came home. Amarantha was wearing a new piece of jewelry: a diamond engagement ring!! WTF?! Apparently now Amarantha and Peeler are engaged?! 


We discovered that Amarantha knew of the plan that her friends (that we'd spoken to earlier that night) had to smash our trucks' windows. 


She was on restriction to her room when she returned. I removed most of the things from her room with the plan that she would earn these items back with good behavior. She would be able to write to and receive letters from Peeler.


Amarantha has been ditching school so often that she was withdrawn (dropped) from Redmond High School. Someone was calling in and impersonating her father, and excusing her from school. We later found out that it was Jacob Peeler. When Amarantha came back, Peeler came to the house and Robert and I had a long talk with him about the choices they were both making and how it was going to affect their future, and their future with us. We implored him to help keep her on the right path. We also discovered that he'd just snuck her a new phone so she could call him. Of course we confiscated that and returned it to him.


We had to wait until her school IEP meeting on 1/4/12 to see if she could return to school, and what modifications were needed for her IEP. She stated that she had an epiphany and really missed being in high school and was ready to commit to going. We moved her to COIC campus which is a branch of the local college located on the back side of the high school. Here she would work on credit recovery and/or GED preparation (if the school environment became too much for her). Again she started ditching classes. We heard she was spotted with Peeler. Of course both denied this.


Amarantha tells me of several interactions with the guy living with us. She states that he asked her to steal some of my jewelry so he could pawn it for money and they would split it. After repeated denials of her involvement, I pretended to text the guy and to receive a reply. I noticed my diamond wedding ring missing. Yes, it was from my last marriage, but it was still important to me and I'd had plans to split it up for my girls when they were married. I (lied) told her that he ratted her out and said she was the one who did it. Then she confessed to stealing it from my room and giving it to him. The guy denied everything.


I then caught him going through our gun safe. He'd said he found the key and was curious about what it went to. Rather than return it to us, he chose to discover the lock it fit. I did find something missing, but at least the really important things were still there. Amarantha admitted to me that she gave him the key (from my key ring) upon his request. She stated that he'd had it for a week and had gone into the safe several times. 


After discussing this with Robert, and trying to get to the bottom of where my ring was, the guy. Robert and I decided that he couldn't stay at our home anymore, because of the safe incident. In the morning (Friday), I called the police to file a Stolen Report. The officer came to speak with the guy and Amarantha. He drove to the school to interview her, but we discovered that she'd ditched that day. I drove the guy to a very nice homeless shelter and I guess he's doing really well there and likes it. 


Amarantha has been asking me about living in The Loft in Bend. This is a homeless shelter for runaways and also offers a residential program. I had been telling her no, but in light of all things recently, I'd decided to call them to inquire about their program. She'd been asking me to do this quite frequently. I told her all about their program and the requirements. 


Devani was with me this past weekend. We were all sitting down to play a game and I asked Devani to see if Amarantha wanted to play. By this time she earned several things back. Devani came back to say Amarantha was gone. What a shock it was for that little girl. This was Saturday. I called the police to file a Runaway Report. I was interviewed by the same officer as yesterday. 


We received no word of her from any of her friends or their parents, until a couple of days later. She was spotted at Walmart. I called the police and gave them all the information. 


I started a new job on Thursday. 2 hours into my shift an officer came to my work looking for me. He had news that Amarantha had been found. A girlfriend of mine had spotted her near the high school and tried to get Amarantha to go with her. When she refused, my girlfriend called the police and she was picked up. She was with Peeler near the house that Peeler used to live in.  The officer told me to come down to the station to pick her up, or they could take her back to school; they couldn't hold her. This was so embarrassing, but my new boss was really cool and let me leave. 


I arrived at the station to be let in by my next door neighbor who works there. After being gone for some time, she returned to say that Amarantha had been taking to St. Charles Medical Center. I was told to go home and I'd be contacted by the officer. Apparently, once she'd found out that I was on my way to pick her up, she freaked out and told the officer that she was a "cutter" and if she has to go home she'll kill herself.


Meanwhile Dasya is very upset about Amarantha's behaviors and keeps reassuring me that I am a good mom and that our lives are good and that I'm not doing anything wrong. 


The officer also told me that he had a long talk with Peeler and informed him that he could be arrested if he continues to aid a runaway. Peeler stated that Amarantha told him that I'd kicked her out. 


I received a call from the social worker that interviewed Amarantha at the hospital. She said that Amarantha is ok and not an immediate danger to herself. She asked my permission to remove her from my home and to place her in The Loft, so "we" could calm down and have time for the situation to diffuse. I have never spoken in any other manner that a calm tone of voice, throughout this whole situation. I will have to go through a mediation process so we can resolve our conflicts productively. What the hell has Amarantha been saying??! I informed the social worker that I have not spoken to her since she left. She said the mediator will want to meet with me first so she can get a feel for the parent, without the child being present. This will help decide if the child can be brought in. 


The shelter she's staying at is exactly where she wants to be. This is where she wants to live. It is a co-ed dormitory style living, with a mother and father figure that live there. She is free to come and go and there are rules (?) she has to follow. It is NOT a locked facility. Hmmph.


As I said on my FB page, I think it's kinda bullshit that I have to go through a mediation process with her, when all of this stemmed from her being on restriction for  running away, ditching school, and stealing from me.


My diamond ring is still missing.