The rain woke him up hours later. It was a soft pattering, but it broke the barrier between his ears and the world around him. His room was a huge mess, and Luke was no where to be found.
He shivered a little, and an involuntary groan ripped its way through him. It felt like everything hurt. He pressed through it anyway, staggering to his bathroom to examine the damage. The blood was coming from the hit to his head. It was a small cut, but it definitely bled like a big one. JJ was glad it was only visible if you moved his hair out of the way.
Then there was the black eye and bruises that covered his torso is rainbows of yellow and purple. He didn't acknowledge the dried tears on his cheeks. He knew he had to figure out his next move. So he dug through the mess to find an old bottle of concealer.
He remembered when Kiara had given it to him. Originally, he'd used it for a part of his Halloween costume. Now, he was going to use it to lie. He hated doing it, but it was for their own good. They couldn't deal with Luke. He could barely deal with Luke.
"Oh, fuck, Kie..." He thought aloud. He didn't even remember the full story. It was a shit show, no doubt.
As he dabbed the product onto his skin, he wondered if the effort was worth it. He was literally hiding every part of himself. He'd been careless to invite Kiara into his fucking house. He should've seen this coming. A fresh wave of tears passed, and he harshly dug the palms of his hands into his eyes.
He didn't deserve to cry about it. He'd been too selfish to give a damn about her well being, dragging her into a house where a narcissist abusive bitch lived. He should've known!
Ironically, that's when he knew he liked her. He wouldn't have brought anyone else into his home for fear of this exact situation. With everything that's happened to her in her life, Kiara didn't deserve this.
He continued applying the makeup until the bruises were masked. For a moment he was content. He actually looked pretty normal. He was still skinny, and relatively weak, but it didn't look as bad as it was.
His phone suddenly buzzed and he flinched. JJ cautiously picked it up, confusion panting his features as he read the caller ID. Why the hell was Sarah calling him?
"Uh, hello?" He answered, and his voice was so insanely high and broken that he pretended to clear his throat so he could repeat it.
"JJ? Hey, it's Sarah, can we talk?"
He paused to look at himself in the mirror again. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Cool! So I just had a simple question." He waited for her to continue. "Um... why do you hate me?"
He froze again, putting his phone on the counter top and sighing. She seriously wanted to have this conversation now. JJ put her on speakerphone.
"I don't have time for this right now." He said, and she groaned.
"It's cause of Kiara isn't it? I didn't mean to hurt her, alright?" She was pacing her bedroom floor, worried creases making their way into her forehead.
He rolled his eyes. "Dude, no. It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me! Why are you always avoiding me! Kiara forgave me so we should really be friends-"
The Maybank was starting to get annoyed. He didn't like Sarah on a good day. He hated her on a bad day. And now? His fists were at his sides again, so tightly his rings were beginning to carve into his fingers. He took a deep breath.
"Sarah, I promise it's not important." He said again. "Its just a bad time. I'll call you later."
He definitely wouldn't call back a Cameron, but it seemed like a likely distraction. Unfortunately, she didn't buy it.
"JJ come on! Is it because of my brother?" She was running out of ideas, and if she was anything, she was determined to figure things out now.
"Oh my god, NO. It's cause you're the only one whose parents actually like you." Now Sarah was silent. "Fucking Rose and Ward were on your side. Maybe they were shitty people in the end but at least they wanted you to begin with. You're so fucking privileged, it's ridiculous!"
"What? But JJ, I don't even know anything about your pa-"
"No, you always said you wanted to enter the Pogue life but everyone knows you're gonna bail on John B like you bailed on Topper and like you bailed on Kie. You had things perfect. It was you who messed things up with your family. You meddled in a Pogues business so you have no right to complain about anything he does."
"But I haven't-"
"He's not your slave! He's a POGUE and you're a KOOK and that's always how it's gonna be. You can't change each other's past! It's ridiculous how you treat him like some other stupid Kook. You kick him around like a rag doll!" His voice cracked on the last bit, making him go completely silent. Sarah took a deep breath and waited.
A minute passed. Then two. When she got to five, she whispered reassurances into the phone. "JJ, I never want to hurt you, or Kie, or especially John B. I love you guys more than anything. I'm sorry if it comes off badly the way I speak to JB, but I never saw an issue with it because John B never said he had an issue with it. I'll watch it, alright?"
This should've calmed JJ. Instead it made things worse. He wanted scream at how peaceful she was. Why wasn't she angry? He'd just degraded the absolute shit out of her and she actually APOLOGIZED.
"I'm sorry, Sarah." He gritted his teeth, hands fisting his hair. "I'm sorry, a-and I gotta go."
With that, he hung up, leaving Sarah confused and hurt. She really didn't understand the way JJ saw things. He seemed so angry. It was like he was ready to kick someone. Not even a minute later, Kie was calling her.
YOU ARE READING
Heated Lies (Jiara)
أدب الهواة"Oh my god, SHUT UP!" He screamed, furiously wiping away tears. "I can handle it, Shoupe! I'm not some bitch in need of rescuing!" "Then lift up your shirt." The blonde boy blinked. "W-What?" "Lift up your shirt. Prove the anonymous tipper wrong. Ea...
