Heated Lies (Jiara)

Arrangements

"Yeah..."

Now it made sense. Her parents still looked upset. JJ had an awkward expression painted on his features, and it wouldn't leave no matter how hard he tried.

Pope and John B managed to fill in the blanks with Kiara's parents while she tried to help him back to bed. "I can walk, Kie. I don't want to be bed ridden any longer than I have to be."

"I get it. But the doctor also said you need rest."

"Right, right." JJ never did like when she said those things. Any sort of pity made him feel uncomfortable. Kiara knew that before she was dating him.

He complied anyway, choosing not to voice the pounding headache he'd felt. Kiara kissed his cheek before she left, disregarding any childish feelings she'd received afterward. Even JJ didn't object.

When she walked back out into the common area, her mother was waiting with a hug. She was quiet, but Kiara kept her thoughts hidden. Then Mike joined them, which caught her even more off guard.

She wanted to focus on the moment, at their obvious attempt at comfort. Instead, she was focused on the way her thumbs felt rubbing over each painted nail on her fingers. Constantly moving. An accidental chip. Pope could see her fingers begin to twitch, an nudged John B as a result.

"Honey, we had no idea." Anna began.

Kiara let her speak, though her listening was half hearted. If they were going to separate her and the Pogues, she needed an escape plan. Her eyes darted from door to door of the hospital, thumbs still rubbing each nail just like JJ had done before.

"Kie, can you hear me?" Mike suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts.

Their previous words had been numbed out like the adults on charlie brown. It made no sense. She almost thought they were... apologizing?

"Does JJ have a place to stay?" Anna asked, sounding strangely genuine. "He's welcome at our house anytime."

Her eyes grew wide despite the fact that JJ had been in all corners of their home already. "Seriously?" She was hesitant. "Why?"

"Honest answer?" Mike dismissed his wife's glare. "We just don't want you to run away again."

If there was one thing Kiara loved about her father, it was his honesty. There was some kind of change going on in her parents. She could see it, but she knew she'd need continuous proof before any kind of trust was insured.

That's when the Sheriff came into view. "Carreras..." He awkwardly acknowledged her parents before turning to Kiara. "They're giving out a date for it. You'll need to be there for the hearing."

"It?" Anna wondered aloud.

"JJ's dad's sentencing." Nora said, making the woman wish she hadn't asked.

"He'll need to show evidence of physical abuse as well as a recollection of how it happened. Can he do that?" He lowered his voice.

The curly haired girl wanted to say yes. She was still in her pajama shorts, picking at the ends and sighing. "I don't know."

"Can we help?" Pope suddenly asked. "Me and John B noticed a few things. Beer bottles, pull containers, constant mess. It's common in addict cases. We can use it against him."

"I'd ask JJ's lawyer but I think it'll be alright." Shoupe shrugged. "Kiara, I'll send your parents a date. Make sure he's there."

He patted her shoulder, which earned him a small smile from the girl. She then slowly wandered back toward her boyfriend beneath the bedsheets. Pope, Nora and John B said their goodbyes while Mike and Anna got comfortable in the waiting room.

She hugged Nora for a long time before letting Pope take her hand. They'd have a conversation about a new Pogue romance later.

"JJ?" She lightly knocked on the room door. "You awake?"

Of course he wasn't. With everything that had happened, he was out like a light. She couldn't wait for him to sleep in a normal bed, one that he could call his. Or theirs. Even though he wasn't completely relaxed, his face was a lot more peaceful than it used to be.

She could see faint scarring on his forehead. She had to fight the urge to move his hair out of his face, but as fragile as he was now, she knew the slightest movement would interrupt his sleep. So she curled up beside him, planning to stay there for the night.

***

Time began to pass. Living in Kiara's house with verbal consent was strange. There was a small limp to his walk for the first week, but it faded somewhere between the second. Mike gave him many rules about the sleeping arrangements that neither of them followed.

One of them would sneak into the others room and be gone by morning. Her parents didn't know they'd mastered this art long beforehand. As the hearing approached, JJ grew restless. It would start with nightmares, of which he hid when they first began.

The night he'd accidentally woken her up with one, she sat holding him for the rest of the night in spite of his false protests. It was almost expected. She knew how to handle it all. She was pretty much the only one.

And then JJ remembered something else just as Kiara's eyes fluttered shut. Mike and Anna had gone to sleep over an hour ago. He'd looked up from his girlfriend's sleeping form to find the green silk dress in her closet.

His grin was effortless as he formed a plan. He needed to feel normal again. What was more normal than a cheesy high school dance? He'd hated the thought before, but now? As his toes dug into the carpet beneath his feet, he knew this was perfect.

But his idea required support. He called Nora first, figuring she and Kie were closer than he originally assumed. Besides, he had questions about her and Pope anyway. Things were looking up.

Author- i feel like my writing is low key ass but that's okay ☠️