Haunted

s c h o o l b a g

*TW: MENTIONS OF ABUSE*

Song of the chapter

SEVEN; Taylor Swift

"I think your house is haunted
Your dad is always mad and that must be why."

"Cross your heart, won't tell no other."

"Passed down like folk songs, our love lasts so long."

𖤣𖥧𖡼𖤣𖥧 Gabriella 𖤣𖥧𖡼𖤣𖥧

With my heart in my throat, I raced down the halls of school. After seeing Joey bloody and bruised on the weekend, I hadn't got a wink of sleep.

I didn't know if I should talk to him about it, or someone else.

I didn't even know if people knew.

I was struggling to find him when my eyes landed on Casey and Aoife.

"Have you seen Joey?" I blurted out, wasting no time.

"He was sent home," Aoife shrugged, "He got in a fight with some guy named Mike. It was pretty bad."

"Why?" I gaped, my heart rate increasing.

"Apparently Mikes sister, Ciara, cut off Joeys sister's hair. So he fought Mike in her honour," Casey informed me.

"Oh my god," I gasped, "Do you think he's alright?"

"I'm sure he's fine," Aoife pursed her lips, "Joey's a tough guy."

I nibbled on my lip, feeling completely thrown.

"Hey, it's okay," Casey wrapped an arm around me, "Joey's always getting in fights."

When Podge came into my view, I grabbed his arm and led him away from my friends.

"Jesus, Gabs," He sighed, "At least give me some warning when you drag me off."

I pulled him outside into the crisp September air and folded my arms over my chest.

"Is Joey okay?" I asked.

"So this is about Joe," Podge smiled, "I knew you had a thing for him."

"Shut up," I furrowed my brows, "This is serious!"

"He's fine! It was just a fight," Podge shrugged.

"That's not what I mean," I frowned, "I mean is he okay. I saw something last night when I was at my dad's."

Podge's expression changed to concern, "What do you mean?"

"People were screaming at his house and then he came out all bruised," I mumbled, shuddering at the memory.

"Well, you're not stupid, Gabby," He inhaled a deep breath, "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"I need you to say it," I choked out.

"Come on, it's obvious he's getting the stuffing knocked out of him when he's not at school," He mumbled.