someone to stay, ⁹¹¹

𝟎𝟐𝟏.

JJ clutched the sink of her bathroom tight enough that her knuckles were white as paper. She let out a choked whimper, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. Rage bubbled in her throat, leaving a sour taste in her mouth.

She wanted to storm downstairs and demand that her Dad withdraw the lawsuit, but the damage had already been done. Lawsuits could take from two weeks up to eight months. JJ couldn't— she wouldn't survive without her family for that long.

She had spent the first eleven years of her life waiting to be loved. She prayed that one day she'd have a real family and that she'd finally feel free.

And then Evan Buckley walked into her life. And she had finally found everything she wanted. And now she felt like it would be gone forever.

That was probably the pills talking. They had initially taken the edge off, but now she was angrier than she was ten minutes ago downstairs.

She kept her head ducked as she continued to clutch the sink, no doubt leaving bruises on her hands due to how hard she was squeezing. She refused to look up. She couldn't stand looking at herself since the tsunami.

She wasn't sure what changed, because she looked the same as she did before that day, but she was now disgusted by her reflection. Her insides would fill with disgust and shame, possessing her mind.

She let out a frustrated scream, one that made her throat burn. She picked up a bottle of perfume and flung it across the room. That was for the bombing.

She stormed back into her bedroom, staring at it for a moment, her nostrils flaring as her chest quickly rose up and down.

She pushed over her lamp, another scream leaving her parted lips as it fell. That was for the tsunami.

She choked on a sob as she frantically paced her room, anger swimming through her veins. Part of her understood her father's decision, as she'd also do anything to get back to something she loved.

But she wouldn't toss her family aside in the process.

She walked back into the bathroom with a huff. She used her shaky hand to turn on the tap before splashing her red face with cold water.

She rolled her shoulders back with a sigh after turning off the sink. Her breathing picked up as she finally looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't recognise the girl looking back at her.

Without a thought, she slammed her fist into the mirror with a crack. That was for the lawsuit.

Burning pain shot through her knuckles and up her hand as blood dripped between her fingers. She let out a whimper, muttering to herself as she placed her head in her hands.

"Fuck!" She yelled. She then began throwing things and trashing her bathroom in a fit of rage. Anything she could get her hands on ended up on the floor.

She didn't stop until she felt someone grab her.

Buck's arms wrapped around JJ's frantic body. She resented his touch, trying to move violently out of his grip, but Buck tightened his arms around her, so tight he could practically feel her erratic heartbeat.

He didn't want to hurt her, he'd never hurt her. But did so to stop her from hurting herself. He tried speaking to her, but her screams blurred out any words he attempted to splutter out.

Blood was dripping down her arm as she went to tug at her hair from a natural bad habit. Already sensing this was what she would do, Buck made sure to secure her arms around her torso.

Buck was sure he felt his heart crack from the sound of her heartbreaking cries. Tears pricked his eyes from the fact his kid was hurting this badly.

"JJ!" He shouted her name repeatedly, hoping it get her attention. "Shh, hey it's okay, shh." He cooed in her ear, trying desperately to help her calm down. "You're safe here, you're safe."