Adopted by Tyler Joseph, Jenna Joseph and Josh Dun

Chapter 28

The next morning, I wake up and see Tyler sitting in a chair next to my bed. "Hey there. How are you doing?" his voice is so quiet and calm.

I shrug. I feel like crap. My throat hurts from crying and screaming and I can barely talk. I pull my phone out and it says "1PM". I slept so long. But I guess It's better than not sleeping at all. My arms and legs itch, but not in a way where I want them to itch, they actually itch.

I shower off and try to scrub away the thoughts. I get out and put on a hoodie and shorts, then walk to the kitchen, where Tyler is pouring himself lemonade. "Hey Tyler? My cuts, they itch really bad. What's going on?" I ask, confused at why they itch.

"They might be infected. Let me see" he says. I roll my sleeves back, and hold my arms out. He holds my arms, and examines them. "Yeah. Follow me" he says.

I follow him to the bathroom, and he opens the medicine cabinet. He pulls out a spray and cloth wipes and turns to me.
I sit on the counter and he sprays it on my arms and the coldness of it reminds me of Cameron's finger tips on my stomach. I shiver at the thought.

He holds my arm and wipes the spray all over, then the other arm. He looks up. "Is it okay if I spray your legs too?" he asks, looking me in the eyes. I think about it for a moment, and nod.

He sprays my thighs with the spray, and wipes them. I flinch when he wipes them off. "Jus trust me. I'm not gonna hurt you" he says, calmly. I nod.

He finishes and I jump off the counter. He goes back to the kitchen and gets his drink. I go to my room and sit on the balcony, smelling the fresh air. I look down at the river, and how beautiful it is.

I walk to the kitchen to get myself a drink, and Tyler is standing there. "Whatcha doing?" I ask him. "Not much, just getting a drink for Jenna" he says. I nod. "Hey Ty?" I say out of nowhere.

"Yeah?" he asks, looking over from the glass he's pouring lemonade into. "Thanks for taking care of me. And caring about me. Thank you" I say. "You're totally welcome. I love you so much" he says and walks over.

He hugs me, and at first I am tense ans scared, but I calm down and hug him back. "Wanna join us outside?" he asks. I nod.

He leans down for me to get on his back. I jump on, and then he hands me a lemonade and he grabs the other one. Probably not a wise way to carry drinks but it works out.

We get outside and he sets me down in a chair, then sits next to me. "Hey!! Looks like someone's doing better!" Josh says, smiling. I nod, even though I feel the same way I did last night.

Its not that easy to get over something like that. You can't just go back to normal and pretend like it didn't happen. It breaks you. You feel used.

We sit for a little while and then Tyler speaks up. "We have a concert this weekend in Columbus. Do you want to go to you're first official twenty one pilots concert?!" He asks, grinning.

I nod and smile like a crazy person. "Of course! I can't wait!" I say. "Oh yeah! That reminds me!" Tyler says, running back into the house. A minute later he returns with a box.

"You can't go to a concert without Merch!" He says. My eyes widen. I open the box and I see a "skeletøn clique" bracelet, a ski mask shirt and a "tøp" snapback. I smile. "Thank you guys so much!"

---
That night I lay in bed, thinking about what happened last night. About how He touched me, his cold fingertips pressing into my cuts. A tear falls down my face.

I get out of bed and cross the hall, knocking on Joshs door. I hear footsteps and he looks sleepy. "Are you okay??" he asks, concerned.

I shake my head, implying 'no'. I start sobbing again, and break down. I sink down to the cold, hardwood floor and curl into a ball. I lay in the dark hallway, in a ball, sobbing while Josh tries to calm me down.

I hear a door open and Tyler comes to my side. He looks exhausted. Jenna comes down the hall as well, wrapping a robe around her. "What's wrong honey?" she asks.

I try to talk but mumbled nonsense comes out instead. I cover my ears, trying to get the thoughts to stop.

"You're worthless and used. A piece of crap. No one will love you now"

I scratch at my ears, wanting everything to stop. I keep thinking about his cold hands, being exposed, full of fear and not being able to move. Being pinned down. The look in his eyes as he told me to shut up and punched me. The awful look. His cold hands, running down my stomach to my thighs. The burn of the cuts as his fingernails dug into them. I shut my eyes tight, trying to get those images to leave.

Tyler wraps me in a blanket and carries me somewhere. "Don't hurt me. Please no please" I whisper, eyes still shut tight. "Shhh baby girl I'm not gonna" he says.

He lays me down somewhere. I don't open my eyes. "What's going through your mind right now?" Tyler asks, trying to understand why I'm crying. I start mumbling everything.

"H-he touched me. Punched me. Hurt me. Used me. His cold hands, touching me. His nails digging into my cuts. I-I'm worthless. Used." I mumble the words through sobs. I open my eyes to see I'm on Tyler and Jenna's king sized bed.

"No no no. You're not worthless. He was awful to you and that's not your fault." Josh says. "B-but I couldn't stop him. I let him touch me while I Just layed there." I sob.

"That's not your fault. He was too strong. You couldn't have done anything" Jenna says. Tyler places his hand on my cheek and I flinch and let out a yelp. "Shhh it's okay. I won't hurt you." he says. He wipes away my tears, slowly with his thumb.

He sits down next to me and I lay my head on his chest. He strokes my hair slowly, and sings "Anathema" quietly.

I cry into his shirt and shake, but he continues singing. I eventually fall asleep in his arms.