Alone Together. [An OM&M FanFic]

Chapter 15: What is happening to my life?

Hannah.

"How was school?" Grandma asked as I swung into the driveway after the longest day of my life, and slammed Matty closed behind me. She surprised me by sitting on the steps outside the front door, a cigar in her mouth, hunched over her white Kindle. Her face looked swollen, like she'd been crying, and her hair was pulled from her face into a brown clip, sloppy at the back of her head. Her wrinkles looked deeper, as if stress had really gotten to her, and she only smoked nowadays when she was truly stressed.

"Fine." I lied, not wanting to bring up my own problems when she had some that were so much worse than my own.

"You've never been a good liar, what happened?" She was still looking down at her Kindle.

I sighed and sat next to her, propping myself up on my elbows and looking over at her, blank faced. "Long story."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Nope." I popped the P and she nodded. "How was your day?"

"How does it look?" She muttered, taking out her cigar and passing it over to me.

"What?" I looked at it and then her incredulously.

"Take it, you look like you need some unwinding." She bookmarked her story and looked over at me from the top of her glasses. "Well?"

I knew I had a tough day when I was actually contemplating on trying it or not. Should I? There was always addiction in my family, but I just couldn't shake the, wanting to try it, feeling. I knew that no matter how old I got, I needed to say no. "No thanks."

"Suit yourself." She brought it back to her mouth and went back to reading. "Grandpa is in here packing, FYI."

I nodded and leaned over, kissing her on the cheek before getting up and going in the house to start on my homework.

----------- AFTER HOMEWORK, IN MY BATHTUB. ----------

"Take my hand and we will run away, down to this place that I know, how did this night become the enemy?" I lowly sang, off key as usual, to the music flowing through my ears while I rested on a neck pillow in the warm, coffee smelling bubble bath. I was determined to stay in here until the water was cold, the bubbles were gone, and my skin was so wrinkly it looked like paper mache that was going to rip apart at the slightest touch.

My iPod was sitting on the toilet next to me, ear buds hanging from there to me. My eyes were closed, and I was trying to relax when I jumped at the sound of a door slamming and someone yelling. When I jumped, the iPod clattered to the floor, and my ear buds popped from it and flicked itself into the damn tub. "Ugh!" I yanked them out and from my ears, tossing them into a towel that was crumpled on the floor. "Fuck, my life." I groaned, picking up my iPod gingerly and placing it back on the toilet after inspection.

I tried listening in and I heard muffled crying from downstairs. What's going on? My heart raced picked up again and I leaned over the tub side, trying to listen closer. "Grandma?" I tried calling out, and got nothing in response. "Grandpa?" A little louder, but nothing still. "Jeanette?" I yelled louder and heard footsteps running across the hall and to my room.

"Hannah?"

"Jeanette?"

"Yeah? Where are you?"