Tainted Heart - A Jai Brooks Fanfiction

Chapter 9

The car stopped and I looked out the window. We had pulled up in front of an alleyway. James hopped out and opened the door for me and bowed.

"M'lady, welcome to Jahoo Alley" he said, speaking with a posh English accent. I giggled as he helped me out of the car. I walked down the alley and saw that the boys had stuck up little posters of themselves on the wall around the doorway. I turned around to face the group.

"So this is where the magic happens huh?" I commented.

Jai had shown me a few videos they had made already and, needless to say, I pissed myself laughing for all of them. They were so naturally funny and they didn't give a shit about what people thought, it was pure genius.

"What kind of video is this one then?" I asked curiously.

"We were thinking Q&A's" Luke replied, hauling the camera and the tripod out of the boot. "We haven't done one in ages so we might as well"

I nodded and set up the camera as the boys straightened out their clothes and fixed their hair. I looked at Jai who was trying to straighten his beanie and caught his eye. He blushed and looked away as I chuckled at how much effort he was putting into making the beanie sit perfectly on his head.

"Alright boys, camera's ready to go." I announced. The boys stood in front of the wall and I pressed record.

"Hey guys, we're the Janoskians" the boys all chorused. "And today we're doing question and answers!"

The boys all started to cheer and tackle each other, it was all I could to to keep myself from laughing out loud. Jai started to speak again.

"Ok so we asked you last week on twitter to ask some questions we could use for this video and we've chosen some to answer for you guys."

Skip produced a bowl filled with scraps of paper and put his hand in, fishing out a piece. He read it out loud.

"Ok this is from @lewks_pizza: how did you guys think up the name 'Janoskians'?"

"That was me!!" Luke piped up. "I'm just so incredibly talented and it came to me in a dream filled with pizza and angels."

Beau grabbed the bowl off Skip and fished out another question.

"From @janosRsexy: can I be a bridesmaid at Baniels wedding, I ship you guys so hard."

"Of course you can baby" shouted Skip, leaping into Beaus arms and planting a huge kiss on his cheek. "I'm expecting our first child."

The questions went on for a while, some really weird ones cropping up but the boys handled them all with ease. Then James picked out another one.

"So @skippingxjanos sent this one.. 'Jai we're so sorry to hear about you and Ariana splitting :( is there anyone else on the scene yet?' "

I gulped and looked at Jai who was already making eye contact with me. He looked back at the camera and cleared his throat.

"Well, uh.. Yeah it's been tough but we're still friends and I still care about her.. And um.."

He looked at me again, unsure of what to say. His eyes flicked back to the camera.

"I have someone really special in my life right now and she means a lot to me. She's pretty unique and we're taking things slow.. But yeah, that's it really."

He smiled at the camera and I heaved a sigh of relief. He handled that so well, I would have died.

The boys finished up and I pressed the stop button.

"Sweet! We got some really good ones guys." I told them.

"I'm starving, let's get a Maccas!" Skip pitched in.

"Jeez Skip, I can't eat anymore junk food" I exclaimed. "I'm gonna walk home, I can feel the fry from this morning sitting on my hips!"

"I'll join you." Jai said, and turned to the boys. "We'll meet you back at ours and we can start editing. I wanna get this video up tonight, we've kept the fans waiting too long."

"Alright lovebirds" Luke teased. "Don't get lost on the way home."

The boys piled into the car and sped off, Boyfriend by Justin Bieber blaring out of the speakers. I shook my head smiling.

"You guys are something else." I told Jai, he nodded in agreement.

"I know, but who doesn't like a bit of crazy in their life." He replied with a smirk. We started walking in silence. I was the first one to break it.

"You handled the relationship question really well" I commented. His eyes met mine.

"Yeah.. Well that comes with the fame, you gotta be able to think on your feet."

We lapsed into silence again.

"Do you miss her?" I asked. "Like you only just broke up, is it not hard seeing her tweets on twitter and everything?"

We were walking through the park now and we sat down under a massive oak tree, our backs leaning against the wide trunk.

"Yeah I miss her. But like I said before, we had outgrown each other way before this." He shrugged. "It was just time to move on."

I nodded understandingly and cast my gaze around the park, at all the couples and families running around.

"What about you?" Jai asked. I turned around to face him. He looked at me questioningly. "Who's been there for you since-.." He stopped.

"Since Rob?" I finished for him. He nodded.

"I've had no one." I whispered softly. "Every day for me is filled with this hatred of myself. I had to leave home because of it."

Jai rested his hand on my thigh, attempting to reassure me.

"You didn't have to leave Leah. That can't be true."

"But it is." I faced him and looked him in the eye. "Can you imagine losing someone who is your soulmate? Someone who's soul is made of the same thing yours is?"

I felt myself getting riled up so I took a deep breath, steadying myself.

"Imagine that. Then imagine the expression in peoples faces when they see you. Yeah it's full of sympathy at first glance. But then you look deeper. You look deeper and see the veiled hatred they have for you. The blame. Because it's your fault. You should have done something, but you didn't. Now peoples lives are destroyed. And it's on you."

I looked away again.

"That's why I left. I couldn't live in a place where my existence was a reminder that Rob was never coming back. Maybe with me gone, they can all move on."

Jai's hand made its way to mine, our fingers interlocking.

"Maybe you can too." He stated simply, his eyes lingering on me.

"Maybe. I need time."

He nodded.

"Of course."

All of a sudden, a huge clap of thunder rumbled over our heads and the heavens opened. Jai leaped up and grabbed my hand and we sprinted the Brooks house. We were soaked to the skin by the time we got there, much to Gina's annoyance.

"Jai! Leah! You're soaking! Are you trying to catch a cold on purpose?!"

We looked at each other sheepishly, mumbling our apologies. Gina shook her head.

"Enough! Go and have a shower, both of you. Jai will give you some of his clothes." She told us, addressing me with the last part.

We traipsed down the hallway into Jai's room. He pulled a t-shirt and trakkies out of a drawer and handed them to me.

"These don't fit me anymore, so you can probably keep these." He said, grabbing some clothes for himself as well. "You can shower in the bathroom in mums room across the hall and I'll shower in the main bathroom."

I walked into Gina's bedroom and shut the door, making my way over to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and peeled the wet clothes off me, wringing them out in the sink before laying them on a radiator. I climbed into the shower and let the hot water warm me up again, and washed all the grime off my body.

I decided I better not use up all the hot water and got out after a few minutes. I dried my body off and walked into the bedroom, towelling my hair. I stopped as soon as I glanced in the full length mirror that Gina had hanging on the wall.

With clothes on, my body looked fine. No scars, no imperfections and perfectly toned. But standing in front of the mirror now told a different story. My scars across my shoulders and chest were visible and the bruises I had on my legs were a purple-blue colour. I looked at the scars, my eyes lingering on the long jagged one that stretched from just under my belly button right up to my boobs.
I turned around and inspected the ones on my back while looking over my shoulder. They were numerous and scattered over my back, one stretching from my lower back down to the outside of my leg. The bruises there were even worse.

I turned away from the mirror, unable even to cry at the ugly state my body was in. My life with Rob back home was abusive. Rob never laid a hand on me.. But I wasn't so fortunate with the crowd he fell in with.

When Rob didn't have money to pay off his debts, I was collateral damage. They beat me senseless sometimes, or just sliced my skin open to leave their mark. Only in places that were covered by clothes though. They were too clever to hurt me in places where the marks would show.

I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing back tears. That's what killed him inside. Before he ever took his own life he was dead inside because he had to watch them hurt me.

It was my fault.


-----------------JAI'S POV-----------------

I walked down the hallway after my shower, feeling a lot more refreshed. I stopped outside Gina's room and was about to knock on the door when I saw Leah through the crack between the door and the frame. She had her back to me and had the trakkie bottoms on already and was about to pull on the t-shirt.

I gasped in shock at the marks and bruises on her skin. There were scars everywhere, jagged and white against her tanned skin. My eyes fell on one that started from the middle of her spine right down to the small of her back and below the waistline of her track suit.
But the bruises.. They were an angry purple colour and I swear I could see the distinct shape of a boot on her back.

I snapped out of my shocked trance as she pulled the t-shirt down. I regained my composure and knocked on the door. She pulled it open and I smiled at her.

"You look a lot better!" I complimented her. She blushed and looked at her feet.

"Yeah, I thought it never rained in Australia?!" She commented sarcastically. I tried to laugh but it came out as a strangled sound. I still couldn't get the image of her scarred back out of my mind.

I pulled her in for a hug, surprising her but nevertheless she hugged me back. I kissed the top of her head and whispered to her.

"I would never let anything hurt you, you know that?" She looked up at me with her golden brown eyes and looked at me quizzically.

"I know. I trust you Jai." She whispered back, my heart filling with warmth at the care in her voice.

I leaned down and kissed her perfectly on the lips and breathed in her scent. Every fibre of my being hummed with pleasure as she kissed me back.

She pulled away and took my hand, leading me into my own bedroom. She lay down on my bed and I cuddled in behind her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close.

She started humming a song I didn't recognise, stroking my arms softly. I felt myself drift off into unconsciousness, but not before a thought entered my head.

She's the one.



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Before anyone says anything, I am aware that Ariana cheated on Jai ok so sshh. I'm writing it this way cause it fits in with my story :)

I'll update soon so comment and vote ok ily all <3

~Leah
@janoskipians_


Xoxoxox