Alone Together. [An OM&M FanFic]

Chapter 35: Home Is Where The Heart Is.

Hannah.

My head rolling off my pillow and smacking the wall of my bunk jerked me awake. My vision blurred and slowly came into focus as the bus bumped along, harsher than usual, letting me concentrate on the bunk ceiling.

I have no idea how long I laid there, just blank minded with the whooshing feeling of weariness coming and going over me. I started biting my lip, thinking back to last night and all the horror of emotions I felt. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.

I sighed and rolled over, opening the curtain to my bunk and letting the sunlight spill over me. Do they have the windows open? I pulled myself out of the small, dark crevise that was my bed, and padded my way down the hall and out to the front lobby area, where the voices ceased and I felgt uncomfortable under everyone's looks of pity. What now?

"Um, good morning?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head and feeling all the knots of hair crumped at the base of the scalp. "Why such a weird vibe?" I cleared my sleep laced throat and sat across from Alan at the kitchenette table.

"Morning." Alan responded first, hands hidden under the table. I knew something big was going to happen, because Alan gave away all his emotions or nerves through his hand movements. "How'd you sleep?" He trailed off, trying to make light conversation.

I looked around at all the faces still looking down at me. "I- uh, I slept good I guess.." I rubbed more sleep from my eyes and felt warmth incase my palm. I looked down at the steaming cup of coffee and let the smell emminate the space around me.

"Hannah we're taking you back home." Tino blurted, looking at me like a wounded animal. I was in mid sip of my drink when the next thing I know I was sputtering into it, sending hot spittles of coffee around the room, stinging my face in the process.

"You're what?" I asked, wide eyed and confused. I stayed firmly at the table, knowing damn good and well if I got up I'd fall right back down again. "You're kidding, right?" I looked at Tino, then across to Alan, who was as open as a book in the wind, and saw the sadness on his face.

Phil was staring Tino down, and Austin refused to look at me, making my face hot. "Why?" My tone raised and a hot feeling at the base of my stomach was fueling itself. "What did I do?"

"Nothing!" Alan whined, reaching out to me. I pulled away, hurt that this was the conversation last night, making my last plans on tour with them.. Then going ahead and springing it up on me as soon as I wake up. Are you kidding?!

"Don't touch me.." I mumbled, feeling like a heartbroken fool. Which home are they taking me? Back to Austin's, to stay with his dad until they come back? Or to my old home.. The house I was always supposed to have lived in with my grandma and Jeanette? "What changed?"

"You're not the same." Austin grumbled from the place he'd frozen, still looking at his feet, one crossed over the other. "Ever since.. You know, at the show.. Something's just dead inside of you. You're never happy anymore, you don't talk or laugh or act like the same shy fool you once were. You just cry and flinch at everything, you don't leave the bus.. We never see you." He sighed and looked up at me, his eyes glazed over with red, bringing on tears of his own. "Hannah, we miss you, all of us do, but we don't know what to do anymore. Clearly we can't help you like we thought we could.. I mean dammit we couldn't even protect you from that low life!" He slammed his hands on the counter top behind him, making me flinch.

When did I start crying? I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, still holding onto the mug with my other hand, steadying myself. Where did I go? Where've I gone? I sniffed and looked down into my cup as he continued on, anger and hurt radiating off of him.