Surviving the Harrison Boys (Re-write)

forty-one // help

"Hey," I walked into Liam's office, "got a minute?"

He nodded. "Of course. What's going on?"

I closed his door and went to sit beside him at his desk. "I was looking for some helplines for Jack to help with the addiction, and I found this place in Canton. It's called Sundown Ranch, and they've got a program to treat alcohol and drug addicted teens. Plus, they've got animals and whatnot so Jack could feel right at home."

Liam thought for a moment before nodding. "You said it's in Canton?"

I nodded. "About an hour's drive, or a 15 minute flight."

"Write down the name of the place and I'll look into more." He said. "Thank you, Hunter. I've been looking but haven't found anything good."

"I was trying to find somewhere close to here so we wouldn't miss him too much." I explained as I scribbled down the name of the ranch. "I just want him to get better."

"We all do." He sighed. "Have you been spending time with Joel since he got here?"

"No, not really." I said. "But I should. We just got done talking and I feel that I need to calm down before actually spending time with him."

"May I ask what you talked about?" He raised an eyebrow.

I sighed. "Cody, Blake, and Flynn told me that they heard Joel telling Hanna that I was a hardcore druggie, that Joel's mom would give me money to feed my addiction, and that I'm the one who sold Jack the drugs. Also, Reece claimed that Joel told him to stay away from me because I belonged to him."

Liam scrunched up his face. "Joel doesn't seem like the type of guy to say all that. He cares about you a lot."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed. "I don't believe any of that. Why would he want to mess everything up for me?"

"I don't know. Maybe the boys are just jealous?" He suggested.

"That's a messed up kind of jealously." I grumbled. "I confronted the twins and Flynn about it, and they swear they're telling the truth." I rolled my eyes. "Jesus, I'm sure the way I'm angry isn't healthy."

"It really isn't." Liam laughed gingerly. "I talked to her, by the way."

"Hanna?"

"Mhm," he nodded, "and she feels terrible about what happened, Hunter."

"But an 'I'm sorry' isn't going to fix everything." I said. "She dragged me out of bed, accused me of selling drugs to Jack, accused me of trying to seduce Reece and Trent, and then proceeded to step on my gut until I nearly threw up. Is an 'I'm sorry' supposed to fix that all?"

"Of course it isn't, Hunter." Liam scoffed. "I was pissed out of my mind. I told her what she did was stupid and unacceptable. She shouldn't have made a scene like that. If she thought you were doing those things, talking to you privately like the way we did that day in the kitchen would've been the best way to go. Not trying to beat answers out of you."

"Why did she do it like that, though?" I wondered aloud. "What was the point of that?"

Liam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "This is going to sound stupid to you, I know."

"Lay it on me."

"She believed you the first time you denied the drugs." He said. "She said there was something in your eyes that told her right away that the drugs weren't yours. But she kept pressing because she didn't want to love you as much as she did anymore."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What?"

"She said it hurt too much when Brant and Dean graduated high school and left for a bit." He sighed. "Hanna loves you like you're one of ours, Hunter. She told me that you're a precious soul who deserves everything good in the world and she's so afraid that she won't be able to give that to you."

"So she attacks me?"

He nodded. "So you'd distance yourself away from her and it wouldn't hurt her too much when you left."

I buried my face in my hands. "Oh, Hanna."

"Yeah," Liam sighed.

I groaned and leaned backwards a bit. "Fuck, now I feel bad."

"Language."

"Oh you probably swear more than I do."

"True."

I sat up straight and pouted. Liam gave me a fatherly smile. "Go talk to her, Hunter."

"I know," I pouted deeper, "but later."

"Take your time." He said. "But not too much time. It's going to be a very lengthy talk."

"Probably, yeah." I sighed. "Okay well, thanks for this."

"I'm always here." He said. "Oh, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Shoot."

"I've been going to that little grocery store down the road and the cashier guy there always asks me about you." Liam was attempting to hide a smirk. "Oliver, is it?"

"I haven't seen him since the day I went there to buy flour to make cookies or something like that." I remembered him. "He asks about me?"

Liam nodded. "He said you're beautiful and really wants to see you again."

I put a hand over my heart. "Aw, oh my goodness, really?"

Liam nodded again. "I just thought you should know. He's a nice kid, Hunter."

"I'm sure he is. Thanks, Liam. I'll go see him for sure." I placed a hand on his shoulder before leaving his office. I headed back to my room and was startled to find Jack sitting on my bed.

"Hey," I said gently as I closed my door, "you okay?"

Jack swallowed nervously. "You wanna send me away?"

My heart sank. "What? No, Jack, that's the last thing I want to do." I walked over to my bed and sat down beside him. "The place I looked at was one of the closest I could find, not to mention the best. I was looking for quality over anything, because I want you to get better."

Jack frowned and I saw his face slowly start to turn red as he began to cry. "I hate that I did this to myself."

"Oh, Jack." I pulled him into a hug and rested my chin atop his head. "You're going to get better. We're all gonna help you through this."

"Is this just some big nightmare that I have yet to wake up from?"

I sighed quietly and nodded. "Yes. You'll wake up soon, though. I promise."

***

Hey!!

Sorry for the lack of updates, guys. My summer has been really busy and I haven't had much time to write, if we're being honest.

But I'll do my best to make it up to y'all soon. Maybe a double update or something.

Thanks for understanding, love you guys to the moon and back.

~MJ xx