Help You Stand (Anthem Lights/Joey Stamper Fanfic)

Chapter 3

~Ariana's P.O.V~

He was just staring at me, waiting for a response. I had no idea how to explain myself, no way for me to cover up what I've done. The silence was finally broken when he said, "Why are you doing this?" I couldn't say anything. Not because I was scared, but because I really didn't know what to say to him.

"It distracts me from the physical pain, it's comforting." I said, not making eye contact with him. He didn't say anything for a minute, he just stared at the floor. After a minute he said, "The pain isn't going away by cutting, Ariana." I rolled my eyes, "You don't get it, Joey." He sighed, "You're right, I don't. What are you hiding though? What pain are you dealing with?"

I had two choices here. I could either keep hiding everything that was bothering me, or just tell him the truth. I took a deep breath, "Ever since my mother died, everything went down hill from there. When she died, I fell into depression. Everyone thought I was doing it for attention, but I wasn't. I was so lost without her. I started to get bullied bad, so I decided to pretend like I didn't care that she was gone. My friend had some weed one time at a party, and I did it. After that, it wasn't just weed, it was acid, alcohol, stealing stuff, and having sex with random guys. There was no turning back."

~Joey's P.O.V~

Everything Ariana was saying completely broke my heart. I could never imagine losing a parent, especially at such a young age. I wanted so bad to tell her how much God loves her, and how he sent his only son to die for her, but I know she would ignore it. All the other times I told her about him, she said she wasn't interested. I didn't want to push her away from me for good. So I had a plan.