The Science And Theory Of Beating The Fuck Out Of Yourself

I met a girl who never looked so alone

A/N: So if you haven't already noticed, updates for all of my stories are going to be slower now that school has started XP but I'm doing my best. I actually write every day in study hall if I can so I haven't forgotten about my favorite people on the internet! Comment and let me know what you think so far! Love you guys <3

"Can you drop me off at the coffee shop?" I asked Dad as we drove home. He hadn't trusted me with the whole 'safe driving' thing yet. You come a little close to two people and they suddenly think you're going to mow down everyone. I din't get it.

"Um, Jo do you really think you wanna go out? I mean you can just come home and--"

"No I want to go. I told Jenny I would meet her there." I said. He still didn't trust me. He thought that I was unstable and going to kill everyone. Don't hold the gang against me that was purely self-defense. Vic sighed.

"Fine, but I wanna talk to you first." He said. That worried me; what was this about?

"Um, okay..." I said cautiously. Vic kept his eyes on the road and held the wheel with one hand.

"You said that you...almost jumped, that night with Danny." He started. I looked down at my hands in my lap. I didn't want to talk about this. I didn't jump, so what's the big deal? I'm alive, right? Just forget about it. "Jo, why didn't you tell me?" Vic asked. He sounded hurt, and for a minute I felt really bad. Was he really that worried about me? I shrugged.

"I don't know. I didn't think it was a big deal..." I mumbled, suddenly very self-conscious. Vic sighed.

"Not a big deal? Jo you almost killed yourself because of me." He said sadly. I snapped my head up. Oh no, he was blaming himself again.

"No, not because of you. There's something wrong with me, remember?" I asked, somewhat jokingly. Vic rolled his eyes at my attempt to lighten the mood.

"I don't know...I just hate knowing that if Collin wasn't there, you might not be here." He dropped his other hand onto the wheel and drummed on it a little as we were stopped at a red light. "I love you Jo. You know that, right?" I looked down and nodded.

"I love you too. I'm sorry for everything that happened." It always loomed in the back of my mind, the memories of what I put him and the guys through. Vic shook his head.

"Don't be sorry. You didn't have much of a choice, and you kept yourself safe. That means more to me than anything." Vic took my hand and squeezed it. I smiled at the gesture, but he quickly let go. "Have fun. Call me when you want me to pick you up." He said and I realized we had stopped at the coffee shop. I nodded and got out of the car.

I walked inside and looked around the room until my eyes landed on Jenny. I smiled and walked over to her, sitting across from her in the booth.

"Hey! What's up?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Nothing interesting, how are you?" I shrugged.

"Fine. My dad and I are good now."

"That's good! What did you say to him?"

"Eh, nothing much really." I started. "Actually when I was on my way home that night, some douche stabbed me in the leg. Once I got home he took me to the hospital and made be a Nutella sandwich." Jenny giggled.

"Wow, some night. Stabbed in the leg and a sandwich? Classy." I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

"It wasn't just a sandwich; it was Nutella!" I explained. She held up her hands in defense.

"Oh, my bad!" I nodded.

"Yes, you're excused." I joked. We laughed and decided to get coffee. "So, Jenny?" I asked when we sat down again.

"Yeah?" She asked. I was nervous to bring this up again.

"About the other night..." I trailed off. She sighed and dropped her head. "What happened?" She shrugged.

"I...I don't know. I just felt stuck. I don't know what to do anymore." Jenny said sadly.

"You said that your parents gave you that black eye. Do they abuse you?" I didn't realize she was crying until she sniffed and nodded. I moved over to the other side of the booth and hugged her. I knew what it was like for a parent to hit you; it was horrible.

"I just hate them so much..." She cried quietly.

"I'm so sorry, Jen. But I'm going to help you, okay? We can get you out of there. I'll talk to my dad and you can stay with us for a while." I offered. She looked up at me, her face red and wet with tears.

"Really?" I nodded. "Thank you, Jo." I smiled.

"We can call him to get us now if you want." Jenny shook her head and sat up a little.

"I have to get back home soon. If I'm not back by the time my parents get home from work it'll be even worse." I gave her a concerned look.

"Jenny, I'm not going to let you go back in that house. Not unless I'm there with you." I insisted. Jenny looked scared for a minute.

"No, Jo if they see I left and they find me they'll--"

"They won't find you. And if somehow they do, you're safe with us, alright?" I cut her off. She sighed and thought about it for a minute.

"Okay..." She mumbled. I smiled and got my phone, texting Vic to pick us up. A few minutes later he pulled up outside the coffee shop and we got in.

"Hi Dad."

"Hey Kiddo, and Jenny, right?" Jenny nodded and gave a small wave.

"Hi."

Once we got home, Dad parked in the garage and we got out. Vic started to go upstairs, but I stopped him.

"Uh, Vic?" I asked. He turned back to us. Jenny was standing behind me a little, I could tell she was really nervous.

"Yeah?" He seemed confused as to why I wanted to talk to him.

"We need to talk to you for a minute..." I said. He cocked his head but nodded and joined us in the living room. We sat on the couch and Vic in a chair.

"Uh, so Jenny is um..." I started. I wasn't sure how to phrase this. Vic glanced between the two of us and a look of realization washed over his face.

"Jo, are you bi? Because if you are it's completely fi--"

"What? No! Not what I mean." I said. I squeezed my eyes shut in embarrassment that he though Jenny was my girlfriend.

"Okay, then what?" He asked. I sighed.

"Jenny's parents...are abusive..." I said slowly. I noticed Jenny tense up beside me. Vic looked confused, then shocked. He made a face like he was thinking about it and then looked up.

"Jenny, is that true?" He asked her. She nodded slowly. "Oh uh, wow. Okay, shit; that's horrible..." He rambled, running his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, um, I said she could stay here until we get this worked out..." I said, hoping he would agree.

"Yeah, yeah of course. Jenny, make yourself at home. Jo, show her around and I'll uh, I'll figure this out." He said. I nodded and got up to take Jenny around. Vic got up and went to go do something, probably related to this abuse thing.

"So this is my room. There are two guest rooms, one next door and one downstairs on the first floor. My friend Collin is staying there though." I said as I brought her into my room.

"Okay. Thanks so much for helping me like this Jo, I feel bad for being so much trouble." Jenny said. She dropped her head and sighed. I walked over to her and pulled her into a hug.

"It's no trouble, really. My mom was that way and...it was really hard on me..." I said. "I went through the same thing."