***Trigger warnings for mentions of abuse and abortion.***
Start the song. It's Danny by Nicole Dollanganger.
Josh let out a little harrumph of dissent when someone shook his shoulder to wake him up. He was so comfy and warm, wrapped up in scratchy blankets and soft arms. When his shoulder was nudged again, he regretfully blinked his eyes open, smiling slightly when he saw Hoppus.
"Hi, Dad," he grumbled out sleepily, making Hoppus's lips twitch up into a ghost of a smile. "Are you gonna yell at me?" Josh added, his eyelids already falling shut again as Frangipane's chest continued to rise and fall evenly beneath his cheek.
Hoppus sighed, crouching down to be at eye level beside Josh's bed. "I figured I'd at least have a few more months before I started finding girls in your bed, Joshua," Hoppus scolded, looking more amused than angry.
Josh's lips tugged up into a lopsided smile. "It's not like that. Frangipane's just my friend. She's had a rough couple days. I think she needs to rest, but she said she can't leave work," Josh explained, not giving away any of the information Frangipane had entrusted to only him.
"I'm not sure if that's an acceptable reason to be sleeping in bed with an inmate, kid," Hoppus informed him. "She could lose her job over this. It's okay for her to be your friend and spend time here, but she can't sleep in here."
"Noted," Josh replied, making no move to wake Frangipane.
Hoppus seemed to hesitate before asking, "And all she did was sleep, right? If she made you do anything or if she asked you to do anything-"
"Just slept," Josh interjected quickly. "She wouldn't do that, and neither would I. We know the rules. Besides, we're just friends. It's not like that."
Hoppus sighed. "Why can't she go home, Josh?" He asked carefully. When Josh remained silent, he chuckled. "Right. Silly me. You aren't going to snitch."
"It's not my business to tell you," Josh explained quietly. "She has good reasons though." He hesitated before adding, "I think some part of you already knows why she can't go home, Hoppus. I've barely known her for a week, and I know. You've known her a lot longer."
The guard didn't need much time to figure it out. "It's her husband, isn't it? She's trying to get out of there. God, that's gotta be terrifying. Poor thing. I doubt she's been sleeping. Anyone trying to get out of a situation like that would be exhausted."
"I think I might be able to find her a place to stay for a while," Josh told Hoppus. "I think my sister would probably let her stay at her house if she knew everything that's going on. I'm gonna have to call her today."
Hoppus nodded. "Okay. I can take you to a phone after breakfast."
A loud buzzer sounded overhead, flicking the lights on in the prison and signalling to the inmates that it was time to wake up. Frangipane didn't even stir, too exhausted to be bothered by lights or loud noises. Her only reaction at all was that one of her arms slid down to wrap around her stomach, her unconscious mind not seeming to remember that it was empty now. Hoppus saw the action too.
"She's pregnant?" He asked, the colour draining from his face.
"It's not my business," Josh replied simply, shifting his head onto the pillow beside hers and allowing her to curl up against him in her sleep.
"Please tell me it isn't yours," Hoppus whispered worriedly.
Josh rolled his eyes. "I've barely known her for a week, and we haven't done anything. How the hell would she be pregnant with my kid?"
YOU ARE READING
Lockjaw (Joshler)
Fanfiction"This is how it often goes, sold into captivity so long ago. This is how it often goes. God knows I would know." -Mothers (Lockjaw) As awful as it sounded, Josh's favourite letters were the ones that came from people who, for some reason, thought he...
