protect you / jiara ff

-3-

JJ's POV

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I pull up to John B's house and park the van in front of it. I stay inside for a few minutes. It feels like I can't move. So I just sit there and look at the house, my hands still on the steering wheel, the seatbelt still on. The whole way here I was barely able to see because of the tears that filled my eyes. I wish I would've been able to defend myself. I wish I had the strength. But I just don't. Not right now. My mind takes me back to what happened about twenty minutes ago and I can feel it all again. My dad punching me to the ground. Him sitting on me, his fists hitting my face over and over again.

I snap out of my thoughts when I hear a door being slammed. I see Kiara and Pope coming out of the house and towards the van. Kie is running up to the car, Pope is following her, walking more calmly. "JJ what the hell? Where were you?", Kie shouts, stopping next to the opened window of the drivers seat. I look down at my hands that are now laying in my lap. The only movement I've been able to do for the past few minutes. A few seconds pass before she starts talking again:"JJ seriously where were you? I was worried." I don't say anything. I still can't move. I don't want to move. The cuts on my face that my dad gave me with his punches aren't on the side of my face that's facing them, so they can't see them. Yet. As soon as they do, they will probably know what happened. I can feel Kie getting annoyed and impatient. "So what, you're just not talking to us now? ", she asks. I can feel myself getting mad. She has no idea what happened and thinks she has the right to come up to me and talk to me like that. I grab my backpack and open the car door before jumping out of the car and slamming the door shut. I walk towards the house without saying a thing. I know Pope and Kie well enough to know that they are sharing a confused look right now. I can hear steps behind me and as I turn to walk up the porch, I can see that it's Kie. Pope is getting the car keys and locking the car before following her. Classic Pope.

I open the door and walk into my room. I put the backpack on my bed and take my cap off and put it on my nightstand. I start to slowly unpack my backpack and put the clothes I brought from my house into the little dresser in front of my bed. Before I know it, Kie is standing in the door frame. "JJ this is so disrespectful. First you disappear without saying a word or even shooting us a text and then you finally come home and don't even tell us where you were", she says, obviously mad and upset. I'm taken aback for a second by her calling John B's house my home, but I guess she's right. I just know that the house I just came back from is definitely not my home anymore. I keep putting my clothes away and taking out the other stuff from my backpack. Apparently Kie is so focused on her anger that she doesn't even notice all the stuff that I'm taking out which would give away where I went. I stay silent. I can hear her scoffing before she says: "Wow JJ. Next time you buy a hot tub, don't say you bought it for us and then refer to us as your family, because this is not how family treats each other." And that's it. That's where she hit the spot that she shouldn't have tried to hit so badly.

Before I can think about what I'm doing, I'm already in front of her, standing only inches away. "DON'T COME UP TO ME AND FUCKING SAY THAT SHIT. YOU KNOW THAT YOU GUYS ARE THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE. MY MOM IS GONE AND MY DAD IS AN ABUSIVE PIECE OF SHIT THAT BEATS ME UP EVERY CHANCE HE GETS. I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU GUYS". I can't think about any of it before it leaves my mouth. Kie looks intimidated. Then she finally notices the cuts and bruises on my face. "JJ-", she starts while looking at my demolished face. "YES I WAS HOME. AND YES, HE BEAT ME UP. AGAIN. AND I DIDN'T FUCKING DEFEND MYSELF. BUT YOU DON'T EVEN CARE", I scream again. A few seconds pass before I, now more calmly, say: "Why would you if we're not family." My voice breaks and my face is only inches from hers. I can feel my eyes filling with tears, even though I try to hold them back as much as I can. Kie's eyes are filled with tears as well and I can see one running down her cheek. I look her in the eyes for a few more seconds before I take a step back and walk out of my room, jostling Kies arm.

I pass by Pope who watched the whole scenario go down from a few steps back. As I walk towards the door I grab the keys to my bike from the counter where Pope put them after borrowing it and then walk out of the house. I see my bike in front of the house and walk towards it. After getting on and starting the motor I drive off. I have no idea where I'm supposed to go but I just needed to get the hell out of there.