#Joke

Chapter 6: Jo's POV

"Whatever happened with him?" He asked abruptly.

I stammered a bit. Unsure of how to recover from his bluntness, squirming in my seat a bit.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"No it's fine. He wasn't all that bad ya know? He cared I know he did, when he was sober he did."
I sipped on my cocoa & shut my eyes remembering so many memories & incidents.

"He wasn't uh he wasn't sexual with you," he gulped noticeably, "was he?"

"No no, I was lucky. He was a good guy, & he had good taste in women. I loved all the girls he brought home, but if it wasn't the pot it was the bourbon & they always left after a while." I sighed, "They all wanted to take me with them when they left, but I wouldn't. I needed it take care of him. His sister visited a lot. She was scared of him, I could tell. I wasn't. She would tell me when he got angry he would crack because he was broken. I wasn't scared even when things got rough. When he got..." My throat went dry, I touched my side, right where my curves reached my waist.

I found it so funny how it was conveniently there. I had no curves when it happened of course, six year olds don't have curves.

I closed my eyes tight, only to have Luke's voice bring me back-reminding me that I couldn't come undone here, in front of him. I chewed on my cheek, "What happened?" he whispered so scared.

Like he was walking on broken glass, tip-toeing. How ironic.

"He got sooo cross faded this one time," I tried to sound lighthearted forcing a smile, "I was coloring in the living room, & he was mad, he shoved me off the couched & into the coffee table." I took pauses trying to subtly catch my breath. "It was made of glass & it broke. That only made him even more mad, he walked over to me & some glass got lodged into his shoes, so when he started kicking-"

My voice caught & I looked up. His eyes were closed so tight I thought his eyelids would bleed. I looked back down at my cocoa, my hand still touching the scar; so thick I could feel it through my shirt, "The glass cut through my shirt & got four inches deep. The bruise was tender & black, & the blood was...everywhere. When he noticed he stopped & grabbed a cloth, stopped the bleeding & stitched me up," I got up, our empty mugs in hand as I walked to the sink. The air felt so thick with tension & a serious feel; it was suffocating so I tried to lighten the mood, "He was good at it because before working at a bar he went to med school, but the booze still made everything fuzzy I guess because the sutures were staggered & just really bad, like when someone does a connect the dots wrong," I laughed a little.

I ran the water over the cups then grabbed the dish soap. Luke got up from his chair, I pretended not to notice. He started walking toward me slowly. When his skin was touching mine it became harder to act like he wasn't there, he lifted my shirt slowly, I flinched at first (his fingers were cold) but when I saw how hard his face looked out of the corner of my eye, I tried to make it obvious that it was okay without saying anything. He continued to lift it slowly, & when air met the thick white scar that stretched eleven inches along my waist, I sucked in a breath.

I knew what it looked like, memorized it in the mirror, measured it when a girl asked me what happened & to which I made up some lie but she didn't believe me because the scar was so long. I had forgotten how horrifying the staggered & sloppy scar looked. He let go of my shirt instantly. & he just hugged me, causing me to drop the sponge on the floor. It was out of no where & it was tight & engulfing & comfortable.

He whispered into my hair, "Jo," & the way his voice trembled I knew that 'Jo' meant a lot more than just my name.

I shut my eyes so tight, & buried my face in his shirt willing myself to keep it together. I didn't think he'd ever let go & deep down I was okay with that, & that was scary. I pulled away & walked to my bunk leaving him there in the kitchen.

I climbed in & closed the curtain. I cried quietly the way I did in my room back in those days. After a few minutes of allowing myself to cry I scolded myself for retreating to this. I furiously wiped away the tear & sat there in my bunk staring at the wall. I sighed, shutting my eyes & curling into a ball.

The next morning I woke before anyone else because with this much experience in the matter I knew that crying at night meant puffy eyes in the morning. I quickly but quietly pushed the curtain to my bunk aside & got out, as I hopped out I heard Ashton say rather loudly "Hey Jo, I made break-wow is everything okay?"

Completely caught off guard I stammered, "Fine just allergies & ya know nothing major,"

I skedaddle into the small bathroom and gripped the counter. My headache was pounding. I slowly looked up at my reflection. It was bad; my blue eyes were bright which made the red puffiness a lot more noticeable than usual.

I splashed water over my face which thankfully allowed my skin to gain some color & make the redness less red I guess.

I drank some mouthwash to reduce my morning breath & brushed out my hair. As I exited the bathroom, Luke's tall shirtless torso stood on the other side of the door.

"Goodmorning," his deep raspy voice spoke, but I couldn't look at his face, or into those unholy blue eyes. His voice send waves through me & I had to stiffen my knees in order to keep from collapsing.

"It's all yours," I said as I walked away from the bathroom.

He grabbed my wrist spinning back into his arms, my hands met his toned chest & he held me.

"When people say goodmorning it's most commonly to hear it back." his voice sent actually shivers down my spine & it caused me to spring away from him.

I could feel him searching for my eyes, "Goodmorning," I said then walked away.

"Good your face is normal in the morning, I was afraid you'd look like a demon or something," Michael said eating toast.

I laughed, "I don't even wanna know what your mom looks like when she gets up,"

"She's a sweet lady but not a morning person, emphasis on the not."

I laughed & poured myself some coffee,
"So what are the plans for today?"

"Well," Michael spoke taking another bite of his toast "We arrive in Santa Barbara in half an hour,"

"Oh oh I know I know!" Ashton sprang up in excitement, "We should meet up with your friend,"

"And Aleisha," Calum entered putting in a shirt.

"Aleisha? You mean..." Ashton asked wide eyed.

Calum pulled at the collar of his shirt, "Yeah she said she misses the gang & wants to meet up since she'll be in the city."

"Soooo is that going to become something?" Michael asked raising his eyebrows.

"Maybe,"

"Okay well then I'll call Issbella, where are we thinking?" I asked

Calum spoke up, "The beach!"

"Well then we'll need to go to the mall first..." I trailed off.

"How come?"

"Because I can't wear jeans to the beach," I hesitated at the next part, "I don't have a bathing suit."

"You're shitting me?" said Michael.

I shook my head. I felt lame.

Michael exclaimed, "Well alright then! To the mall."