Bad Luck Hannah

"Hannah, do you want to explain what the fuck this is?"
Domestic abuse? Mental and physical?
I just looked at Jason, my lips pressed into a thin line.
Why did be always come after me when I stood at my locker? This was like the worst possible time for him to do this yet he did it constantly, as if Josh or another one of his gang wasn't going to walk through.
Which kind of made me suspicious.
Jason wasn't stupid, he knew they did, so did he have something up his sleeve?
I didn't trust him.
And the throbbing pain in my shoulder where I'd hit the edge of the lockers when he'd knocked into me reminded me why I hated being around him.
I didn't answer him, just pretended not to notice him standing there. I kept my eyes on my locker as I forced my books inside, pretending my hands weren't shaking the entire time either.
Fighting with Josh this morning had already put me in a bad mood, I didn't need the day to get worse because of my brother.
"Do I need to ask twice?" I felt him hiss in my ear as he stepped closer to me, hulking over me in a way that made my nerves ten times worse . "Who the hell gave you a hickey?"
He didn't have to say it in such a condescending tone.
Sometimes people actually did like me, and it wasn't some cruel joke he and his friends had come up with.
I sent him an annoyed look; he couldn't push me around too much while we were at school, now could he?
"Leave me alone, Jason," I muttered, slamming my locker extra hard, his eye twitching at the movement.
He wasn't used to me not cowering down.
I wasn't either.
"Hannah," he glared down at me, and I saw his fists clench at his side. I stiffened, but I refused to back away and let him know that I was afraid of him.
Go ahead, I thought, forcing myself to stare up at him instead of away. Go right ahead and show everyone in this hallway how awful you are.
we glared at each other.
"Babe, there you are!"
I felt someone's arm suddenly land around my shoulders, and I bit my lip instead of flinching. I glanced over at Josh as he pulled me to his side, his eyes never leaving Jasons when my brother finally looked at him .
"Hey, Jason, how are you?" He asked, his tone completely friendly. "Haven't run into you in a day or two."
Jason looked like he was going to spit acid.
I looked nervously between them, feeling Joshs fingers flex against my sleeve. He had me angled behind him like he really thought Jason would try to do anything to me here.
I don't see why he was being so protective anyway.
Not after this morning.
I'd figured he would be mad at me and avoid me, not come to my rescue again.
"I'll see you at home, Hannah," Jason said between his teeth after a moment, his gray eyes flicking to my face when he realized Josh wasn't leaving . "We'll talk about this then. I already have my answer anyway." He snorted, turning into the crowd.
I swallowed .
This wasn't going to end well.
We both watched as he disappeared down the hallway into the lunch room, and for a moment, I seriously debated on getting my locker switched. Like to anywhere else in this school.
Where no one else knew where it was.
That's what I wanted.
"You okay?" Josh asked when he was sure my brother was gone, and I nodded, pulling away from him. It wasn't because I didn't want him touching me, it's just that his arm there hurt my shoulder where I'd hit the lockers.
"Why was he in your business this time?" Josh sighed, taking my hand as I started for the library, threading his fingers tightly through mine. I glanced up at him, frowning.
"Why do you think?"
He actually winced.
"I'm sorry, Hannah, really. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal." he sounded sincere when he said that, and I wanted to believe him.
So I did.
I didn't want to fight with him.
I was actually really gratefulhe'd shown up when he had, because otherwise I wasn’t sure how that little situation would have panned out.
Probably badly.
I hesitantly squeezed his hand to let him know it was okay, but I was absolutely dreading the thought of going home now. I knew my parents were going to be home, but once they retired to the den, Jason would immediately be on the attack, and sometimes locking my door just wasn't enough.
"Are you worried about what he said?" I glanced up at Josh as he walked beside me, seeing his brows furrowed as he thought. "About talking about it later?"
"Maybe. He... Never forgets." I muttered unhappily.
He wouldn't let it go.
And I couldn't just keep running off to Joshs house every afternoon, my parents would eventually say something about it, despite my mom liking him so much.
It wouldn't fly forever.
"I have an idea, about how to handle him."
Oh yeah?
I glanced up at him, seeing he was grinning.
It was probably a terrible idea then.
"Why don't I just come over to your house tonight?" he asked me brightly, turning to step in front of me where I couldn't just walk straight to the doors. "Like that would mess up his plans, right? And your mom absolutely adores me, so I bet she wouldn't mind."
I just looked at him.
was he serious?
Crap, he was serious.
"I--- I don't know."
'"Why not? I've already seen your room, your mom basically showed me the way. I don't think she'd mind at all. Your dad... Well, he's a work in progress, but all dad's are. So, cmon, it's not a bad idea."
He made it sound so simple, but I knew it wasn't.
I eyed him uncertainly.
Could he even handle my family?
Did that mean he would stay for dinner or...?
....
It couldn't hurt, right?
"Fine," I shrugged, and his expression brightened.
"Cool! So.ill meet you in the regular spot then, yeah?"
I nodded.
I hoped this didn't turn out to be a disaster.
Josh grinned, then leaned down and gave me a quick kiss.
in the middle of the hallway.
Where literally everyone could see.
I could feel the red creeping up my face.
Josh chuckled, squeezing my hand. I watched him join the other students streaming to the cafeteria.
I chewed my lip, feeling my anxiety start to rise.
This was going to be a disaster.