Why Bother?

“What can possibly be going on?” Eve asked, her voice joyous. “I mean, it is two days before my birthday, and you insist on taking me out to dinner, and now every light in my house is off. Whatever can be going on?”

“Eve, don’t,” Joanne begged. “After the way school has been since this year started, you insisted that you didn’t want anyone else to celebrate your birthday. So don’t be disappointed when you go inside and…”

As the girls walked into the Reynolds house, the lights turned on, and Jake and Mark jumped forward. “Surprise!” they both yelled. As Eve turned to Joanne, her eyes lit and a smile across her face, Joanne knew this was exactly what Eve had wanted. “Perfect,” Eve whispered to her best friend, before turning to her boyfriend and her brother. “And thank you guys. This is exactly how I wanted to celebrate my birthday.”

The next couple of hours were spent having innocent fun. Eve insisted on opening all her presents right away, and then they ate the cake that Joanne had baked for Eve’s birthday. After that, they just all sat around the living room, talking and having a good time. Joanne was so glad that things had gone back to the way they were before.

Just as Joanne was thinking this, curled up on the couch beside Jake, his arm wrapped around her, the last thing anyone expected happened. The front door opened and slammed shut, and Mr. Reynolds walked into the living room. “What the hell is this?” he roared. “You’re having a party?”

Immediately, Jake sprang up from the couch. “Hey Dad,” he tried to sound soothing. “We weren’t expecting you home tonight. We were just having a little celebration for Eve’s birthday. It’s not a party, though. It’s just the four of us hanging out.”

Giving Jake an incredulous look, Mr. Reynolds looked past his son to the couch where Joanne was sitting. Apparently, he recognized her, so he didn’t say anything. But when his eyes shifted across the room to the loveseat where Eve and Mark were sitting, his eyes turned to slits. “And who the fuck are you, with your hands all over my daughter?”

Joanne could see the look of confusion and fear in Mark’s eyes as he sat beside Eve, his arm innocently thrown over Eve’s shoulder. Standing up immediately, Mark glanced around the room at the nervous and embarrassed look on everyone else’s faces before responding. “Hello sir,” he took a step towards Mr. Reynolds. “My name is Mark Reeves. I’m Eve’s boyfriend.”

Giving a sneer to Mark but not responding at first, Mr. Reynolds turned his glare on Eve. “I always knew you were a tramp,” he spat out. Turning his accusing stare back at Mark, Mr. Reynolds shook his head. “So you’re the latest asshole to fuck my daughter, huh?”

“Excuse me?” Mark looked with shock at the man in front of him.

“Eve, you and Jo go with Mark,” Jake said quickly. As Eve started to protest, he gave his sister a hard but caring look. “Go, now.”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Mr. Reynolds yelled and took a step towards Eve. Before he could reach her, though, Jake stood in front of him. “You better get the fuck out of my way, Jake.”

If Jake was scared, he showed no outward sign of it. Instead, he looked over his shoulder at Joanne and mouthed ‘I love you’ before turning back to his father. “Dad, you’ve had too much to drink. Eve is leaving.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Mr. Reynolds was right in Jake’s face. “This is my fucking house and that’s my fucking daughter! You don’t decide anything, you little shit.”

Mark was still frozen in confusion when Eve grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the door with Joanne in tow. Tears had already filled Joanne’s eyes, knowing what was going to happen to Jake, but she also knew that he wanted her to go. Following Eve and Mark out of the house, Joanne could hear Mr. Reynolds calling after Eve, a bunch of insulting slurs chasing after them into the night air and Jake’s calm voice trying to soothe his father.

Once inside Mark’s car, Joanne started crying in the back seat. When Mark had driven a few blocks away, he pulled over. Reaching over towards the glove compartment, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes without saying a word. He offered one to Eve, who accepted with a sniffle, and to Joanne, who shook her head. After he lit his and Eve’s cigarettes, he turned in his seat. “Eve, what is going on?”

Glancing into the backseat, Eve looked at Joanne for some sort of help, but Joanne was too caught up in her fearful crying to say anything. Moving her own tear-filled eyes slowly over to Mark, Eve chewed on her lip. “Well, that was my dad.”

“I got that,” Mark said with exasperation, taking a deep drag of his cigarette before continuing. “But why… why was he like that? Why was he so angry? And why was he calling you all those names?” Looking into the backseat momentarily, Mark lowered his voice a little, although Joanne was far too close to not hear what he was asking next. “What’s going to happen to Jake?”

As Eve started crying in the passenger seat, Mark leaned over and pulled her into his arms. At this point, Joanne tried to turn off the whole world. She could hear Eve’s muffled voice, broken by sobs, and knew that she was telling Mark the truth about her father. But Joanne didn’t even make out the words Eve was saying. She just stared out the window at the house they had parked in front of. All the lights were out except for the flickering light of a television set in what was probably the living room. Joanne concentrated all her energy on the way the lights of the television program flickered through the big bay window out front.

“Shouldn’t we do something?” Mark’s concerned voice was the first thing Joanne heard when the lights in the house stopped flickering. “Call the cops or something? You said Jake won’t fight back for some reason. Isn’t it possible your dad will really hurt him?”

“We can’t,” Eve said softly. “Jake doesn’t want it.”

Shaking his head in confusion, Mark looked into the backseat at Joanne. “You don’t think we should do something?” he asked, hoping for some sort of normalcy.

“Can you please take me home?” was Joanne’s only response. She could see Mark looking at her with a perplexed expression, but she added nothing else. As she heard him finally mumble an affirmation and turn the ignition on the car, Joanne closed her eyes and leaned her head against the backseat. She couldn’t deal with debating with Mark about what they should or shouldn’t do; she just needed to be near Jake.

As soon as Eve and Mark dropped Joanne off in front of her house, she walked up to her mother’s car in the driveway and got in. She knew she couldn’t go into Jake’s house with Mr. Reynolds there, but she wanted to be close to him anyway.

Parking across the street from the Reynolds house, Joanne turned off the car. She leaned back in her seat and studied the house, shaking her head in amazement. It truly was a beautiful home, huge and tastefully painted. The bushes and flowers were immaculately cared for, and Joanne couldn’t help but think that this was the sort of house other people envied; this was the sort of house that other people looked at and thought that the people that lived there were incredibly lucky.

If they only knew.

About an hour passed when Joanne finally saw Mr. Reynolds storm out of the house and get into his Lexus. Throwing the car in reverse, Joanne assumed he hadn’t even looked in the rearview mirror as he quickly pulled out and drove off speeding. Letting out a deep breath, Joanne felt her body calming down some knowing that the man was no longer with Jake.

As Joanne expected, her cell phone rang just a minute later. “Hey,” Jake’s voice sounded tired. “Are you okay?”

The gentleness and concern in Jake’s voice was too much for Joanne, and she started sobbing. “I’m… I’m okay… Are… are you?”

“I will be,” Jake said softly. “Where are you?”

“Parked outside your house,” Joanne sniffled. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” Jake said.

When Jake opened the door for Joanne, she immediately started sobbing again. A black bruise was starting to form around his right eye, and his top lip was split. “Baby,” Joanne rushed to him, careful as she put her arms around him knowing he probably also had several bruises on his chest, back and stomach. “My poor Jake.”

Holding Joanne close, Jake kissed the top of her head. “I’m so sorry you had to see that,” he whispered into her hair. “I never wanted you to see him like that.”

Pulling back, Joanne looked up into Jake’s eyes with amazement. “How can you apologize?” she asked. “How can you be worried about me? You’re the one…” She bit her lip, unsure how to finish the sentence. “You’re the one that I’m worried about.”

“Well, you’re here, right?” Jake tried to give Joanne a little smile but flinched at the pain of his split lip when he did. “I’m okay now that you’re here.” Taking her hand, Jake led Joanne to the couch, and they sat down. When Joanne reached up to gently touch his bruised eye, Jake jumped a little.

“Should we put ice on this?” Joanne asked sadly.

Shaking his head, Jake swallowed. “It’ll be fine,” he said.

Chewing on her bottom lip, Joanne looked at the increasingly bruised face of her boyfriend. “Jake,” she started softly. “This is too much… You have to do something about this.”

Taking Joanne’s hand, Jake lifted it to his injured lips and kissed the palm softly. “I already explained this,” he said gently. “I can’t do that.”

“But-”

“I just can’t,” Jake said more firmly. “Please, I don’t want to argue with you about this. I just wanted to be close to you for a few minutes.”

“I’m staying,” Joanne said just as firmly.

“You can’t,” Jake tried to insist. “What if he comes back home?”

“We’ll lock your bedroom door,” Joanne said. “I know you won’t come to my house in case Eve comes home, and I’m not leaving you alone.”

Reaching over to stroke Joanne’s cheek, Jake shook his head. “You are so great,” he said appreciatively.

“I’m not,” Joanne said sadly, thinking that if she were great, she would be strong enough to do something to stop Jake from being hurt like this time and time again. “But I do need to call my parents.”

“Okay,” Jake said, rising. “I’ll just straighten up my bedroom.”

“Okay,” Joanne gave him a little smile and watched him walk out of the room, his hand on his stomach – probably another bruise from his father.

At first, Joanne’s mother was resistant about letting Joanne stay over, but hearing the pleading tone in her daughter’s voice, she finally relented. “Joanne, is everything okay?”

Looking around the living room, Joanne’s eyes filled with tears again. “No,” she wanted to say to her mother. “Jake’s father is a bastard and beats the hell out of him and I want you to do something to stop it, so he and Eve are safe and this never happens again.”

Instead, Joanne quietly told her mother everything was fine. “Eve just really wants me to stay over for her birthday.”

“Okay, honey,” Joanne’s mother sounded like she didn’t quite believe her. “But call me first thing in the morning, okay?”

“Okay, Mom,” Joanne said, trying not to cry while she was on the phone. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Joanne’s mother replied and hung up.

Looking up, Joanne saw Jake watching her wistfully as she hung up her cell phone. “Your parents okay with you staying?” he asked.

Nodding, Joanne rose and crossed the room. Pressing herself to Jake, she felt his arms wrap around her protectively. They stood there for several minutes, just holding each other, before finally disentangling. “Ready for bed?” Joanne asked softly.

“Yeah,” Jake replied, putting his arm around Joanne’s shoulder and leading her towards his bedroom, where he closed and locked the door.

Grabbing a t-shirt from his dresser, Jake handed it to Joanne. He then sat on his bed and leaned over to untie his shoes, but let out a sharp gasp of pain. Hurrying over, Joanne said nothing. She just dropped to her knees and began untying and removing his shoes. When she was done, she rose and helped pull his shirt over his head, trying not to cry when she felt him wince and saw several bruises across his ribs and stomach. Urging him to lay back, Joanne then removed his pants and socks, and pulled the blanket up over him.

Once Joanne had changed out of her own clothes and into Jake’s t-shirt, she climbed in bed beside him and leaned over to turn out the light. Feeling Jake’s arm pulling at her, Joanne gently rested her head on his shoulder, hoping she wasn’t hurting him.

“Thank you for doing that,” Jake’s voice was sad and embarrassed. “I’m so sorry you have to be a part of this.”

Looking up, Joanne could just make out Jake’s features in the moonlight as it filtered in through the window. He was staring up at the ceiling, a look of hopelessness written across his beautiful face. “I’ll always be here for you,” Joanne said, her voice tender and unhappy.

Suddenly, Joanne felt Jake’s chest start shaking below her head, and a moment later a soft sob filled the room. Tears filling her own eyes, Joanne climbed as close to Jake as she could. She could feel his tears as they slid down his cheeks and onto her face, mingling with her own. Joanne wished there was something – anything – she could do or say to make Jake stop hurting, but there was nothing. Instead, she just let him hold her tight while he silently cried, until finally his shaking subsided and she heard his breathing begin to even out.

Mr. Reynolds didn’t come home that night, and neither did Eve. Joanne knew that because she didn’t sleep at all. Instead, she just lay in bed, watching Jake as he slept. Several times during the night, she knew Jake was having nightmares; his body started twitching, his face contorted slightly, and occasionally words like ‘no’ and ‘stop’ escaped his mouth. When this happened, Joanne ran her hand over his chest soothingly and whispered in his ear until he finally calmed down and fell into a quiet sleep again.

-----

“Hey beautiful,” Jake greeted Joanne at her locker a few weeks later. By now, his bruising and swelling had subsided, and he looked like any other normal teenager. Leaning down to kiss his girlfriend, his eyes were bright. “So, are you ready for homecoming tomorrow?”

Putting some books into her bag, Joanne closed her locker and looked up at Jake. The last few weeks had been difficult for Joanne. Besides being haunted by images of Mr. Reynolds’s yelling and Jake’s injuries that night, other thoughts were beginning to creep into Joanne’s mind more and more often. Mark, for instance, who had been quiet and withdrawn since that night; it was clear he didn’t understand why Jake and Eve refused to report their father’s actions, and he seemed disappointed in Joanne for not agreeing with him that they should do something despite what Jake said. Also, Joanne’s parents were clearly becoming concerned about her. They were constantly asking if she was okay, and telling her they were there if she needed them. In truth, Joanne had barely thought about homecoming yet.

“Can’t wait,” Joanne lied.

“Me neither,” Jake grinned, sliding his arm around Joanne’s shoulder and leading her down the hallway towards her classroom.

-----

“Thank God I finally have my license,” Eve told Joanne as she carefully applied eyeliner around her big blue eyes. “I can’t believe that judge made me wait for a whole year just because I drove alone with my learner’s permit.”

“Didn’t you drive your parents car in the middle of the night without permission AND get into an accident?” Joanne smirked at her friend, applying lipstick to her mouth. “All before you were supposed to be driving alone?”

Sticking out her tongue at Joanne’s reflection in the mirror, Eve giggled. “Whatever,” she said. “It’s over now. At least I’m not at the mercy of you and Mark and Jake whenever I want to go anywhere anymore.”

Putting the lipstick back down on the bathroom counter, Joanne watched Eve for a minute. They were both already dressed for the homecoming dance, but Eve was taking twice as long as Joanne fixing her hair and makeup. “So,” Joanne began, knowing she had wanted to take the opportunity of having some time alone with Eve to talk to her. “Um, how are things going at home?”

“Oh, you know,” Eve picked up the lipstick that Joanne had placed on the counter and opened it, wrinkling her nose at the color. “My dad’s been gone since the day after all that shit happened, so things are fine. My mom is almost never home, so it’s just me and Jake most of the time – unless you or Mark are around.” Picking up another lipstick tube, she smiled at the color and applied it to her full lips. “There, perfect,” she turned with a smile towards Joanne for affirmation.

“You look gorgeous,” Joanne said flatly, unable to concentrate on her friend’s appearance. “And how’s Mark doing, Eve, with all this? He was pretty freaked out that night, and he’s been a little… off since then. Have you noticed?”

Peering back into the mirror to make sure her hair was still flawless, Eve shrugged. “He’s freaked out, I guess,” she told Joanne. “I mean, his parents are like yours – completely awesome. He’s never had to deal with something like this. But we’re still doing good.”

“That’s good,” Joanne was still distracted. “Eve…” she paused, not finishing her sentence until her friend turned to face her with a curious expression. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and… I really think I should tell someone. Maybe not the cops, but maybe someone at school, or even my parents…”

“Joey,” Eve slid her arm around her friend’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “I know how much you love Jake, and how much it sucks to have this happen, but I have to tell you the truth. That problem with trust you guys had before? This would be ten times worse. I don’t think Jake would ever forgive you if you told.”

“But I’m just so worried-”

Joanne’s plea was interrupted by the doorbell. “Come on,” Eve said encouragingly. “That’s going to be them. Let’s not talk about this anymore tonight, okay? Tonight’s about having fun and being young and MOST IMPORTANTLY – me winning Homecoming Queen.” Only juniors and seniors were eligible for Homecoming Court, and Eve had been talking nonstop since her birthday about how she expected to win this year.

“Okay,” Joanne conceded, trying to give Eve a small smile. “Let’s go see the guys.”

As the girls descended the stairs, Jake beamed at Joanne. He looked so handsome dressed up; she felt her stomach flip a little. “Be young, have fun,” she repeated Eve’s mantra to herself a few times. “Make Jake have an awesome evening, because he deserves it,” she added.

“You look beautiful,” Jake smiled at Joanne. “Really.”

“Thanks,” Joanne gave him a small grin. “You look great.”

“Listen,” Jake pulled Joanne away from Eve and Mark and her parents for a moment, lowering his voice. “I just want you to know you don’t have to worry about me tonight.” At his words, Joanne’s eyes grew wide. How had he known what she was thinking? “Tonight’s not going to be anything like prom last year.”

Swallowing hard, Joanne nodded, although the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. “Thanks,” she told Jake. “But I didn’t think it would. I trust you, remember?”

“I do,” Jake’s eyes were dancing. “And I appreciate that so much. I love you, Jo.”

“I love you, too,” Joanne whispered back.

-----

“I’m having a great time,” Jake told Joanne later that evening as they sat at a table at the dance. “But I can’t wait until later at the hotel,” he grinned deviously, leaning over to kiss Joanne’s neck softly, eliciting a giggle from her.

“Jake,” a female voice suddenly interrupted Jake and Joanne’s private moment. Looking up, Jake had to physically stop himself from groaning when he saw Nicole standing there. She continued without even acknowledging Joanne’s presence, a white toothy smile plastered across her face. “What do you say we dance? I mean, we were the Junior Prom King and Queen last year, after all.”

“No thanks, Nicole,” Jake looked up at the girl before him as he slid his arm around Joanne’s shoulders, giving her a big fake smile in return. “Joanne’s the jealous type. I wouldn’t want a catfight to break out over me.”

Joanne didn’t bother holding back her laugh as a look of frustration and irritation passed over Nicole’s perfect features. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, Jake Reynolds,” Nicole spat out. “I could have any guy at this school.”

“Not me,” Jake replied coolly. “I’m taken.”

Turning her aggravated stare on Joanne, Nicole shook her head in disgust. “I don’t know what you did,” she sneered at Joanne. “But you managed to make Jake go from the coolest guy in our class to a complete loser in less than a year.”

“So what you’re saying,” Joanne’s eyes grew innocently wide. “Is that Jake is a big loser now. But… if he’s such a loser, and he’s rejecting you, what does that make you?”

“A whiny, self-centered, bitchy slut?” Eve smiled sweetly as she and Mark joined Joanne and Jake at the table.

The look of hatred that passed over Nicole’s face might have been enough to make Joanne uncomfortable, had it not been for the peals of laughter Eve released. A moment later, before Nicole could even respond, the music stopped and the principal walked on stage. “Good evening,” he said into the microphone. “I hope everyone’s having a good time. It’s now time to announce this year’s Homecoming King and Queen.”

Turning to look at Eve, Nicole crossed her arms over her chest and sneered. “Now we’ll see who is liked in this school and who isn’t,” she said haughtily.

“Yes, we will,” Eve grinned, fixing her hair. “I look okay?” she asked Mark sweetly, ignoring the daggers Nicole was sending her with her eyes.

“Perfect,” Mark smiled, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek. “Knock ‘em dead, babe.”

“Well,” the principal looked at the envelope in his hand and cleared his throat. “This has never happened before, as far as I know. We’ve never had a Homecoming King and Queen be sister and brother before.” Nicole didn’t even bother to turn around and look at the table before stalking away. She knew immediately what had happened when the principal made that announcement. “Anyway, this year, our Homecoming King is Jake Reynolds, and our Homecoming Queen is Eve Reynolds.”

As Eve and Jake walked up to the stage – Eve beaming, Jake blushing slightly – Mark leaned over and whispered into Joanne’s ear. “How the hell did we end up with these two?” he asked jokingly.

“I have no idea,” Joanne grinned, watching the stage as Eve smiled at the crowd and Jake grinned and shook his head at his sister.

After Jake and Eve began dancing, per tradition, Mark stood up and put his hand out. “Shall we?” he asked Joanne with a smile, who just nodded as she stood up and took his hand.

In the middle of the dance floor, Joanne and Mark danced in silence for a minute before Joanne finally said something. “So Mark,” she began. “I asked Eve this earlier, but you know how she is… Anyway, how have you been doing recently?”

“You mean since Eve’s birthday thing?” Mark asked, eliciting a nod from Joanne. “Honestly, I’m freaked the hell out. Ever since that night, I’ve been so worried about Eve – and Jake. Every time she goes home, I wonder if something bad is going to happen. I hate that feeling.”

“I understand,” Joanne replied honestly.

“Then…” Mark looked uncomfortable as he tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to say to Joanne. “Then why don’t you do something about it? You’ve known about this basically since you and Jake got together, right? Why haven’t you told someone?”

“Well,” Joanne chewed on her bottom lip while she thought for a moment. “I promised I wouldn’t.”

“That’s not a good reason,” Mark said sadly, looking into Joanne’s eyes.

“You know now,” Joanne said accusingly. “Why aren’t you telling anyone?”

“I might,” Mark replied calmly. “I was actually thinking it might be best if both of us were to say something together. That way, no matter what Jake or Eve or Mr. Reynolds says, there would be two people bringing up the accusation; they would have to take it seriously.”

“I can’t do that,” Joanne’s voice was soft and humiliated as she spoke. “I… I would lose Jake. He’d never forgive me. I love him too much to lose him. Don’t you feel the same way about Eve?”

At that moment, the song ended, and Mark and Joanne pulled apart. “No,” he told Joanne, looking straight into her eyes. “I love Eve more than that. I love her so much, I’ll take a chance at losing her, if it means that she’ll be safe.”

Feeling tears of shame welling up in her eyes, Joanne didn’t get a chance to respond before Eve came bounding up, her eyes shining with excitement and a tiara placed on her head. “Hey,” she kissed Mark softly. “So now you’re dating a queen. How’s it feel?”

“Perfect,” Mark smiled down at Eve. “Come on, let’s dance.”

Joanne watched as Eve and Mark moved further into the crowd and started dancing. Mark looked at Joanne one last time, his disappointment in her written all over his face. Wanting nothing more than to go in the bathroom and cry, Joanne turned and was suddenly faced with Jake, who had removed his crown and was holding it in his hand. “Hey beautiful,” he smiled at Joanne. “Going somewhere?”

“No,” Joanne said softly, shaking her head. “No, just looking for you.”

“Good,” Jake smiled and pulled her to him, starting to dance with her. “I don’t care about me, but I’m glad Eve won. This meant so much to her.”

“I know,” Joanne replied, closing her eyes and resting her head against Jake’s shoulder, trying to push the terrible feeling she now had in the pit of her stomach away. “But you looked awfully cute up there, too.”

“Hey,” Jake’s mouth dropped to Joanne’s ear, his hot breath tickling her as he whispered. “What do you say, now that we were here for Eve’s big moment, you and I sneak out and go celebrate by ourselves?”

Pulling back, Joanne looked into Jake’s dark eyes, full of caring and hope. “That sounds great,” she told him, forcing a smile. “Let’s go.”

As Jake led Joanne by the hand through the crowd, she tried to will away Mark’s voice in her head and concentrate on the rest of the evening with Jake. She had almost succeeded when she caught one final glimpse of Eve and Mark on the dance floor, Eve obviously still thrilled over her win and Mark giving Joanne a sad smile as she and Jake left.

-----

“I’m so glad that this is going to be a short week,” Eve said. “Three days, then a four day holiday weekend. That’s the way every week should be.”

It was the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and Jake, Joanne, Eve and Mark were out having dinner before going to see a movie together. “You know you guys are still welcome to stop by after dinner for desert with Jake and me and my family, right?” Joanne reminded the couple across from her. “My parents would love it; they love having the house full on holidays.”

“Well, we’ll have to see how it goes,” Eve’s eyes were shining. “I mean, see if Mark’s parents like me, or if they tell Mark he’s forbidden from seeing me ever again. Remember, I’ve never hung out with them more than a few minutes at a time.”

“It’s true,” Mark smiled. “They actually think Eve’s sweet. Boy, are they in for a surprise. Oof!” He took in a sharp breath as Eve elbowed him.

Looking over at Joanne, Jake smiled. He was glad that his parents were going to both be gone for the holiday weekend. It meant that he got to spend Thanksgiving with Joanne’s family, and the rest of the weekend just relaxing with her. It would be perfect.

The bill came, and everyone paid his or her portion. They all rose and left the restaurant, heading towards the parking lot. “So,” Mark turned to the group as they approached his car and Jake’s truck. “Have we decided what we’re seeing yet?”

“I still say I want to see that new John Cusack movie,” Eve stuck out her bottom lip, hoping to win over Mark with her cuteness. “Come on. Joey and I don’t want to be stuck watching some action flick.”

“Well, Jake and I don’t want to be stuck watching some chick flick,” Mark smirked. “Right, Jake?” He patted Jake lightly on the shoulder in camaraderie, but pulled his hand away immediately when Jake flinched. “Shit,” Mark said, his voice filled with disgust.

“What?” Jake looked at Mark with annoyance.

“Let me guess,” Mark replied sarcastically. “Your dad been home this week?”

“Mark,” Eve’s voice was pleading. “Come on, not right now. Let’s just go out and have a good time.”

“Not now?” Mark repeated incredulously. “If not now, when? One day when your dad comes home, and you’re there but Jake’s not, so he hits you instead? Or when he finally ends up breaking Jake’s arm or some ribs, and we spend our weekend hanging out in the hospital? When’s a good time to talk about this? How do you expect me to ignore the fact that my girlfriend is in constant danger in her own house, and that my friend gets the shit kicked out of him for no good reason every now and then by his father?”

“This isn’t your business,” Eve said coldly to Mark. “Jake and I can handle this.”

Mark’s eyes were flashing with anger, making Jake want to diffuse the situation. In actuality, he really wanted to end it entirely; talking about this made him feel ashamed. “Look, I appreciate your concern, Mark,” he told the boy in front of him. “But I can handle myself, and I’ve always made sure nothing happened to Eve. So let’s just drop this, okay?”

Shaking his head, Mark looked between Jake, Eve and Joanne, who was standing a bit away, looking at the ground, her expression filled with humiliation for not voicing that she agreed with Mark. “Fine,” Mark said, throwing his hands down in an expression of surrendering. “I give up. I’m leaving. But before I do, I have to say one last thing to everyone. Jake, this problem is bigger than you, and you should do something before something really bad happens. Eve, I don’t even understand where you’re coming from. You and Jake are so close, but you accept that he doesn’t want to talk about it, and that’s that in your eyes. Sorry, but not to me.”

Joanne knew she was next, and she looked up in time to meet Mark’s eyes. “And Jo,” Mark’s voice was softer now. “I don’t need to add anything to what I said to you at Homecoming. You have to decide just how much you love Jake, no matter what the consequences are to you.” With that, Mark turned and headed towards his car.

Everyone was silent for a moment while they watched Mark get in his car and drive off. Finally, Eve turned towards Jake and Joanne, a look of pain written across her beautiful face. “I don’t need a ride,” she said softly. “I’m just going to walk.” It was true; the restaurant was less than half a mile from the Reynolds’ house, and it was still light out. “I’ll talk to you guys later.” Not even waiting for a response, Eve turned and headed away from them.

“Hey,” Jake said softly. “Come here.” Slowly moving to Jake, Joanne let him wrap his arms around her. He was kissing the top of her head and running his hands gently up and down her back. Between Jake’s tender touches and Mark’s words, Joanne felt her eyes welling up with tears. “Don’t worry,” Jake whispered to Joanne. “Mark will calm down. He’s just upset. I’m not mad at him or anything. It’s actually cool that he cares so much. He just doesn’t understand.”

Pulling back, Joanne looked up into Jake’s eyes. “Jake,” she looked incredulously at her boyfriend. “Mark’s not just upset. And he does understand. He’s right.”

“Jo, we’ve talked about this,” Jake’s voice was soothing, trying to right things as he always did. “You have to trust me. I can handle this situation.”

“This has nothing to do with trust,” Joanne swallowed hard in an attempt to not start balling. “What your father does is WRONG, and something needs to be done. Someone needs to be told.”

Taking a step towards Joanne, Jake took her hands in his. “Joanne, you know I love you,” he said, his voice firm but sad. “You mean so much to me. But I have to draw the line. You CAN’T say anything about this. That is the only thing I could think of that would end our relationship. And that’s the last thing I want. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Jake,” Joanne sniffled. “But I can’t be with you when this keeps happening again and again. I love you too much to watch it.” That was possibly the most difficult thing Joanne had ever said, but she knew in her gut it was the right thing. “So I’m going to go now. I’ll have my mom pick me up. Give me a call tomorrow if you want to talk about this.” With that, Joanne turned and started heading towards the restaurant again.

“Joanne,” Jake’s voice rang out across the parking lot, desperate and worried. “Jo, don’t do this. I want to be with you. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Joanne responded, wiping some errant tears from her cheek as she looked over her shoulder and tried to ignore the feeling of her heart breaking for the second time in her life. “I love you too much to stand by and ignore seeing you get hurt.” Turning away before all her resolve gave in and she ran weeping back into his arms, Joanne forced herself to walk up to the restaurant and inside.

In the parking lot, Jake stood in shock for a moment, staring at the door of the restaurant that Joanne had just passed through. What had just happened? Did Mark just break up with Eve? Did Joanne just break up with Jake? What the hell was going on? How could this be happening?

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SO THERE’S ANOTHER CHAPTER. I’VE NEVER WRITTEN QUITE AS ANGSTY A STORY, AND I HOPE THIS ONE ISN’T GETTING OVERDONE. I WILL SAY THERE WILL BE SOME SWEET MOMENTS IN LATER CHAPTERS, OF WHICH I’M EXPECTING TO WRITE FIVE OR SIX MORE BEFORE THIS STORY IS OVER. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, AND THANKS FOR READING!