Greyscale [✓]

Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"I dunno," Hannah heard her cousin's voice softly murmur as she woke. "She was crying in her sleep man and trust me Ty, she never cries."

Hannah stretched and rubbed her eyes, smearing mascara all over her hands. For a minute she was confused because she always washed her makeup off before sleeping but then the previous night came back to her, slamming into her like a freight train.

She wrapped her arms around her tired body and muttered a quick prayer of thanks to whoever was up there. She wasn't sure if she believed in God but she had seen Mohammad do it a few times and it looked peaceful. And peace was exactly what she needed. She was incredibly lucky she had gotten out of Gabriel's house when she did before it was too late.

Just the thought of what could have happened made her whimper out loud in fright but she quickly covered her mouth with her pillow so Cameron wouldn't hear her. She wanted a few minutes to collect herself while he talked to whoever else was there.

That was really weird; Cam very rarely invited anyone over and she didn't think she knew anyone called Ty anyway. She heard an unfamiliar voice but couldn't make out the words; he was speaking rather quietly.

"Yeah I know, I'm just scared y'know? Like she means the world to me and I'm just scared for her. I just, I just don't want her to hurt. I swear if it's as bad as I think, I'll fucking kill the bastard whoever it was without a second thought."

Just hearing Cameron talk about her so lovingly filled her body with a warmth so strong it couldn't possibly be described. It shone within her bones, warming her from the inside and spreading as fast as smoke. How could she possibly ever complain about her shitty family when she had Cameron as her cousin? He was a complete idiot at times but he was perfect.

"Yeah Tyler, I know," Cam sighed, sounding weary as though he had gotten no sleep. "Thanks for listening though, babe. Anyways, I'm gonna get back to her now, you should go to your doctor's appointment and I'll see you at the party alright?"

Cameron's heavy footsteps grew louder as he walked towards her bedroom to check up on her and Hannah quickly leapt to her bathroom. She wasn't ready to face her cousin yet; she would have to explain what Gabe had tried to do and she was terrified of his reaction. He'd rip her boyfriend to shreds without a doubt.

"Hannah?" His voice called out her name just as she locked the bathroom door. With a mouth full of toothpaste she managed to make a series of grunts and she smiled against her toothbrush when she heard him laugh. "Alright, come eat when you're done yeah?" he said through the door as she brushed with as much force as possible, rinsing the taste of Gabriel's animalistic mouth.

She took special care washing her face, rubbing her pale brown skin raw to get rid of all the crusty makeup and dried tears. Once she was satisfied with the result, Hannah tied her messy hair in a high bun and was about to leave to have the chat she was dreading with Cameron when the edge of her fluffy towel touched her bare arms. In a moment of panic, she freaked out remembering the scalding touch of her livid boyfriend as he tried to force her to comply. Hannah felt her knees crumple slightly and she fell on the floor, like a puddle on the scratchy green bathmat. She was terrified: she had realised her own fragility and couldn't bear to accept it.

"Han?" Cameron's voice came from through the door. She took a deep breath to calm herself and stood up to unlock it, the corners of her bitten lips turning up in amusement as he fell forward from the door he had been leaning against.

She floated past him to the kitchen, pulled open the blinds to let the sunlight stream in and popped on the kettle for some tea as she waited for him to catch up. She felt a little calmer watching the steam rise and twist itself into intricate patterns until it faded into nothingness, until she was able to talk about the previous day.

"I decided to go to Jakub's party," she began, her head bowed as she fiddled with a stray string peeking from the edge of her frayed nightie. Cameron stood opposite her, leaning back against the fridge with his arms crossed. "And afterwards I went to, um, Gabe's place. I just wanted to talk! But um..."

Cam growled, the sound echoing in his throat. With eyes narrowed in fury and his fingers clenched, he finished off her sentence for her. "But he tried to make you have sex with him?"

Hannah ground her teeth together to prevent her letting out a whimper but the action was enough confirmation. With a feeble sniff, she nodded.

"Did– Did he, um–," Cam tried to ask, a bitter taste in his mouth as he furrowed his eyebrows together angrily. Hannah shuddered, her eyes wide as she thought about what could have happened. Cameron let out a sigh of relief when she shook her head and took a few steps closer, arms outstretched.

She leaned forward and hugged him back, her face squashed against his shoulder. "What am I gonna do now?" she asked, her tone hushed.

Letting go, Cameron grabbed hold of the sides of her face and spoke as strongly as he could. "That's easy. What you're gonna do is never talk to him again, you're gonna ignore him and avoid him and I'm gonna punch his smug fucking face off on Monday."

Hannah chuckled, the sound weak but a real laugh nonetheless. Gabriel was one of Cam's best friends and she knew this would completely disrupt their friend dynamic. She had put up with a lot, tolerated him after their fights but this wasn't something she would brush under the rug.

She wouldn't let the bastard break her spirit.

"I think... I think I need to talk to Ash," Hannah muttered as she poured her cereal into a bowl. Cam paused, his spoon half way to his mouth as he analysed the seriousness of his cousin's statement.

"Do you reckon that's a good idea?" he asked, wary she would take offence to it. He wasn't as naïve as Hannah – he didn't trust Ashlyn Janek one bit. When Hannah only gaped at him in confusion, he continued, wishing he could word it in a way she wouldn't take offence. "What if she's on his side?"

Hannah gasped slightly; she hadn't even thought of that. "But, but she's my best friend!"

Cameron nodded, not believing his own words. "Okay," he said. "Okay then."

---

Hannah felt her heart splinter as she gaped at her best friend. Of all the ways she expected Ashlyn to act after she had told her what had occurred, indifference wasn't one of them.

But Ash had only shrugged and tried to push the blame towards Hannah herself. "What I don't get, is why did you have to say no? It's just sex, why cause an argument over that?" Ashlyn said distastefully, her nose in the air as though she'd smelt something bad.

It was the way she sighed a little that did it – Ashlyn always sighed at her best friend whenever she did anything wrong, as though that was all she expected from Hannah. It usually only made her feel unimportant but in this instance, it also sparked a flame of anger.

"I didn't fucking do anything wrong!" she exclaimed, all semblance of her usual calmness shattering. "It might just be sex to you but its more than that to me, it's about trust!"

Normally Hannah wasn't one to talk back to her best friend – she knew first-hand how Ash could completely obliterate the social lives of those she deemed inferior. But Hannah had a headache, she was tired, hungry and most of all, she was sick of being treated like a fragile porcelain doll. It was as though everyone only wanted her there for decoration; not allowed to have a voice or opinions or even hobbies they didn't like. She was sick of it, having reached her breaking point.

Ashlyn's pale cheeks flamed in what Hannah knew was anger. "What the fuck has gotten into you recently?" Ash seethed, her voice dropping in volume.

Hannah raked her fingers through her hair before shrugging her shoulders. "I'm not a puppet Ash and I'm sick of you and Gabe treating me like one. I can't handle this anymore, I just can't."

And with that she walked away, knowing that she had just lost her best friend of the past six years.

A/N: this story will now be updated very slowly as i'm mainly concentrating on 'the curse of thelonious' for now, i'll try to get it done as soon as possible though! :}