Witness

19| Just a Movie

Once we were there, it got a little bit better. Jax and I separated from Drayden and Hannah to get some popcorn and sodas. We ended up just sharing a large, since it was a better deal than buying two smalls. Jax ended up paying, though, I knew he was given some money for he and I through the WPP. It wasn't like I was really able to hold a full time job at the moment. I couldn't give any information about myself, and I didn't have a bank account that was under my new name. Overall, getting a job was a no go.

After we got our popcorn and sodas, I used the butter machine to pump more of the liquid butter topping onto it while Jax grabbed the napkins.

"Don't you think they put enough on it?" Jax asked.

I laughed, looking to Hannah who was waiting to use the machine after me, "Did you hear the dumb question Mason just asked?"

Hannah laughed while I continued, facing Jax. "There's never enough butter on it."

Jax just rolled his eyes. "Well, now I think there's plenty. Where are our seats?"

"This way," Drayden said, leading the 4 of us to our row. There were quite a bit of people in the theater already, and it only continued to fill up as the previews started. This must be a popular movie to see.

"What is this movie about again?" Jax asked.

I shrugged, popping some popcorn into my mouth and enjoying the way the butter topping melted on my tongue. "I don't know really. Hannah just said some action movie Drayden's been wanting to see."

"Oh good. So you didn't drag me to some girly romance movie?" He teased.

I smiled. "No; not this time."

We fell into a comfortable silence as the lights went out, and the movie began to play. I liked this. It felt normal. I liked having Jax beside me, and I liked having a new friend in Hannah to enjoy this with.

About halfway through the movie, however, I realized the mistake I had made... I never looked at the trailer, and I was feeling anything but content.

Essentially, in this movie, a family is torn apart by gang violence. The mother is killed in the beginning when she is run off the road and her car flips, and the father and daughter are left to grieve together.

And it hurt so bad to watch.

Not only because of the gun violence, but because I knew the pain of losing a mother; as did Jax. I also knew what it felt like to be run off the road, and stuck in a flipped car, though I survived where this character didn't. But, leaving my dad home alone to grieve old losses and the new ones was killing me each and every day, and this movie just reminded me how much.

My hands were shaking as I pressed them to my thighs. In this scene, the father was practicing shooting a gun to avenge his wife. I couldn't take the sound of the gunfire any longer, and I stood up to go to the bathroom.

"You okay?" Jaxon asked, grabbing onto my hand to stop me as I passed.

"Yeah... just going to the bathroom," I whispered.

Jax shot me a quizzical expression, probably because he was able to feel my hand shaking in his, but he let me pass without further questioning.