glitch | jack hughes

Chapter 48

I feel Brendan's hands get ripped off of me, and I run away to the connected bathroom, shutting the door behind me, and tucking myself away in a place where I feel safe. I know he'll find me but until then I have this space. Due to the ringing in my head a few things are foggy but I know for sure Brendan isn't fighting his own demons out there, someone is fighting back. 

Breathe Josie, Breathe. 

I hear more punches being thrown, and curse words being yelled from the other side of the door, but I try to push it all away to make the pain in my head and chest go away. I hear the door open and start shaking not wanting to face my fears in case it's Brendan. The door closes but I keep my head down, squeezing my eyes shut. 

"Baby, hey it's just me, can I touch you? Or do you want to come to me?" I hear Jack's gentle, soothing voice call out to me. I look up meeting his eyes that are pooling in heartbreak. He speaks to me so delicately it's like he believes I'm so fragile I could be torn apart by words right now. He's right I can be torn apart by words, but never his.

I crawl over to him, sitting on his lap sideways, tucking myself in the safest place I'll ever know. "Jack," I croak, gripping his shirt tightly, making sure he can't slip away. "H-he's here," I sob, wanting to warn him. He rubs my head gently, pressing his lips to my temple. "I know baby, Trevor's got it under control," He reassures me.

We wait in the restroom, regaining some sort of calm until the police show up. Trevor is the one who knocks on the door, letting us know the police want to speak to me. I walk out of the restroom, holding onto Jack's arm, my head is hurting so much I squeeze my eyes shut to block out the overwhelmingly bright light. 

I open my eyes for a second taking in my living room, which is torn to shreds. My couch has been torn apart with a knife, I know this because there's a knife still in the couch. My TV is broken, my vases are shattered, and a few of the boxes I packed have been cut open ad destroyed. I feel the panic from earlier sink in again, needing a minute to compose myself. 

He destroyed everything. I hold onto Jack's forearm, digging my nails into his skin. "Why would he do this?" I cry, unsure of what I did to deserve this. Jack rubs my back in circles as I cry, unable to talk to the police for a bit. 

After a while, I sit at my dinner table, getting examined by a paramedic. The nice lady runs a few tests on me, which I barely pass. She tells the boys I don't have a concussion but run them through a few rules and tips on how to help me. I take this time to look over at the boys, I see Trevor with blood on his knuckles, and Luke's eyes are red as he paces around the room. I look back at Jack, tucking my face in his jacket where it's dark and safe. 

From my window, I watch as Brendan gets taken away in the cop car. A few police officers come to talk to us individually, trying to get our statements for what happened in my house today. The officer starts asking me about the stalking and abuse he inflicted while I was on tour. I see Trevor, wiping his knuckles with a wipe as he answers whatever questions they asked him. He shakes the hand of the officer before walking back over to us. 

When everyone is gone I see Trevor look up at the ceiling, he closes his eyes letting tears slip out the sides of his eyes. He wipes them quickly, before sniffling and rubbing his eyes with his forearm. "Thank you, Trevor," I whisper, because it's the only way I can get my voice out. I get up from Jack's lap to walk over to Trevor and wrap my arms around him.

His arms go around me the minute I lean into him. He holds me close to him, tight enough to feel secure but loose enough to not send me into a panic attack. He starts sniffling again, muttering out a gut-wrenching "I'm sorry Jo," into my neck. As if my heart wasn't already broken the vibe in this room is enough to break it 1000 times over.

"Let's just get out of here," Luke says, finally speaking but not looking at me. If anything he's looking anywhere but me. I look at my house one more time wondering what part of it is capable of being salvaged. When we finally get in the car, I get into the backseat with Jack while Luke drives and Trevor sits up front. 

I break the uncomfortable silence in the car to apologize to Trevor. "What are you apologizing for?" He furrows his eyebrows. "I hurt Jamie. Brendan told me inside that he hurt Jamie's arm because of me, so I'm sorry," I apologize sincerely. Trevor shakes his head before saying, "JD is perfectly fine Jos, he didn't get hurt." He says to me, smiling softly, rubbing my hand with his thumb. 

"But-" I look around the car, being unsure if Trevor doesn't know yet or if Brendan lied. "How about we call him really quick and check up on him, yeah? Would that ease your nerves?" He asks me gently, and I nod. He clicks the contact that says 'Roomie' and waits for him to answer. When he answers I see the sweetest freckled boy with a big smile on his face. "Z!" He cheers.

Trevor gives Jamie a little context as to what happened and passes the phone to me so I can talk to him. "Hi Jams," I sniffle, as he sets the phone down sweetly greeting me before showing me his arm's full range of motion. "Look I'm alright, no need to worry about your favorite defenseman," He teases, making me laugh a little. We talk for a little longer before I pass the phone back to Trevor.

When we finally get to Jack's apartment I feel like I can finally breathe, well a bit. I still feel a little tense since Luke won't even talk or look at me. When Jack leaves to take a shower and Luke has nowhere else to go I finally speak up, being able to speak at a volume outside a whisper. "Luke, what did I do?" I ask genuinely, trying t get his attention. 

I've never gotten the silent treatment from my little brother and even though Luke isn't related to me one day (hopefully) he'll be my little brother-in-law. But he's tearing my heart apart by making me feel like I fucked up and deserve to be shunned.

He finally looks at me from across the kitchen, "God, Josie you didn't do anything. I just- you got hurt and no one was there again." His voice cracks the more he talks. He clears his throat, drinking some water before talking again. "We just barely got there in time, I don't want to have to think about what he could've done-" He tears up, walking towards my open arms. 

"I told you I had always wanted a sister, and I feel so protective over you, I'm infuriated I wasn't there, or at least Jack. Someone should've stayed with you, I'm sorry Josie," I rub his back as he tells me everything on his mind. "You're just one of my best friends, I can't wait for you to be stuck with us forever," He tries joking, but his tone is too sad for it to sound like an intentional joke.

"Luke, you're already stuck with me. Regardless of marital status, you're my little brother," I smile softly, hugging him one more time before Jack walks out in sweats and no shirt. He walks over, kissing my head before grabbing a bottle of water. We sit on the couch watching a movie with the other two boys before they decide to finally go to bed. 

Jack walks me to his room, closing the door before getting me out of my old clothes and putting some new ones on. As he changes my clothes he gets a glimpse of new bruises forming on my body and finally breaks down. On his knees in front of me, he starts weeping into his hands. I get down on my knees with him too, wrapping him in my arms and trying to soothe him, knowing I'm not the only one who went through a lot today.

"I love you, I love you so, so much," He kisses my cheeks over and over again. "You can't leave me Jos, I'd be a mess. Shit I was a wreck whenever you were just away on tour," He pulls me closer just wanting to feel my body pressed up against his. "I'm not leaving, honey," I reassure him, detangling his curls as he rubs my back.

"Just because I was tipsy doesn't mean I didn't mean what I said," I whisper in his ear, hinting at the marriage comment. He pulls away to look me in the eyes, searching for any sign of me messing with him in my eyes. "Don't look so surprised, Jack. I want to marry you," I kiss his cheek, as he sniffles before smiling, pulling right back into his chest.

"What if I want to show you how forever feels?" He asks me

"I'd be okay with that," I respond kissing him softly.

A.N// Hi besties! We're OFFICIALLY done with drama! Brendan is being LOCKED away! From here on out we have good times, and I'm so happy, because my Josie deserves it:)))) I hope you enjoyed today's chapter, I really missed writing for you guys, it makes me incredibly happy! I love you guys SO SO SO much! And remember to feel free to text me if you ever need anything!

Love Lottie 💐💐💐