Two floors down /:\ Joji

.3.

Joji's pov

I smiled as (y/n) insisted she did the dishes. She was so polite. Normally, I would think letting a girl Max found outside stay at my apartment is crazy and a big no no, but this just seemed...right. I went to help her, and we talked about random things, from the universe to why people like carrots. Confusing as it was, it seemed to cheer her up. And me.

"(y/n), what happened to you?" I asked after we'd sat down. Instantly, she drew into herself a little bit. "You don't have to tell me yet obviously, but if you wanna talk at any point..." I trailed off. Why am I being so nice? I just really want to and that's not me.

Surprisingly, (y/n) spoke up. "I guess I'll have to explain at some point.

"I met my ex boyfriend Joel around three years ago. He was really sweet, taking me out on romantic dates to fancy restaurants, sometimes walks on a beach in California. I guess he's a sweet talker. He asked me to move in and I accepted, I thought it was a good idea even of it was a bit early. But it all changed...after I found out about his drug business. I only knew that he smoked weed when I met him.

"I don't really mind if someone smokes weed, I occasionally do myself. But then I found out he wasn't just doing weed. Cocaine, a dab of acid, sometimes even heroin. He turned out to be pretty horrible. But Joel kept sweet talking me back, promising he'd stop, cut down. Of course, it never happened.

"When I found out he was dealing, that broke out a massive argument. And. And he hit me. Bought me flowers afterwards, cliché apologies but I fell for them all. Every argument, he would hit me. At first it was just a punch, or a slap, but it all escalated when he threw a glass at me, only missing by a tiny distance.

"After that, he didn't let me out. Made me sleep on the floor, I had set times for food and using the toilet. I couldn't get away with eating any food whilst he was gone, Joel made sure there was next to nothing. He just kicked me if I spoke to him, did something different to how he wanted it. I asked if I could get something from the corner shop today, and he just used me as a punching bag. I had a shard of crockery stuck in my arm for a few days now, and he kicked that out. It really fucking hurt.

"The only reason I'm not still there is because I finally had the balls to run, and thank god your friend Max accidentally hit me. Thank god you're letting me stay here. It's really nice of you, Joji." (y/n) explained the situation, and I noticed she was crying real bad when I looked over at her. My instinct was to give her a hug, so I did. In that moment where she was crying into my shirt and hugging me back, it felt like only she mattered.

Joji stop. You've known (y/n) for a day. You can't be thinking like this! (y/n) had stopped crying, and eventually let go of the hug. I laid my hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile, making her smile back. It was a nice sight to see.