𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬/𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐎𝐧

JJ sat up quickly, woken by the sound of someone making their way through the door. He grasped the gun by his side before the shadow slowly entered the room.

"Mads?" He let out a breath, quickly let go of the gun and rushed over to the girl who just whimpered in response, standing still in front of him.

Shivering, she pulled her shirt around herself tighter as the two stood silently. "What- What happened?" JJ asked, still dazed from his sleep before he quickly regained his thoughts and pulled her in for a hug. He knew exactly what had happened without either of them needing to speak a word.

"I'm so done with it, JJ. I can't anymore," she whispered through sobs. The boy pushed her away abruptly and turned the lights on to see the state she was in.

"Holy shit." He paused for a second to look at her, he couldn't even speak. It was bad. Worse than bad. "Fucking hell I'll kill him, I swear to god I will." is breathing quickened as he became increasingly frustrated. Madison sighed and approached him in an attempt to calm him down. She had nothing against him hurting her father, but in that moment, the only thing she wanted was his comfort. He didn't mean to be insensitive by pushing her away, he just didn't know how to properly show affection.

"JJ, Jay, just relax, okay? I'm okay." She reached over to grab hold of his arm, reassuring him. He looked into her bloodshot eyes, her vulnerability breaking his heart. Everyone knew JJ had a soft spot for the girl. He just didn't know how to comfort her; no one had ever shown comfort toward him, so how was he expected to understand what to do? But she knew he cared about her, no words needed to be said.

The boy was clearly oblivious on what to do, so Madison made the first move and pressed her body against his in a hug. He quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, gently rubbing her side. He was scared that he'd accidentally hurt her.

Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of her body against his. His embrace was warm, and his arms seemed protective when wrapped around her bruised body. 

The world around her melted away as she squeezed him back, not wanting the moment to end. He rested his head on top of hers and she silently sobbed into his shirt, slightly dampening it with her tears. "It's okay, baby it's okay." He comforted the girl who soon became hysterical as all her emotions came down on her at once. She pulled away, breathing heavily and turned away from him.

"No. No it's not fucking okay JJ. It's not, and it's never going to end!" He gently tried to place his hand on her back but she roughly shoved him away, which only fuelled their agitation. Her hysterical cries pierced the air. "I can't. I can't deal with it anymore. I hate my life so fucking much! I hate him, I hate him so much!" she screamed, furiously wiping her face.

"Stop saying that! Just leave him for good Mads. He doesn't deserve you, come live here full time. You're usually here anyways and John B wouldn't mind, you know it. Please just come live with us, neither of us can stand to see you like this." He begged, his frustration evident. 

"Me and John B would be fine. But you and me, we would just fight all the time and you'd want me out," Madison replied.

"So what if we fight? We fight all the time now, and that has never ended our relationship. It's just banter," JJ defended.

"Relationship?" Madison questioned, folding her arms.

"Well, whatever the fuck we are, Mads. We don't need to put a label on it," he huffed.

"Okay fine, I'll stay with you but don't blame me when-" The boy cut her off by tugging on her arm roughly, pressing his lips against hers. She pulled back, in shock. "Wow. Well that caught me off guard." Her face fell and they looked at each other sadly.

"It's not fair. We're too young to deal with all this shit." She whispered as they both sat down. "It's not fucking fair. I get beaten on the daily by the man who's supposed to be there to protect me the most. I practically grew up on crack, I've had everything taken from me. I have nothing." 

"No. It's not fair at all Mads. But you have a family. You're a sister to the other boys. Especially John B, he's always there to bail you out of jail, help you out when you're smacked up on drugs, when you get into fights and come to the chateau in a state. You do have a family Maddy, you do have a safe home to stay at. Here. It's all here, so don't you dare say you haven't got anything. You have all of us! And you have me." He spat back. He wasn't angry, only frustrated that she felt like she had nothing when he was standing right in front of her.

"I know that. I'm sorry, I just. You can't deny that we've seen and dealt with more than most people will have in a lifetime." She defended her words.

"I know. But try to remember you have more than a lot of people have. You have us." He whispered and lay down on the couch, pulling her on top of him. She winced from the pain in her side and felt him tense up underneath her.

"Don't. Look, it hurts but I'm fine okay? Bruises and cuts go away." She smiled, lifting her head to softly kiss him in successful attempts to calm him down.