Author's Note: Well I am back with the JONAS fictions as the show has premiered now. Let's follow the adventures of the Lucas brothers, shall we?

Summary: She has known a past of terrible, unshaven, and dirty men. She stumbles into his lap by fate. And it's up to him to show her that she can trust him. Joe falls in love with a prostitute.

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Language, Abuse, Sexual Content, Violence, Self-Harm, Character Death

Trust

1.

He stepped out of the back of the bar, his faded shoes slapping the sidewalk as he rubbed his bleary eyes with the sleeve of his arm. He shook his head as he tried to clear his mind of the memories of the previous night with the dirty glass and the trickling alcohol. He took a bent cigarette out of his pockets and let it dangle from his mouth, not lighting it. He sighed and rested his head against the brick alley wall, attempting to get rid of the pounding in his head and-

"NO!" A horrified scream ripped across the alley and the noise slammed harshly into his already throbbing mind. He groaned and crumpled in the alley. "NO! SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE!"

The words were meaningless as they drifted listlessly through his ears and he heard a slap. "SHUT UP BITCH, nobody's gonna save you!"

There were sobs, heart wrenching, heartbreaking sobs that slowly faded into whimpers. He stood up unsteadily, wondering when the alley had become so windy, and stepped clumsily forward. Pushing his hand through his hair, he tried to focus his eyes on the sight before him.

An unshaven man with tousled hair was slapping, no—beating, a woman who had now curled herself into a ball as she sobbed helplessly.

What he saw hurt his heart. He couldn't let this happen. He'd messed up a lot in his life and he'd always regretted it and the last time he'd let an asshole like Tousled Hair get his way, his life had seriously gone down a drain.

He ran up as fast (and steadily) as he could and punched Tousled Hair with all his might, aiming for the stomach. Tousled Hair doubled over and the woman stopped crying but looked around, fear lining her face.

"You don't beat women," he said firmly, kicking Tousled Hair so hard that he fell down unconscious and turned to look at the crying woman. "Are you okay?" He saw a young, clean face and though her hair was matted, she was really attractive.

The girl looked towards the direction of his voice and with a pang he realized she was blind. "Who…who are you?" she managed to gasp out quietly, moving her hand around.

"I'm… my name's Joe," he told her, and took her hand in his own, surprised when she latched onto him. She held his hand close and he stared at her. "Umm…"

"Where's Lionel?" she asked him, running her hand up and down his arm.

"If Lionel's the guy with the curly hair," Joe trailed off and took in the unconscious figure on the ground, "I don't think he's going to hurt you anymore."

"You can go now," she stammered as she tried to stand up but crumpled down with a whimper of agony. "You can go now; I'll be okay… I-I'm fine. I can take care of myself-"

"Dude, lady," Joe said, looking at her, his head spinning. This was too much excitement for a hangover. Her dress was ripped, giving him a slight view of her bra and her leg had a harsh bleeding cut. "Seriously, I'll take you to a hospit-"

"No," she begged. "No hospitals. They ask questions." She squeezed his hand even tighter and Joe was surprised. "Um, lady what's your name?"

"Lexi," she whispered quietly as Joe tried to free his hand from her grasp.

"Okay, Lexi… where is your family?" Joe desperately tried to clear his head so he could concentrate. Someone needed his help.

"I don't have one," she said emptily, and Joe felt his stomach drop.

"I can sympathize with you there, Lexi," he said absently.

"How?" she asked.

"Never mind," he broke off. Joe realized she was still holding his hand and he pried her fingers off.

"Sorry," Lexi apologized wildly. "Just leave me, I-"

"I'm not going to leave you damn it. You have a cut and you-"

"It's not that bad," Lexi tried to stand up and fell down with a gasp again.

"Yeah," Joe said, arching an eyebrow. He reached under her back and lifted her up into his arms.

"I don't need to go to a hospital-" she started but he interrupted her.

"I'm not taking you to a hospital. I'll take you somewhere else. I know some first aid stuff."

Lexi grabbed Joe's shirt, bringing her face close to his, her hands groping wildly up his torso. "You know, you don't have to hurt me for me to make it good for you." She slid a hand into his unbuttoned shirt and felt his chest. "I can make it good for you; you don't have to hit me. You don't have to hurt me."

Joe felt his body tense and he almost dropped Lexi. "Stop it!"

Lexi immediately pulled away from him, her thin frame shivering. "I'm sorry," she whimpered wildly, "I'm sorry!"

"No," Joe struggled to control himself. She tended to scare easily; he wondered what had happened to her. "Listen to me, Lexi. I don't want to use you; I'm not going to sleep with you or have sex with you or rape you or anything, you understand? I just want to help you."

"People never just want to help," Lexi told him, her sightless eyes unnervingly pointed right at Joe's. "They always want something."

"I just want to help you. That Lionel guy, he was your pimp, wasn't he? Well I'm not like him," Joe told her. "Honestly. I don't have that much money but I have enough to get buy and I'm just not…" he shrugged, trying to ignore the pang of emotion running through his heart, "not interested in any girl right now."

"Oh, you're gay?" she said, not missing a beat.

"No," he told her as she ran her hand up his arm again. "Just heartbroken."

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