What is going on with the alert system? I hope all my followers have been able to see my last chapter post.
Anyway... on with the show :)
I do not own Thirteen Reasons Why. Thoughts are in italics.
Hannah did not regain consciousness until she was in the hospital. Opening her eyes, a groggy feeling overwhelmed her which caused her vision to blur. As her senses adjusted, she thought she could hear her parents discussing something nearby.
"Mom… Dad?" Hannah croaked.
"Oh, darling!" Mrs. Baker was next to Hannah in a flash, clasping her hand tightly. "How are you feeling?"
"Er… foggy…" Her sight no longer blurry, she looked around the room. Hannah attempted to sit up, "what's happened? Where am I?" The panic rose in her voice which her mother noticed straightaway.
Mrs. Baker began stroking the wavy hair that framed her daughter's face to calm her and Hannah relaxed in the bed.
"Shhh… it's okay. You fainted in Monet's and your friend Jessica came with you in the ambulance, she's waiting in the hall. You don't remember anything?" Mrs. Baker asked.
All Hannah could do was shake her head, I fainted? She couldn't believe it, she had never fainted before.
"Do you need anything?" Mr. Baker was at Hannah's free side now. She had never seen her dad look so disheveled.
"Water, please," she rasped and gave him a tight smile.
Her dad excused himself and returned seconds later with a cup of water. He handed it to Hannah carefully and she took a sip.
After she had finished, Hannah spoke again, "why did I faint?"
Her eyes met her mother's, "they're not sure honey, but they're running some tests so I'm sure we'll know soon." Mrs. Baker smiled at her daughter, however, Hannah noticed something different behind her eyes.
Worry? Anxiousness? Whatever it was, Hannah could definitely tell her mom wasn't feeling as positive as she was pretending to be.
"Did you tell Jessica that Hannah is awake, Andy?" Mrs. Baker asked her husband.
"Yes, she insisted on staying though. You've got a good friend there, Han," Andy smiled in his daughter's direction.
Did she? Hannah was unsure how to respond.
"Would you like me to go get her?"Again, Hannah wasn't sure what to say so she nodded instead.
Andy left the room and returned with Jessica by his side. Her face lit up when she saw that Hannah was conscious.
Bounding over to her bedside, Jessica engulfed Hannah in a bone crushing hug. Her muscles ached at the sudden contact, how long was I out for? She let out an uncomfortable noise from inside Jessica's embrace.
"Sorry!" Jessica let go of Hannah and jumped backwards. Hannah responded with a small smile.
"We'll leave you girls to it," Andy announced. "Olivia, we should go find the doctor?"
Olivia didn't react at first, she was still watching Hannah. Her hand, that had been stroking her daughter's hair before, was now resting on the pillow next to her head. She remained in that position, her gaze lingering on Hannah for a few seconds longer. Then she rose from her chair and moved towards the door.
Looking towards Hannah, she spoke, "we'll be back soon." Then the couple exited the room and Olivia closed the door behind them.
As soon as she was sure the door was closed, Jessica asked, "are you okay?"
Hannah gave a half-heartened shrug, "I guess… I'm not really sure what happened."
"It's weird… I was trying to talk to you but you weren't reacting. Then you became limp and fell to the floor," Jessica recalled as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"I'm sorry if I scared you or anything," Hannah added quickly.
"Don't be silly," Jessica laughed. "I'm just glad you're okay," the smile remained on her face and she placed her hand on top of Hannah's. "We'll have to reschedule when you're feeling better."
"Yeah…" Hannah's thoughts trailed off. She was confused, why had Jessica had a sudden change of heart? Why did she want to hang out with her now, after all this time?
Hannah bit down on the inside of her cheek, spurring herself to go on, "Jess, is there something you want to talk about? I was surprised when you text me. You've got to admit, it was a rather impromptu invitation."
Jessica let out an exasperated sigh, "I know… to be honest, I was surprised when you replied. It's been a while since we've really spoken, I expected you to not have my number anymore!" She began laughing.
Fake laughing, Hannah could tell.
Don't be so stupid Jess, of course she still had her number.
Jessica must have noticed Hannah's lack of reaction because she hesitated before she spoke again, "look, I wanted to say that I don't think I've ever apologised for what I did. I should never have called you a slut… and I should never have hit you. I'm sorry."
They sat in silence for a few seconds until Hannah spoke, "thank you… for apologising. You were upset, I get why-"
Jessica scoffed which interupted Hannah, "no, it was stupid. All of it. I don't know why I didn't believe you, we were supposed to be friends."
"Honestly, Jess, I understand. People drift, it happens." Hannah mustered all the energy she had and positioned herself so she was sitting upright looking directly at Jessica. "Thank you though, really, I appreciate the apology."
They smiled at each other. "We should hang out more, I never really understood why we stopped. I mean, before all that shit happened."
Hannah shrugged at Jessica's comment, "we just, started doing different things." Like becoming a cheerleader.
"Hmm… I sometimes think about back then, when everything was simpler. Back when I first started at Liberty and knew no one."
"I can't be that bad knowing people. What about Justin?"
Hannah watched Jessica roll her eyes.
"Justin… well, Justin is Justin. I don't think he'll ever get out of that jock mentality."
"What do you mean? Is everything okay between you two?"
Maybe Hannah had sounded too keen, or maybe Jessica found her comment intrusive because she raised her eyebrows at the question.
"Why so interested? Not jealous are we?" She giggled. Hannah's face remained blank and Jessica realised that it wasn't funny. "Sorry, it was just a joke… we're fine. He's just- all he cares about is getting drunk or high. We hardly see each other unless there's a group of us, I feel like he's avoiding me for some reason."
Hannah could tell this had been weighing on Jessica's mind for quite a while. Even when they were close, she'd never been one to open up about her personal life. Before Hannah had the chance to say anything, Jessica was speaking again, "we had a great summer together, it's just since we've been back at school. I dunno, things have changed."
Automatically, Hannah bit the inside of her cheek again. Of course things have changed, he let someone rape you!
"Hannah, are you alright? You look upset?" Jessica asked, concern lacing her voice.
Snapping back into reality, Hannah uncurled her hands that had subconsciously balled into fists. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry... sometimes people just change. Maybe he's just not the person you thought he was."
Jessica, for once, was lost for words so she responded by shrugging her shoulders.
Before either of them could speak again, the door opened and the Bakers walked in with a doctor accompanying them.
"Ah, Hannah! How lovely to see you awake!" The doctor beamed.
Sensing it was her cue to leave, Jessica stood from her place on the bed. "I best head off, it's late and I've still got to pick my car up from Monet's."
"I'll drive you!" Came Andy's voice quickly, "as a thank you for looking after our little girl."
Hannah felt the heat rise to her cheeks, "dad…" she groaned.
"Shh Hannah," Olivia hushed, "your father is right. We're so thankful you were there Jessica, please let Andy take you?"
Jessica gave them that award winning grin Hannah was so envious of. "Don't worry about it, honestly I'm just glad you're okay," she was now giving Hannah that smile. "Thank you for the offer but my parents know I'm here and have been on standby waiting to come get me. My dad's an army man, he'll be here before I make it outside!"
Everyone laughed at this; Jessica, Hannah's parents, even the doctor. Hannah, however, was watching Jessica.
How do you do it? Does she really have no idea what happened to her?
"Really, I'm fine. I'll call my parents now." Before she left Hannah's bedside, she placed her hand on hers one more time. "I hope everything is okay. Text me when you're feeling better and we'll rearrange Monet's, okay?"
Hannah nodded, "sure, see ya later."
"Get home safe," Olivia added.
"I will. I'll see you all soon," and with that Jessica left the room.
After hanging up the phone to her dad, Jessica left the hospital to wait for him outside. Seeing a bench, she walked towards it.
As she did, she scrolled through Instagram. Scantily dressed girls and clearly intoxicated teenagers filled her feed. She checked the time, it had just gone 11pm. Bryce's second party of the year was most likely in full swing by now.
She looked through some of her cheerleading friends accounts. Their most recent uploads were from a couple of hours ago, posing in their party outfits.
Same shit, different weekend.
"Hey! Jessica!" She heard a male voice shout from behind her.
She spun on her heel to see Tony running towards her and he looked frantic. He was followed by a dark headed, tall boy that she had never seen before, "uh hi To-"
He was in front of her now, speaking very fast, "what happened? Where's Hannah?!"
"Wha-" Jessica began but Tony interrupted her, "what did you do?!" He spat.
The boy Jessica didn't know had caught up with them now. He placed his hand on Tony's shoulder and spoke softly, "Tony, calm down."
Tony shrugged the hand off his shoulder. "Well?!" He asked Jessica, clearly fed up with her silence.
Jessica shook her head in disbelief, "what are you talking about? How did you know we were here?"
"Why does that matter?! Just answer the question, where is Hannah?!" Tony voice was rising, he was really angry now.
"She's in the hospital but she's fine. She fainted so I brought her here. Her parents are upstairs with her."
Tony blew out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding, "good."
Though Tony seemed to calm at the answer, Jessica had began heating up, "who are you anyway, Hannah's stalker?! What gives you the right to talk to me like that?!"
Tony laughed, "I'm Hannah's friend, a better one than you ever were."
Jessica's mouth hung open for a couple of seconds, "really and what the fuck would you know about that?!"
"More than you think," Tony snarled back and the two began glaring at each other.
They stood like that for a few moments before Tony's companion stood in between them, "okay okay. This is truly fascinating to watch but you've got your answer so it's time for us to go." He grabbed Tony's arm and yanked him in the other direction.
Jessica watched them leave. As he was pulled away, Tony looked over his shoulder once to send a daggering stare in Jessica's direction.
What the fuck was that about?!
I hope you all liked it, let me know what you think!
Good morning, day or night, wherever you are!
