The Leaving Song, Pt. II

Wally drops me off at the hospital the next day. "So do you know what happened?"

I shake my head. "Just that Hannah found her text messages to me."

He grimaces. "She tell the parents?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe she should."

I stop dead in my tracks. "What?"

"I just… I don't know. They're her parents. Sure, they… They messed up big time, but maybe she should try to make it work with them before you…"

"Before I what?" I snap. "Are you accusing me of something?"

"No!" he exclaims. "But…"

"I'm not just gonna stand there and watch them ruin someone else's life the way they ruined mine!"

"You haven't even met them!" he argues. He sounds legitimately angry now, rather than just defensive. "Jinx, my parents are busy trying to uninvited me from my sister's wedding so I'm sorry if I don't think that it's such a good idea for you to be driving a wrench into someone else's family!"

"Oh, is that what this what is about?" I demand. "How you're the fucking good son because you don't cut ties from your damn-near-abusive father?"

"Well maybe you should at least try!"

"Try?" I sneer. "God, Wally, somehow you have gotten it into head that I am some kind of wonderful fucking person! Well, newsflash, I'm not. I am fucked up, is what I am, and I don't know how to do the goddamn fucking "right thing" all the time. I'm a criminal, remember?"

"Oh, believe me, I know that," he growls. His face immediately washes over with guilt. He starts talking a mile a minute. "Ohgodthat, thatdidn'tcomeouthowI, howIwanteditto I don't Ididn'tmeanthat…"

"Whatever," I interrupt. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go run damage control for a fatally ill eleven-year-old."
He looks at me, mouth open, but I don't give him a chance to say anything. I just walk into Audrey's room and slam the door.

Audrey looks at me smugly as I enter the room. "I heard that," she says. She started chemo maybe a week ago and her hair is starting to fall out. It's also almost entirely pink these days. I'm not sure which upsets her more.

"So?" I snap, pulling a chair up to the side of her bed.

"So I dunno,' she retorts. "He's your boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah"

"You think he still is?"

"Oh, fuck off, Audrey," I snap.

"So that's a no?"

"No!" I exclaim. "It's a… Seriously? I'm not in the mood for this. I thought you want you wanted to talk about Hannah."

She sighs. She sounds exhausted. "She yelled at me. Hannah. Yelled. Can you believe that?

"Audrey, in the… month or so that I've known your sister, we've had all of two conversations. How should I know if that's unusual?" Granted, it doesn't fit my perception of her at all. But whatever.

"Well, it is," she huffs. "She never raises her voice, like, ever."

"Some lawyer she's gonna make," I murmur. Audrey laughs dryly.

"Well, she'll be fucking amazing at it if she learns to yell more often," she says. "You heared her going at me at last night. Fucking insane."

I smirk, trying to imagine Hannah as someone who could be described as "fucking insane". "I still don't believed you learned all those words from your parents." I ask.

Audrey shrugs. "Well them and music videos."

I laugh. "Of course you did. God, kid, you need a hobby."

"I used to dance," she tells me. "Can't since… Well, they didn't have dance at St. Claire's."

I'm way too upset to think about that. "So…" I begin, a tentative attempt to change the subject. "What'd she say?"

"That I'm an ungrateful little bitch and that if I get emancipated, they won't have to pay for my medical care and I can fuck off and die because I don't deserve for them too."

"Hannah said that?"

"Well, minus the naughty words. But that was the gist of it."

I tap my the toe of my boot against the floor. "You still want to do it?"

"More than ever."

"When was the last time you talked to them, anyway?"

"Um…" She counts on her fingers. "Last… Tuesday. They asked if thev chemo was working. And I'm like, how am I supposed to know, you should to Dr. Harrison. And then they talked to her about it, I guess."

I reach into my pocket and take out the names Robin gave. "My, uh…" My boss? No. Not anymore. "My friend gave me some names. So, I guess we should start by calling them, and…"

The door swings open. "Audrey, I…"

Hannah.

She doesn't finish her sentence. Instead, she glares at me, with the coldest eyes I have ever seen.

"You."

I stand up. "I'll just go then."

She blocks me from the door with her foot. "Don't."

I press my lips together. "Okay."

"Were planning on telling me that you're trying to corrupt our sister?"

"I wasn't trying to corrupt anyone. She asked me for help."

"Well she doesn't need your help."

"Have you... Told your parents?" I ask.

"Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first."

I glance at Audrey, who is looking on, tears in her. I've never seen her cry before.

"Maybe we should take this outside," I suggest.

"No, I think Audrey should hear this."

I exhale sharply. "Really, Hannah, you don't want to mess with me right now."

"Oh, I think I do," Hannah seethes, "you little bitch."

Well, that's it.

"Okay, fine," I say, through gritted teeth. "You wanna a fight? You got one. Because, yeah, I am a bitch, but you? You're the one who turned a blind eye to every fucking abuse your parents commited over the last sixteen years! You're an enabler, Hannah. A weak-willed, spineless little loser who's too busy crying to mommy and daddy to see when other people fucking need you!"

"I was six years old!" she exclaims.

"I had a criminal record at six," I snap. "And this isn't about me. You're not my sister. This is about Audrey. You're twenty-two now, Hannah. What's your excuse this time?"

"Olivia-"

"My name is Jinx!" I shout.

I slam the door again on my way out.

Wally tries to talk to me when we get home, but I'm not interested. We ride up the elevator in silence.

Rosie is sitting at the counter with a box of crayons. "Hey!" she says brightly. "What's…"

Her face falls as soon as she looks at us. "Did you two break up?" she squeaks. She closer to tears than I am.

"No," we say, in unison. Wally sits next to her and looks at me, eyes wide and brows knotted. I fold my arms and lean against the wall. I'm not in the mood for concern.

"We just got in a fight, is all," he tells her.

Rosie looks from Wally to her crayon to me and then back to Wally. "What about?"

"Just…" he starts, an aimless word that hangs in the air like fog. He's still giving me puppy dog eyes.

"Just about how much of a terrible person I am."

"That's not-"

"Oh, don't deny it."

He looks hurt. "Can you please just stop antagonizing me?" He stands up, shaking his head as he starts towards his room. "Christ, Jinx, we both get enough of it, we don't need to…" He doesn't finish.

He bolts off, in tears.

Oh great, now I made him cry.

Rosie is staring at me, her visible eye enourmous and brimming with tears. Shit, not her too.

The phone goes. What lovely fucking timing. I check the caller ID. It's police department. Fuck. That means I have to take this.

"Rosie," I say, tilting my head towards the door.

She looks at me funny. "Why do I have to go?"

"Because I have to talk shop."

"So?"

"So, you're not supposed to listen to this stuff," I remind her, trying not to get impatient.

"Lorena gets to!"

"Lorena's a trainee"

She puts a hand on her hip. "And I'm not?"

"No, you're not!" I say, sounding much angrier than I intend to. I try to cool down. "Lorena has powers, okay?"

"But I'm like you!" she shouts. Great. Now she's angry. "I have a record, you know!"

"Yeah, well you're also nine."

"And three-quarters," she exclaims, as if this makes a difference.

I slam the phone into the receiver. If it's important they can damn well call back.

"Oh my fucking god, why is everyone so mad at me today?" I snap. I try to throw open the door before I remember that its automatic and it slaps my hand as it opens. "I can't do this now, okay?" I'm not sure if she's even listening anymore.

By the time I reach my room I'm crying. Damn it. Damn it, what is wrong with me? Wally's right. I am antagonizing everybody.

God, I'm such a fucking terrible person.

My hand is throbbing. It feels kind of good.

I keep a pocket knife in the drawer of my nightstand. Just in case. I sit down on my bed and I pick it up and I stare at it.

Well.

I haven't done this in a while.

Don't waste your touch, you won't feel anything
Or were you sent to save me?
I've thought too much, you won't find anything...
Worthy of redeeming

To... break down, and cease all feeling
Burn now, what once was breathing
Reach out, and you may take my heart away

Author's notes:

I kind of like this chapter. For a chapter from this story, anyway. I um… Still don't have much to say about it though.

I wasn't sure whether to have Jinx and Wally get in a fight. I'd been playing around with it and eventually decided it work, but I was careful about how I did it. I'm not interested in them fighting for cheap drama and I didn't want it to seem that way. But it ended up being something that came out of the characters, so I was okay with it. I don't see these two as being the type of couple that fights that often, but when they do, they know how to hurt each other. Don't worry too much though, guys- this'll last like a chapter, two at most. I like seeing them be cute and fluffy just as much as you guys do. -sweatdrop-

About the ending... This is another thing I really, really went back and forth about including. But... I'm not including it for angst and drama. It's just something that's a part of Jinx's character to me. And, really, at the end of the day, all I'm interested in writing about is people.

Title and lyrics from "The Leaving Song pt. II" by AFI. Why yes, I have been planning that since chapter 4. Why do you ask? XD