A/N: The first secret is out! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Special thanks to Splash's Writing Zone, CM Fan, red2013, Sophia0665, jenny crum, Katia XD, Westie80 and Christiangirl!
I don't own criminal minds!
Chapter 27: Family drama
One week later…
JJ walked down the stairs at the Hotchner residence. She had been spending the entire day with Sean and it was time to go home for dinner. Sara asked her to come home earlier because she wanted to eat together. It had been a long time since that happened and JJ was pretty excited about it. She really needed to spent some time with the family she had left. She used to be surrounded by her parents and sister almost every time during the day and the quietness often made her feel lonely. But she knew her aunt and uncle had jobs that were important to them and JJ didn't want to interfere in their lives. She was thankful enough that they wanted her to live with them. She knew her aunt was thinking about starting a family any time soon.
JJ was about to open the door when it was opened by someone from the outside. She immediately took a step back. The anger hit her when she saw Hotch standing in the doorway. He had a sad look on his face but she just didn't care anymore. He could look like whatever he wanted. She wasn't going to worry about him anymore. So she just walked past him but she was stopped when he took a hold on her arms.
Hotch kept his grip on JJ's arm until she finally turned around in anger. He gently let go of her arm. ''You're ignoring me.'' he stated.
''What do you want me to say, Aaron?'' she asked, keeping enough distance between them. ''I have every right to ignore you.'' she said, turning around and storming out of the house. She didn't want to hear any kind of explanation. She was sick and tired of hearing them.
Hotch followed JJ out onto the front yard and he blocked her path after he caught up with her. ''Hear me out, please!'' he begged.
''I can't be near you, Aaron because it hurts. Talking right now is killing me.'' she said in tears.
He could feel every ounce of pain in her voice and it made him crumble inside. The last thing he wanted was for JJ to feel so much pain. ''If I had known what was going to happen between you and Sean, I would never have let you go, JJ. He took advantage of you and it's all my fault.'' he spoke out and the sigh coming from JJ stopped him from saying another word.
''Is that what you think?'' she asked. ''That Sean took advantage of me? First of all, my sex life is none of your business. And second of all, I wanted it to happen.''
''Then why did you choose me first? What made you do that, JJ?'' he asked with hurt. ''There has to be a reason.''
She shrugged her shoulders like she no longer cared about him but she still did. She knew it. The chills and sparks were still there. ''Don't dwell on the past, Aaron. I made a mistake when I choose you. Sean has always been good to me and we've decided to give it another try because we love each other.'' she went on. ''I don't regret what happened.''
''I know you're lying to me, JJ. And Sean did take advantage of you!'' he yelled. ''You don't even see it, do you?''
''Why would I even believe you?''
He took a step closer towards JJ. He stopped right in front of her. He looked into her big blue eyes and he stared at her intensely. He knew she still felt something or else she would've looked away. ''Because you know me, JJ. You're the only person who really knows who I am and I need you to believe me when I saw that I do love you.''
''How am I ever supposed to trust if you're not willing to share your past with me?'' she asked, the tears still threatening to fall. She had no idea what to say to him. There wasn't much she expected from him. Her trust in Hotch had completely faded away after what he pulled a week earlier. And now he was saying that Sean had the wrong intentions with her. She didn't know what to believe anymore. ''Tell me! If you want me to trust you, than tell me!'' she repeated. ''What made Aaron Hotchner so cold?''
He sighed deeply, not knowing what to do. He was afraid. He was afraid of everything. But most of all he was afraid of losing the girl in front of him. He had seen enough bad things in his life to know that JJ made everything better for him. ''Fine, but know that I'm doing this for you. Only for you.'' he whispered. ''What did Sean tell you about the reason I left?''
She immediately thought about her talk with Sean right after she met Hotch. Sean was angry because she talked to Hotch and he explained why he didn't want JJ near Hotch. Ever. ''Sean told me you almost killed your dad. That you put in him in the hospital after a beating.''
''And that's true.'' he admitted. ''But what Sean never told you is that I did it to protect my mother, JJ.'' he began. He immediately saw the question marks on her face. He was really going to tell her part of his story. ''I had a great childhood until I turned fourteen. My dad started drinking a lot more than before and I always wondered why. My mom said it was because he was losing his company.'' he went on.
''What does this have anything to do with you leaving?''
''Just let me finish.'' he said. ''My dad became a drunk, JJ. I saw him deteriorating right in front of my eyes and it was tearing apart my mom. So she decided to get him into a treatment program. He became sober after four months.'' he said, sighing deeply before continuing. ''And that's when it started.'' he stated, his voice filled with pain and agony. ''He started to beat my mom as an outlet for his emotions and as I got older he beat me to. I only knew what was happening when I turned seventeen. One day I just noticed the bruises on my mom's face and I realized what had been going on.''
The pieces finally started to fall into place and JJ couldn't believe what she was hearing. She felt like hugging Hotch tightly and comforting him but she needed to keep her distance. But his hurt was all over his face. ''I am so sorry, Aaron.'' she exclaimed.
''And that night I was going to bed. It was the night before my high school graduation and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I didn't have anything planned.'' he began. ''Well, that night I heard my mom's cries coming from the master bedroom. So I decided to check on her and I saw my father beating her severely. My mom was ducked in the corner and he just kept beating her. That was the last straw for me and I finally decided to do something because I had seen him hurting my mother so many times that it finally got to be too much.'' he confessed. ''I pushed my dad away from my mother and he started to beat me too but I was able to defend myself. I was able to overpower him and when it started it seemed like I just couldn't stop and I lost control. It was in that exact moment that Sean came walking into the room.''
''He saw you beating your father?'' JJ asked with fear in her voice. ''But he had no idea that you tried to protect your mom.''
''Sean was only thirteen years old. He didn't understand any of it.'' he explained. ''I know I went too far that night. I lost control when I shouldn't have.''
''But you did it to save your mom. How can you feel guilty about that? And why did your mother never leave your dad?''
He shook his head. ''I don't know. The police came to the hospital to check on the situation and my mother told him that my father accidentally fell down the stairs. The police believed her after she made up the entire story.'' he started. ''After my father was released from the hospital he came back home and everything returned to normal, except that he ordered me to leave. My mom stood by and didn't do anything. And I guess that over the years she never told Sean the truth. And I understand why he hates me. He saw me beating our dad but I can't believe my mother never had the guts to tell him.''
''But why did you come back?'' she asked, her voice trembling. ''Why?''
''That's just another boring part I won't bother you with, JJ.''
''I don't know what to say, Aaron. Just that I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that alone.'' JJ whispered.
''You didn't do anything.'' he said kindly. ''Do you think we can ever be friends again? Can you forgive me, JJ?'' he asked. ''I haven't lost you, have I?''
''I don't know.'' she admitted. And she really didn't know. She didn't know what to think or feel anymore. Everything was so messed up. ''It's too hard right now.'' she said. ''Thank you for being honest with me!''
''Just think about it.'' he said, touching her arms gently before he turned around to make his way into the house.
JJ watched Hotch walk away and it that moment she felt like telling Sean the truth. He had a wrong picture about his brother and Hotch deserved to be treated right by his own family. But JJ knew he would feel betrayed if she took that step. So she just turned around to her car to go home and have dinner with her family, knowing she was lucky to have her aunt and uncle.
