A CHANGE OF HEART ⇒ jjxpope

TWO

JJ can't sleep. He doesn't sleep, not since storming off to his bedroom. Rolling over onto his back, he let's out a stiff whimper. Every single part of him hurts right now. He can already feel his ribs bruising.

The dull aching sensation in his belly concerns JJ the most, however. He slowly eases himself onto his feet. He needs to shower; he knows from experience that it'll help his aching body.

Grabbing a towel from the floor, one he's sure has already been in use, JJ stumbles towards the bathroom. He locks the door behind him before turning on the shower and waits for it to warm up a little.

It's not even close to being dark outside. It feels as though he's lost all track of time.

Once the water is warm enough, JJ removes his clothes and steps underneath the water. He allows the water to consume him, splashing over his bruising face and dampening his head of golden hair.

Reaching for the shampoo, JJ rinses and lathers some fruity scented wash onto a loofah and washes himself. It smells coconuty, it is a nice, fresh sort of smell; one that doesn't make him feel overwhelmingly nauseous, which is good enough for him.

JJ reaches to turn off the water. As he does so, he looks down at the tiles below him. The water is leaking down the drain, not anything out of the ordinary. Upon further inspection, JJ let's out a small, panicked gasp.

Blood.

There is blood in the water, running down his legs and into the stream of lapping water that sinks itself down the shower drain.

JJ turns off the water quicker than ever, staggering our of the shower and wrapping himself up in a towel, his shoulders shaking as the towel hangs from them. He's bleeding. There's blood in the shower, his fucking blood. He takes a seat on the toilet seat lid, shakily reaching up to hug his knees to his chest, the towel somehow remaining around his shoulders. Fuck.

"K-Kie!" JJ shouts, raspily. "Kie!" He doesn't know who else to yell for. He's bleeding and he can't let anybody know what could be in harms way. The fetus. "K-Kiara!" He yells slightly louder this time, his voice growing even more and more startled.

The door handle moves, shaking as somebody knocks on the door. "JJ, what is it?" Pope asks from outside the door, his tone concerned and soft. "J, open the door-"

JJ shakes his head, letting out a weary sob. "No.......no, just......just get me Kiara, please," He begs.

Pope doesn't budge. "JJ....." He trails gently.

"Pope, please," JJ cries. "Just get Kiara. Tell her.....tell her to start the car up, I'll be out in a second," He's trying to level out his breathing, but nothing seems to work. He stands up slowly, stumbling only a little bit.

He fumbles with his underwear and yanks them on, fumbling even more with the lock for a moment before opening the door to reveal Pope, his brown eyes wide. "J-"

"Kie....I....I need Kie," JJ whispers as he brushes a hand against Pope's shoulder. "Just, please, Pope, just trust me on this. I-I need Kiara,"

Pope reaches his hand up to rest gently over JJ's slightly smaller one on his shoulder while meeting JJ's blue eyes. There's something different about those eyes, they're more scared than Pope has ever wanted them to be. "I trust you, okay? Are you....is everything okay?" Pope asks tenderly.

JJ wants to nod but he can't. "I'll...Pope, I promise, I'll explain. I promise I will. I just need to go to the......Kiara, I need Kiara," He eventually lands on.

Pope nods, understanding. "Okay," He whispers gently. "Okay," He repeats a little less quieter this time. "Go get dressed, I'll grab Kie and the keys, are you sure you're alright?" He asks once more.