𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 | | 𝘫𝘫 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬

𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺 － 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳

— • — • — • — ꧁꧂ — • — • — • —

— • — • — • — ꧁꧂ — • — • — • —

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 — ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟

DRIVING THROUGH THE Cut, JJ still gripped Leilani's hand. It was quiet, because neither JJ nor Leilani knew what to say. So they just listened to the soft words of Taylor Swift that Leilani had put on until she pulled into her driveway, turning the car off. The pair walked hand in hand through the house, kicking their shoes off and finding Kai standing in the kitchen. "Oh. Hey." Kai greeted, sensing the negativity Leilani and JJ brought with them.

        "Hey," Leilani looked over at JJ. "Do you want to go shower? I'll be up there soon." she whispered, and JJ nodded. He didn't have the forethought to greet Leilani's father, and he instead walked quietly up the stairs to Leilani's bedroom.

        "What's going on, keiki?" (baby) Kai asked, leaning against the kitchen sink.

        Leilani sighed, her hands on her waist. "JJ needs to stay here tonight." she said it like a statement, because it was.

        Kai frowned. "Leilani, no. You don't get to have your boyfriend sleep over."

        Taking a deep breath, Leilani wiped at her eyes. "Dad, JJ needs to stay here tonight. I don't know exactly what happened, but he went home for the first time since he was arrested, and Luke went crazy on him again. I'm not letting him go to John B's, and I'm not letting him go home. Luke doesn't have the balls to come here, so I need JJ here, where he'll be safe." Leilani explained quickly. She didn't know the details of the altercation between JJ and his father, and she didn't need to know to defend him.

        Kai's gaze traveled to the stairs where JJ had gone. "Kapua, it's not your responsibility to take care of him." Kai cared about JJ, of course he did, but he didn't want Leilani to spread herself too thin in their relationship. He knew the way JJ acted, and he was fearful that JJ would negatively influence Leilani.

        "It is, Dad. Who else does he have? I don't know what it's like to have gone through what he has, but I know what it's like to feel like you weren't wanted. I don't want JJ to ever feel like that, not with me." Leilani was speaking of her mother, and Kai knew that. He also knew that he wasn't the type of person to push an abused kid away when he needed help.

        "Be good. It's just me tonight, so you don't have to worry. If you need me, I'm there." Leilani nodded at Kai's words, and hugged him briefly.

         She gathered a bowl and placed bags of ice from the freezer into it, bringing it upstairs to her room. JJ was sitting on her bed with his head hung low, having pulled on shorts and a shirt, his blonde hair wet. He looked up at hearing her footsteps, trying to plaster on a smile for her. "Don't do that. You don't have to try to cover everything up." Leilani said quietly, pulling her desk chair over to sit in front of JJ.

        JJ gave her a small nod as she placed the bowl of ice packs at her feet. "Thank you." he whispered.

        Leilani gently grabbed JJ's face, lifting it up until he met her eyes. "I need you to know something. I don't care if we're together, if we're fighting, if we're just friends, or even if we're nothing. If you need me, you call me. You don't have to tell me anything, just say you need me, and I'll be there. No questions asked. It doesn't matter if it's the middle of the night, or some random afternoon. I'll be there every time. Just please, please call me. I promise that I will never leave you alone when you need me." Leilani's hand framed JJ's jaw as she spoke, his saddened blue eyes watching her intently.

        He didn't say anything but he nodded, and Leilani knew he had heard her. JJ leant forward and pushed a soft kiss to Leilani's lips. "He tried to take the money." JJ said when they broke apart, leaning back on Leilani's pillows.

        "Your dad? Take your shirt off." JJ didn't argue Leilani's words, and he winced in pain as he pulled his shirt off.

        Leilani sat on the edge of her bed, one leg hanging towards the floor as she held the bowl of ice packs in her lap. "He said he was gonna triple it, and I knew he wasn't, so I took it back." JJ explained, his chest bare before his girlfriend.

        Gently, Leilani took the bags of ice and laid them on JJ's torse, ribcage and lower waist, everywhere his father's fist had hit him. "You won, so that's a good thing," Leilani shrugged, trying to lighten to mood. JJ tried to take the ice off, and Leilani stopped him. "Don't. We have to get the swelling down so it hurts less when they're healing."

        JJ threw an arm under his head and Leilani pressed a bag of ice to his cheek. "He's been doing this since before my mom left. I just snapped, I guess." JJ said quietly, looking at the surfboards in the corner of Leilani's room as she iced his face.

        Leilani wanted JJ to talk for as long as he needed to, so she was glad that he was opening up. "When did your mom leave? Do you remember her?" she questioned, adjusting the ice on his chest.

        "Not really. I think I was three, maybe four," JJ said distantly, smiling as Scout ran into the room, jumping on the bed and licking his face. "Do you remember your mom?"

        Shaking her head, Leilani got Scout to lay down. "No, she left when I wasn't even out of the hospital yet. My dad told me he went to find baby clothes, because he didn't know about me until the day I was born. When he came back, she was gone." Leilani explained. Kai didn't talk about Leilani's mother often, and she wished he did.

        Leilani eventually left JJ's side to clean herself, and she came out of her bathroom with her damp curls dutch braided into two braids over her shoulders, a pair of cotton shorts and a crewneck on her body, glasses on her face. JJ was only icing his cheek now, Scout's head in his lap. "Where do I get to sleep?" JJ asked. He was feeling better now, especially because Leilani was with him.

        Leilani removed the decorative pillows from her bed and pulled her covers back, revealing her white sheets with tiny blue, purple and pink shells on them. "Right here." Leilani moved Scout, and he trudged over to his dog bed, collapsing and falling asleep almost immediately. Leilani turned on the fairy lights over her windows, the dim glow giving warmth to the room.

        She left her bedroom door wide open and climbed into her bed beside JJ after switching the main light off. Leilani laid her head against her pillows, turning on her side to face JJ. "Get over here." JJ opened up his arm and Leilani smiled, shifting over until her head was on his shoulder where he was not injured, her hand drawing across his waist in a soft motion.

        JJ's hand stroked Leilani's shoulder, sending goosebumps down her spine. Every time he touched her felt like the first time, and it was magical. Leilani kissed JJ's cheek, settling in the crook of his neck. "Goodnight, J." Leilani whispered.

        "Night, Leils." JJ whispered back, able to relax for the first time in a long time. Leilani made him feel so safe, so wanted. JJ didn't know what he did to deserve Leilani, but he wouldn't be letting go of her anytime soon.

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