2.13

Hannah mutters in her sleep when she feels something tickle her nose. She is so sleepy that she doesn't have the strength to open her eyes, so she blindly waves her hand, letting it be known that she wants to continue sleeping. Unfortunately, nothing gives Joseph more pleasure than teasing a younger girl. He finds it amusing to watch her frowning eyebrows, which he does even in his sleep.

Eventually, he squeezes the tip of her nose with his fingers to rouse her, but this is a bad idea, since Hannah doesn't particularly care what he does while she sleeps. She defends herself, letting it be known that she intends to continue to laze around, and as a result, Joseph accidentally flops down.

He glares at her when a red mark from the blow is marked on his cheek. Although Hannah looks sweet in her sleep, he feels like smothering her with the nearest pillow, but ends up clenching his hands into fists to avoid doing something ill-considered.

It's true. He's a nervous person who needs to start controlling it.

— You will regret daring to insult my perfect face.

Like a beast, he jumps on her, causing her petite body to suffer because of it. This is the perfect way to arouse her, as the teenager floats to a sitting position and looks at him with terrified eyes.

— I think you broke my back, monster — she whispers, overly aroused.

— If I broke your back, then you wouldn't be able to get up, silly girl.

He smiles broadly when he sees the sleepy eyes in her eyes.

— How cute — he teases her, again squeezing the tip of her nose with his fingers. — You'll get up eventually because I'm going to go back to the dorm. I'm not going to wait for you to sleep. Abandoning you in your room is not a good idea either. I'm not a pig.

— I can't feel my legs. I think I have paralysis.

— I'm the one who will be more than happy to bring you back to life, frowning.

He grabs her like a child and throws her over his shoulder before she can react. The most embarrassing moment for her is when he pats her on the butt.

He enters the bathroom with Hannah and beastly throws her into the shower. He turns on the cold water, and she screams in disbelief as the icy stream runs down her face and then all over her body. She doesn't intend to be the only victim, so the boy, unaware of her plan, is dragged into the cabin by her.

Joseph bumps into the girl, causing her to be crushed against the wall. Water runs down their faces, and a short-distance separates them. She lifts her face and looks at him, and then something surprising happens to her heart. It beats so hard that the girl gets the impression that it is about to jump out of her chest. The sight of his wet hair, which she combed through with one hand while resting the other against the wall above her head, the drops of water that run down his face. That gaze with which he now looks at her...

A pleasant tingling sensation appears at the level of her neck and runs along her spine. Hannah looks at him with wide-open eyes and swallows her saliva harder. He doesn't take his eyes off her, and the teenager gets the impression that his face is getting closer and closer.

She begins to panic. She feels that in a moment he will burst her left breast. Her knees buckle under her, her breathing accelerates. She waits for a moment, making her dizzy, but just then the ringtone of his cell phone sounds.

Joseph grunts and moves away from her. Hannah continues to stand under the stream of cold water, watching the boy come out of the bathroom to answer.

The teenager puts her hand to her chest and closes her eyes.

This was the moment. Something amazing could have happened a moment ago, but someone knew when they should be interrupted.

Water drips from her as she leaves the bathroom and stands in the threshold, watching the older boy.

— Can you more calmly explain to me what happened? — Hannah hates the person who is just talking to him. — Halsey, wait a moment. I'll be right there and help you. Don't panic.

— She knew when to call — mutters the nineteen-year-old under her breath, feeling her blood pressure rise upon hearing the unloved name.

Joseph hurriedly starts to get dressed, but Hannah still stands in the threshold, simply looking at him.

— I have to help Halsey. Dry off quickly, change your clothes and let's go.

He feels like snorting, but refrains at the last moment. To show him her indignation, she slams the door as she enters the bathroom. Let him know that she is not fond of his ex-girlfriend.

*

Hannah doesn't want to make a statement about Halsey, since she has already caused a storm between them once, so she refrains from expressing her opinion about the girl who, while catching gum, calls him.

Why doesn't he ask his father? Be someone else from his entourage, but precisely Joseph?

Cunning beast, thinks Hannah.

— You're going to be sick. This is no longer the time to go outside with wet hair — she mutters as she sits next to him in the passenger seat. She would love to add that Halsey is not worth putting up with being sick, but she bites her tongue. — You're bound to catch a cold.

— So you'll play my nurse.

The teenager gets indignant, seeing his suggestive smile.

— As a child, I wanted to become a nurse to sadistically abuse patients. Sticking needles into them and watching the fear in their eyes.... something wonderful.

Joseph looks at her for a long moment, even though he is driving.

— Apparently you've had something wrong with your head since you were a child.

His statement is cheeky, but Hannah forces a smile so as not to provoke an argument. She doesn't want sparks to fly between them again. Not now, when they are going to help Halsey.

Let the long-legged hag see that it won't be easy for her to get Joseph.

— What was she like? — The boy looks at her uncomprehendingly. — The woman who gave birth to me. Your mother.

He smiles slightly.

— I was a child. I don't remember much, although I have most memories from when she was already sick. However, I will never forget when she cuddled me to sleep and sang my favorite lullaby. — She clasps her hands tighter on the steering wheel. — When I was older, the housekeeper told me a lot about her. I enjoyed listening to her. From this, I learned what a wonderful woman my mother was. When she and my father were trying to have a child, it came to light that it was impossible for them to live to see an offspring. She immediately mentioned that this was nothing to worry about and would make a single child happy. Apparently, when she first saw me, she lost her head for me. My father did too, although he didn't show it from himself at first. — He laughs quietly. — The blame does not lie on one side. They both led to the tragedy in our family. My mother couldn't stand the fact that my father devoted his entire days to the company. He only came home at night. He had no time for her. She needed closeness. Through this situation, a man turned her head. Although it was only a temporary infatuation, it led to her betrayal.

— From your words, it appears that she was completely sane. How did she come to lose her mind?

Hannah realizes that she shouldn't question him like that, but Joseph doesn't hold it against her, since this is also about her mother. He wants her to know the complete truth regarding his family's past.

— It's my father's fault. He destroyed her. He went crazy when he found out that she had betrayed him, but the biggest pain was that she immediately became pregnant with another man. He couldn't let anyone find out because it would bring him disgrace. At that moment, he also completely lost his mind and locked his mother in a room. He shouted that since she had committed treason, she should now suffer and understand what she had done to him. He told people that she was sick and sent her abroad for treatment. And he actually made her crazy in a locked house.

The teenager sees how much suffering his story about his family's demons brings him.

— She was under constant care of doctors. Even the birth was received in our house. Money took care of everything, including a fake birth certificate. Everything was done in secret.

— This is terrible.

Hannah puts her hand to her mouth and feels a shiver run through her. She has heard a lot about similar situations happening in rich people's homes.

— Her condition got even worse when her father gave you to the orphanage, even though she cried and screamed so much for him not to do it. — Joseph tightens his lips, trying to stifle his tears. — I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive my father for what he did in the past. I respect him and am grateful that he accepted me as a son and thanks to him, I have all this, yet I resent him for how he destroyed the woman he probably loved. However, I don't think I will ever be able to forgive him for that.

His story is so sad that Hannah begins to understand where so much anger and hatred was in him before. The worst part, however, is that she and her sister are also involved in the cruel past that happened in Joseph's family.

— Now I understand what you meant when you shouted in my face that it was because of me and Danielle that your mother died. You are right. We, to some extent, contributed to her death.

Joseph wants to say something, but closes his mouth when he notices Halsey standing by the car. He pulls over and looks at Hannah before getting out.

— On the one hand, it's good that things have turned out this way. Probably it was meant to be so that we would meet again in the future. And in an entirely different relationship than brother-sister.

He takes her hand and smiles gently, with a nod of his head, announcing to her that everything is fine.

He gets out of the car, and Hannah repeatedly analyzes in her head the sentence he just told her. Did he really do it? Did he confess that he was glad they were not siblings?

Hannah goes outside and closes the door behind her. It seems to her that the older girl's face betrays that she is not happy about her presence, yet she forces a smile.

— Hannah, right? — turns to the nineteen-year-old. — We haven't had a chance to get to know each other better lately.

— That's true — she confirms quietly.

She approaches her because she doesn't intend to act like an immature twit.

— I had an appointment with a friend and on the way met this misfortune. If it wasn't for you, Joseph, I wouldn't have had anyone to ask for help. My dad was away with Alex on business, so I apologize for bothering you on Sunday.

— Roadside assistance would definitely show up faster than us," mutters Hannah under her breath.

The boy pulls the wrench, jack, and spare wheel from the trunk of the car, and then focuses on the replacement.

— We were on our way to the dorm anyway, so nothing happened. Good thing you called me.

Halsey smiles in response and focuses his gaze on the younger girl again.

— Doesn't a man look cool when he shows up after one phone call and exchanges the wheel?

— Yes, especially when he's muscular, wearing a white boxer and slinging the wheel over his shoulder. A wonderful image. — Halsey fortunately doesn't sense the sarcasm in this. She starts laughing.

— It's funny because at the age of thirteen, this is precisely how I imagined the ideal guy.

Joseph laughs at her words. You can see that despite so many years since their breakup, they still have a good relationship with each other.

— Is that why you forced me to go to the gym every day and wear sleeveless blouses? It's a good thing they don't keep wheels in boarding school.

The nineteen-year-old is starting to get jealous of their relationship.

— You should be grateful to me. Look how handsome you've grown. The credit goes to me! — Halsey points his finger at himself.

Hannah's attention is caught by a car that stops in the middle of the street. The boy, sitting in it, looks at her for a long moment. There is something disturbing about him, and you can see how unfriendly his gaze is.

— What is wrong with him?

Halsey turns to face the stranger, and then he hurriedly walks away.

— Apparently you caught his eye, since he even stopped to look at you longer — she jokes. The wheel-changing Joseph croaks at these words. — Why be surprised if you're so pretty?

The 19-year-old is surprised that Halsey can be nice to her after all. From the beginning she thought she was a witch, but what if it was just a misperception?

— I thought you weren't too fond of me.

Her words surprise the older girl.

— Were you discouraged by my initial behavior? — Hannah nods her head. — I'm sorry. I'm just distrustful of other girls. I think it's because of the past.

— Women's problems — mutters Joseph under his breath.

— I've heard a lot about you lately. Thanks to his stories, I realized that there is a suitable girl by his side.

The nineteen-year-old smiles nervously and from the corner of her eye glances in the direction of the boy exchanging the wheel. Another moment and he will really embarrass himself.

— Now I feel so stupid... I apologize for my earlier behavior.

— Let's agree that we are both distrustful, and that's why we weren't fond of each other from the beginning. — Halsey starts laughing as he puts his arm around the younger girl. — Were you angry, thinking I was taking this urchin from under your nose? — Hannah puts her hand to her mouth and grunts as Joseph looks at her fleetingly. — After so many years of separation, our love has faded, but the fact that he is my best friend won't change anything. You don't have to be jealous.

— I'm not! Nothing, and nothing at all. I don't have anything to be jealous of, really — she hastily denies.

Joseph wrinkles his nose in anger.

— You'll have to forgive me for often taking him out of the dorm, but he's the only friend I trust. Lately, I've been getting a bit messed up by my fiancé and had to ask Joseph for help.

Hannah is relieved when she hears that Halsey is in a relationship. A stone falls from her heart. Wait a minute... But what was she doing that night at the club if she's engaged?

— I envy you having a fiancé. It must be a nice feeling when a man kneels before you and, along with the ring, offers you his whole heart....

— It's true. The feeling is wonderful. — Halsey smiles at this memory. — Joseph, did you hear? You must hurry to get the diamond ring before Hannah runs off to the man who first asks her to marry him.

The boy smiles mischievously.

— I'm already speeding on that cut wheel — he replies sarcastically as he walks to the trunk. — If I'm going to propose, then surely a diamond ring will be given to me by a woman who deserves to be my wife. Above all, she must be jealous of me so that I feel that she actually cares about me.

She hits Hannah right in the heart with her pinch.

— And be selfish to put up with your selfishness all your life.

Halsey looks at them investigative, feeling that a thunderstorm is coming. To lighten the atmosphere, she starts laughing and puts her arm around the younger girl again.

— How can such a petite body hold so much venom? — Joseph closes the trunk, letting it be known that he has finished his work. — There are a million vipers in his body, so I don't know if the right decision will be if you decide to accept a ring from him in the future. Your marriage will be a bloody horror.

— Halsey, don't add from yourself. Why do you say that I will marry her specifically? I can't imagine my wife going to bed wearing Hello Kitty pajamas instead of looking sexy. I like women, not girls.

The nineteen-year-old wrinkles her eyebrows, indignant that he is ridiculing her in front of his ex-girlfriend.

— And I can't imagine my husband going to bed with nothing in his pants!

Halsey pretends to cough.

— Yes? — His voice is too soft when he turns to Hannah. — In that case, you have room today to find the perfect husband to drive you to your dorm because you.... — turns to his friend — don't think about helping her. She slandered you so much before that I'm surprised your ears weren't burning.

He gets into the car and starts the engine, and the teenager looks at him with her mouth open as he disregards her and drives away.

— You selfish person! You're selfish! — she yells in the middle of the street, aggressively waving her hand at him. — As soon as I get back to the dorm, I swear you'll be dead!

She puts her hand to her forehead, when she realizes she has nothing on her. Everything was left in his car.

She crouches on the edge of the street and, with the face of a suffering puppy, looks at Halsey. She is the only hope for her return to the dorm.

— You offended him, so don't take his words to heart. He knows very well that I will take care of you. And he is not such a selfish person to leave you to your fate.

— Do you think he wouldn't act that way if you weren't here? — Halsey shrugs her shoulders. — Will you tell me the secret of how you survived in a relationship with this narcissist?

— Sure — she replies in an amused voice. — Get in, and I'll tell you how to tame this jerk.