Tattoos & Scars [1] | Jasper Hale

-11-

   "Jo, could you go get Seth, please?"

  Joanna looked up and into the aged, dark eyes of Sue Clearwater. She stood in the middle of the living room, dressed in a plain, yellow shirt and a long, jean skirt. As usual, her hair was let free and swooped close to her hip. Her lips were formed in a thin line as she watched the twenty-year-old Trott upstairs.
 

  The house was all the same since Joanna was born. The only difference being the pictures on the wall - some of them were updated. The floor was carpeted and when she arrived in front of a door that had a band poster on it, she knocked. From where she stood, she could hear the faint sounds of a video game before it abruptly stopped and out popped a thirteen-year-old boy.

  Now, Seth wasn't all that big on cutting his hair. His dark hair rested on his shoulders like hers and his eyes were dark, but held youth and excitement that as usual, Seth Clearwater produced. He smiled in glee at her. "Oh, sup Jo."

  "We need you downstairs," she jerked her pointer finger toward the stairs. "Your mom told me to come get you. So, it's best to go before either one of us gets kicked across town." The younger of the two nodded their head swiftly before running down stairs. But, as Joanna started to make her way downstairs due to being alone, she suddenly felt that she wasn't.

  "Jo?"

Gray eyes met dark, hazel ones. Leah Clearwater stood at the end of the hallway, her hair pulled on top of her head in a messy bun. Her body was covered by an old hoodie, colored in a emerald green color and she wore a pair of plain, black track shorts. There she stood, beautiful yet broken.

  "Howdy, Leah." She watched as she smiled, but it was barely visible. It was obvious that it would be that way. Even after a month, she was still destroyed over what Sam Uley did to her. How he ran off with her cousin and now they live happily ever after. Joanna wasn't like Jasper, but she could feel the older woman's pain hit her like a thousand bricks falling on top of her. "Ready for food and to gain like a billion pounds?"

  "Always," she said gloomily. She walked past Joanna and down the stairs, not looking back at her.

  When Joanna arrived down stairs like the Clearwater siblings, she was pulled into the kitchen that had an open dining room. Sue was at the stove, placing everything open for everyone to feast on. Harry was at the end of the counter, making coffee for the adults, Seth usually chose a can of rootbeer. Leah was at the table, busy texting someone on her phone and ignoring Seth as he shoved his phone toward her. Then there was Callie, Joanna's mother and she was prepping the table: setting plates, silverware, and cups at the table for everyone.

  Joanna didn't know where to set herself. "Why the hell haven't I noticed that before?!" Callie outbursts, eyes wide and focused only on the large bruise covering Joanna's right hand.

  "Uh, would you believe me if I said I punched a... statue?"

  "Statue?" Callie, Harry, and Sue questioned at the same time. Out of the corner of her gray eyes, Joanna could see Seth and Leah eyeing her. She gulped, "Yes. Yes, most definitely."

  Her mother didn't look convinced. "You think I'm dumb? I was at the house yesterday all day and you never left once! And we don't have a statue. Give me a better explanation and I don't care if you're twenty, I'm your mother."

  A fierce, red blush covered Joanna's body and face. "Okay, you wanna know what happened? The Cullens. I visit them from time to time and well, one of them came over for a friendly chat and I punched one of them as a joke. Sadly, I missed and punched the fireplace. That's how I got this bruise. It doesn't really hurt, ma."