All the way back, Hannah can't recover. She sits hunched over in her chair, her face turned to the window. Silently, she watches the passing landscapes of the night. She ignores the presence of the boy sitting behind the wheel, who turns on the radio in time to kill the awkward silence.
The nineteen-year-old is angry with him, or perhaps more disappointed that he hid the truth from her for so long? She thought they were friends. All these years, she thought, she had actually succeeded in gaining the trust of the unapproachable devil she once condemned. He was the one who helped her the most during the period when she agreed to undergo treatment. It was then that she began to have a good relationship with him — the moment her illness began to progress, and she had to start taking medication.
Despite the distance separating them, Joseph kept in touch with her every day, coming over every free weekend he could devote to her, since she was going through the same thing as his mother. Their mother, no matter how strange it sounds. Although they don't share kinship ties, they can nevertheless be considered adoptive siblings.
He is the adoptive son whom Mrs. Scott raised, she is the biological daughter who was placed in an orphanage.
According to Hannah, she is the only person who gave her life, yet everyone deserves to know where she really came from. Joseph made a mistake the moment he decided to hide this from her. Why? What argument drove him all along?
Still, the only woman who is a real mother to her is the one who took her under her wing and offered her a wonderful life. She raised her, gave her love and did everything to give her a great start for the future.
Joseph thinks so, too. He probably doesn't even know who the people are who gave him to the orphanage and what reason they had for doing so, but the only mother for him is the one who accepted him as her son. Above all, she loved him.
Is that what this is all about? Can he still be jealous that Hannah is the biological daughter? Is that why he hid the truth from her?
The teenager finally pulls her gaze away from the glass and straightens up in her chair. Out of the corner of her eye, she glances at Joseph's face. The boy is focused on driving.
If you were my real brother, now I would have a serious problem, she thinks, swallowing her saliva harder.
— Are you tired of looking at the window all the way? Did you stop getting angry, or did you miss seeing my face?
She blinks her eyelids when the boy unexpectedly speaks up.
— I'm just looking to see if you're tired. I'd rather avoid an accident. If you like, we can swap places.
— Don't worry. We're almost there, unconscious swan — he purrs, and Hannah only now looks carefully at the surroundings and notices that they are approaching the neighborhood where her aunt's family home is located.
— You can't drive me away now! — she attacks him, causing him to look at her with astonishment in his eyes.
— What are you talking about? Then where should I leave you? In the middle of the street? You won't get back to the dorm at this hour.... — He wrinkles his eyebrows and pulls over to the side of the road to work out with her where he should ultimately drive her.
— My aunt will realize that something is wrong. Drama will break out, and I will only upset my mother unnecessarily.
Joseph sighs. He pulls his hands off the steering wheel and looks at her with snotty eyes.
— So, where do you want to go in the middle of the night? You don't look well, so I decided to take you to my aunt's house to rest. Why didn't you tell me earlier that this was a bad idea? — Hannah sees that the boy is tired. — Ah, yes. You blew a foul and sat all the way glued with your face to the glass.
— He spoke up, which did not offend at all, like a maiden — she mutters.
The boy massages the back of his nose and looks at her obliquely.
— Talk about where to take you because I'm exhausted and would like to go to bed already.
— Let's go to the hotel. — This is the first time Hannah sees confusion on his face. — I need you to accompany me because I'm afraid to sleep alone in a strange place. — Joseph pulls down his eyebrows. — Shouldn't a brother take care of his younger sister?
The girl thinks this is the perfect reason to tease him.
— You are not my sister! — He reacts angrily, fulminating her with his eyes. — I only called you that in jest, so never bring up the subject again. I will also stop doing it.
Although she is angry with him, she feels like laughing, seeing the indignation on his face. He really can't stand the fact that he could actually be her brother. Is it because of jealousy of her mother, or is it something else entirely?
— I don't have the strength to think of another solution, so let's just do it that way. I want to finally go to bed.
He needs to vent his anger, so he presses the gas pedal too hard and takes off like a madman, leaving a ton of dust behind him.
Hannah only shakes her head at this, wondering when he will finally stop being such a jerk.
*
She wrinkles her eyebrows when the woman at the reception desk looks at her unequivocally, letting her know that this is not how a good girl behaves. Everything changes, however, when her gaze once again finds Joseph's face, and she smiles meekly at him as she hands him the door card.
— Mr. Scott, I didn't see anything. — The young woman presents him with a hand to keep her mouth shut and then Hannah realizes that this hotel must belong to his family, since the employees know Joseph and promise to keep his appearance at this hour a secret from the owner.
Well... according to rumors in town, his father is an influential businessman. Apparently, most of the businesses or other activities are his. He has people to take care of everything, and he takes care of his greatest treasure — the company where it all started. It was his grandfather who started developing it from scratch and got rich from it, leaving the hard work in the hands of successive heirs.
For the moment, Joseph is the sole heir, and it is up to him to take care of what will be left to him in the future.
— Come on, frowning — he turns to her, then heads toward the elevator. Hannah casts an uncomfortable glance at the woman working at the reception desk and obediently follows him.
She looks at Joseph with amusement in her eyes as they ride the elevator to the fourth floor. The boy stands with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at a single point in front of him.
— Mr. puffed up. — The girl pecks him in the side with her finger to at least cheer him up a little.
— Are you no longer offended? Not long ago, you said you would rather not talk to me at all. Your mood changes are starting to bother me. I'm serious.
— And would you be happy if I hid the truth about your biological parents from you?
— Your anger has passed too quickly — he says as they exit the elevator on the fourth floor. The boy leads her to the door. — And this is the most disturbing thing. A healthy person doesn't bury a grudge so easily. Are you sure you don't have a relapse? — he asks, turning to face her as he applies the card to the reader.
Hannah swallows her saliva harder as she recalls the sight of her dead sister. Should she actually start worrying about her health?
— Maybe there's something wrong with me again.... — she mutters in response.
She sits down on the bed and watches Joseph, who then immediately heads for the bathroom.
— But you are a gentleman....
— Would you rather it be me watching you half-naked? — He asks as he places his hand on the doorknob. — If so, no problem. I can come second and admire your beauty after you get out of the shower.
— Go. I'd rather you be asleep when I get out of the bathroom.
Joseph shrugs his shoulders and goes inside, and Hannah spreads out on the bed. She stretches her arms full width and sighs loudly.
He is right. Why did she get over him so quickly? How can she not be angry with him? He lied to her. He hid the truth from her about her family.
Until now, she had told herself that she was angry with him. In recent times, she hasn't been able to stay angry with him for too long. When she hadn't seen him for a long time, then she missed the presence of this devil. Did she miss it? I think so, although she finds it difficult to admit it.
She realizes that something has changed for some time. She looks at him differently, treats him differently, and especially things about him differently...
Should she start worrying because of this? What if Bella is right and something starts to develop between them?
— By no means! — She energetically rises to a sitting position and looks at one point with terrified eyes. — If life had turned out differently, we could have become siblings. What am I thinking about?
She shakes her head with her hands and opens her mouth in astonishment as Joseph emerges from the bathroom wrapped with a towel around his waist. With the other, he wipes his wet hair, and Hannah feels herself getting weak.
God, she thinks. This can't be happening. I have to do something to get rid of this feeling and these sick thoughts.
She drops to her knees and, on all fours, bolts into the depths of the room.
— Something bad is indeed starting to happen to you. You shouldn't have put off your medication so quickly, little girl — he turns to her when he sees that she is sitting with her back to him and won't turn her face away. — Are you feeling bad?
He walks over to her and grabs her arm, at which point she holds her breath.
She finally realizes that her choice of hotel and his company was a bad idea, as she only now officially begins to confirm Bella's words.
Has the sight of his half-naked figure begun to make her realize that she really desires him?
— It would be strange for me to look at my brother in just a towel. Get dressed! — she shouts at him as he covers his eyes. — Why didn't you use a bathrobe?
— Brother? — he repeats. — I'm not your brother, you whiny girl! — He's had enough of this, so he puts a towel over her face, with which he has so far wiped her hair. Hannah panics and starts screaming because she thinks he's going to strangle her.
— You sick moron! — she yells at him as he walks over to the bed and jumps onto the mattress. He lays his head on the pillow. The girl throws the towel on the floor and glares at him.
She is disheveled as if after an encounter with a tiger. The boy begins to be amused by her appearance, so he points his finger at her and starts laughing.
Hannah ignores him. She takes her pajamas in her hand and locks herself in the bathroom.
She leans against the sink and looks in the mirror. Her hair looks like it survived a clash with a hurricane. Her cheeks are pink, confirming why she is burning so much.
— What's wrong with me today? — she asks her reflection in the mirror. — Am I crazy after hearing the truth from him?
She takes a refreshing shower, then brushes her wet hair with a brush and puts on a white bathrobe. Even though she is wearing pajamas that cover her body, she still feels awkward at the thought of appearing in front of an older student in these clothes. Or is she more embarrassed than the pajamas she is wearing are pink and decorated with Hello Kitty?
She presses her lips together as she sticks her head out the door and looks directly at the bed. She feels much braver when she notices that Joseph is already asleep.
In fact, he must have been tired that he fell asleep right away.
This is not the first time Hannah has laid down next to him. Except that this time something has changed. Before, she didn't have these strange, disturbing thoughts like she does at this very moment.
As she lies sideways and looks at his sleeping face, her heart pounds like a hammer.
Could it be that she began to understand her feelings after learning that he could be her brother? Was she overwhelmed by fear? Anxiety that at any moment something could cause her chance to pass? That she would never be able to love him in the right way?
Now she understands why she hates Halsey so much. Her appearance has caused her hysterical panic; she is terrified at the thought that Joseph's ex-girlfriend, his first love, is trying to get close to him again.
What if it actually turns out that Joseph only treats her like a younger sister? Should she start to worry? About the fact that she might suffer because of him in the future?
— Do you realize that when you look at me like this, I can't sleep?
The boy opens his eyes and looks at her surprised face.
— I was sure you were already asleep.
He places his hands under her cheek and continues to keep his eyes on her.
— You could have wiped your hair more thoroughly because a wet stain is starting to make its way onto your pillow.
— I always go to bed with wet hair. It doesn't bother me.
— And in the morning you look like a witch after a failed spell. - His jokes are usually cheeky, but Hannah has managed to get used to them over so many years.
— You were born in the year of the tiger, right? — Joseph smiles slightly. — Did you know that this sign describes you perfectly? You desire to be liked and admired. You can convince every one of your ideas. You lack perseverance and are sometimes nervous and impatient. If you find persistent helpers, you will manage to go high in life.
— What about love?
Hannah swallows her saliva harder.
— In love, you want to meet someone who leads an active life and can impress you. You want to have children and to realize this dream you are ready to settle down.
Joseph starts laughing.
— You will be strongly surprised when I tell you that I also know something about the dragon?
The nineteen-year-old opens her eyes wider.
— Really? Have you read about my sign?
— Yes, because I will agree that you have a strong character. Unfavorable circumstances often turn in your favor... — at this point, he falls silent, letting her know that she has managed to get close to him thanks to her illness. — The worst thing, however, is that sometimes you can be a little vain, but... you are successful in love. Your energy attracts admirers to you.
— Somehow I don't see these admirers — she snorts jokingly.
— And I see quite a few of them. I could run out of fingers to name them all.
Hannah blushes.
— Do you know? At this point, you are entirely different. It's been a long time since you talked to me like this. Did we actually need to tell each other our secrets to break the barrier of lies that kept us apart?
He looks at her face for a long moment.
— But you are unattractive without makeup.
He turns his back to her, and Hannah opens her mouth. She is outraged. Joseph obviously had to show his true face.
Again.
She rises from the bed and takes off her bathrobe when he is not looking at her. She intends to go to bed and fall asleep, but when she covers herself with the quilt, he begins to stifle a laugh.
— What is it again?
— Nice pajamas — he says, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. — Probably arouses quite a fantasy in horny children.
— I, at least, do not sleep in a towel.
The boy uncovers himself and too dramatically unties the material, at which Hannah quickly covers her eyes, realizing that he has nothing underneath.
— Are you crazy!
— I like to sleep naked — he claims, throwing the towel over her head. Disgusted, Hannah tosses it deep into the room.
— I could at least pretend that I was still angry with you.
— Why did you turn so pale? I'm wearing boxer shorts. I wouldn't let you see my treasure. I don't want them to lock me up for pedophilia, kid — he announces, letting her know that he looks twelve years old in his Hello Kitty pajamas. — I'm going to bed, so don't speak to me again with that little peck.
He takes the entire quilt from her and covers himself with it up to his nose, and she raises her hands, feeling like smothering him with at least a pillow.
She can't imagine having such a selfish husband in the future.