Chapter 3

                                    

                                          
Hannah never really thought about the possibility of there being two types of death before. But as she was slowly walking down the road, leaving a small trail of water behind her since she was soaking wet, she began to consider the thought. She couldn't help but replay the events of what just took place and feel drained and hopeless. As she continued to slowly make her way down the road, she just moved aimlessly as her mind was too distracted at the moment to decide where exactly she wanted to go - or, perhaps where she could go, or who she could go to. She thought about it for a while, wondering just who she could go to about something like this. She couldn't go to Courtney, Jessica, Sherri, or anyone else, because no one she knew of would really understand or even believe her, based on the rumors about her. As she thought even more, she ruled out her parents, because she already didn't want to tell them about what had just happened to her. 
                          
Trying to think of people she could possibly go to, Hannah stopped walking as she looked up from the ground, a single house standing out to her amongst all the others. As she stared at the house, she gave it some thought, debating if she could go to this person or not. Looking down at her phone and seeing how late it was, Hannah debated whether she should risk waking someone up or just forget about the whole thing and go home. Spotting a dim light on in a window, Hannah decided that she could be a little selfish at the moment as she began walking again, making her way towards the house. 
                          
Upon reaching the front door of the house, Hannah stood there for a moment before she finally knocked on the door - quiet enough to not be demanding, yet loud enough to be heard. After knocking, Hannah took a step back and waited for someone to answer the door. After waiting for a few minutes, the front door slowly opened, revealing an older, blonde-haired woman. Upon seeing Hannah's appearance, the woman, who Hannah recognized to be Clay's Mother, opened the door a little wider and invited her inside. Once Hannah was inside the warm house, Mrs. Jensen asked her about why she was soaking wet. Followed by the question, the older woman proceeded to move about the house, Hannah following her into the kitchen area. "Oh, I'd rather not talk about it right now. All I can really say is that something happened, and I was wondering if I could see Clay?" Hannah responded as kindly as she could to Mrs. Jensen's question. Mrs. Jensen nodded understandingly, getting a feeling that whatever happened was hard to talk about at the moment. 
                          
A few minutes later, Mrs. Jensen had offered Hannah a warm cup of tea, saying that it was no trouble at all since she had already planned on making some for herself. Upon Hannah accepting the offer, the older woman then proceeded to suggest that Hannah take a warm shower and get out of her wet clothes. Seeing unsureness in the young girl's eyes, the kind woman reassured her that it was perfectly fine, and that there would be a set of clean, dry, warm clothes for her to barrow afterwards. After being reassured, Hannah had agreed to the suggestion, the idea of a warm shower sounding nice to her. Once Hannah agreed to the suggestion of the warm shower, Mrs. Jensen led Hannah up the stairs and into the hallway bathroom before leaving to get a clean set of clothes for her. Once the woman returned, Hannah saw a set of folded clothes in her hands. "These are some of Clay's, but they'll fit you just fine. He won't mind if you barrow these from him." She said with a warm smile as she set the clothes down on the counter next to the sink. Hannah smiled a small smile. "Thanks, Mrs. Jensen." She said as she looked back up to Clay's mother to see her giving of a small, warm smile as well. "Just come back down to the kitchen when you're done. The tea will be ready by then." She said. After Hannah nodded in response, the older woman left the bathroom, closing the door behind her, and made her way back downstairs to get started on making two cups of warm tea. 
                          
After taking her time in the shower, Hannah stepped out and dried herself off before getting changed into the clothes that Clay's mother had given her to barrow - a long sleeved shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Once Hannah was dressed, she couldn't help but feel a lot warmer than she had been before. Slowly and quietly making her way out of the bathroom, Hannah walked down the hall and down the stairs, heading back to the kitchen. Once she was in the kitchen, she saw Mrs. Jensen holding two coffee cups as she walked over to the kitchen table to sit down. "Just in time." The older woman said with a smile as she noticed Hannah. Hannah gave a small smile in return as she walked over and joined the extremely kind woman at the kitchen table. 
                          
As the two sipped their warm tea, they began to talk a little - the subject being Hannah's friendship with Clay. As they talked, Mrs. Jensen mentioned how Clay always seemed to be a brighter, happier person whenever he was with Hannah, or even whenever he talked about her. Hearing this made Hannah blush a bit, simultaneously taking a sip of her warm beverage to hide it. "Well, your son is one of the nicest guys I've met in a long time. In fact, he's really the only genuinely nice guy at school." Hannah said in response, making the older woman smile brightly. "I'm glad you two are friends." She said. This statement made Hannah sigh lightly, but she covered it up by responding with a "so am I" accompanied by a small smile. 
                          
Once the two had both finished their drinks, Hannah had brought the conversation back to what Mrs. Jensen had asked her earlier. Hannah had told her what happened in a nutshell without saying any names, or specifically what had been done to her. All she really gave away was that something happened that she didn't want to happen, and that it was done by a slightly older guy - a senior who went to their school. Seeing the expression on Mrs. Jensen's face, Hannah proceeded to tell her that what happened to her was the reason that she was at their house now - because Clay was her only friend at the moment, and she needed the comfort of a friend and someone she could trust. 
                          
So after Hannah had finished speaking, she found herself being led back upstairs by Clay's mother. The two stayed silent as they reached the top of the stairs and walked down the small hallway. As they walked down the hall, Hannah realized that they were walking towards Clay's bedroom, being that the door they were walking toward had a poster decorating it. Hannah had begun to protest slightly, once she realized where Mrs. Jensen was leading her, but the older woman had reassured her that it was completely fine, and that, given the circumstances, she could even stay the night with Clay if she needed or wanted to. Not having anything else to say, Hannah became quiet as Mrs. Jensen quietly opened her son's bedroom door and peaked in before fully entering the room. Slowly following behind her, Hannah entered the room as well, glancing around the surprisingly clean room before spotting Clay - still fully dressed - asleep on his bed above the covers with some homework assignmemts, notebooks, and textbooks sprawled out beside him. Both Clay's mother and Hannah smiled at the sight that greeted them. "He must've fallen asleep doing his homework." Mrs. Jensen said as she walked over towards her son's bed and gently shook his shoulder to wake him up. 
                          
After a few seconds, Clay awoke and glanced around his room, appearing to be in a daze and still half asleep. Clay proceeded to slowly sit up and become confused when he spotted both Hannah and his mother in his room. He became even more confused when he noticed that Hannah was wearing some of his clothes. Before Clay could say anything, his mother beat him to it. "I'll leave you two alone to talk." She said, making her way out of the room and closing the door behind her. 
                          
"Hannah? What are you doing here?" Clay asked, still sounding confused. Hannah sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. Thinking about what exactly to say, Hannah kept her gaze on her hands as they remained clasped together in her lap. "Hey, what's wrong? You can tell me." Clay said in a reassuring tone, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. "Something happened." She simply said. "What happened?" Clay asked, suddenly becoming concerned as the worry and concern for his friend was clearly evident in his expression and his voice.