Chapter 11

Hanna got into her bed and immediately went to sleep. She was exhausted from the night before, and the little sleep she had gotten before she had to see Pierce's face again.

"You guys remember that comment Hanna made about not believing in love, right? It all makes sense now, I mean imagine being with someone like that for four years." Rachel grabbed a drink out of the fridge and spoke.

"Yea I mean, I remember being really shocked by her saying that, but now I feel bad." Monica stated with a mouth full.

"Yea, me too. That guy ruined her view on love, I think that's kind of sad"- Rachel stopped talking as Phoebe interrupted her.

"Look I think it's just a phase thing...I mean my great aunt always said how she didn't believe in love but she got married to this guy who payed her monthly for just being there. I mean, there are possibilities." Phoebe said nodding.

"Um Phoebe that's not....I don't think"- Ross started

"I feel like Hanna almost had a right not to believe in love. That's all she's known for years now, it would make sense. But, now that he's gone for good, maybe we can help her overcome all of it." Monica shrugged.

"That's not that bad of an idea, Mon." Chandler said. "Let's just do this like an 80s rom com and bring in a fake person for her to date only for her to fall in love and everyone lives happily ever after." Chandler replied sarcastically.

Monica hit him on the head.

"Chandler! I'm being serious. Don't you think it is kinda sad that Hanna is planning to live the rest of her life alone because of the Pierce guy? We all have eachother. As long as I'm friends with you guys I'll never be alone!" Monica wailed.

"Perfect! Joey can be our token guy." Chandler threw his hands up in the air.

"Chandler! Stop!" Monica scolded. "Guys, Hanna's my cousin. I've known her all my life and I hate to see her like this. I don't want her to have to go through it alone. Do you?"

The group all shook their heads sullenly.

"Just be nice to her." Monica crossed her arms.

"Mon, we have been nice to her. I think I speak for everybody when I say that we all already love Hanna. You don't have to tell us to do anything. She's basically a part of the group now. It's like she's been here the whole time." Rachel stood up, putting an arm around Monica. "Hanna has plenty of people to lean on, it's just a matter of letting herself lean on us or letting herself fall. It's all up to her. So we can love her, I mean we already do, but it's ultimately up to her, you know. She's never said that she doesn't believe in platonic love, so we're doing our job." Rachel rubbed Monica's shoulder. Monica nodded.

"I can't imagine how she must feel after dating such a horrible person for so long." Phoebe sighed.

"I know, and then she came to New York to get rid of him and he just showed up here." Chandler shook his head.

"Chandler, is Joey okay? I haven't seen him since this morning."

"I don't really know. He wouldn't talk about Hanna. It was hard not to mention the bruises. He still thinks Hanna was in a perfectly good relationship this whole time and didn't tell any of us. Hanna said not to tell him about it though. I don't know how long we can not tell him about it."

"Joey seems pretty close to Hanna. I wonder why she didn't want to tell him..." Rachel wondered. They all shrugged. After a moment, they all looked as the door opened. Hanna stepped in, smiling lightly.

"Hi, guys." She said quietly.

"Hey, Hanna." They all replied. She walked to the couch, standing there for a moment.

  "I know that a really big bomb was dropped this morning. I just wanted to apologize for not being honest with you guys. You all took me in and treated me like a friend since the moment I came here, and you didn't even know the real reason I moved here. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys."

  "Hanna, seriously, you don't have to apologize." Rachel shook her head.

  "Yea, we all understand." Hanna nodded at them.

  "Since everything is out in the open, I just wanted to come over and let you guys ask any questions about my move here, or Pierce, if you have any." She sat down on the floor beside the coffee table. They all looked at eachother.

  "You were really with him for four years?" Monica asked. Hanna nodded.

  "We started dating almost instantly after we met, and then we got an apartment together."

  "Why New York?" Ross asked.

  "Because it's far, and I wasn't lying when I said that I have always wanted to live here."

  "Why did you go out with him again when he came here?" Phoebe fiddled with her fingers. Hanna sighed, because this was a tough one to explain to people.

  "It's hard to explain when you're not the one feeling it. Pierce and I did not have a healthy relationship, but there was still happiness, joy, and love somewhere in there. He was familiar. When you spend four years with someone, everyday, it's kinda like he was all I've known. I'm in an unfamiliar city, with unfamiliar people, an unfamiliar house. And then he showed up, and he gave me this great speech about how he was changed. I don't know. I know I shouldn't have agreed to go out with him again. I know that. But I did it anyways." Hanna told them. They all listened intently.

  "Why did you decide to leave him when you did?" Hanna stopped. Her breath hitched in her throat. This was the question. This was the first time that she would ever tell another soul about that night. Was she ready? She did not have a choice. Hanna took a deep breath.

She began to tell them. She told them about the night her life was shattered and torn. She told them about the night that she hadn't told any one else about before. She had kept the events safely tucked in her heart. It was painful to talk about, but they all listened intently. Rachel moved to the floor and began rubbing her back through the middle of the story. Ross and Chandler nodded at her. Chandler looked away a few times, his face contorting and shaking his head. Ross's jaw clenched in anger, his protectiveness resurfacing. Monica brought her a glass of water, and some tissues.

And Joey walked in just a few minutes into the story. Hanna didn't know, and no one said anything or even looked his way. He just stood in the door way, listening. He watched her as she spilled the events from a night that was so traumatizing for her. He wanted to be angry that he hadn't told her, but it was overcome with worry. She had lived with someone who had treated her so awfully for so long. She had given Pierce her everything and he hit her. And she still did it all over again. She continued to give him everything, and she even did it again when he came to New York. She was marvelous and he didn't understand her. He stood there, not moving a muscle, continuing to listen.

Hanna ended her story with her big move to New York, and how she hadn't talked fo her family about it, or anyone.

"I think I was ashamed that I let someone treat me that way. My family loved Pierce a lot. They just didn't know what he was like. I didn't want to disappoint them." Hanna had tears in her eyes and she fiddled with a tissue that Monica had giver her. Rachel put her arm around Hanna and squeezed her tight.

"Hanna..." Joey said quietly. They all looked up at Joey, realizing that he was there. Hanna looked up, her eyes widened. She didn't move and she wondered how long he had been standing there. Joey walked slowly to her. Rachel scrambled up and moved away. Hanna just looked at him as he walked to her.

"Joey?" She whispered. He stood over her. Hanna stood up. As soon as she stood to her full height, Joey reached for her, pulling her into him. His hand squeezed the base of her neck and his other one came around her back. Hanna sobbed as he squeezed her tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Joey." She said into his chest. He leaned back so he could look at her. Joey raised his eyebrows.

"Hey, what are you sorry for? You didn't do anything?"

"I should have told you."

"I don't care about that. I just want you to be okay." She buried her face in Joeys neck and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you for everything, Joey." She said into his collar. He squeezed her tighter in response.

Monica walked to the both of them and put her arms around them. Rachel did the same. Then Phoebe joined. Ross and Chandler joined too. They stood there like that for a few moments.

"Ok, time for me to be sarcastic again." Chandler wiped his eyes and stepped away from the group hug. They all chuckled lightly and Joey released Hannah.

"Thank you, guys."

"This is what friends are for." Monica replied.

"Yea, Hanna. You're in this for life now." Phoebe smiled.

"For life?" Hanna giggled. They nodded. She nodded back.

"For life." Joey nodded.