I shook her and cried her name over and over again, tears pouring from my eyes and landing on her black shirt. I yell at her to wake up, shout that I love her and she can't die. I didn't know how she ended up that way, but it had to be an accident. The rise and fall of her chest was shallow and oh, so slow, and when I felt for her pulse it was almost too faint to register. I was panicking and I don't know why I didn't call for an ambulance, but I'm not a big thinker. I do all I can think of: crash my lips into hers and hope that I'm qualified to be the prince(ss) that wakes her up. I wrenched my head up and gasped for air, and she still didn't move.
She was lying limp on the floor of Beck's R.V., but Beck was nowhere to be found. I didn't think anything of it at the time. All I cared about was getting her to wake up, for her to open her gorgeous blue eyes, even to yell at me for invading her personal space. I never figured out how long I was sitting there, yelling and screaming, before I heard sirens in the distance. I guess someone heard and called 911. Whoever did, I was more thankful than anyone could ever imagine. I later found out that Jade would have died if she hadn't gotten to the hospital.
In the month that she was forced to stay in the hospital, Beck never visited. I never saw him at school. I never knew where he went. Jade never told me what happened. I sat with her day and night, waiting for her to wake up. I was terrified that she wasn't going to pull through, no matter how strong she is. She finally opened her eyes in her second week at the hospital. She was confused; I could tell. I don't know where I learned to read her emotions so easily, but I knew what she was thinking. When she looked at me, I automatically knew what had happened. Her silver eyes yielded pain and confusion and fear. Suddenly, I knew why nobody knew where Beck was.
Jade was released from the hospital after a month. She didn't speak about what happened, but she was acting so strange...she clung to me like a lost puppy dog, scared to stay alone. She spent the night at my house every day and begged for me to stay close to her. Whenever she went to the bathroom, I had to get up and stand in front of the door for her. I never asked any questions, just complied. One night, she finally decided to tell me what happened.
She snuggled up close to me on my bed, pulling my arms around her. She rested her head on my chest and I could feel her heartbeat where my linked hands were sitting on her stomach. "Cat...thank you for being here for me," she whispered. "I...want to tell you what happened that night," she murmured.
"You really don't have to," I responded softly. She just shook her head and sighed.
"I want to." I gave her an uncertain nod, and she started her story. "Beck, he...he wanted to have sex with me. I refused." She stopped to think, and I noticed a single tear squeeze itself out of her eye. "He...raped me. The entire time, I was fighting him, hoping he would just give up and let me leave. When...when he was done, he told me I was a worthless pale-skinned freak and tried to...I'm pretty sure he tried to poison me. He held a wet towel over my face and kept it there. I think he heard your car...he ran out the door and then I passed out. It was terrible...I can't even describe what it felt like..."
By the time she finished, she was sobbing into my chest. I ran my hand through her hair and told her it would never happen again. I'd never, ever leave her alone unless she wanted me to. I'd try my hardest to protect her if Beck ever came back. He never seemed like the kind of guy that would do that...
I hugged Jade close and she curled up in my arms. I turned on "Monsters, Inc." to try to distract her, but it didn't work. She flinched every time Randall appeared out of nowhere or Boo started screaming. I wanted the old Jade back, the one that would make fun of the entire movie, not act like it's some horror film. I didn't tell her that, though. I just squeezed her hand whenever she got scared.
I sang her the same song every night, since it was the only one I could find that would put her to sleep. It was a sweet, high-pitched song that reminded me of some kind of lullaby. It was by one of my favorite groups, Celtic Woman. Except it was just one of the singers, Chloe Agnew. I think Jade really liked the song, even though it sounded really happy and dreamy.
One time, when I started to sing the song, Jade cut me off with a kiss. She had almost been asleep, so I'm not sure if she really meant to do it. Nonetheless, I kissed her back. Every day after that, I'd give her a kiss goodnight.
Slowly, Jade started to regain some of her confidence. After a couple of months, she was able to go to the restroom without anyone standing in front of the door. After a year, she could have gone back to stay at her own house. She didn't. She said she preferred spending most of her time with me. My parents didn't mind, and neither did hers.
Throughout our senior year at Hollywood Arts, we were the new "it" couple. We graduated together and went to the same performance arts college. When we turned twenty-five, we were married and adopted our own little son and daughter, named Andre and Tori. Every night, I still gave Jade a goodnight kiss and sang her that song.
How'd you like it? I've been busy because of school starting and band practice after school and the stupid football game we had to go to, so I'm slacking off with my writing. I wrote this during the hurricane that got our practice cancelled. Fun, right? I meant for it to stay dark throughout the entire story, but that didn't work...so you get a happy ending. Kind of. By the way, the song Cat sang to Jade was "Walking in the Air" by Chloe Agnew. I know it's not the original, but I love that version. Now, as I usually say when I mention a song, go look it up! :D