Chapter One: 2009

Beck pushed open the doors to Safe Place and walked up to the counter. "Hello, I'm supposed to be meeting a Sam Arnolds?" He asked the receptionist.

"Oh, a new volenteer?" She asked. Beck nodded and she ushered him to an office down the hall. Safe Place was a combination mental hospital, counseling centor, and rehab. They helped teens with any problem they were having, ranging from drug addiction to homelessness to just feeling alone in life. You could come in for a one-time counseling session or become an inpatient, and anything in between. And the best part was that it was free. They thrived off donations from LA's most wealthy who had been helped by them in the past. Beck himself had come for a few appointments to deal with normal teenage stuff, feeling alone, out of place. Beck was never afrad to ask for help when he needed it.

Today, he was here for something else. Safe Place always needed volenteers to peer counsel. Beck was always trying to help others, so why not? A few hours of his time a week was something he was willing to offer to help someone in need. He couldn't help but wonder who he would be paired with. A druggie? Pregnant teen? Anorexic? He pushed open the door and was met by a 30-something man at a desk.

"Beck Oliver? Great to meet you. Thanks so much for volenteering today." He shook Becks hand and gestured for him to take a seat. "Now I'm sorry for the hurry, but I have an emergency appointment in just a minute here. Now the girl you are going to be talking with is Jade. You've had your training, you read your pamphlet, just try to get to know her. I've left her forms for you so you know who you're dealing with. When you're ready, go upstairs, take a left, you'll be in room 207. She'll be down in a little while. Again, sorry for the rush, I'll talk to you afterwards and debrief a little." With the that, Sam left.

Beck opened the folder on his desk marked "West, Jadelyn". He quickly sank down in a chair, thumbing through the pages. There were so many. And the first was from less than 6 months ago. The first few times she came were for counseling sessions. She felt she wasn't good enough for her father or her boyfriend. She was 14 and dating a 19 year old. She didn't say it flat out, but in his notes Sam suspected she had been abused by him. Next were a set of medical records from Safe Place's sister hopsital, Saving Grace Hospital. Her boyfriend had beaten her half to death and raped her, then left her on the side of the road miles outside of LA. Next was the survey she had to fill out for admittance to Safe Place as an inpatient. She had checked the boxes for "skipped meals, self harm, physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse, suicidal thoughts" among others. Then were a set of records of her first few months here, directions to staff, transcripts of thearapy sessions.

Beck skimmed them all, and picked out what he could. She couldn't bear to be touched, she was prone to panic attacks and nightmares, more than once they had to stick a feeding tube in her because she refused food, she had scars on her legs, torso, neck, and back, but they couldn't tell if they were from the boyfriend or her, she kept a private journal, she rarely talked. No violent tendancies detected, clean drug scan, no diseases. But she had made progress. She started talking more, eating more. She enjoyed music and singing, and watching musicals in the rec room.

Okay, so Beck got an interesting one.

He looked up at the clock and realized he had been reading for nearly 20 minutes. He quickly shut the folder and headed towards the stairs. He found the room and was suprised to see a nurse sitting outside, reading a book. "Is Jade in here?" He asked, pointing to the door.

"Mmmhmm." The nurse responded, bored. Beck opened the door and stepped inside. The room was bigger than he thought it would be, it held a couch, two comfortable looking chairs, and a coffee table. There was a nurse call button and a phone on the wall near the door. On the floor in the corner was a girl. If he hadn't been looking for her, he might not have seen her. He knew she was 15 now, but she looked about 12. She was incredibly thin, her eyes open wide. There were bags under her eyes, and her skin had a greyish quality, her hair was stringy, a dirty looking blonde color, she wore an oversize t-shirt and sweatpants and one of those hospital bracelets. She stared at him, seeming extremely tense.

"Hi." Beck said simply, standing above her. She didn't respond. He took a few steps back, which seemed to calm her, then went ahead and sat on the couch. "Well, I don't know if they told you anything about me," At that, she shook her head, "I'm Beck. Beckett Oliver to be precise. That floor looks pretty uncomfortable, why don't you come sit?" To his suprise, she got up and sat in one of the chairs.

"Would you like to talk to me?" He asked. She nodded. "Why?"

"Because I can't remember." She responded in a hesitant voice. He liked her voice.

"Remember what?"

"What it's like. To talk to someone." He thought on it, then knew what she meant. For who knows how long, she was living with her father, who she apparently didn't feel good enough for, spending her time with an abusive boyfriend, and then coming here where she talked to nurses and doctors all day, always wondering how she was doing, but she never really got to talk to someone her own age about things she wanted to talk about.

"So, you like to sing?" She blushed. "Me too. I go to Hollywood Arts high school actually. Will you sing for me?" Beck was doubtful she would.

"You first." She insisted. Beck was slightly taken aback. He didn't mind. He sang all the time anyway. He sang half of a song he had been working on in his voice lessons.

"Ok, I sang, now you." He said gently. She shook her head. "Ok, that's fine. Do you want to hear more about me?" She nodded. "Alright. Like I said, I go to Hollywood Arts, I study acting and music there. I live with my parents in LA. I'm 15 years old. I'm working on fixing up an old truck so I can drive it when I get my license. I have been told my hair is magical. I was born in Canada and I speak French." Beck awkwardly rattled off facts. He wasn't good at talking about himself.

"Say something in French." Jade asked.

"Je ne sais jamais quoi dire quand les gens me demandent de parler français." Beck said after a moment of hesitation.

"What does that mean?"

"I never know what to say when people ask me to speak french." She smiled a bit. Beck somehow was able to keep a conversation going for the next 40 minutes. They talked, well, more he talked and she nodded yes or no, about music, movies, tomatoes, 80's movies, and cats. She likes cats. There is a tap at the door and the nurse comes in.

"Hey, time to go. You're both going to talk with Dr. Arnolds." The nurse said in a monotone. Beck felt bad for Jade. She sat in this place all day, every day, someone always telling her to go here, do that, feel this. They got to his office and they waited for Dr. Arnolds.

"Hey guys, Jade, come on in." Sam ushered her in. Beck sat down on the ground and pulled his copy of Death of a Salesman. He had a quiz tomorrow in his play writing class. Before he got through 5 pages, the door opened again. "Beck, come on in." Beck got up and walked inside, where Jade was sitting on the floor against a wall.

"Does she always sit on the floor?" Beck asked.

"Usually. The boyfriend made her sleep on the floor when she stayed with him. She doesn't think she deserves any better."

"Sir, I don't think I feel comfortable talking about Jade while she's sitting right here."

"She doesn't mind." Sam shrugged. Beck turned to her.

"Do you mind?" She shook her head no. "Well alright then."

"Anyway, just a few little details to take care of. You had a good chat with Jade?"

"Yeah, I mean, she seems like a nice girl who just...lost her way."

"And Jade, do you want to continue talking to Beck?" She nodded. "Use your words."

"Yes, I would." She said.

"Make sure she answers you, don't let her just give you a head shake." Beck nodded at the instructions. "Alright, well I will see you Thursday, same time, same place." Sam dismissed him.

"Alright. Bye, Jade. I'll see you soon." Beck walked out the door and headed out of Safe Place. He wasn't sure just how good this place was for Jade. They treated her like a thing, not a person. A broken toy to be fixed, not a human being. Beck would do everything he could to help her, starting with getting her out of there, even i just for a day. It was spring time, perfect beach weather.