Jade arrived to school next morning and she could feel everyone's eyes on her, she wasn't sure if she was being paranoid or if they were actually looking at her but either way it was uncomfortable. She went straight to her locker to grab a book and the gang approached her.
"Hey" Beck said and she closed her locker to look at them.
"What do you want?" She asked coldly and looked to the side only to see a group of girls staring at her and whispering, so she glared at them and turned back to her friends. "I'm famous now" she commented.
"You're imagining things" Tori said and just in that moment two students walked by them holding their phones up to see the screen and then look at Jade, so she knew they were comparing her to the photo.
"Back off" Beck said to them and they looked at each other embarrassedly as they walked away.
"So?" Jade asked. "Are you here to ask me…not to kill you?" She questioned with irony and they shook their heads.
"We wanted to apologize for what we said and how we reacted" Tori commented.
"You were right, we prejudged you without even knowing it was you" Beck added and she looked at them surprised. "I'm sorry, we all are"
"What? Are you serious?" Jade asked confused.
"Yes, we reacted badly" Andre responded.
"You are not your parents Jade" Beck affirmed and a slight smile appeared on her face, those words coming from him meant a lot after everything he and the others had said. "I was wrong to say all those things, I'm really sorry"
"Well, I was not expecting that" Jade admitted and took a breath.
"It's the truth, we talked about it and we don't want things to change, you're still you" Tori commented.
"I thought you guys would prefer to keep me away" She commented. "Are you sure this is how you feel?"
"Absolutely, just forget everything we said…it's stupid and we don't feel that way anymore" Beck affirmed and grabbed her hands. "So…are we good? Can we just go back to normality?"
"I don't think this is going away anytime soon but we can try" Jade said and he smiled.
"Ignore them, they'll forget it within a week guaranteed" Tori affirmed and Jade sighed.
"Alright, let's go to class then"
The next two weeks went by very slowly, Jade had hoped people would quickly forget about that photo and that not everyone would recognize her after a while. However, the photo had gone viral everywhere and the outrage for the crimes of Michael and Nathalie was back as strong as it had been after the arrest.
One day the gang was at the mall heading to the movie theater when all the sudden a tall strong man with brown hair and a beard grabbed Jade's arm from behind and pulled her out of the group violently.
"Hey!" She shouted angrily and confused so the gang immediately turned around and saw them. "What's your problem?" Jade asked as she pushed his hand off her arm.
"It's you, it's you…" The man said angrily. "You are their kid, you helped them!" He exclaimed full of rage and the next thing Jade felt was a punch across the face that sent her straight to the floor.
"Oh my god, Jade!" Tori said scared as she and the others went to her.
"I'll kill you" The man said as he stepped towards her ready to kick her but Beck got in the way.
"HEY, BACK OFF" He ordered and pushed the man back angrily. "Don't you dare touch her again or you'll regret it" Beck threatened coldly.
"Are you okay?" Andre asked Jade and she nodded as she stood up with Tori's help, at that point everyone was looking at them.
"You know who she is? She is a murderer, just like them" The man said to Beck.
"No she is not, now get the hell away from us" He responded angrily and the man nodded full of anger.
"Alright…" He said and saw everyone around them. "YOU PEOPLE WANNA KNOW WHO SHE IS? COME ON, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK…SHE IS THE CHILD OF THE MONSTER COUPLE" The man screamed at the crowd and Jade could feel everyone's eyes on her.
"Shut up" Jade ordered coldly but he ignored her.
"That's right everyone, she was there when all those women and girls were slaughtered, she even helped them, she is their child" The man said and all the whispers around the scene made Jade's heart beat faster, she could feel her instincts telling her to run away because another attack was imminent.
"What's going on here?" A security guard asked as he arrived to the scene.
"This man just assaulted my girlfriend" Beck informed and the man chuckled.
"You date psychos? You might as well be one yourself" The man said and tried to hit Beck but the guard stopped him.
"Sir, I need you to calm down" The guard ordered.
"I'm calling the police" Beck said.
"Already did, they should be here soon" Robbie informed.
"Good, then they can lock this bitch away with her parents, that's where she belongs" The man said as he tried to walk towards Jade so Beck and her friends stood in front of her protectively.
"Sir, please stop moving or I will have to restrain you" The guard informed. "Everyone, show's over…keep moving" He said to the crowd and they started walking away.
"Are you okay?" Beck asked Jade as he held her face and saw the huge red mark on her cheek so he exhaled angrily and walked back as he stared at her but then suddenly punched the man in the face.
"Beck, Beck…calm down" Andre said as he held him back and the man held his cheek.
"This is what you get for touching my girlfriend" Beck said to the man and he stepped forward but the guard pushed him back.
"Don't move" He ordered and a few seconds later the police arrived.
"What's going on here?" The cop asked.
"This man assaulted our friend" Tori informed and the cop looked at Jade, he saw the bruise but he also recognized her so he was taken by surprise, which was clear.
"Do I look like someone you know or?" Jade asked coldly.
"No" The other cop said and walked towards the tall man.
"This boy assaulted me and that girl is a killer, you should arrest them" He commented.
"What?" The cop, who had just taken his eyes off Jade, asked.
"Beck hit him to defend me, he was the one who started it" Jade informed.
"Shut up you psycho" The man shouted. "They know who you are"
"Arrest him, I want to press charges" Jade said and the cop handcuffed him.
"I want to press charges against this man too" He said referring to Beck. "He assaulted me"
"Is this man telling the truth?" The cop asked the security guard.
"Yes" He said and the other cop put handcuffs on Beck so he rolled his eyes.
"Come on, don't do this it's not fair" Tori said. "That man is the only one who should be in jail"
"It was self-defense" Andre added.
"Not true, the man wasn't doing anything when this boy hit him" The guard said and the cops looked at each other.
"Let's go"
"I'll call my dad, don't worry" Jade said to him as they took him and he nodded as he gave her a little smile, he didn't want her to feel bad about that.
"Dad, I need you to meet me at the police station, they arrested Beck" Jade said on the phone while the gang waited. "Yes something happened, I'll explain it later…just please get there now" she said and by then everyone was back to their business; however, Cat noticed a person standing outside a coffee shop just staring at them, the person was wearing an oversized hoodie and sunglasses so she couldn't quite tell if it was a man or a woman.
"Okay, see you there" Jade said and hung up. "Let's go" she said and they all walked away.
When the gang arrived to the police station Jade's father was already there talking to the cops and he managed to get Beck out on bail, which he paid for. "Thanks Mr. West" Beck said when he was set free and he nodded.
"You defended my daughter, it's the least I could do" He responded and Jade sighed. "Now I'll take care of the bastard"
"Is he going to prison?" Andre asked.
"He better, look what he did to her" Adeline said upset as she pointed to Jade's bruise.
"Unfortunately not for long but I'll make sure he has a hard time getting out, I'm charging him for assault and harassment and getting a restriction order" Mr. West explained.
"Do you know his name?" Jade asked curiously.
"Ted Wilkins" Her father said and she thought about it.
"Wilkins?" She asked and he nodded.
"You know him?" Beck asked confused.
"Not directly but he must be the father of someone I knew" Jade commented. "Drop the charges"
"Are you crazy? He attacked you" Adeline exclaimed.
"And I was there when my parents murdered her" Jade informed and their eyes wide opened. "She was fifteen and her name was Cathy"
"Are you serious?" Beck asked and she nodded ashamedly.
"I think he has plenty of reasons to be angry, don't you?" Jade said.
"Not at you, you didn't do anything" Tori responded and she thought about it.
"I wouldn't say that" Jade admitted and they looked at her confused.
"What do you mean?" Beck asked.
"I…" She started but Mr. West cut her off.
"Stop talking" Her father ordered.
"Why? You're afraid of what I might say?" She asked.
"You are innocent, you were a minor and that's all that matters to the police, this man has to pay" He affirmed. "Take her home, I'll take care of everything" He said to his wife and she nodded, Jade simply took a breath and walked away with her and her friends.
Jade was driven home by her mom and her friends went with her but they couldn't stop thinking about what she had said, they couldn't help to wonder if maybe she had actually committed a crime, part of them even started questioning whether Ted Wilkins had been right to demand revenge.
"I'll go make some snacks for you, okay?" Adeline said and left them in the living room but there was silence.
"Go ahead, just ask me why I said that and let's get this over with" Jade said annoyed because she knew what they were thinking.
"You don't have to talk about it, your father is right" Beck affirmed.
"You still wanna know" She said.
"What did you mean? Did you participate in that?" Tori questioned.
"I was eleven when Cathy was killed, she was fifteen" Jade informed. "I met her at a park while she was jogging and I told her I was lost but I wasn't, I just had to ask her for help, my parents told me to tell her my address and have her walk me home, so I did and as soon as we arrived they took her to the playroom" she explained and they looked at each other. "I heard her screams for days, it was like any other week, until she finally stopped and next time I saw her she was dead"
"Oh god" Andre said and took a breath as he covered his mouth.
"Do you still think I'm innocent?" Jade asked them and they sighed.
"Yes, you were a kid and you had to do what they said" Beck affirmed and she raised her eyebrow as she thought about it, clearly disagreeing. "It wasn't your fault, you didn't kill her"
"It surely doesn't feel like it"
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
What's up with those reviews? Keep them coming, I love seeing your thoughts! :)
