Say You Love Me

Chapter 4:

Beck's POV:

I watched as Jade's mom walked past the curtain. She certainly did not seem like a nice woman, and I was scared of what she might do to Jade. So I walked over and peeked through the slit in the curtain to watch.

Jade was a mess. She had cuts and bruises on her face, and her head was bandaged up.

The events that happened next shocked me to the core. Jade's mother started to yell at her. She called her weak, and worthless. I just couldn't believe it! How could anyone be so cruel to her?

My heart sank. Sadness and hurt was all over Jade's face, even though she tried to conceal it with her "I-don't-care" look.

It seemed that all her mom cared about was money. She could care less about how Jade was feeling, or how badly she was hurt. She just cared about money. Stupid money.

I saw Jade bury her face in her hands, and I swallowed hard.

When her mom walked back out, I grabbed her wrist.

"How could you say those things to her?" I snapped.

"Hands off!" her mom spat, and then hurried out the door.

I lifted the curtain out of the way and walked in front of Jade's bed. She looked almost scared that someone was here, but when she saw it was me, her breathed a sigh of relief. It killed me to see her so vulnerable like this.

"Beck, say you love m..." she paused, as if thinking I was still ignoring her. "...nevermind." Jade turned away sadly. It tore me apart to know that she thought I was still not talking to her.

Then it hit me. All this time, her mom had been calling her weak and worthless, and it made her feel like she wasn't worth anything. When she was with me, she always asked me to say that I loved her. I had always jokingly replied by saying "what's the magic word?" and that really annoyed her.

I realized that Jade hated having to ask someone to say that they loved her, instead of calling her worthless.

I groaned inside. How could I have been so stupid? I suddenly wished that I hadn't ignored her. Now she doesn't even trust me to say that I love her.

Jade's POV:

When I saw Beck, my spirits were instantly lifted.

"Beck, say you love m..." I began. But then It came crashing down on me. I remembered that he was going to ignore me unless I apologized to Tori. My heart sank. "...nevermind."

He didn't reply, and I felt even more stupid.

"JADE!" Cat squealed. "You're awake!" Her red hair flew behind her as she dashed into the room excidedly.

Tori, Andre, and Robbie all poured into the room at once. I immediately pasted on my usual look, trying to conceal the pain that was on my face.

"How are you Jade?" Andre asked.

"Oh...just fine," I lied quickly. I had to act strong. They didn't have to know how I was feeling right now. No one had to know.

"Jade, I was so worried about you!" Cat spread her arms out and gave me a tight hug. I felt her squeeze my broken ribs tightly and I nearly screamed in pain.

"...Ow...!...Cat..." I gasped, trying to keep back the tears.

"Sorry!" Cat quickly released me and I sighed with relief.

Then I saw Tori in the room. She looked at me with a look filled with pity. I HATED it.

The Vega-girl slowly and akwardly edged over to my bed side. "Look Jade...I know we haven't been on good terms...but...I hope you get well soon..." I could tell that she truly meant that. I could see it on her face, and her eyes, and her voice. She was really worried about me. Even thought I hated it when people worried about me, it was pretty nice once in a while.

"Sure, Vega," I pushed as much sarcasm as I could into my voice, but I could tell that Tori didn't catch it.

Everyone stood around me in silence for a bit, when I finally asked, "How did I get here?"

Andre, Tori, Robbie, and Cat all sighed.

"Jade..." Andre began. "You were beat up pretty bad, and..."

"I know!" I said weakly. I didn't need anymore reminders that my dad had beat the crap out of me. "But...how did I get into the hospital?"

"Apparently..." Tori explained. "The neighbors heard a big racket coming from your house. You know...glass breaking and things like that. So one of the neighbors called the police...and they came and...and..."

"...And what?" I asked.

"They never found the person who did that to you and your dad."

"What?" I nearly shouted, but my parched throat prevented that. "Me AND my dad?"

"Yeah..." Andre shrugged disappointedly. "They never found the person who hurt you and your dad."

I felt my eyes widen. This was unbelievable! I guess since my dad's head was bloody from the glass, they thought that he was also a victim. The police, and everyone else has the story completely messed up! My dad was the one who beat me, but when the police came, he probably made up some random story.

"What..." I could barely speak. "What story did you hear?"

"The police told us that your dad said there was a burglar, and he tried to fight him. The burglar attacked you and him, and knocked you out. And he said that before the police came, the burglar made a run for it."

I could feel all the blood drain from my face.

"Jade...?" Cat asked. "Are...are you okay?"

I swallowed hard. "I'm...I'm just fine." Beck cast me a worried glance.

"So uh...where is my dad right now?" I gulped.

"He's also in the hospital," Robbie said. "he has a minor concussion because apparently, the burglar slammed a picture frame onto his head."

I didn't answer. I COULDN'T answer.

"You look a little pale, Jade," Tori remarked worriedly.

"You don't have to worry about anything," Cat reassured me. "Your dad's going to be just fine!"

I knew she was trying to make me feel better. But she had no idea what REALLY happened that day. I did NOT want my dad to be fine. I wished he was dead!

"So...my dad is in this same hospital?" I asked. "Right here in this building?"

"Where else would he be?" Robbie chuckled. "What other hospital would he be in?"

"Yeah, you and your dad are in the same building, silly," Cat jokingly poked me in the shoulder. I just swallowed a lump in my throat.

"If you want to see your dad, you could see him when you're better," Andre said. "Well...he's in much better shape than you, so maybe he will come to see you!"

I cringed when he said that.

"What's wrong Jade?" Beck asked, rubbing my arm.

"N-nothing..." I stammered. "Nothing's wrong."

Little did they know that EVERYTHING was wrong.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sorry if Jade was a little out of character in some parts of this chapter, but it was a bit hard to make her NOT a bit OOC. Anyways, I hope you guys forgive me =P

Luv always, and reveiw review review.