The drive back to her own apartment was a lot lonelier than when Emily had ridden in the car with her for Jaiden. The 18 year old drummed on the steering wheel as she drove through the empty streets. Her mind was buzzing with the events of the day and every time she thought about the younger girl's lips on her own, heat made its way up to her face. Jaiden was entirely too distracted by her own thoughts to notice the green truck parked in the space next to her. The brunette had just made it onto the sidewalk when an all too familiar voice sent chills up her spine.
"Jaiden." She whirled around and the sight of her mother confirmed the fear that was quickly flooding her veins. The smell of alcohol hit her a few seconds later and that was enough to spark her flight response. Jaiden spun back around and started sprinting towards the doors; nearly tripping over her own feet.
"Beca!" Jaiden yelled desperately as she entered the stairwell. Her voice echoed through it loudly, along with the sounds of her shoes hitting the concrete steps. She propelled herself up as fast as she possibly could and whimpered as she heard the door at the bottom swing open and then slam shut. "Beca!" She shouted again. Jaiden shoved the door to the second floor open and ran down the hallway towards 405. She screamed her sister's name and slammed her fists against the door desperately. She couldn't even think to fish her keys out of her pocket. The door to the stairwell squeaked at the end of the hall and tears welled in her eyes as she began to panic more. Suddenly, the wooden barrier in front of her fell back and was replaced by a very concerned Chloe. Jaiden practically threw herself into the redhead's arms and kicked the door shut behind them.
"Jaiden, what's wrong?" Chloe asked as she rubbed the younger girl's back. Beca's footsteps sounded down the hall as she hurried towards the sound of all the commotion.
"M-my mom's out there." Jaiden stammered out. "She followed me up from the parking lot."
"What?" Beca demanded. Jaiden lifted her head from Chloe's shoulder and the look on her face was enough to support her story. "You two stay in here. I'll take care of it."
"Beca, no." Just then, a knock at the door kept Jaiden from saying anything else. She shook her head, but allowed Chloe to pull her away from the doorway regardless. The redhead kept a firm hold on the teenager as she nervously watched her girlfriend open the door and step out into the hallway.
Mrs. Mitchell was quite out of breath by the time the door opened and her eldest daughter stepped out. Her hand tightened on the small knife she was concealing and her blurred vision narrowed on Rebecca.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing here?" She demanded. Disrespect rolled off of her tongue and Mrs. Mitchell bristled at the sound of her voice. The little bitch had no remorse.
"Getting justice for my husband." On the last word, Mrs. Mitchell plunged the small blade into her daughter's stomach and watched a look of shock and pain replace her angry features. Running on alcohol and adrenaline, she pulled the weapon out and stabbed Beca again right below the initial wound.
"You got what you deserved." The woman pushed her daughter off of her knife and let her fall to the floor before turning around and staggering briskly towards the stairwell again.
"Chloe!" Beca shouted in agony. Her hands clutched the spurting cuts on torso and she clenched her teeth as the slightest movement sent pain rippling through her.
Jaiden was seeing red. Partly from her sister's blood spilling onto the carpet and partly from the surprising anger that was flushing her system. She was tired of seeing the people around her getting hurt. She was tired of being afraid of her own parents. She couldn't live like this anymore.
"I'm going to fucking kill her." The 18 year old whispered to herself. Chloe looked up from where she was trying to tend to Beca and stared at her with wide eyes. Before she could even try to stop her, Jaiden was out the door and running towards the stairwell. Her sister's strained voice echoed in her ears and she threw open the entrance to the stairs and began taking them two at a time. She was getting angrier and angrier with every second and when she caught sight of the staggering figure at the ground floor exit, she completely lost control of herself. Almost as if she was on auto-pilot, Jaiden ripped the woman she had once called "Mommy" to the ground and knelt on top of her. Her fists flew down towards the middle aged woman's face with more force than Jaiden knew she was capable of.
Unaware of how much time had passed, Jaiden broke out of her rage when two strong pairs of arms pulled her off of her mother. The woman laid still; her face beaten and bloody, and Jaiden looked up to see two officers holding her and two paramedics jogging up the stairs with a stretcher. She recognized one of the officers from the night she had been shot. She was looking between her and her mother; pity written all over her face.
"Let's go back upstairs, okay?" The woman suggested carefully. Jaiden allowed herself to be pulled to her feet and the trio started up the stairs together. The teenager's heart was still pounding in her chest by the time they reached her floor and entered the hallway. Jaiden was finally able to focus at the sight of her sister being loaded onto the gurney. The two officers escorting her let go of her arms as she hurried over and met a crying Chloe. The redhead took one look at her bruising and bloody hands and then gasped.
"W-what did you do?" She stammered out.
"I don't know." Jaiden's voice had a dead tone to it as she looked around. Her eyes finally landed on Beca and she was surprised to see her sister was awake and answering the paramedic's questioned. "Is she going to be okay?" Jaiden put a hand on one of the paramedics arms and he looked down at her injuries in surprise.
"She'll be fine. You're going to need to come with us to get a look at your hands though."
"What's wrong with her hands?" Beca tried to sit up and get a good look, and then winced in pain. "Jaiden, what happened?" The 18 year old didn't answer, and instead stepped back to her previous spot beside Chloe.
"I'm fine. Just take care of her." Jaiden flexed her red stained hands painfully and gave a curt nod at the paramedics. "We'll meet you at the hospital, okay?" Beca didn't look certain about it, but she was really in no condition to argue. Chloe put a hand on Jaiden's shoulder as they watched the paramedics wheel Beca in the direction of the elevator. Once the metal doors slid close behind them, Chloe squeezed the younger girl's shoulder and pulled her into the apartment.
"Let's get you cleaned up and then we'll go." She said gently. Jaiden averted her eyes to the floor and nodded slightly.
Sorry for the wait. Running low on inspiration.