Disclaimer: Victorious and it's characters belong to other people, and not me. I make no proffit from these stories other then reviews.
Warning, mentions rape and violence. Possibly triggering.
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"Come, it's time to face part of your past." David ordered. He grabbed Jade's wrist and practically dragged her over to where her father was standing, trying to make conversation with Beck.
"...so I was left wondering, what kind of person did Jade marry. I mean, he can't be much of a man, if he let Jade keep her last name." Mister West was saying. Beck was just nodding along, trying not to give too much away.
"She married my daughter." David said as way of introduction. "David Vega, Lieutenant, LAPD."
"Stanley West, insurance management." Stan said, showing no shame at his earlier statement. "Thats like being an insurance salesman, but I just managed the policies for a cut of the take. Tom, my partner, he's great at making the sales, but not so good at the follow through. So yea, he gets more in commissions, but I make the whole thing work."
"Nice to meet you." David said, noting how the man didn't even bother to introduce his wife, who David noted had a similar build to Annie. 'I assume that his wife, by the way she's standing near him.' He thought, but his eyes confirmed it when he saw the matching rings. "Now, I'm sure you're aware that Jade and my daughter had themselves a rough couple of years. I'm here to support them, you know, be there when Jade is ready to talk about it. Specifically, talk to you and her mother about what happened."
Jade shifted nervously, smiling at her current step mother and trying not to be to noticed. 'Funny, neither seem to know I'm here. I wonder, could I slip away in the confusion?' But her feet refused to move.
"No need." Mister West said. "Whatever it was, thats the past. She's succeeded now, and thats all that matters. I'm just glad she overcame her past. I do, however, have some concerns. She did a lot of stupid things when she was younger, and I'm worried that the victims of those actions might still want to go after her. How vulnerable is she?" He turned to put his back to Jade, as if she might tell someone, while drawing David closer in a conspiratorial kind of way.
"That depends on which thing your talking about." David said, giving the man a length of rope. He tried to keep an eye on Jade, but to do so made him stand at Stan's side, with one shoulder towards his daughter in law.
"Not sure I should be telling a police officer about this..." Stan hesitated.
"I know a great deal about Jade's past." David assured the man. "She's family now, and I make it a point to know just about everything I can learn. So, if there's a specific instance, maybe I can shed some light on it. Or, you could see if her lawyer is here, maybe ask him."
"Okay," Mister West gave one more quick look around, "Jade may have catfhished someone, back in high school." He said, keeping his voice low. "Do you think she should try to pay them off, now, before they sue her?"
"Catfished?" David asked, holding a hand up to keep Jade from saying anything. Thanks to Mister Wests turning his back on her, literally, the older West didn't notice the hand.. "You mean, pretended to be someone else, got some girl she was having problems with to send pictures, of that girl in her underwear, then posted them on line? Yea, I know about that. The family has already worked things out."
"Good." Mister West said, smiling. "So all Jade's problems are behind her." he shifted so his side was now facing Jade, squaring himself to David.
"Not exactly, but we'll wait until her mother is here before we start talking about what she went through while living on her own." David gave a big smile. "So, where is your ex?"
"She's probably here, somewhere." Stan groaned. Then he glanced about, a courtesy look and nothing more, but his experience with the woman told him where to look, and he quickly spotted her. "Over there, with that tall, distinguished gentleman."
"The woman talking to Lieutenant Malone?" David said. "Okay, it looks like it's showtime." He glanced back at Jade. "Jade, please let Tori know we're gonna go talk to them, in the study." he then led the way, hesitating only long enough to be sure the pale girl hadn't slipped away into the crowd.
Jade sent her wife a quick text, and then followed Mister Vega into the house. They made it to her study, a room David knew because she'd pointed it out during their earlier tour. "Um, shouldn't we be getting my mom?"
"Gary will bring her." David assured her as they entered the room. "So, Jade, not to be too critical, but your study, it could use some furniture. Like maybe a desk, or, I don't know, anything..." He looked around the still unfurnished room.
"I have my office, just outside." Jade pointed towards the RV in the distance, while next to the house, it was off tot eh side, not so obvious from her study.
"But a study is a place to make your own." David argued. "Maybe place those things that would otherwise give my poor Tori a heart attack. You get to have all your dark hobbies, all your fascinations, and still give her a safe home to live in." There was movement as the study door opened. "Gary, and you are…?"
"Cat." Cat said. She was alone, and looked ready to fight. "Jade, your mom is on her way, but is so busy flirting with that cop, she's actually taking the long rout to get here." Then she looked past her friend at Mister West. "Hi, just wanted to let you know, it's dumb luck that your daughter is standing here, alive."
"CAT!" Jade screeched.
"No, this gets dealt with, now." Cat said, her voice dangerously calm. "I get it, people do collage, work, all that chiz, and never have any of the problems you had. So why not you? I think it's cause you were kicked out, without a chance to find a place to live, no friends to rely upon, no where to go. You didn't have any of the resources you'd need to survive. Plus, you were going to an expensive collage, with a good scholarship, but it didn't cover a lot of shit. Housing in that area isn't cheep. You had to pay for your car, for food, and by the time you had a job, there was no good place to stay. So I understand. I just don't understand why you didn't find a place before Soft Touch?"
"Soft Touch?" Mister West asked. He seemed oblivious to how angry Cat was, as the petite girl paced about, almost in Jade's face.
"They make adult films." Cat filled in. She'd turned to face the room, and Jade's dad, but her hands were floating, ready to lash out.
"So you were a whore?" A female voice startled them. "Jadelyn Kimberly West, I always knew you were a whore. I'm just glad you'd had Beck for the time you did, so you'd stop trying to take my boyfriends." A woman who looked a little like an older, if a touch shorter, version of jade stepped in, followed by Gary, who looked less then pleased by her outburst.
"Kate, still a bitch I see." Stan said. "She did what she had to, in order to pay for school. It's her past, and while I can't say I approve, at least I understand." He argued, like it made everything all right.
"NO!" Cat screamed in his face. "YOU! DON'T!"
Jade looked on, seeing things spiral out of control. "Um. David…?"
"Miss Valentine, maybe you should back up." David said, pulling the girl back a step.
"Cat, let me tell them." Jade almost begged, even as she took a step forward. 'Now I have to, cause she'll just blurt it out. I swear, even Trina had more tact.' Jade pushed to say something before someone, like Cat, filled the momentary silence. "I understand now, because I've been over this with my therapist, multiple times. I was in self destruct mode, looking to be punished, and boy did I find it. But I never worked, er, acted in porn. I was in production, editing, working the camera, whatever they needed. No, I never fucked for money, mom. I never was the threat you seemed to think I was. You just dated a bunch of pedophiles, and by high school, I was able to keep them away from me, so it looked to you like I'd stopped."
Mister West laughed. "What? You think that's funny?" Cat asked, once again in his face.
"Easy, miss Valentine." David said, pulling the girl back again.
"I lived in my car, cause life was so fucking expensive, and I couldn't bring myself to live with anyone else." Jade continued. It was a form of trance, saying what she was saying, because she knew she had to say it all or she might not be able to finish. "I was so sure I'd say, or do, the wrong thing, and they'd kick me out. I'd be alone again, a disgrace. So living in my car felt like a safer alternative." Jade looked lost, almost hopeless.
Jade's face hardened, for a moment. "And then, I found out it wasn't. Only, I told myself I was quick, clever, so the first couple of times I was almost raped, and got away, I felt like it was a game." She had a ghost of a smile, something that would have scared David if he hadn't seen things like that before. "Then, it got real, a lot faster then I'd have liked. I was raped, somewhere along the way, and almost killed twice. I wish I can say that the rape stopped me, made me find a safe place, only it didn't."
"What did?" Cat asked, momentarily turning away from her anger at Mister West. The concern in her voice was a vast difference from the rage she'd been displaying only a moment before. It forced a response from the damaged girl.
"Soft Touch." Jade informed her. "I was hurting, from the rape, ready to fight just to die. And it wasn't helping. I was almost raped a couple of more times before Soft Touch sold me this RV trailer they had, pretty much at cost. But they made too good a deal out of it, too hard to say no. They even financed it, let me pay out of my paychecks. Like the only real benefit they gave me, cause they paid crap. But they let me live in their parking lot, safely near their security. They gave me power, electricity, as well as access to the internet. They even gave me a sewage hookup. And yea, maybe they took advantage of me, of having me near. Maybe I worked a bit harder, longer, for them then my paychecks indicated. But it was the first time in years I had my own place, when they didn't need it for a dressing room, but it was my own place, and I was safe there."
"Before you say anything, she never tried to go home, cause you made it very clear that she wasn't welcome." Cat spat at Jade's parents, holding her anger, her hatred at bay for a moment. "Not saying the bitch didn't contribute, cause she did. Did an awesome job of alienating her friends. But you're her fucking parents. It was your job to take care of her."
"Um, Cat, projecting much?" Jade whispered. The room heard anyways, because as offended as mister West was, at that moment he was speechless.
"See, your kids a fucking genius, figured out I had my own issues with my parents not being there when I needed them." Cat said, glaring at everyone in the room. "Only I had friends, and a safe place to live. Hell, during some of the worst of it, back in High school, I had Jade. When things looked really dark, and I needed someone to hold my hand, help me through it, I had Jade. But Jade? Jade, so intent on proving you wrong, and right, and who the hell knows what else, she made sure she didn't have anyone until she found people as damaged as she was. And what do you know, they helped her out." A glare stopped Jade from defending her former employer. "They do fetish shit, girls in bondage getting whipped. Rape fantasies. God, how the hell could you work on that shit?" She let her face soften. "Anyways, they forced her to take a deal where they knew she'd show up, cause guess what? To a porn operation, production people are worth more then a hot girl willing to fuck for money, even one willing to take it up the ass. Maybe she don't get paid as much, but she was worth enough for them to invest in her, see her find her dreams. And still, it took finding Tori to save her fucking life, cause Jade was damaged, done. She was looking for an excuse to give up."
Cat moved to look Jade in the eye. "Sometimes, you fight for someone else, cause you don't believe your worth the fight any more. Jade, you are worth the fight, and Tori knows that."
"What about that girl she hurt, back in high school?" Stan asked, finding his voice. "What if her family sued? You have no idea what might have happened? Jade was responsible for putting pictures of her on line…"
"In her underwear." Cat finished. "Remember, we were her friends, and we took exception to that act. Why do you think she was so cut off from her friends. But the pictures, they didn't damage that girls career. No, some jerks named Carson did that."
"Regardless, we had to protect ourselves, our families." Stan insisted.
"Liar." Kate chimed in. "Yea, maybe I wasn't a great mother. Maybe I wasn't paying attention, let her need for a daddy figure get her in trouble, let some guys I was dating do things to her. But I wasn't the only one looking to be rid of that damaged sociopath." She glanced at Jade. "No offense."
"And now we have the truth." Cat breathed. Her hands were balled into fists, holding back the desire to throw the first blow. Jade, meanwhile, was standing there, taking it, and Cat wanted to know when she'd stop, lash out, and let these people know how much she'd been hurt.
"I think I can handle this from here." Jade said. However, she was shaking, holding on by a thread. Her anger, her biggest defense against the world, was breaking, and a tide of hurt was waiting to roll in, threatening to drown her.
"No, I think I will." David said, stepping into the middle of Jade's family, in between Jade and the Wests. "Mister West, you may not know it, but the victim of that prank, where she posted pictures of a girl in her underwear, that was my daughter. The same one who's outside, trying to host this party. And we've worked on things, grown to forgive Jade. You see, I get her, to a degree. She was lashing out, and needed a way to feel safe. But she was impulsive. Smart, but impulsive. Jade knew, back then, that doing anything more then underwear was illegal, while the underwear wasn't much worse then a bikini. Yes, we could have charged her with fraud, but that kind of stuff hard to prove sometimes. Besides, about that time, our own lives went to hell, from a series of other sources that we're pretty embarrassed about now. And my daughter, Jade's wife, she went through a lot of bad, things she hasn't fully told me." He glared at the West parents. "So yes, she may have hurt my little girl, but bringing her back to me, to her family, that helped ease the pain. Jade fought for my child, and helped her heal, a lot. She made money so my girl could have a place to live, this big house. And she made damn sure my girl was getting professional help. My daughter is stronger now, because of you child. So I've forgiven her for the prank, while you hold onto it, without even knowing who the hell her victim was." he turned back tot he pale girl. "Jade, I'm sorry, but they're not ready to be back in your life."
Cat stood there, in the office, watching as David dragged Jade out of it, toward her party. Gary lingered, just a moment, saying "Please, enjoy the party. Mister Oliver made a lot of food, so please eat, mingle, talk to people. Just, understand, Jade worked on her past, fought to be something better. Until you're willing to deal with her as anything more then that broken child you gave up on, my partner, hell, my friend, he isn't willing to let you near her. And I kinda agree with him." Then he followed his friend, making sure his surrogate family was okay.
Kate, Jade's mother, looked over at Stan and his current wife, Stacy, and smiled. "That Gary guy, quite a man, right?"
Stacy opened her mouth, and for the first time, spoke. "I doubt he likes you. He seems more into this family, and they like Jade."
"Tramp." Kate hissed.
"I don't think she so much slept with him as married his god daughter." Stacy said, shrugging at Kate. Then, glancing at Cat, she shifted, getting just a bit nervous. "Um, Stan, why don't you and Kate go enjoy the party, see more of Jade's success. I just need a moment."
Mister West hesitated to glare at Cat. "You were just lucky there were a couple of police officers here, because I'm willing to hit a lady."
"Pretty sure I'm more of a man then you are." Cat shot back.
"Stan, lets not make a scene." Stacy urged. "This girl obviously has her reasons for being upset, so let it go. I'll be out in a bit, okay?"
"Not too long." Mister West said. He pointed to her chest. "I'm planning on showing those off." Then, under Cat's glare, he made his way out. jade's mother had already left, once it was clear her ex wasn't about to throw down with a five foot tall girl.
"So, why are you so, um..." Stacy West seemed off balance as she approached.
"Back in high school, Jade pretty much kept me alive, and sane." Cat said, looking at the empty space around her. "When I was homeless, she found me a place to live. And she saved my life, literally, more then once."
"Well, Doctor Science, I just wanted to say, I'm a huge fan." Stacy gushed. "I work as a paraprofessional, which is basically an extra person in a classroom, and we watch a lot of your stuff. I look forward to rainy days, when I can see you explaining how things work."
Cat smiled. "Tori, Jade's wife, she's gonna be on my show." She seemed to relax at being with a fan. "Why don't we rejoin the party, before your jerk of a husband misses you."
"Sure..." Stacy said. "Um, will you be performing any of you amazing science tricks tonight?"
"I'll see what we can do." Cat assured her. "I'll see what we can do..."
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Thoughts?
Who loves Stan? Kate? Stacy? (Jade's dad, mom, and step mother.) Did Cat step over the line, or prompt Jade to action? Overall, what do you think will be the result of this little interaction? I don't see much hope for Jade's family, but you never know. Mister West seems mostly oblivious, judging people on if they're a success or a failure. He seems willing to forgive Jade for her past.
Okay, review, fill in the blanks, cause I don't have that much story left to tell. Just, review.
Next time, I don't bother to write about any of the tricks you can do with science. Just assume Cat puts on a show. We have other aftermath from this discussion to deal with.