New Year
"Hey, Jude. Can I come in?" Sean knocked on the bedroom door.
"Sure. I am exactly where I was when you left last night." Jude nodded, watching her boyfriend walking into the bedroom, holding a bottle of champagne, two glasses and a bag which she could see had some of her favourite snacks, "What are you doing?" She shook her head.
"Well… I uh… I figured it's our first new years eve together." Sean nodded, "And I really wanna spend my night with you."
"Really? Cooped up in this lovely bedroom?" Jude asked him.
"Really." Sean smiled, sitting down on the bed.
"This looks fancy." Jude smiled tiredly, taking the champagne from him and looking at it closely. Even though all she'd been doing was sleeping, she felt tired all the time.
"It'll probably taste disgusting." Sean nodded, "So just in case I brought you some of your finest cocktails in a can." He pulled the cans out of the bag as Jude smiled.
"Oh, how you know me." Jude smiled as Sean nodded, "I haven't… I haven't showered in days." She realised, "I've not left this bedroom." She shook her head as Sean sighed.
"No one blames you." Sean said, "We can't… we can't understand what you're going through but… we can be there and… whatever you need, whatever works best for you… we'll support it."
"I feel like I wanna stay in this bedroom forever. Do you support that?" Jude sighed as Sean turned to her.
"I can't tell you it'll ever get better because I don't know, but it… it won't always feel as dull as this." He nodded, "I promise you I'll make sure of that." He said, leaning over and kissing her head as she smiled softly.
"Thank you for still wanting to spend time with me right now." Jude nodded. She couldn't think why anyone would even want to talk to her with how low her energy was.
"Hey… you're not letting this take away your identity. You're still you." Sean took her hand.
"I don't feel like me anymore." Jude shook her head. She couldn't explain it. She wished someone could just understand what she felt, "I just feel like I'm my attack." She said, "And that it's never gonna be the same again."
"Hey, look at me." He took her hand in his, "You are so much more than what has happened. So much more." He shook his head, "I promise you that it will get better. For now it's gonna feel like that but that's what we're all here for." He said, kissing her hand as Jude smiled.
"Well actually my sister and Dominic haven't been home in almost twenty four hours." Jude nodded, "They left last night and they haven't been back home yet." She shrugged, "I think they're up to something."
"What do you mean?" Sean shook his head.
"Well it's my family. In case you haven't noticed, they're pretty insane." Jude nodded, "And they also don't trust police." She said, "So putting those two together, I just think they're taking matters into their own hands if you know what I mean."
"They can't do that." Sean shook his head, "They're just gonna get themselves into trouble." He said, "Trust me, Karen is one of the best detectives in the city. She doesn't miss a beat. She's gonna find this person. They're working around the clock." He nodded.
"Honestly… it was nice to just be on my own for a day. I couldn't handle the constant questions like… are you ok? Do you want something to eat? Do you need to talk?" Jude sighed, "It was nice to just sit."
"They just care." Sean said.
"Oh, I know." Jude nodded, "Cassie came by and dropped this off last night." She leaned over at the side of the bed, bringing out the sketch pad.
"Oh, what's this?" Sean smiled.
"A really cool sketch pad." Jude said, "She said it was in case I wanted to draw something up but… my mind has never felt so blank yet so… messed up at the same time." She shook her head.
"Hey, you never know. Something might come to your mind. Always good to have by your side." Sean said as Jude nodded with a smile, "That was nice of Cassie."
"Yeah, she's a sweetheart." Jude smiled, "I'm sorry this isn't an exciting new years eve." She shook her head.
"Don't be ridiculous." Sean shook his head, "As long as I'm spending it with you, and I get to kiss you when the ball drops… I don't care where we are." He looked at her with a smile as she smiled back.
She appreciated his words and his support. He came at the right times, when she needed someone to hold her, someone to listen to her and tell her things would get better. She had so much doubts about him even sticking around, and she felt bad for thinking that after the way he'd proved himself. His patience and his understanding was key in all of this.
"Maybe I should text Thea and see if she's ok." Jude nodded to herself, "But I… I think my phone is downstairs." She realised.
"They've really been gone for almost a full day?" Sean asked.
"Yeah, they left last night. I heard them go out one after the other." Jude said, "And they've not been back."
"What do you guys normally do for new years eve?" Sean asked.
"We've gone to my Uncle's Dean since we were little girls." Jude nodded, "Maybe they're… maybe they're all there celebrating." She shrugged.
"I don't think so." Sean shook his head, "I'm sure they'll show up at some point."
"I don't really care. I'm just glad you're here." Jude nodded, snuggling into him as he wrapped an arm around her.
She didn't like the fuss. She didn't enjoy the constant questions. She knew it was her family looking out for her, but it was just constantly a reminder of what was going on. What she was desperate to escape from. Sitting with Sean, enjoying some snacks and terrible TV was all she needed right now. For the time being.
"What the hell are you going to do?" Thea questioned, watching Punk walk into the living room.
"You two are still here?" Punk groaned tiredly.
Thea and Dominic had come from Jeremy's through the night, crashing on the couch at AJ and Punk's house and sleeping through to the afternoon. AJ had gone out with James for some fresh air whilst Punk was doing everything he could to avoid his family, avoid the shame and disappointment.
"Yes we're still here." Thea stood up, "You fucked up, big time-"
"And you watched me." Punk nodded, "You were all for it when we thought it was him."
"Yeah well point is it's not him." Thea said.
"But… we did find out something from him when you left." Dominic nodded as Punk turned to him.
"What?" Punk asked curiously, "What'd you find out?" He said desperately.
"I don't even wanna hear it again." Thea sighed, sitting back down on the couch, "You tell him." She told Dominic as Punk turned to Dominic, waiting.
"Well Jeremy said that he did go home with Kirsty but she forgot her purse or something, so he went back to the bar." Dominic explained, "When he got back he saw Jude coming out and she was falling over the place, trying to get her jacket on. He assumed she was just really drunk." He said as Punk's shoulders tightened as he took a deep breath, "So he said he would walk her home, take her to his place so she could crash and he would go back to see Kirsty, but then some guy came up to him and said that he knew Jude and that he'd get her home safely." Dominic said.
"You're kidding me." Punk said as Dominic shook his head, "W-What and… and Jeremy just left her?!" He exclaimed as Thea closed her eyes.
"He was saying that Jude was mumbling that she knew him. The guy that appeared."
"She was drugged out of her mind." Punk said, "Is that fuck stupid?" He spat.
"He also said he was drunk too so he wasn't really aware of how bad Jude was." Thea added.
"So he just left her with this stranger?" Punk asked as Dominic nodded.
"And that's probably who attacked her." Dominic nodded as Punk shook his head, rubbing his hands over his face aggressively.
"But you best hope Jeremy doesn't go to the police about you beating him up. It wasn't him, clearly-"
"Yeah? Well I don't feel as guilty anymore because he sent my daughter off to a rapist so… fuck him, he deserved what he got and I don't feel bad." Punk made clear as Dominic nodded to himself.
"I uh… I kinda feel the same." Dominic agreed as Thea turned to him.
"You were like a different person." Thea said, turning back to Punk, "I've saw you angry before. Remember that time I got brought home by the police and you wouldn't talk to me for days and you were so mad-"
"With all due respect, Thea, we're talking about someone attacking your sister. It's a little different." Punk said as Thea sighed to herself, folding her arms.
"You still can't act like this, dad. Mom is right, you will end up back in prison again. How do you really think Jude would feel? On top of everything else that's going on? If you were to go back inside?" Thea said as Punk shook his head.
"She's right." Dominic agreed.
"Don't you think I know?" Punk shook his head, "Did he say he was gonna go to the cops?" He asked worriedly.
"No, we managed to convince him not to, but only because we made him feel guilty about leaving Jude." Thea said, "He's gonna go to the cops and tell them what happened, describe what the guy looked like. Might not be much but… it's more than we had yesterday." Thea said as Punk nodded.
"And when the cops take a look at his face?" Punk said, "Don't you think they're gonna question it?"
"He's just gonna say he got into a fight at a party." Dominic nodded, "Dean made sure he's gonna say that." He said as Punk nodded to himself.
"Ok." Punk nodded, "Did you guys crash here?" He wondered.
"Yeah, I was scared to go back home in case Jude asked where we were." Thea said, "I was too shook up to explain it all to her. I'm sure once Jeremy goes to the cops, that detective in charge will phone or swing by to see Jude." She nodded, "Sean says she's one of the best detectives in the city."
"Yeah well if she proves it I'll believe it." Punk said.
"Why does the TV have to be so bad on new years eve?" Sean groaned, lying in bed with Jude watching TV. She'd had one sip of champagne and hadn't touched it since. Instead she was just lying into him, really not saying much.
"Because everyone is out celebrating." Jude nodded.
"Yeah, I suppose." Sean nodded.
"I haven't heard from Karen. She said she'd call me every now and then or she'd come by. I thought by now they would have found out who the house belongs to that I was in." Jude said.
"They'll be working on it, trust me." Sean kissed her head.
"Part of me doesn't even want to know." Jude realised, "I mean if they… if they catch this person, that means I see his face and… what if that never leaves me?" She wondered.
"It will." Sean nodded, "If you don't want to see him you don't have to." He assured her, "Whatever works for you, whatever is best for you… do it. Don't think about anyone else but you right now."
"But part of me also wants to look him in the eye and make sure he knows what he's done." Jude nodded, "But I don't think I could bring myself to do that."
"You're stronger than you think, Jude." Sean said.
"Well I have never felt so weak in my entire life." Jude admitted. She figured she could be honest about it, she had nothing else to lose at this point.
Sean looked down at her, noticing she was crying, "Come here." Sean sighed, wrapping his arms around her tighter as she hugged into him, "I know there's nothing I can say to make this better." He nodded, rubbing her arm softly as Jude looked over at the TV, noticing the new year had already been counted in.
"Happy new year." Jude nodded through her tears as Sean looked over at the TV, noticing it had indeed passed midnight.
"Happy new year." Sean sighed, kissing her head and holding her tightly. In a way, he'd never felt closer to her, but for all the wrong reasons.
Jude wound up falling asleep shortly after. Sean had to leave her when he heard a knock at the door. He made his way from the bedroom and headed downstairs.
He opened up the door and saw Karen standing, "Oh, hey." Sean nodded.
"Hi, Sean." Karen smiled, "Sorry it's a little inconvenient timining." She said, "Is Jude awake?"
"No, she's asleep right now." Sean said, "Is everything ok? What's up?"
"Well it's about the house that Jude came from the night she was attacked." Karen nodded.