"What is that?" Aiden asks his mother as he sits beside her on the floor
"Nail polish." She responds, trying her best to keep her hand steady as she brushes the color onto her nails
"Why are you putting it on your fingers?"
"Because it makes them look pretty."
"Oh." Aiden shrugs "Can I have some too?"
"Absolutely not." Jade chuckles
She doesn't deny him because he's a boy and she's worried about gender stereotypes, she's always thought parents who do so are idiots. Children should be free to express themselves and dress however they want. She knows her son though, and she knows that he won't be able to sit still long enough to let it dry. He'll smear it all over his clothes, maybe the furniture and the walls. It will be a huge mess.
"Why not?"
"Because you're not old enough yet." She explains "When you're bigger, I'll let you try, okay? Any color that you want."
"Okay."
"What do you think?" Jade holds her hand out for him to see "Good?"
It had taken everything in her not to resort back to her typical black nail polish that she had frequented in high school and college. She figured that she should try something new, opting to go with a light gray color she had found in her mother's bathroom instead. It's still neutral, still a bit dark, but not as harsh.
"Good." Aiden nods "Very pretty."
The sound of the doorbell echoes through the house and a smile spreads across Aiden's face. He leaps to his feet and rushes out of the room and Jade follows him, blowing on her nails to help them dry as she descends the staircase.
When she arrives downstairs, Beck is standing in the foyer talking to Kaitlyn. They share a smile when they see each other but choose to greet each other with a hug instead of a kiss, as they usually do when Aiden is present.
"Are you sure I can't come with you today?" Beck asks her quietly
"I'm sure." Jade nods "We've talked about this, Beck."
As much as she appreciates Beck's wanting to be supportive of her on what will most likely be a very difficult day, she wants to be respectful of Ashley's parents. They had agreed to meet her in a park in their hometown of Riverside, which is only about an hour outside of LA. Jade knows that as difficult as it will be for her, it will be even harder on Ashley's parents...having to meet and talk to the girl who survived only because their daughter didn't. She doesn't want to make the situation any worse by bringing Beck along, almost rubbing it in their faces that she had a boyfriend who loved her waiting for her on the outside when Ashley didn't even make it out of the building. Beck didn't see his coming along as being disrespectful at all, but he wanted to do whatever Jade thought would be best for her.
"I'm just trying to be supportive." He reminds her
"I know." She touches his shoulder softly "And you can be supportive by taking care of literally the most important thing in my life."
"Beck, Beck!" Aiden jumps up and down at his feet "What are we going to do today?"
Although Jade wasn't brining Beck along with her to Riverside, she also still gets nervous being alone in public. So Kaitlyn will be accompanying her to meet Ashely's parents. Everyone agreed that it was probably best for her not to bring Aiden along, but Jade also didn't want him to go with Chris to Tyler's baseball game that day. The other parents on the team were very well aware of everything the family had gone through, and it wouldn't be hard for them or even for people supporting the opposing team to figure out who Aiden is and the last thing she wants is for some nosey reporter to show up. It isn't that she doesn't trust Chris to care for his grandson, she just doesn't trust other people not to be invasive assholes.
She hasn't spoken to her father or step-mother in weeks after the argument she and had gotten into with them the night they came over for dinner, so it was time for Jade to turn to her friends as potential babysitters. Of course Beck had been her first choice, although she's nervous about leaving with someone who isn't her parents or her brother regardless of who that someone is.
"I'm not sure yet, bud." Beck chuckles as he reaches down to pick up the excited three year old "But we'll figure something out."
"Aiden? Why don't you go find your backpack while I help Beck put your carseat in his car?" Jade suggests
"Okay!" Aiden nods as Beck sets him down again
"I'll help him." Kaitlyn says, following Aiden out of the room
"Thanks, Mom."
Beck follows Jade into the garage to retrieve Aiden's carseat and then out to his truck to put it in the back seat. He knows he's more than capable of putting it in himself, it just straps in after all, but he knows that Jade will be paranoid unless she does it herself.
"Please be careful with him." She says as she steps away from the car "Seriously, if you need anything just-"
"Jade." Beck cuts her off, placing his hands on her shoulders "It's going to be alright. I am a teacher, remember?"
"You teach teenagers." She reminds him "Aiden is three."
"He's going to be fine." Beck assures her "I promise you that I'm not going to let anything happen to him."
"It's not you I don't trust, Beck." She looks up at him with worried eyes "It's other people. I thought I was perfectly capable of walking to my car by myself and look what happened..."
"He'll be perfectly safe with me, Jade." Beck says seriously "We'll get some lunch, maybe go to the park for a little bit, and then I'll take him back to my place to nap or watch movies or whatever it is he feels like doing, okay? I'll never let him out of my sight for even one second."
"Beck..."
"I swear, he'll be fine." Beck leans forward and kisses her forehead gently "You have nothing to worry about."
"Mothers never stop worrying about their children."
"Well, at least worry less."
"I got my backpack!" Aiden announces as he toddles down the driveway
"Awesome!" Beck smiles as he takes the back from him and sets it on the floor of the car "Hug your mom, okay?"
"Bye Mom!" Aiden throws his arms around Jade's legs
"Bye, baby." Jade kisses the top of his head "Be good for Beck, okay?"
"I will. I promise."
"Alright. I love you."
"I love you too, Mommy!"
Beck helps Aiden climb into the truck and buckles him in, then shuts the door after Jade has triple-checked that he's buckled in correctly. He then pulls her around to the back of the car so that he can kiss her goodbye without Aiden seeing, and climbs into the driver's seat to start the engine. Jade waves goodbye as Beck backs out of the driveway and drives off down the street, somehow feeling anxious and at peace all at once.
"You know he'll protect that little boy with his life, don't you?" Kaitlyn says, appearing behind her daughter in the driveway
"I know..." Jade nods "...doesn't mean I can't worry though..."
"I know how you feel." Kaitlyn smiles sadly "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah." Jade sighs, walking back up the driveway towards the garage "Uh...hey Mom?"
"Hm?"
"Do you think that maybe I could drive?"
Jade had driven some since her return, but really only around the neighborhood. It wasn't that hard to get back into the routine of it, almost like riding a bike. Once you know, you never forget. But there's always so much traffic and so many people that she never says 'no' if someone else offers to drive wherever they're going, and she hasn't really gone many places. For whatever reason though, right now she feels the need to get some of her independence back, and she thinks that driving to Riverside might be the best way to go about doing it.
"Sure." Kaitlyn smiles, tossing her daughter the keys "But don't you dare scratch my car up."
Jade had gotten in contact with Ashley's parents, Carl and Tammy Whitt, via email. After exchanging a few messages back and forth they had agreed to meet at a park in Riverside.
"It's cute." Jade thinks to herself as she pulls the car into a parking space
There's a playground and a walking path that loops around a large lake. It's a Saturday afternoon so there are plenty of people around, but Jade knows that Ashley's parents are the couple sitting at a picnic table beside the lake as soon as she lays eyes on them.
"You're sure about this?" Kaitlyn asks her as they approach
"No." Jade admits "But I have to do it."
"Alright, I respect that." Kaitlyn nods "But if it gets to be too much, just reach under the table and squeeze my hand. I'll come up with an excuse to get us out of here."
"Thanks, Mom."
Jade feels her heart beating faster and faster as they walk towards the picnic table, and for once she isn't worried about whether or not the people around her will recognize her. In that moment, the only thought on her mind is that these people probably hate her, and they have every right to.
"Excuse me?" She says, almost too quietly, as she approaches the couple "Are you Mr. and Mrs. Whitt?"
"Jade." The woman, Tammy, gasps as she stands up and rushes to hug her "Wow, it's so good to meet you."
Jade is taken off guard, first by the woman's friendliness and also by the fact that she isn't a huge fan of hugs from strangers. For some reason though she feels the need to hug Tammy back, and hug her tightly.
"Please, sit down." She gestures to the table "I'm Tammy, this is my husband Carl."
"It's good to meet you." Kaitlyn reaches forward and shakes both of their hands
"Good to meet you." Jade repeats with a nod as she and her mother both sit down
"We're..." Carl exchanges a look with his wife "Well, we're really glad that you reached out."
"You are?" Jade raises an eyebrow
If it was her in this situation, she wouldn't want to have anything to do with herself.
"We are." Carl nods "If anything, we were hoping that maybe you could give us some answers. A bit of closure, really."
"No one knows what really happened in there but you..." Tammy says quietly, looking down at her lap "My daughter...that man...they're both dead. You're really the only one that knows."
"It can sometimes be hard for her to talk about." Kaitlyn cuts in before Jade can say anything "If she-"
"Mom, it's alright."
"You're sure?"
"Ashely saved my life, and Aiden's." Jade says to all three of the people sitting at the table with her "The least I can do is answer your questions...or try to anyway..."
"We only have a few." Carl promises her "The first being I guess...did this man use the fact that he was the police chief to try and get either of you to trust him? Did he abuse that power? Is that how he did it?"
"No..." Jade shakes her head "No. He told me his phone had died, and he told Ashley that his dog was sick. Neither of us had any idea who he was when we met him. I only found out he was the police chief once I was in the hospital..."
"Oh, alright." Carl nods, looking to his wife before looking down "And he...uh...he took advantage of both of you?"
"Yes."
"Was he violent?"
"Not always, but sometimes." Jade nods "He...he had expectations, and as long as we followed them we were usually okay."
"What kind of expectations?"
"You're better off not knowing that, I promise." Jade tells them "He...there were rules he expected us to follow when we were alone with him...that's all you need to know about that."
"Okay."
"You have a little boy, right?" Tammy asks her, tears forming in her eyes "He was born there?"
"He was, yeah." Jade nods "Aiden...his name is Aiden. He adored Ashley...she was like a fun aunt who would let him get away with things I never would. When Ron decided it was my night to...take my turn...she took care of him. When I would catch a cold and not leave my bed...she would play with him. And at the very end, she sacrificed herself so that I could get him out of there. She saved both of our lives...and I'll never be able to repay her for that..."
Tammy is crying now, it's obvious to see, and Carl is tearing up a bit as well.
"Mrs. Whitt..." Jade reaches across the picnic table and takes the woman's hand in her's, fighting tears of her own "Your daughter was one of the bravest people I've ever met. She is the only reason that I'm sitting here right now and the only reason my son is going to get to grow up. If the rolls had been reversed, I want you to know that I would have done the exact same thing for her. I'm so sorry that I'm the one who-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Tammy shakes her head "Don't you dare apologize for doing what you had to do to save your child."
"Your daughter was kidnapped because of me, Mrs. Whitt." Jade reminds her "Ron Cook abducted her because he needed someone to fill his void while I was recovering from giving birth. She died because of me too..."
"She's dead because of him, Jade." Carl interjects "You can't blame yourself for a situation you had no part in creating. Her blood is on his hands and his hands only. Don't you dare think for a second that any of it is on yours."
"I..."
"You seem like you're a very compassionate person..." Tammy tells her "...and you seem like a wonderful mother. That little boy is very lucky that he gets to grow up with you. Ashley would be very happy that he has that chance, I'm sure of it."
"Thank you..." Jade chokes out, trying not to cry in front of them "Thank you for saying that...it...it means a lot."
"Here we go." Beck smiles as he lifts Aiden onto the concrete bench on the boardwalk near the beach "Don't scoot back any further, okay? You don't want to fall over."
"I'll be careful." Aiden nods, licking his ice cream cone
"How does the ice cream taste?" Beck asks as he sits down beside the little boy, licking his own ice cream
"Yum-my!" Aiden grins, chocolate already covering his face
"Good, I'm glad." Beck chuckles
He had taken him for lunch at a restaurant along the boardwalk earlier, and it was the first time Aiden had ever sat and eaten in one before. He was absolutely mind-blown that he could pick any food he wanted off the list, and drink out of a real glass instead of a sippy cup. He enjoyed bouncing up and down in the booth, and Beck had to apologize to the people behind them when he started bouncing so high that he shook both tables.
After lunch they walked around the board walk for a while. They rode the carrousel a few times, and took a turn in a photo booth, before Beck spotted the ice cream stand and decided that they needed some. He had chosen chocolate chip, while Aiden opted for just standard chocolate.
"You know, your mom loves chocolate ice cream too." Beck says to the little boy "Peanut butter and banana is her absolute favorite, but that's pretty hard to come by. So usually she picks chocolate."
"I know." Aiden nods "Grandma buyed her some at the store when she took me, and then Mommy got mad at Uncle Tyler because he almost ate it all before she got any. But when she eats it she lets me try some, that's why it's my favorite too."
"It's a good choice." Beck smirks, amused at the picture of Jade and her brother that Aiden had just painted for him
"How'd you know it's her favorite?" Aiden asks him
"I've known her for a very long time." Beck explains "I know lots of things about her."
"Like what?"
"Like that your Auntie Cat is her best friend in the whole wide world." Beck tells him "Or that she wants everyone to think her favorite color is black but that it's really blue."
"Have you knowed her since before I was born?"
"Long before that."
"Longer than Auntie Cat knowed her?"
"No, not quite that long." Beck laughs "But still a long time."
"Well I'm glad you know her." Aiden tells him "Because that means I get to know you too. And I like you."
"You...you do?" Beck grins
"Yeah." Aiden nods "You're fun to play with, and you can bounce me really high on the trampoline. And you get me ice cream, and Mommy smiles a lot when she's with you. I like it when she smiles."
"I like it when she smiles too." Beck admits with a smile of his own "But she won't be smiling when she sees I let you get ice cream all over your shirt, so we need to get you cleaned up."