Days and nights in New York City blended in a fast-paced swirl held together by the lights and sounds of the people and buildings that were constantly on the move. Even after living here for seven years, there were days that Jade still felt out of place amongst the millions upon millions of people that walked the streets. From high above the jungle of concrete, Jade observed it all with an empty tumbler held between her hands as her thumb traced the rim of the glass. Behind her on a small patio table was her laptop and notepad with a blank manuscript that was supposed to be finished a week ago. Her publishing contract didn't require her to have books finished by a certain date, most of the time, but she preferred to have a healthy backlog built up so that she could have something prepared or have something to edit and work on to distract herself. The name Jade West was all over the media as a newer powerhouse in the entertainment industry. They called her a visionary and showered her with praise for her horror novels which were going to eventually be adapted into movies. On top of that, Broadway and the music industry seemed to love her as well as she published and sold multiple plays that went on to win awards and she had also managed to make her album that soared towards the top of the charts for several weeks. People saw her as an absolute threat on the stage and off the stage with her vast skillset but this didn't come with a couple of controversies along the way.
Anyone with access to media would know that the name Jade West was linked with success but came with a long list of public scandals sprinkled throughout her blossoming career. Videos online showed her fighting drunkenly in bars and clubs with other drunken patrons that had to be broken up by police or bystanders before it got too violent. There were also numerous sexual scandals under her belt as well, giving Jade the title of a homewrecker or a slut as she was seen or discovered having affairs with other influential New York thespians. The paparazzi especially adored her since most public outings she had almost always guaranteed them an easy payday with plenty of pictures that could be sold and printed on tabloids and online news outlets documenting her late-night escapades.
Tonight, was different though as Jade watched the lights of the city dance before her. She tore her gaze away and slowly walked back to the patio table in her nightgown and evening ware and set her empty glass down next to the whiskey bottle she brought out with her. Scattered amongst the balled up and torn notebook pages were her plane tickets to California that was set to depart in the next couple of days so that she could meet with several studios to begin preproduction and negotiations on the first film adaptations of one of her books called, "The Hollow Halls." Out of all of her works so far, this was one of her favorites but she never believed it would be good enough to make it onto the big screen yet the opportunity presented itself and she found herself booking a flight without a moment of hesitation. The story was quieter and less gory than her usual works but focused on the slow descent into madness as the main character was trapped in the halls of their old university after an air raid from a neighboring nation surprised and kicked off a war. The main character became trapped and isolated from the outside world as their fellow countrymen scrambled to try and make sense of what was going on and planned to fight back, leaving them alone in the debris. Eventually, the character ends up killing themselves just before being rescued. The timeframe and country in question are left obscure to better appeal to a broader audience while Jade found that the feelings of isolation in the main character mirrored her own, not that she would admit it if questioned about it.
Taking a seat at the patio table, she refilled her glass with whiskey again and took several large sips of it as she looked over the flight details again as the buzz began to set in once again. Despite her best efforts to change the location of the negotiations or to have them over the phone, there seemed to be no way around it and now she was being forced to return to her old home for the first time since she initially departed all those years ago. Or as her court-ordered therapist pointed out, no way for her to avoid returning to the place she was so desperately trying to run away from. That comment earned them a black eye and earned Jade several hefty fines as her lawyers managed to settle the assault charge out of court. But she knew that the psychiatrist was right which is what brought her to her current sad situation of drinking glass after glass of hard liquor in an attempt to distract herself from the inevitable storm she would drag herself into. The last time she was in California was in college when she and Tori were dating and attending classes at UCLA. Beck and she had broken up but promised to stay friends as he went off to star in a small movie being filmed in Europe just after graduation from Hollywood Arts. After several months of working closely with one another and many, many conversations about what a relationship would entail, the two women started to date. They were as happy as any couple would be and they supported one another as they each pursued their dreams of grandeur and fame over the few years they attended college. As Tori's singing career started to take off, she dropped out of in-person classes and started to take a few small online courses and worked on a debut album while Jade started to get noticed for her writing with some of her short stories being published and earning her a small following.
This was the time when Jade saw that the relationship was falling apart and Tori was too busy to bother trying to fix it with her. Every conversation led to an argument or a screaming match ending with one of them, mostly Jade, storming out and driving away from their apartment only to return later that night or the following morning as if nothing had happened. The arguments of the previous day were completely forgotten and they returned to business as usual but the spark Jade felt was quickly fading and she didn't know how much longer she could stick around in such a loveless relationship. At least when she fought with Beck there was a resolution to each fight and they were kissing and holding hands again as soon as they worked through their dilemmas. Proper resolution with Tori was nonexistent and Jade quickly noticed how her girlfriend retreated from her touch. Every time Jade tried to hold her in her arms, she felt Tori squirm or try to back away as if she was repulsed by the idea of physical contact. Kissing the half-Latina was like kissing a mannequin as she grew stiff and pulled back before Jade could try and heat things up between them. The cherry on top was when Tori revealed she hadn't told her family that they were together despite being a couple for two years! How she managed to keep that a secret from them all still alluded Jade but that was the last straw. That night Jade went off on Tori, calling her out on everything she had been holding in for months and gave her no time to form a rebuttal. She remembered that night well and it still made her throat sore to think back to how much she screamed and yelled. By the end of the night, she packed up her things and left Tori a crying mess as she tried to talk to her but she would have none of it.
Jade's hand trembled as she remembered how Tori begged her to stay and talk but she refused to listen. Instead, she did something unforgivable. She remembered it clear as crystal as the memory haunted her and weighed on her heart like an anchor. Tori was crying and begging Jade to stay as she made another trip to their room to grab her things, she grabbed her duffel bag and loaded it full of clothes in a haphazard mess as Tori tried to get her to look her in the eye. She zipped up the bag and pushed past Tori and marched towards the front door but she felt Tori grab her arm but in a moment of uncontrolled rage, Jade spun around and let her aggression out on the woman she was supposed to love and cherish and slapped her across the face. The room went silent as Tori backed away and brought a hand up to her burning cheek as Jade stood there taking in what she had done. Neither of them said a word for what felt like an eternity before Jade shouldered her bag and dashed out the door without looking back.
As she recalled the memory, Jade let out a frustrated scream and threw her glass as hard as she could against the brick wall of her balcony patio and watched as it shattered and scattered shards of glass across the stonework. Her breathing was heavy as she sat back down and held her head in her hands and softly cried before taking the bottle of whiskey and took several large gulps of the burning spirit. She grabbed her phone and tried to find something to distract her from writing and those painful memories but it seemed like even her own device was out to torment her as she opened her social media and saw a birthday notification for her ex-girlfriend. The date on her flight to California was fast approaching, her bags already packed and her agent and manager were already out there getting their lodging set up so she knew that now was as good of a time as any to try and mend old bridges. Even if Tori rejected her call and ignored her, Jade would have some comfort with the fact that she tried to reach out. Slowly she stood up from her seat and began to pace back and forth across the perimeter of the balcony as she scrolled through her contacts until she found the right number. Her palms grew sweaty as she held the phone in her hand and hesitated to initiate the call, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.
"For fucks sake, when did I become such a coward," she said with a sigh as she pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear, and took another drink from the heavy bottle while she waited. The ringing of the phone seemed to echo louder and louder for her as she waited and waited as the first ring passed, then the second, the third, the fourth until finally, she heard the automated voice instruct her to leave a voice mail. Jade took a breath and said her piece before quickly hanging up and tossing the phone back to the table and had another drink before setting the bottle down to bask in the cool evening breeze. Over the next fifteen minutes, Jade calmed herself and packed up her laptop and papers before heading inside for the evening but as she did so, she noticed her phone vibrating and Cat's name and face were flashing across the screen. "Oh, that's not good," she said as she silenced the call and pocketed the phone, and made her way inside with the rest of her belongings and the near-empty bottle of whiskey. As she walked around her apartment and put her things back on her dining room table to deal with in the morning, she could feel her phone going off again and again as Cat continued to call her. Jade grumbled to herself as she pulled the phone out and saw the red head's visage continue to illuminate the screen again and again before she relented and accepted the call. Before she could even get a word out Cat's voice cried out in an angry tone that she never heard her oldest friend use, "Who the hell do you think you are?!"
The aspiring wordsmith was temporarily stunned and struggled to find a proper response before Cat spoke again and said, "Jade I don't know what you're trying to pull but you need to back off and leave Tori alone! You've done more than enough damage and I won't let you hurt her when she's finally back!"
Jade took another swig of the bottle she placed on the counter and dryly said, "Why hello Cat. Gee, I'm so happy to hear your voice after all these years. How are you doing? I'm doing well."
"Jade stop! I'm not kidding! You need to leave Tori alone; I won't let you hurt her again." Cat said in a rather stern voice as she continued to drive home to her apartment.
"I'm not trying to hurt her, Cat! I'm trying to fix what I did and try to patch things up! Or at the very least just see how she's doing! Since when did you become her mother?" Jade said as she took a seat at the bar stools that lined her kitchen counter and held the neck of the bottle as her thumb softly twisted the cap off of it as she continued, "Look…I don't want any drama but I thought it might be nice to see all of you again. I'm flying out there in a day or two for some talks for a project. If not with Tori, I'd at least like to see you again. When was the last time we actually talked?"
"You mean when was the last time you talked to any of us? That would be when you left for NYC," Cat said as she continued down the highway. She let out a sigh and said, "Jadey, I really do miss you but it's a mess. I love you and miss you but a lot has happened."
Usually, Jade would scorn her for using that nickname but she could hear the pain in her voice as her tone returned to the one, she used when she was younger, softer and full of emotion. "What happened?"
"It's better if you find out on your own if you want to meet, I'd love to but anything past that will be on your own," Cat said as she started to make her way towards her exit, "I hope we can all be friends again."
"Cat? Can you tell me one thing before I let you go?" Jade asked as she brought the bottle a little bit closer.
"What is it?"
"Is she happy?"
There was a long pause on the other end as Cat drove into the parking lot of her building and pulled into her spot as she tried to rack her brain for a proper response. Jade didn't push and waited patiently as Cat leaned back in her seat and took a breath as she scooped up the phone from the holder and said, "She's content. At least that's what she told me but honestly, I'll take that after everything she's had to deal with. We've all been watching her and it's been hard."
"Thanks, Kitty Cat. Can I call you when I get to LA?" Jade asked as she took one last sip to polish off the last of the whiskey in the bottle.
"Okay…bye Jade," Cat said as she quickly hung up and sent out a text to the guys to update them on the incoming storm.
Back in New York City, Jade set her phone down and went to her large bedroom, her steps swayed a little from how much she had to drink and she collapsed into the sheets and curled up as the exhaustion finally took a toll on her. The questions spun around in her head keeping her from a restful night of slumber as she tried to envision what this trip may bring about.
Author's Notes:
Thank you all for the support and interest in the story so far. I do not have a solid upload schedule set for this story yet but I am currently working on the next few installments and will try to get them out soon while going back and fixing the mistakes I have made so far.
As a special treat, I wanted to let you know that the inspiration for this story much like my other one called, "Who Knew?" is based off of musical inspiration. This story was inspired by three different songs and I will share them in the coming chapters when they become more relevant to the actual plot. I apologize for the slow build up but I wanted to try and actually establish the world and where all the characters are in their lives.
Anyway, thank you so much and please review and share.