Waterfall
Chapter 3
"I'll fucking kill them!" Christian's voice carried through the locker room. Jade shrunk back, courtesy of what her foster parents had done to her. Christian winced as Jade drew back. "I'm sorry…"
"N-no, it's not your fault," Jade stuttered. It was odd to be speaking like this to someone so much older than her. Her foster parents had strictly enforced the 'speak when spoken to' rule with everyone, and never allowed her to speak with an adult. The only times she was allowed was when they were at the dinner table, and it was a direct question to her. Even that didn't help, because she was not allowed to elaborate.
"Why didn't you tell someone?" Christian asked finally, his eyes softening as he looked at her. He ran a hand over his short blond h air. His title was lying forgotten next to him. Jade's eyes settled on it as she spoke.
"I couldn't…they watched me like a hawk and..." she paused, and sighed. 'If I would've worked up the courage to say something to someone about it, then maybe Daniel and I would have been out of the house long ago…' she thought, and then shook her head. 'No. They wouldn't have believed me. After all, they trust Ellen and Jacob more than me, and God knows what those two have said about my state of mind.' Suddenly her throat caught, and she quivered, tears coming to her eyes.
"Hey," Christian's voice was soft. "Come here," Jade scooted over to him, and he hugged her tightly. "You don't have to worry about them anymore, alright?" he set his hand on the back of her head as he spoke soothingly. "You're here, away from them. You'll never have to go through any of that again, I promise." He pulled back and looked at her.
Jade smiled, attempting to wipe the tears off of her face. "I just… I never thought that I would be away from them…" Christian looked at her, his hand still on her shoulder. 'She really grew up fast…And she's so beautiful…just like her mother,' he thought with a pang, recalling his lost sister.
"You are now," he responded. Jade seemed to relax for the first time since she'd gotten here, slouching against the leather couch. Quiet fell over them for the first time, but it was comfortable. As her newfound freedom began to shrink in, Jade's happiness grew. She didn't have to worry anymore! She was free of them. They couldn't hurt her anymore. Christian spoke again after a moment. "If you don't have another place to stay, you're more than welcome to stay with me. Actually, I'd prefer you to stay with me, just in case those two assholes start looking for you."
Jade opened her mouth to tell him about the incident at Wendy's, but then snapped it shut. Now, away from the panic, it didn't seem like anything to worry him with. "Are you sure? I don't want to impose. I have some money…"
"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have offered, Jade," he said, smiling. "But you don't have to come with me if you don't want to."
"No! I really want to come with you, Uncle Jay," Jade said earnestly.
"Okay, but I warn you, there's going to be a lot of traveling around…you won't have a chance to settle down, go to college and all that until all this is settled… Of course, we could get a tutor," Christian added as an afterthought.
"None of that matters to me, just as long as I'm away from them!" Jade exclaimed happily, and then her expression became a little more serious. "Thank you so much! I never would've been able to…I would still be there if it wasn't for you."
Christian shook his head. "There's nothing to thank me for Jade. I should've come to check up on you a long time ago. It's just…after you got adopted I was convinced they were good parents. Every time I saw you it was a reminder of Sarah's death—which wasn't your fault, but I still wasn't over it. I thought about coming back a lot…but I could never think of the words to apologize to you that I wasn't a part of your life anymore."
"All that matters is that I'm out of there, not if it could've been sooner," Jade said suddenly, remembering what she was thinking of earlier. What she said was more of a reminder to her than a statement to Christian.
Christian smiled, and ruffled her hair. "I'll talk to Bischoff about giving you a job here on RAW—only if you want one though. I mean, it'd be really boring to just sit here all night, right?" Jade nodded numbly, everything that had happened washing over her. It was so much to take in at once… Christian continued onward. "I'll introduce you to Lita and Trish—you guys will get along great, and I'll have them take you on a shopping trip. I doubt you packed enough clothes in that one duffel bag," he paused, and then looked at Jade, who looked overwhelmed. "But, we'll deal with all that later," he said quickly. "You look like you need a rest."
Jade smiled brightly. "A rest would be nice."
Christian patted her on the shoulder, "Let's head to my hotel—I don't have to stay for anything tonight. Jade nodded her head. "And Jade—relax. You're safe."
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Author's Note: I've been a bad, bad girl. Sorry it took so long to update! I hope that because I get this chapter up my muses will start up again! I've developed a new future plot line in my head, but it's kind of similar to the one, just a little more elaborate and has stuff to do with Christian being a heel. Since this story was published so long ago, I'm just going to have RAW go off on its own. Anyway, please review!