Disclaimer: Between my four IS fanfics, I've run out of stupid things to put under the disclaimer. Therefore, I am forced to put the usual boring "I don't own Instant Star." I also don't own the song "Family Portrait" by Pink or any other references I make.

Chapter 6: Family Portrait

"Hi, Honey!" He said drifting over to me and locking me in a hug.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" I asked.

He sat down on the side of the bed that Kwest wasn't sitting on. "I came to see you. For God's sakes, Jude, you were hit by a car! I know that you don't want me at our shows but I'm going to be here now."

"I, uh, think I'm going to get something to eat," Kwest mentioned as he got up. "You want anything?"

"A bottle of Pepsi Lime and Hershey Bar would be nice," I replied.

"Comin' right up."

"Thanks, Kwest."

My dad looked at the spot where Kwest had been standing and then looked back at me. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Well, Dad, I'm just a tad confused to how you knew I was here. We didn't call you and I doubt that Mom called. So how'd you know?"

"Sadie called me."

"Sadie…" Why would she do that? Was she trying to fix things between Dad and me? What the hell was going through her head?

"She thought that I should know my daughter was hit by a car. She knew that you wouldn't have called me, so she did the right thing."

"Oh, I'm sorry that between getting hit by a car, being unconscious for a few hours, having Jamie and Kat visit me, stopping a fight between Tom and Kwest, and passing out again that I didn't find time to call you."

"But you were able to call Kwest, Tommy, Kat, Jamie, your mother, and Sadie?"

"Tommy and Kwest were there when I was hit by the car and then they called everyone else. And you know what? I don't blame them for not calling you. They know about what happened and they know how I feel about it. They just don't want to make me feel worse than I already do."

"But I'm your father and I deserve to know."

"You don't deserve much."

"Jude that's not fair."

"Oh but it is."

"I screwed up, I'm not perfect. I've already paid enough, it's been a while, forgive me already."

"For what?"

My dad and I both looked over to the doorway and saw my mom standing there.

"For what?" She repeated.

"For screwing up our family," I offered.

"That wasn't my fault!"

"Really? 'Cause I could've sworn it was you that was sleeping with Yvette, my mistake."

"What's going on?"

I looked back over at the door to see Sadie standing there.

"If it's not the traitor," I quipped.

"What?" She snapped.

"You called Dad! How could you? You know of everything that's happened! What in your right mind made you believe that I'd actually want him here?"

"Well, excuse me for thinking that you may want our whole family here!"

"Oh, c'mon! How stupid are you? You knew that I wouldn't want Dad here!"

"Jude, just shut up! I'm not even here for you!"

"What in the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"Tommy called me. He wanted me here to support him, since you and Kwest were ganging up on him!"

"Tommy was bad mouthing me! Kwest was just coming to my rescue! But you for some strange reason think that I don't need rescuing!"

"You don't! You have your perfect little life in your perfect little world!"

"You think my life is perfect? TAKE A LOOK AROUND! Where am I, huh? I'm in a fucking hospital! But yeah, you're right, my life is perfect. I got dumped by my boyfriend and then hit by a car. Some perfect life."

An evil smirk appeared on her face. "Speaking of which, how's Eden?"

"Oh you just had to go there, didn't you? Kick me when I'm down. That's what you're good at, isn't it? Making others feel small so you can feel big, that's just sad."

"You bitch…"

"Girls," my mom cautioned.

"Listen to your mother," my dad added.

"I can handle this, Stuart!"

The room filled with screams and yelling. My perfect family.

I was so sick of all of this. I stood and made a motion towards the door. None of my family noticed.

Tommy came into the room. "Jude, sit down!" He commanded.

My family became silent, wanting to hear the conversation.

"Shut up, Tom."

He walked over to me. "You need to sit down before you pass out again."

"I'm fine, Tommy. I just wish I could get out of this room."

"You're not going anywhere."

"I said I wish I could. I'm attached to an IV, I'm not able to go anywhere."

"Sit down and shut up." He put enough pressure on my shoulders to get me to sit down.

I looked up at him with a tough glare. "I'm fine, Tom! The doctors said that I only passed out because I had the wind knocked out from the car. I was still trying to recover, now drop it."

"Jude, you don't get it."

"No, you don't get it. I'm fine, I feel fine and you acting as if I'm going to drop dead any second isn't going to help anyone."

"I know you're not going drop dead."

"Then stop acting like it."

"I'm just trying to take care of you."

"I kind of think that opportunity flew out the window when you dumped her," Kwest said standing in the doorway with my food in hand.

"Not that again, it's over and done with," Tommy whined.

"You need to stop acting like she's hurt physically and start realizing that she's hurt mentally."

Tom looked down at me and I looked away. "I didn't think about it."

And then, for some unexplainable reason, the yelling started again. If I couldn't leave them, they could leave me. "OUT!" I screamed at all of them. "EVERYONE OUT!"

"But Jude…" My mom started.

"Out!" I demanded, pointing to the door.

They began filing out, one by one, Kwest the last in line.

"Kwest," I squeaked as I pulled the covers around me and positioned the bed so I could sit up. "Please stay."

He turned back around and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Here." He handed me a Hershey bar and a bottle of Pepsi Lime before opening a bottle for him.

"Thanks, Kwest." I hesitated. Why had I asked him to stay? What was I thinking?

He looked over to me. "I thought you wanted everyone out."

"There are some VIPs in my world." I smiled at him. I guess I was thinking about where we left off earlier.

He took a drink from his Pepsi Lime. He seemed a little nervous. "And I'm one?"

"The only one." What was I saying? Where was this coming from? I didn't know what I was saying; it was just spilling out of my mouth.

"No others?"

"Well, now that I think about it…"

He let out a laugh. "You're everything, Girl." He placed a hand on my cheek just like I had earlier.

I avoided eye contact. "You called me girl."

"I-"

"Only Tommy's called me that."

"I'm sorry."

I looked directly into his eyes. "Don't be."

His hand snaked around from my cheek to the back of my neck as our lips pressed together.

AN: Finally! Anyways, R&R!