Out of Time

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:


Chapter 17 (Jade at Risk)

At Cat's home, Jade sat with the couple in an attempt to discern anything she could while giving the impression of concern. While she was sorry for Robbie over his father's murder, she was struggling to sympathize with someone that allegedly had strong ties to La Sombra and felt no remorse over it.

It was a bitter irony in her mind, that Andre was the one to talk when he seemed like he'd be the most embedded into the group; but then he may have been more forced.

Cat rubbed her boyfriend's back, slowly curling her fingertips into his shoulder. Robbie was hunched over, his elbows bent on his knees and his hand gliding through frayed hair. "I don't understand." His voice was shaky and his eyes stared blankly at the ground. "What did my father do wrong?"

Cat whispered in his ear. "It's what he didn't do, Robbie…" Jade, seated in the recliner closest to the redhead, raised an eyebrow at the girl but said nothing. "I know it hurts, but there's nothing you could have done."

"I should've been there. I could've done something, anything."

"What could you have done, gotten yourself killed?" Robbie turned his head towards his girlfriend, his eyebrows curling up towards the center of his brow. Cat leaned back with a sigh and pushed her hands down her legs. "I'm sorry Robbie, I know I sound like I don't care, I do; it's just I don't want to lose you and I know what's going on in your mind."

Seming as though she just remembered Jade's presence, Cat flinched and turned her gaze to Jade. "Now really isn't the time for this talk, though." The girl smiled faint and tilted her head to the right. "It's so nice to see you after all this time, Jade. I'm glad you decided to stop by, what with Andre going to spend some time with his dad and Tori missing. It feels like the whole gang's just falling apart."

"I know." She shook her head and closed her eyes, breathing out a careful sigh. There wasn't any doubt in her mind the group would never be the same, but she was steadily bringing herself past that hard truth. "I wish we could spend more time together, I do; but it just doesn't seem doable. Always one thing or another."

She leaned towards Robbie and placed her hand on his wrist, he brought his gaze to hers and held his frown. "Robbie, I'm sorry this happened to you. Losing a parent is hard, I know." She pulled her hand away and placed it on her chest. "My mom was killed by a deranged client of my dad's when I was just a kid. I would never wish that on anybody."

"Thanks." Robbie leaned backwards slowly, his gaze drifted to the wall in front of him. "Pop had cameras in the house, I took a look at them before the police could get their hands on the videos." Jade frowned, her right eyebrow started to rise as a strange heat came over her body.

"What did you see?" She hoped he hadn't been able to review camera footage of the investigation, otherwise he would know she and Beck were working with the police.

Jade laced her hands together and smacked her lips, her brow furrowed as she watched Robbie's shoulders rise and fall. "I saw Andre asleep on the couch and his grandmother talking to my dad. I saw him standing in front of his bed…he was executed on the spot." She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I'm so sorry."

"They were talking about a murder that happened in the 90s." Robbie scoffed and Cat began to do a double take, her eyes widening at the boy. "Dad 'had one job', she told him, and he couldn't even do it right. 'Kill everyone in the Grayson's home' but he left their missing daughter's boyfriend alive." Cat grabbed Robbie's hand, causing him to jerk his attention to her. The girl grunted at him and he fell silent.

It was already too late. A cold chill drifted through the air and if Jade's skin wasn't already a pale white, she'd fear they would notice the ghastly appearance sweeping over her. Sweat began forming around her hairline and she let off a nervous chuckle.

"Oh." As the couple started to turn towards her, all sounds in the room seemed to fade away, creating a silence that threatened to strangle the life from her body. "I um…" She squinted and leaned froward, her voice hushed and swift. "You heard that on the video?" She had to wonder if Gary and Sam or the FBI had combed the footage, because if so, that meant in murdering the DA, Andre's grandmother just tied Spencer to Sasha.

"Yeah, they mentioned a lot." Robbie crossed his arms firmly across his chest. His eyes began to narrow and Cat pulled away from him, throwing her hand up with a sigh. "It doesn't matter," he whispered to her, "Honey, we saw it all." Cat started to growl.

Jade felt a lump growing in her throat and she quickly looked over her shoulder, wishing now more than ever that Sam or Beck were here.

"They even talked about the couple's granddaughter. Dad was supposed to kill everyone to make sure no one looked for her. That she was to grow up in the Vega's home…." Robbie started to stand from the couch, his body tense and his jaw firm. Jade tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she looked from him to Cat, who was bowing her head and closing her eyes.

Long before she knew better, she'd think that this information would have scared Robbie; but there was little doubt he knew enough if his own father was the hitman. The one thing that she could be sure of in his posturing and confiding all of this in her seemed to indicate he knew well that she was investigating La Sombra and probably was about to kill her.

"Oh my god, are you saying what I think you are?" She stood abruptly, her eyes widening as she feigned surprise. She took a small step back and Robbie began to turn. Her speech began to stutter and she watched Cat slowly rise to her feet. "Tori is-"

Then the doorbell chimed, for a split second Jade felt a wave of relief; but that faded the minute Cat opened her mouth. "Come in. She's here." The door slid open and Jade turned her head, whimpering when she spotted Trina stepping inside.

"Okay," Trina said with nonchalance in her voice. "I'm here. Robbie, Cat, what do you need?" The woman crossed her arms and her narrowed gaze fell to Jade.

"I just realized, I have a doctor appointment to get to. I'm not feeling too well."

Trina poked her thumb over her shoulder. "Mom's just outside if you need medical attention right now." Jade's eyebrows shot up and she took another step backwards. "Since Tori basically destroyed the extra car, I've got to carpool with this woman."

Cat walked towards Jade, pursing her lips and cocking her head. "What's wrong Jade? You said your whole day was open, you even have the day off." She winced as the redhead brushed her shoulder with her fingertips. "Why do you seem so anxious? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. I just need to use the restroom. I think I'm going to throw up." She nodded slowly and watched Trina's eyebrow start to rise. "I've been really nauseous lately." She swept her arms out and cleared her throat. "Can I use your restroom?"

Cat motioned to the hallway. "Down the hall next to Sam's room."

"Thank you!" She pulled her purse strap over her shoulder, turned and near sprinted to the restroom. With a swift glance over her shoulder, she confirmed they hadn't decided to follow her just yet; so she bypassed the restroom and entered Sam's room.

Her breathing was heavy and rapid as she locked the bedroom door and started to pull Sam's desk in front of the door. "Shit!" Her eyes began to water and she rushed to a bookshelf nearby, straining herself to move the shelf near the door as well.

Thinking fast, she dialed Sam's number and put it on speaker to listen to the ring, relaxing only once she heard the girl's voice. "Sam, where are you right now?"

"At the office. Why? Is everything okay? You sound upset."

"Oh you know, just struggling to breathe right now." It was a struggle to get any words out. She didn't want to panic anyone, though that was a moot point. Her voice was frantic, however. "I'm about to be murdered."

She heard a clattering sound in the background, followed by Gary and Beck yelling in alarm. "I think they know, I think they know we're working with you. Robbie….Robbie reviewed his dad's camera footage, he's seen us going through the scene. I'm sure about that."

"We're on our way, stay on the phone!" Jade sank to the floor, whimpering when she heard someone knocking on the door. Cat called to her, asking if everything was okay. She pushed her fingers into her hair and shut her eyes. "What makes you think this?"

"He told me Andre's grandma and his dad were talking." She backed up against the wall farthest from the door and looked to her right. The bedroom window was a good way to escape, but she wasn't sure if it was the right choice since Trina indicated her mom was right outside.

Jade's trembling hand caressed the windowsill and she flinched when she heard more banging on the door. The doorknob rattled and now Robbie was calling to her.

Realizing this could be the end of the line for her, she spoke swiftly to get all the information out that she could. "They talked about the Grayson family, they talked about their daughter, they talked about Spencer being left alive and that their granddaughter would be raised by the Vegas. He told me all this, and then Trina showed up."

She heard Beck's voice in the background, clearly cursing at another driver on the road. Even in his fury, the sound of his voice as a comfort. "We'll go over that footage later," Sam said, "What is going on right now?"

"I'm in your room. I barricaded the door and I'm thinking about getting out through your window." Jade pushed the window open and took a deep breath. "Really hoping I can get out of here."

She poked her head out the window, looked to her left and looked to her right. "Be careful, if there's anyone outside you'll be a sitting duck."

"I'm a sitting duck in here!" She threw her head over her shoulder, gasping aloud when she heard the door hit the desk. Robbie let out a angered shout while Cat continued to call for Jade and reassure her that everything was okay.

"Not today," Jade whispered, "I'm not dying here." She bolted through the window, catching herself just before falling to the ground. Her hand rushed to her stomach and her other hand flew to her mouth. "Hang in there, Jade, hang in there. We'll be fine…"

Just then, Trina's voice stole the very breath from her lungs. "Morning sickness?" She turned her head to the right and saw Trina step out from beside a nearby oak tree. The woman's chin was raised and her eyes narrowed. Trina started walking towards her and Jade looked down at her frozen legs, pleading mentally to run.

Still, it was as though Trina's gaze was holding her in place. "Relax." Trina reached inside the bedroom and shut the window with a huff. Jade started to tremble, shivering as the tears continued to streak her face.

"Please don't hurt me. I don't know what Robbie thinks I know." Trina scoffed and waved her hand dismissively while closing her eyes.

"You obviously know something otherwise you wouldn't be acting so damn terrified of them, or me." Trina reached to Jade's hand, taking the phone and ending the call. Jade held her breath, waiting as Trina slowly returned the phone, pushing it into her purse. Her gaze travelled to Trina's hand where she watched the girl's fingers spread out, opening the purse a bit more to reveal a used pregnancy test. "Ah. I see. Does Beck know?"

"Not yet." She was afraid to fill him with that worry right now, knowing how terrified it would be for him. Now she found herself in Sasha's very situation, and all she wanted was to get as far away from everything as possible. "I-I just found out yesterday."

"I won't tell my mother." Trina took a step back, locked her arms behind her back and shrugged. Jade furrowed her brow at the woman, shuddering as she looked over her shoulder and back to Trina multiple times. "You can go."

"Y-You're letting me go? You already said I must know something, so why would you-"

"I said you can leave." Trina bared her teeth and turned her back to Jade. "Now, before I change my mind. Mom's this way, in front of the house, go the other way."

She whimpered again, unsure and confused by this random act of mercy. Trina turned her head over her shoulder, narrowed her eyes and growled. "Now."

Wasting no further amount of time, Jade nodded and took off as fast as her legs could carry her through the trees and fences surrounding her until she made it to the nearest street. She leaned forward, trying to catch her breath as her hands gripped her knees. Her heart seemed the only thing that could outpace her.

It was then she realized her phone was ringing, as it hadn't ceased since she left Trina behind. Before she could answer it, she saw Gary's car speeding towards her. "Oh god…"

As though granted a second wind, she ran down the sidewalk, waving her arms in the air like a madwoman. "I'm here, I'm here!" The car skidded to a halt just feet from her and the trio flew out of the car.

Beck reached her first, throwing his arms around her and granting her the first sense of relief and warmth in this already long morning. They dropped to their knees as Sam wrapped a towel around her body.

She sobbed into Beck's shoulder, struggling to speak through them. "It's okay," he whispered, "You're safe now." Gary looked past them, down the road and wrinkled his forehead.

"Let's go ahead and get you in the car," Gary said, "You've had a long day I know. Let's get you home." Jade nodded as Beck helped her back to her feet.

The moment she sat down in the car, she felt a stroke of joy that she never thought a vehicle could bring. It wasn't until Gary started the car up and they began to drive that she began to calm down.

"She let me go." Sam looked over her shoulder and Beck continued to cradle her, holding one arm around her and his other hand sliding down her arm. "Trina was waiting for me outside the window. I thought it was over when I saw her, I thought for sure it was over. I don't know why, she let me live. She figured out that I must know some things, but she let me go."

"Thankful as we are for that, I'm wondering why she would." Sam turned forward and cocked her head to the right. Jade shook her head and leaned against Beck's shoulder. "It's a lucky break, but one that I would advise caution in future because I doubt that would happen a second time. It might be better for the two of you to stay as far away from Cat and Robbie as possible." Sam paused, her gaze drifting upwards. "Myself included."

The blonde let out a sigh as she raised her phone from the nearby cupholder. Gary looked to her, asking what she was doing. "It's time to make an important phone call. I haven't thought about how to approach the subject with her as of yet; but now it seems we don't have a choice…"

Jade listened to a dialing tone that came from the phone's speaker and she leaned forward, furrowing her brow when Carly's voice filled the air. "Carly, look, I know you're going to continue to deny it, but we know. Freddie's already essentially confirmed that you were all talking to Sinjin about Tori. I need to know where you are, because I find myself and a couple friends currently needing a place to crash."

There was a long pause before Carly could answer. "On a cruise ship stopped at Santa Barbara for a few hours."

"That's a good two hour drive," Gary announced. Sam glanced at him and put a finger to her lips.

"How did you guys manage to get on a cruise ship with a runaway-" Sam cleared her throat and grumbled. "Nevermind, what exactly is the plan?"

"Getting out of California."

"The FBI can help with that, it's a little safer; but that's beside the point…While I've got you on the line, you need to take Tori and get a DNA test done."

"Why?"

"Because she might be your niece." There was a long silence as Sam looked up from the phone and to Gary who sighed in response to her.

After what seemed to be an eternity of waiting, it wasn't Carly who answered but Tori. "We'll be waiting for you in Santa Barbara. Tell Beck and Jade I said hi." With that, the phone clicked off.


How close Jade just came to losing her life or worse, it seems a stroke of luck that Trina would simply let her get away, especially with what she now knows. I wonder what Trina could possibly be thinking by letting her slip away. And it seems we finally have contact with Tori and the group, let's see if they can get them to go to the FBI.