Summary

It's not exactly a secret.

No really, it's like...the opposite of a secret. Someone may as well have, at one point in time, hired a sky writer, rented a billboard space on the freeway and took out an advert in every LA newspaper. That's how much of a not secret it is.

Jade West hates being touched.

A tale of Jade told in Seven Parts, exploring her touch avoidance and how each person found out about it.

Authors Note

I've been teasing Jade's childhood since way back in my first story 'Kiss With A Fist Is Better Than None' and have been dropping hints in every multi-chapter story since - 'and everyone wants a taste', 'if you only knew the bad things i like' and 'i was getting used to being someone you loved'. This story gives more solid details without being graphic - we never actually see what happens to Jade when she was living with her mother and her mothers boyfriend from 6 to 12, but characters see the damage and from her behaviour, it's quite easy to infer what has happened to her.

The running list, currently (it may change), for this story is:

Act I - Robert 'Robbie' Shapiro (Age 8)

Act II - Ryder Daniels (Age 12)

Act III - Caterina 'Cat' Valentine (Age 12)

Intermission - Beck Oliver

Act IV - Andre Harris (Age 15)

Act V - Katrina 'Trina' Vega (Age 15)

Denouement - Victoria 'Tori' Vega (Age 17)


ACT ONE – ROBERT 'ROBBIE' SHAPIRO

Robbie was the first one to realise Jade didn't like to be touched. He found out back when he was a little kid, only around 8. Jade had come around to his house, as she often did when her mother and her mothers boyfriend, Jared, had friends over; which was almost every day, to be honest. His parents never complained and didn't make much of a fuss, other than to coo over the 8 year old, pointing out how adorable and cute she was; Robbie didn't think Jade was adorable or cute. Not really. She reminded him of one of his moms creepy China dolls that she collected; straight brown hair with blunt bangs, almost milk white skin and a tiny little frame that made her look breakable. And her eyes, deepset and wide, a stormy blue colour, seemed to glint like jewels. Robbie never understood why girls seemed to like being likened to jewels, why it was taken as a compliment. Jewels were sharp, and hard and sometimes seemed to glow eerily, just like Jade's eyes.

Of course, he did like Jade. Most of the time. Sometimes she was just mean and would snap and hiss insults at him, but a lot of the time she played with him happily. Once she pushed a big kid to the ground and started kicking him, because he was picking on Robbie. When the big kids mom came to his house to try and get her to apologise a little later, she had refused, telling the mom that her son was a big crybaby and she'd evidentially done a terrible job of raising him if he couldn't take what he was dishing out.

She didn't used to hate being touched. She wasn't a huge fan of hugs or anything, but she never minded the occasional hand on her shoulder or nudge of her foot. But then, one day, that changed.

It wasn't a special day that stuck in Robbie's memory for any reason other than it was the first time he'd seen Jade actually scared. It was no important anniversary or birthday or anything. It had been storming outside, which meant they couldn't go to the park to play and instead were allowed to stay inside and play on the game console in the living room instead (Robbie was only allowed to play sometimes, because otherwise it would rot his brain, or that's what his Mommy said).

Robbie's daddy had come home and poked his head into the living room, smiling seeing his son and the neighbour girl sitting playing games, Robbie being overly energetic and moving his entire body along with the controller, as if it might help him win the race they were playing, and Jade sitting perfectly still, eyes trained on the TV, her fingers tapping away at the buttons on her controller.

"Hi kids. We're ordering pizza for dinner tonight Robbie." He told his son as he stepped in to the living room, before smiling at Jade. "And of course, you're invited to Jade!" He put a hand on her shoulder, to give her a friendly squeeze. And that's when it happened.

Jade seized up suddenly, the controller dropping from her small hands. And she let out a blood curdling scream, pulling herself away from Mr Shapiro and practically cowering behind Robbie, her hands up at her ears, knees pulled to her chest.

"Jade?!" Robbie asked in a shocked and shaking voice, reaching out to put a hand on her arm, which caused her to let out another scream and shuffle away more, huddling herself in the corner of the living room, her screams dying down to a whimper.

"I'll be a good girl, just please not again." She whimpered, rocking herself, back in her pill-bug position with her knees pulled to her chest, hands over her head. Mrs Shapiro, obviously hearing the screaming, burst into the living room, her hands soapy and wet, evidentially having been in the middle of the dishes.

"What's happened?!" She exclaimed, taking in the scene before her – both her husband and young son shocked, with Jade sitting in the corner, curled up and rocking.

"I'm not sure. I touched her shoulder and she screamed..." Mr Shapiro murmured to his wife as Robbie watched Jade with wide eyes, her rocking slowing down and her whimpers cutting off as she seemed to straighten up, blinking hard to get rid of the tears.

"Jade dear, lets go wash your face. It's all ruddy." Mrs Shapiro cooed softly and Jade nodded, still sniffling a little and keeping her eyes pinned to the floor.

Nothing more was said about it that day, or to Robbie directly, but that night when he got up to go get a glass of milk from the kitchen, Jade asleep on the floor of his room after her mother and Jared had disappeared for the night, (as they often did) a long time after bedtime, he overheard his parents talking in the living room, and perched at the top of the stairs to listen in.

"When I was helping her with her bath tonight...she's covered in bruises, Tom." His mommy was saying quietly. "She said she fell down the stairs at home this morning but..."

"The way she screamed when I touched her shoulder..." His daddy replied, and he could hear the worry in their voices. "We can't do anything about it, dear. Not unless we want to get involved in trouble with...those types of people. You've seen them going in and out of that house..."

Robbie assumed he meant the scary looking men and skinny tired women who constantly seemed to be in and out of Jade's house. She must have had lots of aunties and uncles. Well, that's what Jade always called them when he asked.

"We just need to make sure she knows she's more than welcome here at...at any time she needs." His mommy nodded. "I just hate to think of what she's going through, stuck in that house..."

"All we can do is be there for her. We need to think about our family first."