The next morning was Saturday, so the girls didn't have to wake up early for school. Jade eventually cried herself out the night before, falling asleep with her head on Tori's lap. Tori lifted her up gently and slid down under the covers, and Jade nestled into her side. Minutes later both girls were out, the only sounds being soft breathing and rain pounding the window from outside.
Tori opened her eyes slowly and realized Jade was still sleeping next to her. She got up quietly and headed into the bathroom, unwrapping another toothbrush to use. After washing up and trying to untangle her hair, Tori slipped out of the bathroom and tiptoed to the door. Jade turned over in her sleep, but didn't wake up. Tori closed Jade's bedroom door softly behind her, and headed up stairs to her car.
On the way through the house, Tori ran into a tall, serious looking woman who looked like she could be a career woman's fashion model. The woman looked up at Tori as she walked by her, stopping in her tracks and turning to face the girl.
"You're not my daughter."
"No ma'am, I'm not."
"Well who are you then?"
"My name is Tori Vega, I go to school with Jade."
"Very good. Speaking of my daughter, where is she?"
"She's still asleep. I guess some stress has built up and it kinda hit her hard last night."
"It's two thousand and twelve, we all have stress. Doesn't mean I get to sleep in until noon on the weekends."
Tori looked at the hardened expression on the woman's face. She was very beautiful, and Jade looked a lot like her. A strong jaw, light green eyes the same shape as Jade's and the same Raven-colored hair. She would be much prettier with a smile, Tori thought to herself. The woman looked at Tori impatiently, then down to her watch.
"She just needs to shake it off a bit, I'm sure she'll be fine by tomorrow." Tori looked sympathetic as she tried to defend Jade to her own mother.
"Yeah well if she isn't she'll have to be anyway. I'm not paying for 'art school' so she can sit around on the weekends and do nothing."
Tori didn't really care much for Jade's mother.
"I have to get going Mrs. West, tell Jade she can call me when she wakes up."
"Better send her a message, I'm heading out the door myself."
Mrs. West followed Tori out the front door of the house, locking it behind her, and walked over to the garage. Tori got into her own car and started it quickly, trying to unblock the driveway for Jade's impatient-looking mother. The drive home was quick, Saturday morning traffic had already passed and Tori's house wasn't very far. By the look of the driveway, no one was home, so Tori parked in her spot on the right side of the drive and went inside.
After kicking off her shoes and grabbing a Dr. Pepper from the fridge, Tori decided to knock out her Screenwriting homework while no one was around, that way she was sure to have no distractions. She grabbed her bag and opened it, sliding the books out onto the kitchen table, then grabbed her PearPod and popped it onto the dock that was plugged in on the edge of the counter. Her 'Homework' playlist started up, and she got to work writing her paper on the power of the proper use of Foreshadowing.
A couple hours later, her first and second drafts were done, with the former sitting on her left, scribbled on with notes covering the margins. Feeling accomplished, Tori put her books and her paper back into her bag and headed to the couch to see if there were any good movies on TV. She settled for watching a Covert Affairs marathon, and ended up nodding off on the couch for a bit.
Jade opened her eyes slowly, shielding them from the light that beamed around her curtain rods. Her eyes burned and her throat was raw, making it hard for her to swallow. She got out of bed slowly, limbs a little sore from shaking so much. It had gotten colder lately, and Jade shivered a bit as she walked to the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush and brushed slowly, rinsing and drying her face, then headed over to her dresser to find something comfortable to wear, settling on loose-fitting black jeans and a white t-shirt with a dark blue hoodie.
When Jade headed into the kitchen to grab something small to eat, she ran into father poking around the fridge, grabbing something during his lunch break at work. He had thrown together a sandwich and was holding it in one hand, while his other held his phone to his ear.
"Is there any yogurt in there?" Jade asked tentatively. Jade's Dad continued searching for who knows what, listening hard to the voice on the other side of the phone.
"I know I'm not your ideal little girl, but you can at least not ignore me when I ask you something."
"Jade, I'm on the phone. I have to go back to work, you can look in a minute." Jade's Dad grabbed a bottle of vitamin water and his sandwich, and made for the door without saying anything else.
"Okay then, bye Daddy!" Jade mocked at her Dad's back, and he went through the door without acknowledging her. Jade searched for a minute and found the yogurt, grabbing a strawberry one and a bottle of water before shutting the door and heading back to her room.
She didn't feel like doing her homework because of her headache, so she turned the TV on and watched some afternoon news while she ate. Nothing really grabbed her attention, so she grabbed a book she'd been reading and her keys, then headed down to find her shoes. She figured heading to the park to read in her usual spot was better than rotting her brain with TV or sleeping.
It was a little windy, but the sun kept it from being too cold. The park was abandoned, which was odd for a Saturday afternoon, but Jade took it as a sign that her idea to exercise her brain was a good one. She walked over to the big willow tree across from the swings her and Tori were on the night before and sat down, opening her book to the spot where her D.A.R.E. bookmark was left. The ground was a little damp from the rain, but the spot under the willow tree was pretty well covered, and the grass relatively dry.
Before she dove into her book, Jade took in her surroundings. Looking at the box-like houses in a row on each side of the park. The lower level clouds moved quickly across the sky, while the higher up clouds massed together, gray and intimidating. A small flock of birds flew noisily overhead, no doubt heading somewhere dry before the rain started.
As she read the sky darkened again, threatening to spill more rain. About an hour and a half after she arrived, sprinkles started rustling the branches above her head, so Jade marked her spot and stood up, walking back in the direction of her house.
Out of ideas, she decided to call Beck and see if he was doing anything. It took a minute, but after about 5 rings Beck answered the phone
"Hey Jade."
"What are you doing? I'm bored."
"I'm getting ready to leave."
"Where ya headed?"
Beck hesitated, and Jade got annoyed at the implication in his silence.
"Don't be like that, I was just wondering what's up."
"I'm going to hang out with Jennifer for a little while. She invited me to a late lunch and we might go poke around the record store afterward depending on the weather."
"Who the hell is Jennifer?"
Beck took a breath. "The blonde girl you called a skank this morning."
Jade instantly felt hot. Why would Beck be going to casually hang out with some girl who just wants to interview him? Did he see something in her? No way would Beck be stupid enough to fool around on Jade behind her back. Impossible. But if that was so, then what?
"I know you're pissed right now Jade, but I told you I want to be able to have female friends. And I'm going to have female friends. If you don't like it, then I don't know what to tell you."
"Whatever, Beck."
"No, it's not whatever Jade. You seem to think you can just brood twenty four seven and expect me to be okay with the way you treat me. I get it, you're angsty. Your parents are mad at you for your choices, or mad each other, I don't know." Beck cut off for a second, biting the inside of his cheek. "I can only take so much of your bad attitude, Jade. It brings me down. I try to be a happy person and be friendly, but most of the time I'm in a bad mood because of you."
"Jesus Beck, fine. If you're just going to sit there and cut me down for the next ten minutes I'll just fuck off and-"
"God damnit Jade, you don't get to turn this around. Not this time. You aren't the victim here, I am. I'm trying to lay all of this out on the table, and now that you see how bad you really look, you're trying to draw attention away from it."
"I don't particularly like getting told I'm a bitch by my supposedly loving boyfriend over the fucking phone."
"Fine, Jade. I'll stop by your house on my way to see Jennifer and tell you in person if you want me to."
"Oh don't be so dramatic."
"There you go again, trying to play it off. I'm done Jade. I can't take this anymore."
"What does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like it means. I don't want to be your boyfriend anymore."
"Fine, be that way."
"Fine."
Beck hung up and Jade stood in the middle of the sidewalk, holding the phone up to her ear, listening to the silence. Beck had broken up with her before, and she'd broken up with him. It was kind of a thing that happened between them. On and off, off and on. One of them would get upset, they would fight, then make up a week later. Jade figured that was what was going on this time, but something in her gut told her this one was different. It felt different. All of a sudden Jade was panicking, wringing her hands and pacing back in forth in short strides. The rain was coming in now, snapping her into the present. She put her phone in her pocket and finished the short walk to her house, walking through it to the screened-in porch out back.
Jade sat down on one of the oversized chairs that overlooked the backyard. The porch was good-sized, stretching from one side of the house to the other, with about a three-foot padding on each side. The backyard had a large heated in-ground pool, and next to it a six-person hot tub with multicolored lights underwater. The inside of the porch had a three-person couch against the outside of the house and an oversized chair on either side, with a wood and wicker table in-between.
Not knowing what to do, or what to feel, Jade curled up in a ball in the big chair and listened to the rain. She had cried so much the night before, and doing so again now would just emphasize her headache. After a bit of silence, she was surprised the tears hadn't started on their own. In some way, Jade knew that she and Beck weren't doing so hot. They had lost a bit of the flair they had when they first got together. The time they had spent together in the last few months had gotten mundane, and frankly, they both had seen it coming. Even so, knowing something is gonna happen doesn't make it hurt any less. Jade stayed curled up in the chair for the next couple hours, listening to the rain and thinking about how the group dynamic would change. She wasn't looking forward to school on Monday.
Tori woke from her power nap on the couch at about 3:45. She opened her eyes at the sound of gunshots, and realized the Covert Affairs marathon was still going and she had nodded off. The sun was gone, and she could see the rain pouring freely from the overcast sky through her living room window. With any type of outside plan immediately squashed, she got up from the couch and went up to her room. There were clothes on floor, her bed was a little messy and the bathroom looked like a hurricane had hit it, so she decided it would be best to clean up a bit to help pass the time.
Returning upstairs with the vacuum cleaner, some gloves and a bottle of some industrial cleaner her Mom kept under the sink in the kitchen, Tori set to work on the room. She picked up all the clothes and put them in the laundry basket, then made up the bed neatly. Once the light work was done, she set in to clean the bathroom from top to bottom. She strapped the gloves on and dove in, and a little under thirty minutes later, the room looked brand new. With the last little bits done, she tossed the gloves into the laundry basket and undressed, needing a shower after the intense workout with the chemicals.
Shortly after she had showered and redressed, Tori's Mom came in the front door. Tori went down to greet her and finally have someone to talk to. When she hit the bottom of the stairs, she could see there was something obviously wrong with her Mom. She walked into the kitchen gingerly, and when her Mom heard her coming, she turned on her heel with a bright new smile on her face.
"Hey kiddo, how's your weekend so far?"
"Hey Mom, it's been good. I worked on a paper, caught some TV and just finished cleaning my room."
"Good, it's good to stay busy on days like these. Too many people get depressed from the lack of sunshine and end up wallowing in their beds all day." Tori's Mom gave her wink and a smile, and Tori returned it, but she felt like it was almost in jest due to the knowledge of her mother's admittedly seamless facade.
"I'm thinking pizza for dinner tonight, Mannilino's has a special."
"Sure Mom, that sounds good."
Tori's Mom walked over to the fridge and dialed the number on the takeout flyer that was pinned to the freezer with a magnet. Tori grabbed a couple plates out of the cupboard and set the table. Once her mom got off the phone, she headed upstairs to her room to change out of her work suit, and Tori turned the TV to a local station for the five o'clock news.
"An intrusion at Bank of America Downtown allowed a masked assailant to abscond with an undisclosed amount of cash." the anchorwoman explained, the screen cutting to live footage, courtesy of their field correspondent. "No one was hurt that we know of, we're heading down now to get the latest from KSBW correspondent Annelise Brock."
The words faded to a hum as Tori turned the story out, instead grabbing her PearPhone and loading up The Slap. Five notifications buzzed her upon logging in, the first being a new video from Cat. She had finished one of the designs for Sikowitz' production, and was asking people for their comments. The second was a pic of Sinjin and Burf tearing apart some piece of electronic equipment, although Tori had no idea what it was. The third was relationship change from Beck. Whoa. Tori's eyes opened wide as she did a double take, reading the words three times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Beck Oliver is single. Tori was kind of worried at that point, wondering what could have possibly happened to cause this. Did Jade take her advice and talk to Beck? Did that cause them to break up? She felt sick knowing that she could possibly be to blame for tearing apart an almost three-year relationship. The fourth was a post from Trina holding up a new Kashmir sweater she had picked up in Beverly Hills with Melanie, and the last was what Tori hoped not to see; A relationship change from Jade. Jade West is single.
A few moments later Tori's Mom came down the stairs in a comfy looking evening outfit with her hair up in a ponytail. Tori quickly wiped the fear from her face, not wanting to immediately bring up the topic of failed relationships for obvious reasons. The doorbell rang, which meant the pizza had arrived, so she quickly answered the door and invited the pizza boy inside. Her Mom walked up with a couple twenty-dollar bills and handed them to the boy, telling him to keep the change. He smiled brightly and handed her the pizza boxes, then shuffled off to his car. Tori grabbed a couple napkins from the kitchen and brought them to the table, sitting in her usual spot.
A few bites in, Tori noticed her Mom seemed to be just going through the motions. If she realized Tori was looking at her, she would look up and smile, trying to reassure her daughter that everything was fine, but Tori knew it wasn't all fine. After she finished her slice, she looked at her mom for a second, choosing her words carefully, then spoke.
"Mom, what's happening with you and Dad?"
Tori's Mom's chewing slowed, and she picked up her napkin to dab the corners of her mouth before she swallowed and took a deep breath.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, Tori. I really don't know what's going to happen."
"I heard Dad saying some things the other night when I slipped out the side door."
"Ah, I thought I heard something. I'm sorry you had to hear all of that Tori, it's our fault for not regulating our conversations when you girls are around. That wasn't very adult-like."
"That's fine Mom, I'm just worried about what's going to happen to us."
"Well hon, no matter what happens between your Dad and I, you girls will be staying put. You won't have to change schools or anything like that, I promise."
"That's good and all, I just wish things weren't so difficult."
"You and me both, sweetheart." Tori's mom took a deep breath and huffed it out, grabbing a drink of water. "Your Dad is a worker. He loves his job, he loves his coworkers, the feeling of making people safe, all of it. We did run kind of short financially when you started Hollywood Arts, but your Dad started getting some more overtime to cover for it."
Tori looked at the floor. She quickly remembered her outburst at Trina, blaming her for their Dad's long nights at work over her crazy spending. In the end, it seemed, she was the cause of it. She poked at her pizza, tearing small pieces of cheese off and chewing them slowly. "I blew up at Trina blaming her for it, and it turns out it was my fault."
"Oh no, honey.' Tori's mom seemed like she was about to tear up. "It's not your fault at all. It's not Trina's fault either. Your Dad and I have just kind of...changed over time. Relationships can be difficult, even when you're head over heels in love with someone. It's not one specific thing anyone did, so don't you think this is your fault."
Tori wanted to ask about her Dad's partner, Gary, but she knew it wasn't her place. If her mom wanted to talk about it, she would bring it up. The two finished up their dinner in silence after that, the soft drone of the TV in the background carrying its own conversation. Deciding she was going to try to call Jade, Tori wiped her mouth and slid her chair back, then took her plate into the kitchen and put it in the dishwasher.
"Unfortunately, this seems to be the topic of today, because Jade and Beck broke up, too. I'm gonna go try to give Jade a call and see if she needs anything."
"That's too bad, they're both good kids. If she wants to get out you can bring her here for the night."
"Thanks Mom. Do you need anything? I feel like I should be doing something or at least say something helpful."
Tori's Mom laughed. "It's fine babe, really. Go call Jade."
Tori smiled as warmly as she could and headed upstairs. She crawled up onto her bed, rubbing her eyes and stretching out. The last 2 days had seemed so long, when in reality none of the things that had happened even happened to her. Thinking of all the uncertainty Jade must be mulling over, Tori grabbed her phone and dialed Jade's number. After 6 rings, Tori got the hint that she wasn't going to answer, so she shut her phone and stared at the ceiling. A minute later, she opened the phone back up to a text message.
I saw The Slap, if you want to talk about anything give me a call or something. -Tori
She sent the message to both Jade and Beck, since she was really friends with both of them and didn't want to single just one of them out. Almost instantly Jade replied with "Whatever," and not long after Beck replied with "Thanks Tori, that means a lot. Maybe we can get lunch tomorrow. -Beck"
Obviously, they had very different coping mechanisms.
A beep from her phone notified Tori that Robbie had been selected as the second male lead in Sikowitz' production. She replied a "Congrats!" and laughed a bit, knowing Robbie was probably freaking out. Beck replied after her saying he would head over there tomorrow to help him with his lines. Other than Robbie's good news, not much else seemed to be going on that lazy, rainy Saturday, so Tori decided to put in a movie and relax. She chose "Beautiful Wave" with Aimee Teegarden, and after about thirty minutes the softness of her bed had overcome her, and she dozed off.
The music of the end credits woke her up some hour and a half later, so she grabbed the remote and switched the TV off. She checked her phone and there was nothing but a few location tags on The Slap. Realizing that everyone was probably just gonna stick inside that night, she changed into a comfy pair of Pjs and went downstairs to say goodnight to her Mom.
Hearing voices, Tori stopped at the top of the stairs, listening, even though she felt wrong for doing so. A man's voice was more easily heard, and it wasn't her Dad's. She recognized it as Gary's.
"Why would you tell him without talking to me first?"
"He already knew Holly, what do you want me to say? He knew and was just waiting for me to admit it. I've known the man my entire adult life, he's..."
"Like a brother to you? Sounds really bad considering the situation."
"You're one to talk, it's not like I could have done this by myself."
"Listen Gary, this has already caused enough stress in my family. David is gone, and I don't think he's coming back. The girls are going to be devastated when they find out he's moved out of the house. I don't think you being around when they find out why is the best idea."
"I get it. Call me when the dust settles, we'll work this out."
"Yeah. Goodnight Gary."
Tori heard the door shut and walked downstairs silently. Her mom was standing with her back to the door, hunched over with her hands on the table. Tori walked up behind her and spoke softly.
"So, Dad's not coming home, is he?"
Tori's Mom stood up straight, and when she turned around to look at Tori, her eyes looked heavy with tears. "No sweetheart, he's not."
"I heard what Dad said about Gary last night, I just didn't know he had decided to go."
"Yeah, he said it would be best if we separated, especially if there was ever to be any chance of fixing this."
Tori didn't like the feeling in her gut, but she also didn't know how to describe it. It was a mixture of hurt and fear, and maybe even a little disgust. "Well that's real nice Mom."
"Don't give me that Tori. You know everything isn't black and white. I need someone to help me through this, and you know your sister."
"Yeah Mom? Well I'm gonna need someone to help me through this, and who am I supposed to go to?" Tori turned around and went back upstairs, tears stinging her eyes. She heard her mom sigh slowly, then slammed her bedroom door.
Jade woke from her nap on the porch to her phone buzzing with a text message from Tori. She read it quickly and saw that it was about what happened with Beck, and she didn't want anything to do with that. She sent a quick "whatever" and shut her phone, tipping her head back and closing her eyes for a few more minutes. They stung to keep open from the mixture of stale tears and the chilly wind. Starting to shiver, Jade went inside and grabbed a hoodie from her bedroom, slipping it over her head.
It was getting late, the sun had gone down and she had no other messages of anyone going out to do anything, so she decided to take a hot shower. Jade walked into the bathroom and turned the water on to let it run and get hot, then walked back to her room to strip down and throw her clothes in the laundry basket. She walked over and closed her window, then headed into the shower.
The hot water ran over her head and down her back. Jade leaned forward and put her right palm flat against the wall, letting the jet from the shower head hit her neck and release some tension. The heat really soaked into her skin, turning her pale, porcelain skin a shade of red. After what seemed like twenty minutes of just standing still, she got to work finishing up her shower, washing her hair and body and rinsing off quickly. The water started to cool down, so she hopped out before she lost the heat she had collected.
Jade got dressed again, pulling on some silk Pjs and a light-but-warm hoodie. She kicked back at her desk, spinning around in circles in her chair, doodling on a scrap piece of paper and folding paper airplanes. After about ten minutes, she was already bored to tears. Having just woken up from a long nap, she didn't feel tired enough to go to sleep, but it was dark and rainy outside. Not sure what to do, Jade grabbed her phone and opened a new text message. She found Tori's name in the contacts, thinking that she would be eager to come over and hang out for the night to possibly get on Jade's good side.
Tori didn't answer her phone, so Jade waited twenty minutes, thinking she might be in the shower. During that time Jade checked her Slap page, but all she saw was about a hundred notifications saying sorry about her break-up. Not interested in reading half-hearted apologies from a bunch of acquaintances, she shut her laptop and leaned back in her chair. Thinking enough time had passed, Jade called Tori again, but there was still no answer. It was unlike the annoyingly nice, bronze-skinned girl to not answer her phone, even when Jade was being mean to her, so Jade actually felt a little worried. She sent a text message instead, hoping Tori would respond when she saw it.
Hey Vega, just wanted to see if you were doing anything. Maybe we could watch another movie or something? Call me. -Jade
A couple of minutes later, Jade's phone vibrated with the reply she'd been waiting for.
Leave me alone Jade. I need a real friend right now, not someone who only wants me around to make her feel better when she's upset.
Jade felt an anvil of guilt slam the bottom of her gut, making her feel like she might even throw up. She wasn't one to feel bad about the way people reacted to her brashness, but for some reason Tori was different to her. She didn't like her at all when Tori first started Hollywood Arts, strutting in like she owned the place. It seemed like everything was so easy for her. Even when Jade went over to her house with the rest of the group, her parents were always really nice and offered excellent hospitality, always making sure Tori's friends had everything they needed. But when Jade learned that her household wasn't as perfect as it seemed, she happened to develop a soft spot for the fragile girl. It didn't stop Jade from being mean to her, cause that's just who she was, but she did find herself being less harsh to Tori than a few months prior.
Something was wrong, and it wasn't sitting right with Jade. She knew that if the circumstances were turned, Tori would do something to help her out. She had offered her help earlier in the day with the Beck situation, but Jade of course slapped her hand away as she always did. The weird thing wasn't that she felt guilty about being mean to Tori, it was that she legitimately felt worried about the girl. Jade didn't know how to feel about that. Her other friends had all had problems before, and Jade of course felt for them, but not like this. This was an instinctive feeling, almost protective. She felt like she needed to go to Tori's house and scoop her up, remove her from whatever situation was making her feel bad. This feeling didn't really sit well with Jade, not because she didn't like it or want it, but because she had never felt it before, and it was powerful.
After sitting around for another fifteen minutes, Jade couldn't take the feeling in the pit of her stomach, so she grabbed her keys and headed to the front door. Jade's Mom was standing at the island in the kitchen, eating slices of a Cucumber while reading a case file she had sprawled out over the counter top. She realized Jade had keys in hand, and commanded Jade to stop through a mouthful of vegetable.
"Where are you going? It's almost nine o'clock and the roads are bad."
"I'm going to see a friend."
"Who, Beck?"
"No Mother, Beck and I broke up."
"That's a shame, he's a handsome guy."
"Good news for you, he seems to be into older women lately. Why don't you go see if he'll take you out?"
"Don't talk to me like that, Jade."
"Whatever, I'm leaving."
Jade's Mom picked her snack back up and continued reading her report while Jade crossed into the mud room and slipped her shoes on.
The drive to Tori's was slow going because of the high winds and rain. Leaves sticking to the windshield made it hard for Jade to see, so she had to do a little under the speed limit to stay safe. Once she found Tori's place she parked on the side of the road and ran up to the door, trying to stay as dry as possible. She knocked on the door, putting her hands in her pockets as she waited for someone to answer.
Tori's Mom answered the door, and her somber expression quickly turned to confusion as she ushered Jade inside.
"Well geez little lady, what are you doing out in this storm?"
"Hey, I came to see Tori. Is she here?"
"Yeah, she's upstairs, but I think she might be sleeping. You can go check if you want."
"Thanks Mrs. Vega."
Jade headed up the stairs and to the second door on the right, which she knew to be Tori's room. She knocked softly, and when didn't hear a response, she opened the door slowly and peeked in.
"I don't feel like talking about this Mom" Tori said in almost a whisper, sitting in her desk chair facing the window.
"Hey Tori, it's Jade." Jade walked into the room and shut the door behind her, standing as close to it as she could while she waited for Tori to respond.
"What do you want Jade? I already told you I'm not in the mood for your shit."
"Take it easy Vega, I just came to see if you were okay."
"Oh, like you care so much."
"As a matter of fact, I do. You've grown on me lately."
"Well let me show you how excited I am" Tori snapped mockingly, crossing her arms over her chest in the American sign language symbol for love.
"Jesus Tori you sound like me, what's your issue? You were fine this morning."
"Why should I bother telling you, Jade? So you can comfort me for one night then pretend it didn't happen the next day? So you can do something nice to make yourself feel good and then go back to being a bitch?"
Jade's face felt hot, and she subconsciously grabbed the door handle to leave the room.
"That's right Jade, leave. I know you went through some stuff earlier with your Beck breakup, so I'm sorry for not being so gracious right now, but we all have bad things happen in our lives. The only difference with you is you expect everyone to be there for you all the time, and expect to be able to offer your support to us only when you want to. That's not good enough. Friendship isn't a part time deal."
Tori finally turned away from the window and looked Jade full in the face, only to see that she had tears on her cheeks. She didn't expect it, and it threw her off balance a little. Forgetting her tirade, Tori walked slowly over to Jade, who turned towards the door to hide her face while she wiped her tears away.
"I really did want us to be able to help each other out, since our situations are similar, but the truth is I don't know how to be a good a friend." Jade made eye contact with Tori and quickly looked away, too ashamed to hold the gaze of those whiskey-colored irises.
"Jade..." Tori stepped forward and grabbed Jade, bringing her into a hug. After a couple seconds Jade unfurled her arms and wrapped them gingerly around Tori's waist, breathing quickly. Tori pulled back for a second and looked Jade in the eyes, searching the ocean blue for a sign of how to unlock Jade's inner beauty for good. Jade took in a raspy breath, blinking quickly as tears fell in rapid succession, her bottom lip quivering with each breath. Tori couldn't help but think Jade was the most beautiful creature in existence at that very moment. Such a strong woman in a moment of weakness, a completely broken shell that exposed a deeply buried pearl. Tori crushed her body against Jade's, squeezing her as if her life depended on it. Jade took the forcefulness as a sign of camaraderie, and wrapped her arms fully around Tori, burying her face into her neck, and gave in.
The heat between the two girls was intense. Shallow breaths almost like panting eventually gave way to deep, cleansing breaths as each woman spilled tears onto the others shoulder. When it seemed like they may fall asleep if they didn't move, Tori ran her fingers through Jade's hair and took half a step back, smiling weakly into her eyes. Jade returned the smile in kind, slowly dragging her fingers over Tori's back and she brought her arms in to her sides.
Tori felt much better after sharing such a strong moment with someone, and the fact it was Jade made it even more special. It seemed like in the space of the hug, a lot of things between them got resolved, but Tori wasn't naive; she knew it would be foolish to trust Jade completely right off the bat, but she didn't want to think about that now. She watched Jade step lightly to the side and put her hand on the doorknob, getting ready to retreat downstairs.
A few things happened at once: First, Tori realized Jade was about to leave. Second, she realized that she didn't want Jade to leave, and third, she reached out and grabbed Jade's free hand with one of her own. Lastly, as she held Jade's hand, she understood that something had happened between the two of them. The moment they shared seemed as simple as two friends comforting each other, but there was something else there. Tori didn't know how to explain it, she just knew that she didn't want the raven-haired girl to leave. She'd figure out the rest later.
"Hey Jade, you can stay here tonight if you want. Tomorrow is Sunday, and you look like you're already ready for bed." Tori joked, looking down at Jade's pajama bottoms, which she curiously noticed hugged her curves in all the right places.
"Oh...okay. Sure." Jade smiled at Tori, looking down at their hands coupled together. She swore she could almost feel an electricity running through their entangled fingers, and as soon as she zeroed in on the feeling, Tori followed her eyes to their hands and quickly removed hers, leaving Jade strangely longing for it back. The two girls looked at each other, and Tori giggled a little, mostly out of tension, and the girls put more space in-between them.
Tori walked over to the TV and turned it on, restarting the DVD she had put in earlier and climbed into bed. Jade stood rooted in her spot, looking around the room.
"Do you have any extra blankets in here? I'll make a spot on the floor."
"Don't be silly, you can sleep in my bed. It's plenty big enough."
Jade smiled and headed to the other side and crawled in next to Tori. The movie started and she reached over to shut the light off. The girls laid in silence watching the movie for a little while, until Tori felt Jade roll over and snuggle up next to her. She looked down and saw that Jade was fast asleep with her arm stretched over her mid-section. Tori lifted her arm out slowly and draped it over Jade's shoulders, stretching and snuggling down into her, and was asleep herself within minutes.