Disclaimer: I don't own Instant Star.

A/N: Let me know what you think.

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Title: Tied to a Dream

Summary: Sequel to We All Need Somebody. Jude is slowly dealing with Tommy's leaving. But what happens when the man who raped Jude escapes from jail and seeks revenge? Will that be enough to bring Tommy home? Or will Jude have to deal with him herself?

Chapter One: Waking Up

Rating: T

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Jude didn't speak as Jake took her by the hand, leading her towards his Jeep in the school parking lot. She shivered, getting inside the car. Jake quickly started the car, turning the heat on full blast. The day had moved by in a daze, as did most of Jude's days. She breathed a sigh of relief. Jude felt it was hard to breathe while in school. She had to force smiles so that no one suspected she were depressed, or crazy. But inside she felt like she was both. And although Jude didn't know it, the only person who realized this was Jake.

The ten minute car ride seemed to drag on forever as they sat there in utter silence. Jake was sometimes resistant to speak. There were times when he'd accidentally spoken the wrong words, sending Jude into an emotional wreck.

When they got out of the car, Jude followed Jake inside his house and to his bedroom. She sat on his bed and stared absent-mindedly at the wall. She took off her winter hat and dropped it on the floor. As hard as it was to form words, Jude felt that the easiest place to be was wherever Jake was. She could sit with him forever without speaking and still feel safe and comforted.

Jake dropped his backpack on the floor and sat beside her. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. It had been four months since Tommy left, and Jude was still the same pit of emptiness she'd turned into on that day.

A lot of times Jude would talk. And for hours. But only to Jake. She even smiled genuinely in his presence. It was when she was away from him that she couldn't find any shred of happiness.

"Hungry?" Jake asked. There was no danger in that question. Plus, Jake was an excellent cook. He cooked for his little brothers all the time, since their parents were neglectful. The only problem was Jake already knew the answer. Jude barely touched food these days.

Jude shook her head. She wasn't anorexic or anything, she just ate when she was hungry. It just happened that she wasn't hungry all that often. Jake scanned his mind for another un-harmful question or statement. He was surprised when she spoke first.

"Want to build a snowman?" Jude asked, turning her head to look out the window. It had begun to snow out. Though there was already plenty of snow on the ground.

"Sure," Jake smiled, picking up her hat. "But it's freezing out so bundle up."

Jude took her hat from him and put it back onto her head. Besides Jude's hat, they hadn't taken off anything, so they headed downstairs and outside. Jake knelt down on the snow, attempting to gather a bunch of it together when he felt something hit his back. He turned around to see Jude standing there, her gloves covered with white evidence.

Jake grabbed a handful of snow and stood up, facing Jude. He rubbed it into a firm snowball and raised his arm, "If I was you… I'd run."

Jude turned, trudging through the snow and making her way around Jake's house. She ran into his backyard and climbed underneath his porch, which was only a little bit taller than her. Jake came into sight a few seconds later. He spotted her under the porch and made his way towards her. She looked at his gloved hands. They were empty.

"Hey-" Jude began, but was cut off when Jake tackled her playfully to the ground. "Oof!"

"That's what you get when you throw snow at Jake Reynolds." Jake informed her, as they both sat up.

"You deserved it," Jude joked, resting her head on his shoulder. "Can we stay under here forever?"

"If you wish to freeze to death at age eighteen, than sure." Jake replied.

"How about for a little while then?" Jude bargained, looking up at him.

"I have no plans."

Neither did Jude. The only place she went to was school and that was done for the day. After Tommy left, she quit music for good. Darius tried contacting her for a while, but she would never speak to him. There were plenty of other career choices. Sure, none of them were her dream, but her dreams had already been crushed.

Her mother became upset with her, telling her not to throw her life away over some guy. Sadie hardly understood, telling Jude that she was too good for Tommy anyway. Her father pretended to understand, keeping his true opinions to himself. Jude avoided her family, afraid that they would speak the name she couldn't stand to hear. Jake knew better, and although he had a lot to say when it came to Tommy, he knew it was better to keep it inside.

Jude stayed over Jake's until the sun had completely gone down. She figured it was time to eat dinner with her family and get some homework done. Jake walked her to her door, kissing her forehead and making her promise to call him later. When she got inside, she was thankful for the heat that embraced her frigid skin. She instantly missed Jake and turned back towards the door.

"Jude?" her mother's voice called from the kitchen. She could hear the sound of silverware against plates.

Jude sighed, dropping her hand from the doorknob. She made her way to the kitchen, "Hey."

"We just started eating dear," her mother said. "It's still hot."

Jude sat down, staring at the dishful of spaghetti in front of her. Her mother needed to learn to give her smaller portions. There was no way she could force that all down. She glanced at Sadie who was hidden behind a newspaper.

"Sadie please put that away at the dinner table." Ms. Harrison asked.

"It's for homework. I need to do a summary on three articles." Sadie complained, looking at her mother. "It's like they think college kids have nothing better to do."

Jude's eyes scanned the front of the paper and she almost choked when she read the headline. Sadie and Ms. Harrison both stared at Jude as she coughed.

"Sweetie?"

Sadie turned the paper over and looked at the front page, "Little Tommy Q's brother escapes from prison..."

Jude shuddered at the name.

"…Brian Quincy, older brother of Tommy Q from Boyz Attack, escaped from Kingston Penitentiary of Kingston, Ontario Wednesday night. He is wanted for three murders that followed shortly after the escape…blah blah blah." Sadie stopped reading, glancing at Jude. "See, none of the Quincy's are any good."

Jude shot up from her seat and darted out of the kitchen. She ran upstairs and into her bedroom, slamming the door shut. Was it so hard for people to understand that she didn't want to hear the names 'Tommy' or 'Quincy' ever again? Jude fell onto her bed, burying her head in her pillow. Tommy was gone and he wasn't coming back…

Jude rolled onto her back, her eyes opening widely. Wanted for murder? Three murders? She suddenly realized what Sadie had read from the article. Brian was loose and had supposedly committed three murders within two days.

Jude's sighed rolling back onto her stomach and closing her eyes. When would her life ever go back to normal…