A/N: Spring Break! Woohoo! I don't own Instant Star.
Chapter 3: Absolution
Tommy dropped Jude as if she burned his skin and she fell hard on her ass. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to play with your food?" Kwest said with a smirk. Jude glared daggers at Kwest as Tommy helped her up apologetically. "Nique ta mere!" Tommy muttered under his breath. "I heard that!" Kwest said. "Bon." Tommy replied with a smirk of his own. "Do you really want a repeat of last time? Rome. Fire. Ringing any bells?" Kwest said with a stony expression. "What are you talking about?" Sadie said looking from Kwest to Tommy. "Sadie let's go; I think I've had all the testosterone I can take." Jude said as she tugged Sadie towards the door. "I'll see you in your dreams Jude." Tommy said with a slight nod of his head. "Call me." Kwest pantomimed with his hand. Sadie rolled her eyes one moment and the next thing she knew she and Jude magically found themselves outside the doors of the club being ushered into a taxi cab. "Weird." Sadie and Jude said at the same time.
"So you and whathisname seemed to hit it off." Jude said to Sadie with a playful shove. "Ditto little sis." Sadie said. "What?! No. I was really embarrassing. If I weren't actually me I would have been embarrassed for me. It was horrible. I was completely and totally…" Jude said. "Oh my God! You like him! You want to kiss him, you want to hug him…Ugh I don't feel so good…" Sadie said before she proceeded to vomit all over my shoes. Like a good sister I held her hair back. The cab driver merely looked over his shoulder in disgust, but not in surprise. When we reached our apartment, he waved away our money saying that it had already been taken care of.
Jude carefully dumped Sadie on the couch before she picked up the mail that was haphazardly strewn on the floor by the door. Sadie groaned. Jude quickly ran for the garbage, but was too late as Sadie puked all over the side of the couch. Jude soaked a cloth and began to wipe her sister's face. When she was done she cleaned up the puke and went back to the mail. "Sadie I thought you said you paid this month's rent! What'd you do with the money?!" Jude said. "Food, heat, cable, phone,…I think I'm gonna be sick again!" Sadie said wearily, but only managed to dry heave as Jude placed the garbage next to Sadie. The lights began to flicker and then shut off. "I'll get a job Sadie." Jude said. "No, I promised mom and dad that I would take care of you when they died. And you have school." Sadie said. "It's time I should help out. And as for the other thing I was dropped from my classes because we couldn't pay." Jude said. "Oh crap was tuition due again?" Sadie said. "A month ago, Sades. It's okay I was failing anyway." "Oh Jude." Sadie said barely able to keep her eyes open. "It's fine Sadie; we'll figure things out. Just sleep it off. I love you sis." Jude said as she kissed her sisters brow. Sadie began to lightly snore as Jude draped a blanket over her huddled form on the couch and threaded her way to the door making sure it was locked before she took a seat on the beat up lazy boy they had found on the side of the road. It had taken both of them to drag it all the way up to their walk up apartment. Now that she thought about it most of their furniture was from the kindness of strangers. She wanted to sleep in her own bed, but she didn't want to leave Sadie alone in case she needed her. She put up the feet rest of the chair and yawned before she shut her eyes.
When she opened her eyes she was definitely not in her living room. She was wearing an antique looking dress that looked like it was out Pride and Prejudice. She looked around her for the first time and noticed that she was among a crowd of similarly dressed people. They looked through her as if she wasn't there. She threaded her way to the front and jumped when she heard a loud crack. She winced as she watched the lash fall on someone's back again and again. There were red lines all over his back with rivulets of blood glistening on his back. Not once did he cry out. A man, woman, and a boy who looked about 16 or 17 sat on a throne. "50 lashes for your punishment my prince." the queen said coolly to her son who looked in boredom at the prostate form whose back looked like it had been split open from shoulder blade to the lowest part of his exposed back. Every inch of his skin had been kissed by the whip. Jude slowly walked over to the too familiar form. Her blood froze when she saw who it was. He looked just as surprised as she did. "Ma cherie I said I would be visiting your dreams, but it seems that you have stumbled upon mine." he said wincing.
Just then the scene around them vanished and they were standing next to a lake. The sky was a hazy purple. "It felt so real." she said. He stood up straight and nearly cried out from the pain. "You're hurt." she said immediately going to his side. She supported his weight as best she could and led him to the small house that was only ten yards away.
When she got him inside she sat him on a wooden stool by a small table. She saw a pitcher of water on the table and grabbed a cloth. She was a whirl of activity. "Jude stop. I'm fine. Really." he said as he took the cloth from her hands. "Cross my heart." he said. Jude made a rude sound as if she didn't believe him. "Take a look." he said. She walked to the back of him to inspect his back. His back was perfectly smooth with white lines that criss crossed over his skin. He was healed. She tentatively put a hand on his back and began to trace the lines there. He let out a sigh, letting the tension leak out of his body, and gave in to her touch. "You're perfect." she said in astonishment. He coughed trying to suppress his laughter. "You're perfectly fine. I mean you're healed." she said annoyed at her babbling. He smiled and suddenly she didn't care that he was babbling. They stared at each other waiting for the other to speak that they ended up speaking at the same time. "You first." he said sheepishly. "I'm in need of a job." she said. Tommy scratched his head. "Forget it." she said getting up to leave. "Wait ma cherie. I was thinking. You can work as a bartender at the club; I own it. And you can be the opening act of my show." he said worried about her reaction. "Wait, you own the club. And I thought your band was going on a nation wide tour." she said. "I changed my mind." he said perfectly serious. "Just like that." she said. "Mais oui." he said. "Why." she said out loud, but in her head she was really asking why a complete stranger would go out of his way to help her. Lucky for him he could read her thoughts. "Because." he said. "Because is not a reason." she said placing her hands on her hips. "We will have to trust each other sooner or later, ma cherie." he said. "That's what friends do. They help one another." he said offering his hand. She shook his hand wondering what she just unwittingly agreed to.