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"I want to help her!" Jade hissed, pacing back and forth in the bedroom. It was a familiar scene in the room. A week had passed since she'd talked to the redhead about helping, and she still didn't know what to do.
"You can't help her if she won't let you." Tori gave back, bored. "Can we stop having this conversation over and over again? It's driving me nuts." The singer couldn't even muster up the enthusiasm to yell anymore.
"I'm looking out for her, but it doesn't seem like it's enough!" The singer rolled her eyes at the theatrics, before sighing. The conversation was never going to end.
"What're you gonna do next? Beat up her dad?" Tori drawled, the lack of enthusiasm dragging through the syllables.
"Maybe I should." The pale girl mumbled through her hands, currently pressed against her face. She fell into a chair and booted up her computer. "Homework is such a waste of time. I could be killing daddy." Jade mumbled, before looking down at her work.
"Should've done it earlier, like I did." Tori smirked, rolling over to reach for her phone as it buzzed.
"Whatever." Slowly, Tori's smirk slid off her face and in its place was a look of fear.
"I…need to get some water. I'll be right back." With that, the singer flounced down the stairs.
"Again, whatever."
"Cat?" Tori whispered, slipping out the front door. The tiny redhead sat, shivering, on the porch steps. The left side of her swollen face was mottled with bruises and she was clutching at her side, wheezing. Her t-shirt was ripped, and she wasn't wearing any shoes. The singer crouched in front of her, before draping her hoodie gently around the girl's shoulders, and slipping Cat's feet into a pair of shoes she had snatched from the front closet. The redhead tipped her head gently forward onto Tori's shoulder as she started to cry, whimpering in pain. "I need to call Jade. We need to take you to the hospital." Tori said gently, taking out her phone.
"No, don'." The redhead slurred, her words swirling together. "Don' wan' her to see me like this."
"Cat, you don't have a choice. It looks like your wrist is broken, your face is swollen and you might have a concussion. You might have some broken ribs, too." Tori peered at the girl, worried.
"You take me." Cat mumbled, almost unintelligibly.
"I can't. I don't have a driver's license, remember?" The singer spoke gently, calmly, careful to not alarm the girl. The redhead sat for a while, then sighed.
"Fine."
"She seems to have a concussion, so I'm gonna have to keep her here for a couple of days; just for observation. She's got a hairline fracture in her right wrist, and two broken ribs. There was some haemorrhaging in her abdomen, but nothing serious, so we've just put her on fluids to make sure her blood pressure doesn't drop too low. Other than that, we've iced her face since it seems that her jaw is bruised, and I'm gonna be honest with you; should I be calling the police?" The doctor looked up from his clipboard, surveying the two teenage girls in front of him. It was Tori who spoke first.
"Look, why don't you page Dr. Daniels from the psychiatric department and get her down here, she'll do an evaluation of Cat and then we'll decide whether or not she needs to call the police, okay?" The singer reassured the medical practitioner. He nodded, before heading to reception.
"You two can go in a visit her now. I'd be careful. She seems a little jumpy." The doctor added, before he left.
"Hey." Jade murmured, as she sat down beside the bed. Tori had gone to speak with Dr. Daniels outside for a moment. "I'm sorry we didn't think to get you out of there before this." The Goth gently slipped a hand into the redhead's.
"S'okay, Jade. You didn't know." Cat turned her head gingerly to look at Jade. There was a seriousness in her eyes that wasn't usually there. It pierced through the Goth like a needle, and for a moment the fear that Cat's innocence was gone burned viciously in her chest.
"No, it's not. You were in a dangerous situation. We should've gotten you out ASAP." Jade shook her head, looking helplessly at the purple that had blossomed against the other girl's skin.
"What's that mean? As soon as pickles?" The redhead frowned, confused. There was a moment of silence, before Jade started chuckling. There was apparently no need to worry about Cat's innocence.
"No. As soon as possible, Cat." The Goth smiled as she handed her a cup of water. "Thirsty?"
"Mmhm. How did you know? Best friend ever." Cat shuffled up into a sitting position gingerly, before accepting the cup in her left hand and sipping from it slowly.
"You know, I can't tell if you're on pain meds or if you're just being your normal self." Tori chuckled, striding to Cat's bedside. "How're you feeling?" She asked gently, peering at the redhead.
"Um…the painkillers are great." Cat smiled dreamily, before handing the cup back to Jade. The two girls chuckled.
"I'm sure they are." Jade smiled sadly, looking at the petite girl's bruised face.
"Don't be sad, Jade." The small girl placed a hand gently on her friend's arm. "I'll be out of here in no time and then we can hang out, even though you don't like to hang out."
"We'll definitely hang out." The Goth mustered up a smirk. "Love you, baby girl."
"Love you more." Cat grinned, and they touched rings. When the two girls got up to leave, the redhead cleared her throat. "Hold on, Tori. Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure." Tori looked at Jade.
"Yeah, I'll be right outside." The Goth smiled and let herself out. Tori approached the bed, a puzzled look on her face.
"What's up?" The singer sat down beside the bed. After a long silence, Cat finally spoke.
"I don't wanna go back anymore, Tor." She whispered harshly, her eyes welling with tears. Tori placed a hand soothingly on her arm. She thought for a moment, then replied.
"Look. I talked to my psychiatrist, and she's gonna come down and talk to you tomorrow. If you want, Jade and I can be here with you; we both know her really well. And then we can talk about that. I'm sorry I can't tell you anything yet, but I don't have all the answers and I still have some questions, myself." The singer spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. "One thing that's for sure is that either Jade and I can stay with you though, if you don't want to spend the night alone here. And we both love you like crazy. So if there's anything you need, we'll get it for you." Tori reassured, slipping her hand into the other girl's. "Except for bibble." She grinned, then sobered up. "But always remember that none of this is your fault, Cat. None of it." At that, the redhead filled with tears again. After hastily wiping them away, she spoke.
"Do you think you can ask Jade to stay with me tonight?" Cat mumbled, wiping away a stray tear. Tori smiled.
"Of course. I think she would love to." The half-Latina squeezed Cat's hand gently and got up. "I'll go get her." With that, the singer made her way to the door.
"Tor?" The weak voice called out, and Tori turned around.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks." The singer smiled.
"No thanks needed, Cat. Just doing our jobs looking out for you."