A/N: I'm sorry this is taking so long; back to school is crazy for me. Not gonna make any excuses, just apologizing for how long this is taking.
They're right, you know. It'll be your fault if she's dead. It was all Tori could think about in the car, with her head against the window. Rain pounded heavily against the car, but the singer could only stare blankly ahead, lost in thoughts. You know they're right. A stray tear slipped its way down her cheek, and she looked down, surprised when it landed on her thigh. Suddenly, Jade was gripping her arm.
"Tori!" She snapped, shaking the singer's arm slightly. "Zone out much?"
"S-s-sorry. What did you –"
"—I asked for Cat's address. I can't remember it off the top of my head." The Goth was exasperated. "You know what, never mind. I'll know it when I see it." Tori shook her head again to clear it, shaken.
"Um…it should be just up ahead." She gestured. "Yeah, take a left here."
"Yeah. Alright. I see it." The Goth nodded curtly, pulling up to the curb a couple of houses down.
"Why'd you stop here?" The singer was befuddled.
"So her loser dad doesn't destroy my car if he happens to be in a bad mood." Jade rolled her eyes and got out of the car. "Come on, dreamboat. Let's go." The Goth dragged Tori along with her, marching right up to the door and ringing the doorbell. There was scuffling, and what sounded like very faint crying, and then the door cracked open.
"Who is it?" A gruff voice came from behind the door. A man glared out suspiciously from the crack.
"Hi, I'm Tori. And this is Jade. We're looking for Cat cause…we..." Tori's voice trailed off.
"…need to finish a project that's due tomorrow and we're very behind. So how about you open the door and let us take Cat?" Jade finished her sentence rather aggressively, crossing her arms defiantly.
"No, Cat can't leave the house tonight, sorry." The man made to shut the door, but Jade shoved a boot between the door and the jamb.
"And I'm afraid I can't take no for an answer." The pale girl smirked derisively to his face. "Now open the door and let us talk to Cat." She said through clenched teeth. Tori placed a hand warningly on the other girl's arm. "What?" Jade hissed to her. The singer shook her head, lowering her head.
"Look. Cat can't leave the house. So whatever project you're doing you're going to have to do without her." The man yanked the door, trying to crush the Goth's foot. Jade narrowed her eyes.
"No, you look, mister. I don't care who the fuck you are, I am not doing any more work than necessary. Lucky for you, I'm wearing steel-toed boots and have a high pain tolerance. So why don't you drop your little tough guy act and let me see my dear friend?" Jade wrenched the door from his hand, letting it swing open.
"Jade, no." Tori whimpered, scared for her life. She could see the anger boiling in the man's eyes.
"Who the fuck do you think you are, you little shit?" The man's voice was deadly quiet, fists clenched at his sides. He was a good head taller than Jade, but the Goth refused to stand down.
"I thought we covered this already. She's Tori, and I'm Jade. Are you...a little slow?" A mocking grin spread across the raven-haired girl's face as she taunted him. The man roared, grabbing at her. Jade moved easily out of the way, side-stepping him to enter his house. "Oh look, now I'm in your house. CAT!" The Goth yelled, her voice projecting throughout the building. It was a moment, before the redhead slowly appeared around the corner.
"Whatti?" The petite singer had a black eye, her face was, once again, swollen, and she had her arms wrapped around her body, doubled over in pain. "Jade." She rasped, limping towards the Goth. "Daddy, no!" Jade whipped her head around, and was greeted with the sight of the redhead's father gripping Tori by the neck. The Latina gasped for air, her legs dangling as she tried to kick the man.
"Get in the car, Cat." Jade muttered, handing her the keys. Edging slowly around her father, the redhead scurried as fast as her injuries would allow her, practically diving into the car. Turning around, Jade faced the man. There was a loud choking noise as Tori gasped again. "Listen, Mr. Valentine. I know you don't want to hurt Tori. So why don't you let her go, and we won't call the police." The Goth wiggled the phone in front of his eyes. There was a short silence, then a sadistic grin spread across the man's face.
"You're wrong. I do want to hurt Tori." Chuckling, he threw Tori to the ground. The singer cried out as she hit the grass, hard, landing on her back. Roaring, Jade pounced, grabbing the man's legs and tackling him to the ground. Sitting on his abdomen, she reached into her boot and pulled out a pair of scissors, pressing the tip into the flesh of his neck.
"Give me another reason." She hissed, applying pressure. He grunted as the tip dug into his throat. "Just give me another goddamned, fucking reason and I swear I'll do it." She breathed. Slowly, he put his hands out in surrender. "That's what I thought. After I get up, you do not follow me, or these scissors go straight into your neck. I'm sure you don't want me to demonstrate how accurately I can throw a blade. Do you hear me?" Jade asked, laying out her terms. Cat's father nodded slowly, and Jade got up, keeping the tip trained on him, never turning her back. She helped Tori up carefully and walked backwards to the car, always watching him. He waited until they got into the car, then slowly shuffled back into the house.
"You okay, Tor?" Jade started the car and quickly drove away, heading straight for the hospital.
"Yeah, I don't think anything's broken." The singer winced, taking a quick inventory again.
"What about you, Cat?" The Goth called to the girl in the backseat. "Cat?" She called again, when there was no reply. "Shit." Jade slammed her foot down on the accelerator and sped towards the hospital.
"It was a good thing you got her here when you did." The doctor shook his head as he scribbled on his clipboard. "It looks like Ms. Valentine's got a severe concussion this time, as well as four broken ribs, a spiral fracture in her left forearm, and a crushed trachea. I also iced her bruised jaw and stitched up some wounds on her hands from broken glass. There was also some internal bleeding in the abdomen, nothing serious enough to require surgery, and I've set two broken fingers. As for Ms. Vega, it looks like she'll be fine. We checked for any broken bones and there weren't any, so it looks like she's got a sprained wrist and a bruised back. You can go in to see Ms. Valentine, but I think I'm going to call the police, Ms. West." The doctor shook his head again, turning to get to the receptionist.
"Wait!" Jade grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. He turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Let me do it." She said sombrely, pulling out her phone. "Thanks for fixing them up, doc." She smiled sadly, before dialling the number of the local police station. After a brief conversation with a detective that was friends with her mom, she made her way into Cat's room. Tori was sitting at her bedside, her right arm folded close to her body. "Hey." Jade murmured, leaning against the doorjamb. The singer smiled, and her eyes flickered across the Goth's face, before she frowned.
"What's up?" Tori made to get up, but Jade waved her back into her seat. The actress made her way over to the bed and sat down in a chair beside Tori. "Hey." A warm hand slipped into hers and the Goth looked up. "None of this is your fault." Jade sighed, and leaned her head back tiredly.
"I should've done all of this earlier." The Goth huffed, frustrated.
"Jade. Look at me." Tori said firmly letting go of her hand. "Jade." Sighing, emerald eyes lifted, staring into amber ones. "It's not your fault the man beat Cat. It's not your fault he threw me across his yard. It's all his fault. None of this is your fault. Do you understand?" Jade surveyed her for a while, head tilted, before finally nodding and letting her eyes slide over to the redhead occupying the bed.
"Is she…"
"Doctor says she'll be okay in a couple of days, she just needs to rest right now." The singer reassured, shifting uncomfortably. "Meanwhile, you should maybe call your mom and tell her where we are." The actress nodded, before slipping from the room again to make another call. Tori sighed, leaning back to find a less painful position to sit in. After observing Cat for a little bit, she spoke. "I hope you know that we're sorry we came too late. And that Jade and I will never let your dad come near you again." She murmured, looking dejectedly at her friend.