Okay, so part of the reason it's taking me so long to get chapters out is because I want to keep stuff from the original version of the story. The other part is that I just haven't been able to sit down and write.

In any case, the majority of this chapter is recycled stuff, but it goes deeper into Jade's actions toward everyone around her. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take too long to get out, but we'll see where that goes.

Leave a review telling me what you think!

-Sky


"Chapter 3 – Bad Reputation"

"You took a part of me you took a part of me; I knew you'd take up all of me with no apologies. You can't out run a bad reputation. If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead." – Joel Faviere

She was cold.

Everything around her felt distant and vague, like she couldn't piece herself together with the world. She wanted to open her eyes, but she couldn't move her body.

A gust of wind washed over her and caused her to tremble, finally allowing her to open her eyes. She awoke in an empty, white room, dressed in clothes as pale as her skin on an unfamiliar bed. Looking around, she saw a black door contrasting the blinding walls. She wanted to get off the bed to inspect the door, but piercing cries stopped her from doing so. She covered her ears to block out what seemed to be babies crying. She tried to pull her knees to her chest, but a grotesquely bulbous stomach halted her. Looking down in shock, her body felt heavy and it grew harder to breathe.

Then she felt a sharp kick that cracked her ribcage.

She screamed out in pain, fear consuming her. She pressed herself against the wall behind her, holding her stomach. Though she continued to scream, the ominous black door at the edge of the room flew open and slammed against the wall with a deafening crack.

She jumped at the sound, her mouth agape as she gasped for air. The pain was starting to blur her vision, but she vaguely made out a man in the doorway after a flash of lightning. She couldn't make out his features, but she could definitely see the off-green color of his shirt and the dark green—or was it brown?—of his pants.

She must have met his eyes.

The sharp kick in her womb continued, and she fought to breathe. Her arms shot out to the bed and she gripped the sheets, trying not to scream or look away from the man in the doorway.

Something told her to never look away.

She began to claw at her neck in the hopes that it would help her breathe, but the figure stood beside her in another flash and wrapped his hands around her throat. Suddenly close to him, she met his cold, blue-green eyes as the burned into her. He shook her roughly, slamming her head against the headboard. She tried to cry out, but she couldn't make a sound. And though she tried, it only made the grip of his large, burly hands tighten.

The lack of air and the blows to her head began to take their toll on her and her vision darkened. Soon, it failed her and she could only see darkness.

But as the figure raised her one last time, his face exploded into her sight and she could finally know who he was.

Jade awoke in a cold sweat and a loud shriek as she shot up in her bed.

Her heart beat quickly as her chest heaved. Her eyes frantically darted around the room, unable to register the purple walls with black molding that surrounded her. She still only saw white.

She heard her name in a muffled distance, and she screamed again, clenching her eyes shut tightly, when a hand touched her bare arm. She lashed out, ripping her arm away. Her arms flew around in a flurry as she swatted at her supposed attacker and her feet collided with skin as she kicked around with as much force as she could.

"Jade," Beck called calmly, his voice strained as he tried to fend off her blows. He tried to grab at her arms while staying calm. It would take longer to settle her if he were to yell. Her arms lashed out at him, landing blows to his face and shoulders. And in the flurry, he managed to pull her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Jade, it's okay," he breathed soothingly as she tried to pull away from him, still trapped in her nightmare.

After a few more seconds of struggling, she finally settled.

As she opened her eyes, the purple of her walls calmed her slightly and brought her back to reality. Panting heavily, she buried her face into her fiancé's shoulder, holding the back of his head with both hands.

That was the third time this week.

She'd had the same nightmare since the twins had been born, but it had only become more frequent in the past month. Every night, she would dream, tossing and turning wildly. And when it took her over, she would shoot up in her bed and terrorize Beck. She was glad that he was there to calm her down, but she knew that it was starting to take a toll on him as well.

Because she couldn't sleep peacefully, neither could he. He walked with a sluggish stumble, his hair styled messily and lazily. He didn't get irritable like she did when she'd missed out on sleep and her morning cup of coffee, but his near-zombiefied state worried her.

She needed to put an end to this nightmare.

But she'd be damned if she went to a stupid therapist. She was her mother's daughter down to the core, and her mother always said "What happens in this house, stays in this house," so Jade would never bring anyone else into her drama. She hated herself for getting Beck, Cat, and Robbie involved with her Liam drama, but now they were part of her house. Unless any of them decided to pursue psychology, a therapist never would be.

She had to figure this out herself.


If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead.


Jade was pissed.

Beck was leaving, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. He'd be gone for three whole days and there was nothing she could do about it. Why did his stupid Canadian aunt have to die?

Or maybe that was just an excuse.

Oh, if it was just an excuse for him to get away from her and his kids, there would be hell to pay. He should know to never lie to her. Sure, she lied to him for a long time about her brother, but that was for his safety. But him lying to get away from her? No dice. If he was going to act this way then he never should have knocked her up and proposed to her in the first place. All the bullshit she went through while she was pregnant was for him, and how he was leaving? Nope. That wasn't gonna cut it.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed, snatching her arm from him and spilling a little bit of her coffee on the floor.

"Jade, why are you acting like this?" he asked calmly, hurt in his eyes. He kept his distance. "It's only for a few days."

"Acting like what, Beck?" she shouted. She stamped her foot on the ground. "I'm angry. How the hell else am I supposed to act?"

Beck crossed his arms. "I can't talk to you like this," he said, turning on his heels to leave the kitchen.

"Like what?" she screeched, her voice ringing in her own ears. Upstairs, one of the toddlers began to cry. She stopped in her tracks and through her coffee on the ground, the black mug shattering on the linoleum floor. "Now look what you did! You woke the kids up and you made me break my favorite mug!"

He spun around and threw his arms down to his sides. "I didn't make you do anything," he countered, his voice straining to stay calm. But his sleep deprivation was getting to him. "Why are you acting like a brat?"

Shit.

He instantly regretted what he said.

"Oh," Jade uttered lowly, her eyes dark with sheer malice. She turned around and went back into the kitchen to grab the coffee pot, maybe to throw at him.

"Jade, you know I didn't mean it like that," he quickly tried to recount, storming after her.

"Then what did you mean?" she snapped, shooting back around to face him. He shrank back at the intensity of her voice and the menacing stare in her eyes. Obviously, he'd seen her angry before, but this was a new side of her that he'd never seen. And it scared him. "You can just go ahead and leave if I'm being too much of a brat for you!"

He sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to calm himself before he said anything else he would regret. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "We're both just tired and saying things we don't mean."

She laughed scornfully, tossing her head back as the extremity of her emotions took over. "Oh, I mean it," she assured him, sending him a pointed glare. "If you don't want to be here—" She picked up the coffee pot and threw it at him. "—Then leave!" Luckily, her perception was skewed by her reddening vision and she hit the wall beside him, shattering the glass pot and spewing coffee everywhere.

Jade charged toward him and he ducked out of the way, falling into the hall as she darted up the stairs. She ripped their bedroom door open and clomped to her closet, the sound of three crying children ringing through her walls. She pulled out the largest suitcase that had been stuffed into the back and threw it out into the middle of the room.

Sloppily, she ripped his shirts and pants from their hangers and threw them on the floor beside the suitcase. She snatched the only two pairs of boots he owned from the closet floor and plodded back to the suitcase. Throwing the shoes down with a loud commotion, she almost tore the zipper from the suitcase as she tried to get it open.

"Just stay there, Cat," Beck urged quietly from outside of the room.

Jade's head snapped up at the sound of his voice and she jumped to her feet. She ran to the doorway, her feet slamming down on the carpeting, and she dug her black claws into the wood of the threshold. "Mind your own damn business!" she shrieked once she locked eyes with the redhead. The tiny girl squeaked in fear and ran back into her room, slamming the door loudly.

"What's your problem?" her fiancé questioned, his mouth curved down into an annoyed scowl.

In disbelief that he would have the gall to talk to her, Jade picked up the nearest thing—a disheveled book—from the dresser and threw it at him, knocking him in the gut and causing him to let out a loud grunt. "You're my problem!" she screeched.

She dashed back into the room and proceeded to shove everything of his into the suitcase while he looked on helplessly. When she zipped the suitcase back up, making a loud racket in the process, she chucked it out of the room, sending it hurdling down the steps. "Get out!" she yelled, her voice unlike anything he'd ever heard. "Get out of this goddamn house, Beck Oliver! Don't come back until you decide you actually want to be with me forever like this stupid ring on my finger says or until I decide otherwise!"

With that, she slammed the bedroom door, shaking the walls roughly.

With a defeated sigh, Beck went up to the door and placed his hand on the wood. "Please, Jade," he begged, "Can't we talk about this?" She rammed her elbow roughly against the wood in response and he sighed again. Hanging his head in shame, he turned around and descended the stairs. When he picked up the suitcase, one of the wheels fell off.

Great.

He picked up the broken wheel and shoved it into the pocket of his sweatpants. After school, he'd head back to his parents' house and fix it up. He wheeled the wobbling suitcase outside after a long, defeated look at his bedroom door and made way to his truck.

He hadn't even had time for a shower.


If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead.


After getting dressed and avoiding Cat, Jade went to the nursery where the children continued to cry. She was tired of hearing their screeches day in and day out, and she couldn't even escape them in her sleep anymore. Why did they have to be so damn noisy?

"Be quiet!" she seethed from the nursery's threshold.

Darla immediately stopped and looked to her mother with scared, tear-filled eyes. Jensen, however, continued to bawl. Cassie stopped crying as well and hid beneath her fuzzy green blanket, whimpering softly.

Seeing her daughter's face and hearing her son continue to cry, Jade's anger vanished. She felt a little bad for Cassie, but not enough to bring upon the sense of worthlessness and self-loathing the consumed her. The twins were hardly two and she was already screwing up; she was letting her personal problems affect how she handled them.

What was she doing?

She stood there for a moment, her fingertips brushing her lips. Darla continued to stare at her in fear while Jensen continued to cry. When the little girl looked as if she were about to cry again, Jade hurriedly ran into the room and picked her up. She scooped her arm into her son's crib and picked him up as well, holding her twins close and pressing her forehead to both of theirs. And finally, the feeling of his mother so close calmed Jensen. Darla grabbed a handful of her mother's hair sheepishly, trying to decide if this was a good idea.

Jade took ragged breaths, trying to stay calm.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.


If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead.


Aside from Jade yelling at Cat to get ready for school, the girls didn't talk to each other. She didn't ask for Cat's help when she situated her children into the car, and she didn't bother saying goodbye to Cat after the long, deathly-silent ride to UCLA.

She could have apologized for scaring the redhead, but Jade West apologized to no one.

After dropping the toddlers off at the daycare, Jade left for her Chemistry class without another word to anyone else.

In the class, they were supposed to start going over chapter one of the textbook that she hadn't bothered to pick up, but people kept asking questions about the syllabus that had been discussed in depth last class. Eventually the professor went off on a tangent about how the youth of today think they can shortcut their education and blah, blah, blah. She wanted to scream at him for taking up time with something so stupid, but Chemistry was the only science she was good at and all the other classes were full.

She couldn't risk getting kicked out of class.

Like Monday, the walk from the Science Building to the Education Building where she had her Roman Archaeology class only took two minutes, giving her a solid eight to claim her seat and reflect on her poor decisions as a fiancée and a mother.

The classroom was in an auditorium setting, containing padded folding chairs with slide-up desks, each row of chairs higher than the last. From the looks of it, there were twenty-six rows of chairs, putting her pretty high up in the room. And if she wanted to bring her computer to class, there were outlets on the outside of every armrest on the chairs where she could plug in her charger.

Upon entering, she saw a boy sitting at the far left of the room, claiming his seat as far away from the teacher and the front of the classroom as possible. She didn't remember seeing him last Monday, not that she paid attention to any of the other students last class.

Because of the setting of the room, Jade entered through the back of the class, and the boy looked up at her when she opened the door. His hair was dirty blonde and cropped short, just long enough to graze his fingers if he ran his hand through it. Everything he wore was name branded, some brands she'd never heard of. For a guy, he had impeccable taste in clothing, and he struck her as someone who would look amazing in a fitted suit and tie, not that she ever wanted to see him in one. His azure eyes crinkled with flirtation as he smirked at her, exposing the smallest glimpse of perfectly white teeth.

She rolled her eyes with a scowl and made her way to the other end of the back of the classroom, taking the seat as far from him as possible. She didn't need stupid boys bothering her when she already had one of those.

Her phone buzzed in the pocket of her jeans and she pulled it out, her hard eyes softening when she saw that she had a text from her fiancé.

I know you're mad at me and I'm so sorry.

Hopefully I'll see you in a few days. I love you.

She smirked. If he kept that up, he just might get an apology out of her.

She was about to text a reply when she heard the chair beside her creak. She caught the eyes of the well-dressed boy as he sat down beside her and she scowled.

"So who are you texting?" he asked coolly as he propped his feet up on the chair below him. His voice was rich like dark chocolate, yet deep and refined. Even with that small, nosey question, the words seemed to slide down his tongue and swirl around Jade's head, filling her with intrigue. And now that he was closer, she could faintly see the outlines of his well-muscled arms beneath his long-sleeved shirt.

"That's none of your business," she spat, keeping her eyes on the screen. "Get away from me while you still have both legs."

The boy chuckled and slid down in his seat, leaning his head on the back of his chair. "You and I both know you're not going to touch me," he announced. He gave a small wink with a sly smile that she couldn't help but see out of the corner of her eye. "But you can if you'd like."

She scoffed and held up her left ring finger which he should have been able to see anyway. "I'm engaged," she announced matter-of-factly.

The boy smirked. "And I'm Fletcher Sage Wells III," he announced proudly, "But you can just call me 'Fletch.'"

Jade rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask for your stupid name," she pointed out maliciously, her head finally snapping to him. "Now leave me alone."

"That's no way to make friends," he told her lazily as he stared up at the ceiling. He kept his smirk and gave her a sidelong glance. "It's also rude not to introduce yourself."

"I don't want any new friends," she hissed adamantly. "I want you to go away."

Fletch huffed with a playful smile. "I tell you what," he began, sitting upright in his seat, "If you tell me your name, first and last, I'll leave you alone. And I can tell if you're lying."

She scoffed. "Sure you can," she mumbled, going back to her phone. While typing a response to Beck, she decided out of some stupidity to humor Fletch. "My name is Jade West," she told him as she typed away. She looked up at him with her most intimidating look. "This is your last warning."

Fletch held up his hands in defense with a goofy smile. "I keep my word," he assured her. "But that's a beautiful name for a jewel such as yourself."

Jade sneered as he walked away and other students began to file into the classroom. Everything about this…handsome boy spelled trouble, and she had a feeling this wouldn't be her last encounter with Fletcher Sage Wells III.


If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead.


When Jade returned to the daycare, she noticed at least ten more children in the room playing and crawling around. That was twice the number that had been here Monday. Darla sat in the middle of the room finger painting with a little natural redhead. Cassie sat over on Ms. Haggerty's lap again, playing with a costume jewelry necklace. And though she would never admit it, it hurt her heart slightly to see Jensen playing in the corner by himself.

"Hello, Jade," Ms. Haggerty greeted as she stood up with Cassie on hip. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

The younger girl nodded and walked over to Ms. Haggerty, keeping her saddened eyes on Jensen.

"Have you noticed anything odd with your son's behavior?" the daycare runner asked once the young mother stood by her desk. "Does he listen when you speak to him?"

"He doesn't do anything wrong," Jade growled, crossing her arms defensively. "Yeah he wears dresses, but he'll grow out of it. Even if he doesn't, that's his business if he thinks it's normal."

Ms. Haggerty chuckled, unfazed by this harsh girl. "I didn't mean it that way," she assured her in a calm demeanor. "I meant does he hear you when you talk to him?"

Jade eyed the elder woman cautiously. She had noticed that Jensen didn't respond much if she tried talking to him, and Cat even mentioned that it seemed like he wasn't paying attention when she read to him and Darla. But that couldn't be a hearing problem, could it?

She assumed that some babies were just more inattentive than others, which was true, but she also assumed that he could have ADD, ADHD, or something stupid like that since a lot of children were diagnosed with it. She would be able to go about dealing with it if Jensen had hyperactivity or something like that because she remembered that Liam had ADHD when he was younger and their mother knew exactly what to do.

But a hearing problem? She wouldn't know where to begin. Then again, the little boy wasn't even two and a half yet, so it couldn't be anything serious.

Could it?

"After observing him and trying to talk to him," Ms. Haggerty continued, bringing Jade from her thoughts, "Jensen seemed to be more distant than the other children. It wasn't that he showed a lack of interest; I just found myself having to raise my voice a few times in order for him to even look at me. If you've experienced anything like that, I think you should take him to the doctor to get his ears looked at. I really don't think it's anything serious, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

Jade sighed and looked back at her son on the floor.

She hoped the old bag was right.


If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead.


There was no way she would be able to take Jensen to the hospital for a check-up. Well, not today anyway. She needed to get this weight off her chest, and she figured that she could do such by talking to the person she hated most in the world: her brother.

Granted, her sleep deprivation was bringing about lapses in judgment.

But it didn't matter. She wanted to stop feeling so scared of Liam, terrified to the point where she couldn't sleep for the fear that he would be right around the corner. He hated her, and she needed to know why. She would beg for forgiveness if she had to; she would do whatever she could to finally have some peace of mind.


If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead.


Cat decided to go home with Natalie again.

Whatever.

She could spend as much time with that whore as much as she wanted. She could cheat on Robbie if she wanted. She could throw away a relationship with a really sweet guy for a dirty little grunge if she wanted.

It wasn't Jade's problem.

Without Cat in the car on the way home, the ride was as silent as it was on the way to school. Cassie was with her mother and the twins were asleep in the backseat.

When she pulled up to her house, she ripped her cell phone from her pocket and nearly broke the screen to search through her contacts to find Tori's number. As much as she didn't want to leave her kids with Vega—and as greatly as she disliked the Latina—Jade needed a sitter and she didn't have any money to spend. The only money she had was Beck's, and he would notice if she spent some of it without even telling him. Sure, she could come up with a lie and save an encounter with one of the most annoying girls in the world, but why put so much strain on herself?

She still didn't trust strangers around her kids anyway.

"Hello?" Tori answered in a whisper.

"What are you doing right now, Vega?" Jade questioned, trying to keep her voice as level as possible. She already felt a migraine coming on.

"I just put Antonio down for a nap," the Latina responded in her hushed whisper.

"Well wake him up and bring him over," the Gothic girl demanded, "I need to go somewhere and I need a sitter."

"What? Why can't Beck watch them? Or his family? Or Cat or Robbie?"

"Just get over here!" Jade snapped. "Do you really think I'd call you if I had an alternative?" Darla began to whimper in the backseat, preparing to cry, and Jade clenched her eyes shut in anger. "Great, now you made my kid cry! Just hurry up and get over here."

Tori sighed on the other line, followed by a brief silence that made Jade drum her fingers on the steering wheel lightly. "I'll be there in ten minutes," she finally said in defeat.

Jade hung up without another word and stuffed her phone back into the pocket of her jeans. She climbed out of her car after turning it off and quickly offloaded the twins. As she made her way into the house with both carriers weighing her down, she couldn't stop thinking about Liam.

What would he say to her? Would he rat her out as soon as he saw her? Technically, her restraining order was still in effect, and she would void it if she went to see him. Would he attack her? Could he attack her? The last time she saw him—aside from her nightmares—she was still pregnant and she shot him. She wasn't too thrilled about him surviving, but what condition was he in? She wasn't even sure if Beck ever told her where she shot him.

She left the twins downstairs to play while she went up to the unused bedroom (which sometimes served as the guest room when Beck's parents came for a visit). She didn't bother with turning the light on and went straight for the closet.

Once, while Beck was away and Cat and Robbie were watching the babies when they were about half a year old, Jade took it upon herself to inspect the house. Aside from demons, her old house had a lot of hidden surprises. While she perused the guest bedroom, she found a hollow wall in the side of the closet and decided it could come in handy.

Now, she pulled out a black book bag barely big enough to hold an small PearPad that held the blonde wig she wore in Beck's silly spy movie, one-hundred and fifty dollars in various bills, and a fake ID that she used in emergencies. She took the money and the ID out of the bag and stuffed them into her pocket, glad she wore a long blouse instead of the corset she almost put on.

She slung the bag over her shoulder after closing it and pounded down the stairs. When she saw her children playing happily with each other, Darla giggling as she played with her brother's hair, Jade's hand reflexively moved to her stomach. She could feel the ghost of their tiny feet fluttering about and she cringed. She'd almost died trying to bring them into the world—from her brother almost beating her to death to her body being nearly unable to carry both of them—but she wouldn't trade them for the world.

When she was younger, her mother used to tell her that she was an active baby too, that—at times—she hurt her mother with how much she moved, and she would never forget being pregnant with her only daughter.

Jade would never forget being pregnant with her twins, either.

Though they had caused her so much pain, she never wanted to hurt them. If she wasn't going to talk to Liam for herself, to get whatever both of them had to say out of the way, she was going to talk to him for her children.

She needed to be a good mother for them.

When she heard the doorbell ring, she scowled. She still had reservations about Tori coming over, but what else was she to do? She'd rather die that let Tori touch her babies, but it was a hell of a lot better than a virtual stranger.

Cat was the lenient one when it came to her daughter, and Cassie loved to be picked up; it made her feel like the center of attention. Out of everyone Cassie had ever met—which consisted of a whole eight people—she loved her Auntie Jade and would usually whine if Jade didn't pick her up whenever she was near. Sometimes, her broody aunt would cave and pick up the little girl, but let her sit there and whine other times so she would learn to break her habit.

Only Cat was allowed to pick up Darla and Jensen whenever she wanted, and Beck was only allowed to pick them up when Jade was around. Though she loved Beck and knew deep in her heart that he would never do anything to hurt them, her brother left her with dark reservations toward her fiancé. She could honestly say that she would let him be alone with them one day, but that day wasn't going to be any day soon.

And he should be happy with just holding them right now.

She walked to the front door and ripped it open, glaring at Tori who stood nervously with her son on her hip. "It's about time you got here, Vega," she spat.

Tori frowned and stepped past her into the house. "I said I would be here in ten minutes," she mumbled as she walked over to the other two toddlers. As soon as she set Antonio down, Jensen diverged from his sister and gave his full attention to the new baby.

"I'll be back later," Jade announced as she left the house, slamming the door.


If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead.


The drive to the prison was quick and painless.

Well, the drive to the gas station beside the prison was quick and painless. She couldn't really go in there looking like she did; there weren't many blondes in LA with a style like hers, and she didn't need the extra scrutiny if she wanted to get away with violating her restraining order.

She kept a bag of her girliest clothes in her trunk. Some of them were things her mother had given her before she passed, and some where items that she would never admit that she actually liked.

Pulling the bag from her trunk, she sifted through the clothes and found a white peasant top and her favorite pair of light blue jeggings that no one would ever live to know about. She kept her high heels in the bottom of the bag and fished around for a pair of white stilettos.

At one point in her life, she thought about running away. She just never cleared her trunk out after that point passed.

After a few choice words with the gas station's manager who wanted her to buy something before she could change, Jade clicked along the pavement in her fresh clothes and got back into her car. She started it back up and drove it to the prison, parking her car as far from the towering stone building as possible. She adjusted her rearview mirror to make sure her wig was in place before reaching into her discarded black jeans for the money and ID.

Upon entering the prison, she was forced to go through a metal detector after relinquishing every piece of jewelry on her neck, wrists, hands, etc. She was allowed to keep her eyebrow ring in, and she would get her phone back at the end of the visit.

When she went to the visitor's desk, an officer asked for her name, ID, and who she was here to see. In the sweetest voice she could muster, the one she used to mock Tori with back in high school, she told him that she was here to see Liam West. After shuffling through papers, he told her that her name wasn't on his visitor's list. After handing him the money and her fake ID, she asked if he could check again. Accepting the money with sidelong glances to make sure no one else saw, the officer muttered an apology.

"Jamie Walter," he called out, reading the name on her ID, "Must be tired." He handed her ID back with a warm smile as if she hadn't just committed a crime. "The inmate will be out in a minute." He used his pen to point to a set of double doors at the end of the hall. "Go through those doors and pick an empty table."

She nodded and followed the direction of his pen, letting out a slow sigh of relief.

She was early for visiting hours, so there weren't very many people in the room. There was only an elderly couple sitting at a table at the edge of the room, talking to their son with a large face tattoo. The woman reached out to him and held his hand, stroking her thumb against the back of it. The man sat as tall as his short stature would allow with a hard face. He didn't look pleased as his wife comforted their child.

Jade resisted the urge to puke and sat herself in the middle of the room.

Here it was: the moment she'd been waiting for.

With the moment so close, she grew more and more anxious. What exactly would she say to him? How would she go about talking to him? All the plans and precautions she'd ever thought up had disappeared, and she only had her terrified stature left.

Whatever was about to happen, it would probably be for the best.

She stared at her hands on the table as she waited for her brother. She could hear the overhead clock ticking loudly in front of her.

What's taking so long?

When the door leading to the cells clicked, her head snapped up. A guard held the door open as shiny, silver wheels rolled into view. Effortlessly, the wheels turned and rolled closer into the room. She kept her eyes low, refusing to look him in the eyes as the guard instructed him to her table.

The door closed just as he wheeled up to her table.

"You know," he began lowly, "A restraining order works both ways; I can't come near you and you can't come near me."

"I know that," she mumbled, glowering at her hands. "I just…need to ask you something."

He pursed his lips. "I only have two words for you."

Jade looked up with determined eyes. "Please," she begged. "I just wanna know why. Why did you hate me so much? Why did you do the things you did to me? What did I ever do to you?"

He chuckled in disbelief. "You're so goddamn selfish and you don't even know it," he spat with a sneer. "'What did I ever do to you?' You're so fucking stupid!"

She flinched at his mocking tone.

"Inmate!" one of the guards barked. "Settle down."

He ignored the guard. "You think what I did to you was bad?" he hissed, leaning closer. "You don't know a goddamn thing about anything."

"What are you talking about?" his sister asked, glaring at him.

He laughed scornfully and sat back in his wheelchair. "Before you were born," he started in a calm voice. "My daddy used to touch me, just like I did to you. I wasn't the best kid at the time, so he thought it was a good idea to teach me a lesson, just like I did you. He and Mama weren't too happy with each other, so maybe that's why the idea popped into his head. But he was secretive about it; he'd sneak into my room late at night after Mama was asleep.

"The first time he did it, I cried. I remember wondering 'why in the hell would my own father hurt me like that?' He told me 'This might hurt, son, but take it like a man.' So I had to grin and bear it. But it still hurt.

"I thought: 'if I'm not bad, he won't punish me,' so I forced myself to be good in school and at home. But no matter how good I was, he still kept coming into my room every night. I love my dad, no matter how bad he was to me, but I hated him for what he did to me. He made me hate myself. I didn't know why my father hated me as much as he did, but I knew there was nothing I could do to change that. I was scared of him, just like I made you scared of me. The difference between you and me, though, is that I knew I didn't deserve what he did."

She scowled, but let her brother continue.

"When Mama told us she was pregnant, I knew something wasn't right; Dad knew it too. For the first month after she told us, he would hurt me more than he used to, to the point where I thought I was going to die. And every night when I cried myself to sleep, I would think to myself about that little baby growing in my mama's stomach and how it didn't belong to my dad."

Jade crossed her arms. "And how could you possibly know that?" she sneered. "You were only five when I was born."

"That don't mean shit," he hissed, eyes narrowed. "I knew that Mama wasn't happy, and she didn't love Dad like she used to. When she told me that she was pregnant, it shocked me that she loved him enough to have another kid with him. But he kept hurting me more, and that made me wonder. And when I saw that guy she was seeing at the time—your dad—I just knew that you weren't really my sister.

"Dad knew for sure that you weren't his and it just made him angrier and angrier at me. Whenever Mama wasn't home, he would touch me and hit me. Sometimes he even cut me. I still have burn scars on the back of my legs from where he used use them as ashtrays for his cigars. I'd show you, but I'm a little incapacitated at the moment."

She sneered at his snide comment and resisted the urge to flip him off as he smirked deviously.

"When you were three," Liam continued, "I caught him sneaking into your room while you were sleeping. He tried doing the same with you, but I stopped him; I remember hitting him and screaming as loud as I could to make him leave you alone. I woke you up, but I doubt you remember. If Mama would've been home, she probably would have killed him right then and there. I did everything I could to protect you, Jade, and you never knew a thing about it.

"And when I was ten, Mama found out about what Dad was doing and I finally had someone looking out for me the way I looked out for you. She found out about how he touched me after she noticed all the bruises I had; she threatened to take you and me away from him and put him in jail. She didn't believe in divorce, but she did believe in separation. Looking back, I saw that she felt trapped in her marriage; I was her ticket away from him.

"Because of her, I didn't have to worry about getting hurt anymore; that made me love her more than you'll ever know. I did so much to prove I was worth her love and that I was worth her saving me, but she still bent over backwards for you. You took her for granted and she died because of you."

He leaned in and made sure he held her gaze intently. "You killed the only person who truly loved me," he accused lowly.

"I did not!" she screamed as she shot up from her seat, her synthetic blonde tresses whirling around her.

"Miss," the guard shouted in annoyance. "Calm down before I have you escorted out!"

"I am calm!" she snapped as she sat back down. She narrowed her eyes at her half-brother. "Her death was an accident," she snarled. "It was raining and she slid off the road. I told her that she didn't have to come get me—that I would go home with Beck—but she insisted." She pointed a finger at him. "You have no right to blame what happened to her on me."

Liam sighed as he placed his arms on the rests of his chair. "I'm not saying I blame you anymore," he told her honestly. "Being here for a few years gives you time to think about important stuff. They made me go to these classes where we talk about why we're here and what caused us to do those things. I realized in those classes that I was wrong for blaming you; I was just so angry and hurt that Mama died. It made me wish that I had done things differently, that I hadn't used the military as an excuse to get away from Dad."

"But do you still hate me?" Jade asked meekly. She wasn't sure what answer she was looking for or why she even asked. Somehow, him telling her that he didn't blame her wasn't enough. Maybe this would be her closure.

He took a moment to mull over his thoughts before answering. "I…guess I don't," he finally spoke. "I thought I did, but now I realize that I only hated myself. And doing that, I became just like my father." He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry for what I did to you," he apologized when he opened his eyes.

She bit her lip and fought back tears.

There it was: the words she came to hear. It felt as if a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders, as if she could finally breathe again. The world didn't feel so heavy anymore, like whatever had been holding her down had been cut away until there was nothing left.

She felt free.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me for what I've done," he added morosely. "I wouldn't blame you if you never did."

She reached over the small table and placed her hand on his. "You don't know how much this means to me," she told him quietly with a small smile. "One day…I know I'll be able to forgive you. But considering all the shit we've been through, this is a big step for us."

He smiled and placed his hand on top of his sister's. "Can you promise me you'll send me pictures of our kids?" he asked hopefully.

Her smile dropped and she pulled her hand back. "You know I can't do that," she reminded him, keeping her eyes on the table.

If she truly wanted to, she could send him pictures of Darla and Jensen by using a fake name and address, but she would never be able to explain that to Beck. And what would happen if Liam saw the picture of Darla? It was almost painfully obvious how little she looked like him. She could probably lie and say that one of the babies died and only send him pictures of Jensen, but that felt wrong.

On the other hand, how could she tell him that they're not his? There was no doubt he would get angry about the fact that they weren't his kids; he'd probably try to kill her again. All the progress they'd made in this short session would be pointless. Nothing would ever change.

"I…can't let you see them," she said, keeping her eyes locked on the plastic, brown table. "They can't know anything about you." She looked into his blue-green eyes. "You're gonna want to write to them and have them see your picture. If you get parole, you're going to try and see them in person. I can't explain any of that to them, Liam." She stood up and collected her things. "I have to get home…"

"Wait," he pleaded as she turned to leave. Reluctantly, Jade turned back around. "I know I'm up for parole soon and I know you put out a restraining order, but you can still be there. Tell me you'll be there…"

She'd received a letter about his parole last week, and she'd hidden the one that had been sent to Cat.

She bit her lip in deliberation. If she didn't come, she would have to write a written statement whether she agreed with his parole or not. Her fiancé would be highly against her going to see him, but screw him. Maybe, if she went, Liam would see this as her starting to forgive him. And as much as she hated him for all that he'd done to her, she could tell that he had changed for the better.

"I'll be there," she announced after her brief hesitation.

Then, she turned on her heels and exited the prison after collecting her phone.


If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead.


When Jade got home after changing back into the clothes she left in, she was somewhat shocked to see Cat giggling on the sofa with Tori while the babies all played in the play pen.

"Hi, Jade!" Cat greeted excitedly. Still smiling, she tilted her head in confusion. "Why are you wearing that wig?"

Her eyes widened and she mentally swore as she ripped the wig from her head, pulling out a few hairs as her black locks spilled over her shoulders. "I was auditioning for the drama club at school," she lied. She went over to the toddlers and sat down beside her daughter, much to Cassie's dismay.

"Jade?" the redhead called before her friend could speak. "Why didn't you tell me I got a letter from the state court?"

Jade's body tensed at the question. She stood up and narrowed her eyes at Tori. "Did you go snooping through my room?" she accused loudly.

The Latina shrank back into the couch. "I was just trying to find some aspirin and Cat said you kept it in your room," she explained meekly.

The taller mother balled up her fists. "Don't you ever go into my room," she growled. "I asked you to come here and watch my kids, not snoop through my stuff!"

"Jade, calm down," Cat pleaded as she stood.

"Don't tell me what to do!" her scary friend snapped, averting her eyes to the tiny redhead. "What are you even doing home anyway? What happened to Natalie?" She sneered at the girl's name as she crossed her arms.

"S-she had to go out of town s-suddenly," the tiny girl stammered, shaking slightly in her spot as she held herself. "I asked her t-to d-drop me off back here."

"I don't see why you bothered," Jade spat. "Obviously you don't want to be here either. You should have just asked her to take you back to your mom's!"

"Jade," Tori finally spoke up. "Are you okay?"

"Bite me, Vega," she screamed. She pointed a menacing finger at Antonio who started to cry along with Cassie and Darla. "Take your kid and get the hell out of my house!"

Tori jumped from her loud voice with a small squeak and ran over to get her son. She picked him up and held him against her chest, bouncing him slightly while she held the back of his head. "I don't know what your problem is," she began, narrowing her eyes, "But you have no right to talk to anyone like that."

Jade scoffed. "I can do whatever the hell I want," she defended with a sharp tongue. "If you don't like it, then leave!"

"I can scream too!" Tori shouted back, gritting her teeth at her occasional frenemy. Antonio struggled in her grasp out of fear, but she held him tight. "It's a wonder anyone still puts up with you and your horrible attitude! You—"

Her blossoming tirade was quickly halted by Jade's quick slap to the face.

Cat gasped at the impact and covered her mouth with both hands. And Tori could have sworn she felt bones in her neck pop as her vision swirled from a dark eyed Jade to the wall above the playpen.

Her eyes glazed over, not really focusing on anything in particular. She wasn't one to get angry, but she was feeling it now. She also wasn't one for conflict, so she wanted to go ahead and remove herself from the situation.

Holding Antonio tightly to the point of almost smothering him into her chest as her lips knitted into a tight frown, Tori turned around and headed for the door. Jade stared after her in angered anticipation, Cat in shock, but she didn't say a thing.

She closed the door gently when she left.