DISCLAIMER: I am Dan Schneider, Batman, Taylor Swift, the president, and so lying right now. I own Victorious as much as I did in the last post. None. :P
P.S. I'm eating reheated pizza :) What's your fave place to get pizza?
I drove around with Beck for nearly three hours. We went everywhere; Inside-Out Burger, the mall, Jungle Snips (Beck needed a haircut), and anywhere that could keep me away from home. Eventually, Beck had to go home. He dropped me off at my house, a house that couldn't have been scarier if it were haunted (which would be pretty cool).
I took a shaky breath, and burst through the door. I didn't announce I was home. Nor did I greet anyone I passed. I walked straight through the house, up the stairs, and into my room. I threw myself onto my puffy black comforter and let the tears fall. Daisy was gone. Cat was severely injured because of me. And now, I'm stuck with Lydia and Mom.
"Honey, are you in there?" My mom called behind the locked door.
"Don't call me 'honey'!" Just because Daisy's dead doesn't mean we have to start liking each other! I fumed.
"Jade, can we talk? I think it would make us all feel better if-"
"No! The last thing I want to do is talk!" I threw a pillow at the door. "I just wanna be alone!"
I heard my mom's tiny feet shuffle away, the footfalls growing fainter until they were gone.
I just have to pretend that nothing happened, and I'll be okay. This was a little game I played with myself. When something hurt, pretend it's not there. But that didn't settle the unsettling questions I asked myself all night instead of sleeping.
. . . . .
The next morning, I was on auto-pilot. Shower, brush teeth, wash face, dry hair, get dressed. All happening without a thought. My head was too full of others. Is Cat in surgery right now? Is she okay? Doctors can't mess up on surgery, can they? Surely not. They're professionals. I ran downstairs and sat down at the table. Any normal day, I would have taken my precious time eating breakfast. But it was too quiet. Everyone shifted their gaze from one to another. Everyone was holding their breath, as if they wanted me to say something.
I set my fork on my plate. "Can I help you?" I asked.
Lydia and Mom looked down at their plates, as though they had never been staring.
As soon as possible, I finished eating, rushed to get a phone, and called Beck. I begged him to come pick me up. I don't think I could last a car ride alone... I thought.
Ten minutes later, a car horn beeped outside. I ran out, not saying goodbye, and hopped into Beck's convertible.
He greeted me with a kiss, started the engine, and took off. We passed by the large houses, Beck waving to old men on their patios and ladies tending to their garden. It was a nice, quiet, peaceful drive. We pulled in to Hollywood Arts, parked, and walked in.
. . . . .
Acting class was uneventful. As was history. And every other class leading up to lunch time. It was such a relief, getting back to my... Friends. I almost forgot about everything. Until someone ruined it all. Can you guess who?
"So, Cat's getting out of surgery about now, right?" Tori asked as she sat down next to me, Beck and Robbie.
"Yeah. Why you ask, princess?" Rex asked flirtatiously.
"Rex!" Robbie scolded him.
"You're a mess, Robbie Shapiro." I grumbled.
"What are you thinking, Tori?" Beck asked.
"Well, I thought we could get her, you know, a gift basket or something, and bring it over to her!" Tori suggested. I could've kicked myself. Why didn't I think of that?
"Cool! What should we put in it?" Beck asked. He looked at Robbie. "You're her boyfriend, what do you think?"
Robbie thought for a minute. "How about candy? And a big stuffed bear? Oh, and her favorite show, Girly Cow! We can get that on DVD and watch it with her!" He said.
"Yeah! And let's put in one of those singing cards! She loves those!" Tori said.
"And she loves her puzzles." Beck added.
"Don't forget stuff for coloring," I told Beck, who was writing all of this down.
"Alright! I'll go shopping with..." He started pointing at people. "Eenie-Meenie-Miney-You!" His finger landed on Robbie and Rex.
"Ha! We can get some underwear, too! For Robbie!" Rex laughed.
"You demon!" Robbie shouted. He looked at Beck for a minute. "I DO need some-"
"Nope!" Beck shook his head.
"Hey, where's Andre?" I asked. Everyone looked around. All except Beck.
"What do you know?" I asked playfully.
"Sorry, my lips are sealed!" He shook his head. He stood up, messed my hair up a little, and walked away from the table.
I turned to Tori. "Do you know what's going on?" I asked. Tori shook her head, shrugging.
. . . . .
The other classes went over my head. Where's Andre? What are they planning? Is Cat okay? And how the chizz am I gonna avoid my own home today?
Home. A strange concept. Supposedly, other people's homes are sanctuaries. A nice place to unwind and spend time with their families. Not for me. The only peaceful place for me right now, is next to Beck. Because he can hear what I don't say.
All these thoughts shrouded me in a thick fog of doubt and confusion. It hung over me like a cloak all day, just like the day before, when I came home. But today, it was worse. Darker and lonelier. Scary, even. And I like scary, usually.
It seemed like I'd aged twenty years by the time the bell rang. As soon as I saw Beck, my face crumpled, and I fell into his arms. He wrapped me into a hug, running his fingers through my hair. He understood how I felt: Like Cat's injury was my fault. And how I missed Daisy, and how my family used to be. And how exposed I feel, like I can't even contain my emotions. I never let anyone in before. I never let anyone see me cry. That just isn't the Jade-way.
. . . . .
"We've got the stuff for the gift basket. We'll be at the hospital in 10." Beck's voice came out with static in my ear. I jerked it away from my head, surprised at the blasting volume I'd had it set on. I toned it down a bit, rubbed my ear, and put the phone back up to my ear.
"Alright. Hurry up!" I said grouchily. "Where is Andre?"
"That," Beck began. "Is classified information, ma'am." I just shook my head and smiled. The first time I'd smiled in a while.
"Whatever." I blew a kiss into the phone and hung up. Only Beck would hear me do that. Ever.
Ten long minutes later, Beck and Robbie (without his little puppet-friend, for once) walked in. I waved them over to me, outside of Cat's room.
"Can we finally go in?" I asked impatiently. Beck shook his head. "What's going on? And where's Tori?"
"You'll see," Beck's phone beeped. "Right now. Let's go in." We walked into the room. The lights were off, but I could barely make out two people's shadows.
I heard a whisper. "Ready?" "Uh-huh!" Instantly, the room lit up with multicolored spotlights. Andre and Tori had microphones in their hands, poised for singing. But they just stood there with their mouths hanging open. What's their problem? But I realized quickly. Cat wasn't in her hospital bed.
Where's Cat? Find out in the next chapter! Please review!