Hope you enjoy all the drama, please review and let me know what you think!
Luke and Anna traced Jade's phone to a sketchy part of the city, so they went there to find her, the gang had been told to stay put and wait for news, so they'd stayed at the station. Jade had just arrived, she had to make money for the hotel and food for the next two days, otherwise she'd have to spend the night outside again.
Jade was wearing her regular clothes, but she was standing in a corner smoking and waiting for someone to come, she usually got dates quickly. She was already high, so lights and noises were fuzzy. After a few minutes, a man approached her, and she sighed as she faked a smile.
"Hey baby girl, you lonely tonight?" The guy asked, he was a middle-aged man wearing a wedding ring. Most of her clients were like him, bored husbands looking for thrill, but to her they all looked the same, they all had Roger's face.
"I am, wanna keep me company?" Jade asked coldly.
"I have half an hour, can you work with that?" He asked.
"I can do a lot with that, but it's full price" She said and he chuckled, he simply opened the car door from inside and she got in. They moved on to the back seat and she could feel the man getting aroused quickly, he started touching her and kissing her neck frenetically, so she simply closed her eyes in disgust and let him do what he wanted. He unzipped his pants and put her on top of him, so she kept going and faking pleasure noises.
"Oh god…god, oh god" The man said between grunts and moans "Are you almost there?" He asked as he tried to keep going, he wanted her to enjoy it too and she knew it. He didn't care about her, none of them did but they liked to believe they were good lovers.
"Oh yeah" Jade said faking an excited voice while looking through the back windshield of the car and just waiting for him to finish, she moaned louder and moved faster and then she felt him finishing, so she closed her eyes relieved.
"That…was amazing" He said and smiled as he separated her from him to look at her face, so she smiled and moved off him.
Jade was almost fully dressed, she had her skirt, shirt, and shoes on, so she moved to the front of the car to put her underwear and jacket back on as well. He paid her and she saved the money in her pocket, it wasn't much, but she figured that if she got another one it'd be enough to afford the hotel for a couple nights and finally some food.
"I'd love to see you again" The man said as she finished fixing her makeup.
"You know where to find me" Jade responded.
She stepped out of the car and took a pill because the other one was wearing off; she was distracted so she didn't notice the cops across the street watching her and then approaching the car.
"Hey baby, here's an extra tip for you" The man said as he handed her another bill along with a contact card and she leaned down on the window smiling.
"Thanks" Jade said and he winked.
"You're so hot" He said. "I really do wanna see you again, call me and we can arrange something" He suggested.
"Love the idea" Jade lied, at least that guy was nice to her and generous, so she figured she could continue seeing him, but then she saw Anna as she leaned down on the other side next to the driver's window, so her smile dropped.
"Hi there" Anna said smiling.
"What are you doing here?" Jade asked upset.
"Nice to see you too" Anna said "So, busy night or are you just getting started?" She asked.
"I don't know what you are talking about" Jade said.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" The man asked Anna and she showed him her badge, so his mouth dropped in fear and shook his head "Oh…listen, officer this is not-" He started mumbling but she cut him off.
"Not what it looks like? You know she is underage, Romeo?" Anna asked and he looked at Jade nervously.
"What? No, this is a misunderstanding…I thought she was like nineteen" The man said.
"Oh, you thought she was a legal teenager, points for you" Anna said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know" He insisted nervously.
"She is seventeen, I could arrest you right now for solicitation and we could even add statutory rape to the mix" She added.
"What? No, I didn't rape her I swear" The man said scared "I'm sorry, I have to go, you can call my lawyer" He said and immediately drove away.
"What's your problem?" Jade asked upset.
"Are you gonna tell us that man didn't just pay you to have sex with him?" Luke asked and she rolled her eyes.
"We were just talking" Jade said cynically.
"This doesn't look like talking to me" Anna said as she showed her a photo taken from the side where Jade was obviously on top of the man and he was kissing her neck. She simply sighed and stared at it emotionlessly.
"Goodbye detectives" She said and tried to walk away.
"Jade, wait" Luke said and grabbed her arm to stop her.
"No, leave me alone" Jade responded annoyed.
"We need to talk to you" Anna said.
"Well, I don't want to" She responded "What are you gonna do? Arrest me?" She dared and laughed cynically. Anna stared at her for a few seconds as she debated and smiled.
"You know what? That's a great idea, turn around" Anna said and walked towards her "Jade West, you're under arrest for prostitution" She informed as she turned her around to cuff her and Jade's mouth dropped.
"What? You have got to be kidding me" Jade said upset.
"Not even a little, you have the right to remaining silent, anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you can't afford it, one will be appointed to you" Anna said and made Jade walk to their car. They took her to the police station in cuffs and when she stepped inside, her friends' eyes wide opened because she was cuffed.
"You arrested her? Why?" Tori asked confused.
"What are you doing here?" Jade asked even more confused.
"We were worried about you, we went to your house and…" Tori responded and Jade looked down nervously.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Beck asked disconcertedly.
"There's a lot she hasn't told you" Anna said.
"Go to hell" Jade said coldly.
"Why are you arresting her?" Andre asked them.
"She wouldn't have come any other way" Luke said.
"This is ridiculous, you have no right" Jade said upset and blinked to focus her sight "I did nothing"
"Right" Anna said sarcastically and held her face to look at her eyes "Do we need to sober you up before we can talk?" She asked and Jade moved her face away from her.
"I'm fine" Jade said. "I don't know why I'm here"
"No? Why don't you tell your friends what you were doing tonight? And it's not the first time, sweetie, we know it and you know it too" Anna said and she looked away ashamedly "We want to help you, we know this isn't what you want"
"You want to help me? Is that why you brought me in cuffs?" Jade asked and Luke removed them.
"There you go, take a seat, now that we are here and you're safe, we can talk about this" He said.
"About what? Come on, just tell them why you arrested me or show them the picture…I deserve it, that's what you think" Jade said upset as she sat down in resignation.
"Jade, what's happening? You have shut us out for months, why?" Tori asked worriedly.
"For starters, I'm homeless" Jade informed and sighed "I've been living in a hotel on and off and the streets when I don't have enough money to pay for the night."
"Oh my god, why didn't you tell me? You could have come to my place" Beck said mortified.
"You live with your parents, Beck, I can't move in with you and you didn't need that burden in your mind" Jade admitted.
"You are not a burden, come on…" He responded and she shrugged like it was obvious.
"I got a job as a waitress…for a while, but it wasn't enough and then I met Evelyn" Jade said.
"Your agent" Luke said and she nodded.
"She seemed nice at first, she gave me a job as a model and it seemed so perfect, I thought I would make enough to get an apartment and go to school and be normal, I was waiting for that to tell you the good news" She said smiling sadly and sighed "I should have known better, I was so stupid…." Jade said angrily as her eyes became glossy.
"What happened to you, honey?" Anna asked.
"It's not important" Jade affirmed.
"Yes, it is…you did not end up here on your own" Anna said and she looked down.
"What difference does it make? It doesn't matter" Jade insisted.
"It does matter, YOU matter" Anna said to her and she tried to hold back the tears, she wanted to believe that so bad.
"Jade…" Tori said sadly, they could see how much she was hurting.
"Go ahead, tell us about Evelyn and your modeling job" Luke said.
"You won't believe me" Jade affirmed "I went to the police before, I know how this goes."
"Try us" Anna responded, and she sighed.
"It was okay for a while, just photoshoots and parties, makeup, money, it was great" Jade said "But one day I came to a shoot and she gave me a drink, she must have…put something in it, I…I just know started feeling very dizzy and confused… "Jade said as she remembered that horrible night.
"It was only one drink?" Luke asked and she nodded.
"Yeah, she gave me drinks before but I never felt like that" She explained "Roger and another man were there, they told me to strip for the pictures…I didn't want to, I said no but everybody was yelling at me, the room was spinning and then…it just escalated so fast, I took the dress off because they said it was for lingerie, next thing I knew Evelyn ripped my bra off" she added as a couple tears streamed down her cheeks "After that, it's fuzzy but I remember Roger handing her the camera"
"What did they do to you?" Luke asked sadly and she looked at him upset.
"What do you think?" She asked coldly and her friends closed their eyes in frustration. "Use your imagination" She added.
"Say it, honey, we need you to say it" Anna said and she smiled upset.
"They had sex with me, both, for hours taking turns… I just wanted to disappear" Jade said sadly and her eyes became glossy again as she said the words "I couldn't move or scream…I could see it happening, but I felt I was out of my body…numb, I was just looking at Evelyn as she recorded it" Jade commented and closed her eyes as more tears streamed down her face and her friends looked at each other mortified, that was horrible.
"Jesus…" Beck whispered.
"When I came to, they were getting dressed again and that man gave me money…he put it on my chest and winked at me, like he was paying me for my good service" Jade said angrily and shook her head "I told Evelyn I didn't want to do it, but she said the video didn't lie…she said it showed I had agreed to it" She said
"You didn't, you were drugged and outnumbered" Anna affirmed.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Cat asked sadly.
"Why did the police not arrest them?" Tori asked.
"Evelyn said it hadn't been rape, and she was so calm…" Jade said confused "She called me the next day like nothing had happened, I thought I was crazy, I didn't know what to believe…maybe I did want it, that's what the cop said too"
"What cop, sweetie?" Anna asked.
"I told you, I went to the police and he said that my story was shaky, that I shouldn't lie, I mean after all I stripped for them so I must have known what would happen next, right?" Jade commented coldly and the detectives looked at each other annoyed to know how she'd been treated "I guess I just have one of those faces, or perhaps I do look like a slut, people seem to always assume that."
"No" Luke responded. "That cop failed in his duty, but that's on him not you, just like what those people did is on them, you're a victim" He added, but she didn't really believe that.
"What happened after that night?" Anna asked.
"Evelyn invited me to a party, I thought things would be normal again, but they…" she started, but stopped herself, she could not bring herself to continue, so she stopped. "It doesn't matter, it's my fault…I made a bad choice."
"Jade-" Luke said
"You can send me to jail, I don't care, you're right…" Jade said as she wiped her tears away.
"Honey, this is not your fault" Anna said.
"It is, it really is…" She responded coldly.
"What happened when you showed up at the party? Did they threaten you?" Luke asked and she sighed in resignation.
"They introduced me to a man and he said he'd like to sponsor me, because he'd seen the tape…" she added ashamedly "and that if my audition went well, I would get more projects so Evelyn walked us up to one of the hotel rooms…" she said as she looked down, she felt so bad about herself.
"Sponsor? Wait, so that's what it means?" Tori asked, she remembered the party.
"Yeah, that's what it is" Jade said.
"Oh my god, so that guy who wanted to sponsor Cat…" Tori said and Cat looked at her shocked. "That's disgusting"
"I would have never let them touch either of you" Jade affirmed.
"But you got sponsored that night, does that mean…" Cat said and Jade sighed as she looked down.
"Yep" Jade said in resignation.
"Why would you agree to that? You wanted projects?" Beck asked disappointedly and she looked at him sadly.
"The first time I didn't know what it meant either, but when we got to the room, she handed me a few condoms and I knew" She commented. "I didn't want to do it, I told Evelyn…I begged her to let me go, that man knew I didn't want to do it, they were just smiling at each other, I didn't know what to do" Jade said sincerely as the tears streamed down her face.
"Why didn't you just walk away?" Andre asked confused.
"I tried, I was going to leave but she said if I didn't do what he wanted, she'd leak the video and the pictures of me, she said everyone would see it, I would get expelled, you'd find out and my life would be over…" Jade commented as she looked at Beck ashamedly.
"And under pressure, you said yes" Luke said and she shrugged as the tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I didn't know what to do, I was just begging her to let me go but she gave me a pill and the guy pulled me into the room…and it was horrible" Jade said as her voice cracked again and more tears streamed down her face "I tried to strip for him, but I couldn't stop shaking and he got mad, he said they'd promised him I'd do him like in the video…and he wasn't going to leave unsatisfied" She said and massaged her forehead to hide her face.
"He raped you" Anna said and she sighed, she was trying so hard not to break out crying.
"I guess, I mean I didn't fight him, he just ripped my dress off and pushed me over the dresser, he forced my legs open and…you know" Jade said and took a breath as she remembered that horrible night "I was just looking into the mirror trying to get through it, he grunted like an animal and I tried to pretend I wasn't there…until it was over"
"God…" Tori whispered sadly, and Beck just felt his blood boiling.
"We were together in that room for a couple of hours" Jade said disgusted and closed her eyes "I was so tired I just let him do what he wanted…and when he was finally done, he put some cash on the table…and left" she added ashamedly "And that's how I became…this" she added in contempt.
"That was not your fault" Anna affirmed and Jade laughed sadly.
"Yes, it was" Jade said "I shouldn't have gone to that party, what was I thinking? A seventeen-year-old girl in a room full of men twice my age, what did I think was gonna happen? Evelyn was right, I must have wanted it and I didn't fight him after all, whatever I was feeling doesn't matter, it happened" She affirmed.
"No, that's not true" Luke said. "Coercion of any kind makes what happened rape, regardless of what you said or did, it doesn't matter" He affirmed.
"Did Evelyn and Roger tell you anything else?" Anna asked and she sighed.
"Not that night, I took the pill Evelyn gave me and it was so relaxing, I hadn't felt that good in a long time, so I fell asleep" Jade responded.
"What happened after that?" Luke asked and she took a deep breath as she stared at the floor, at that point nothing else she said mattered.
"They'd call me for photoshoots some days and others they'd send me to 'auditions' with their friends, Evelyn always gave me the drugs or sold them to me, so I'd be relaxed and…I don't know, I guess at some point I just…went along with it, there was no point in fighting it, I was a whore already and they had plenty of proof" Jade commented and shrugged. "So yes, that night at the party I slept with that guy, like I've done so many times before" she said to the girls and wiped the tears away.
"That day at the hospital, it wasn't an accident, was it?" Anna said and she shook her head.
"Oh no, that was one of the worst I've had, that man was so violent, he beat me up and he was strangling me with his belt and…I don't know, I guess I passed out, honestly I thought he was gonna kill me, those last few seconds I remember thinking it was over" Jade said as she remembered and chuckled to herself as she looked down "Maybe he should have…" she added whispering, but they heard her.
"Oh my god, Jade" Tori said sadly but she couldn't even look at them, she felt so ashamed.
"Why did you change your mind about having your friends at the agency?" Anna asked.
"I never wanted them there, they made me bring them but I was not gonna let them go further" Jade said "I imagined we had a couple months before they made the move and I could make sure they stayed away before that"
"But you guys mentioned someone wanted to sponsor Cat, right?" Andre asked and they nodded.
"Yeah, a man at the party" Tori responded.
"A couple weeks ago Evelyn said they wanted to make another tape with the three of us and Roger, that guy and perhaps others, they're sick" Jade said upset "I couldn't let that happen. My life is over, I have nothing to lose but not you, I could not do this to you too" she added sincerely and they felt their hearts breaking, she was so done.
"Honey, your life is not over, you're just a kid" Anna affirmed but she laughed sadly.
"A kid? You arrested me for prostitution after I did a guy in the back of a car, because that's what I am…a prostitute" Jade responded with a couple of tears streaming down her face "They were right, it's the only thing I'm good at so…yes, tonight I was doing what I've been doing for months, trying to get enough money to sleep on a real bed tonight" she confessed and Beck closed his eyes in pain and anger, he didn't even know what he felt.
"Jade…" Cat said sadly.
"I still don't need your pity; it is what it is" Jade said
"Why didn't you go to a shelter?" Luke asked and she chuckled.
"A shelter? Those places are worse than the street, believe me, I tried" Jade said and sighed "I was there for one night and three men tried to attack me, I escaped by chance…because someone helped me, I'm better off this way…at least I get paid, right? Silver lining" she added sarcastically.
"I'm so sorry, honey, that must've been awful" Anna said sadly and she nodded.
"Yeah well, not a lot of options when you're homeless at seventeen, too old for foster care, too young for everything else…well, almost everything" Jade commented and sighed "Besides, what does it matter? I've been doing this for a while now, I might as well continue…it's not like my future looks any brighter than this anyway"
"We are worried, Jade, this life…what you're doing, it's not good for you" Andre commented.
"Try being homeless for a week and let me know how it goes for you" She responded coldly "Because it's been months for me and it's hell, believe me, you'd be doing anything for some relief too" she added and they didn't even know what to respond.
"You should've told me" Beck said upset, he felt so impotent hearing her story.
"It's not your problem and it's over, I'm going to jail now so I'll be much better I'm sure" Jade said sarcastically.
"Jade, we are not sending you to prison" Luke said "You are seventeen, you're still underage…we just wanted to bring you home, is there any other relative we can contact?"
"I have no home and no family; you think I wouldn't have thought of that if I did?" Jade asked annoyed "I'm not an idiot, and I don't do this because I like it, I thought you'd understand that."
"We know that, I'm not trying to blam-" Anna responded but Jade cut her off.
"Just stop, I don't care…You can believe whatever you want" She said and stood up "If you're not gonna arrest me, I have to go…I still need to work to pay for the hotel tonight or find a place to stay"
"You can stay with us" Tori said.
"Thank you, but it's better if you all just forget about me, I won't be attending school anymore since I can't afford tuition, so it'll be a fresh start for all of us" Jade said emotionlessly, and they shook their heads.
"Jade, come on…don't do this, you can't ruin your life like this" Beck said worriedly and she looked at them in resignation.
"I'm sorry" Jade said sadly and walked away.
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Please let me know your thoughts! What do you think will happen?