Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

CHAPTER 9
Tori's POV

I didn't like this. Not one bit.

Jade had my phone, and now I couldn't call anyone to come and pick me up. Trina had a party, and Mom and Dad were out eating dinner.

What a coincidence that this would happen.

I sighed, and put my head in my heads, leaning on the granite counter. Jade had moved over and was now sitting opposite of me. My laptop was in front of me so I couldn't see across to her, but she was busy writing something down on a pad of paper.

I sniffed, trying to ignore the strong smell of alcohol. Jade had opened up a few windows, but that only helped so much. I didn't want to look around the kitchen or family room, but figured it was just as messy as the front of the house had been.

"So what part are we on now?" Jade's voice broke the silence.

"Well, now Gia is seeing how chaotic the world is because she's just died, I think," I said, my eyes scanned the screen for some facts that I might have missed.

"Okay. Well then, I was thinking we could add…"

So we sat there in the awkward silence, working on the project. The smell of alcohol seemed to get stronger, and I asked Jade if she could do anything about it.

"Suck it up, Vega. I deal with it all the time," she replied.

"So then your dad does this a lot?" I pressed. If I was going to be stuck here, I might as well got as much information as I could so I could confirm my suspicions and tell my dad.

"I'm not going to tell you."

"You took my phone," I whined, even though that had nothing to do with the conversation.

"Suck it up Vega, or you might not be getting it back." Jade's words were sharp and clear.

I sighed. I was technically being held prisoner here.

That was against the law wasn't it?

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We worked on the project for a while.

"Hey, do you like this part?" I slid the laptop over to her, accidently knocking over her glass of water. The glass spilled everywhere, and some of the bottles and cups that we hadn't quite moved out of the way got picked up by the puddle of water and washed over the edge onto Jade's lap.

"Oh shoot!" I said. "Sorry!"

I heard a buzzing sound, and Jade jumped up. The bottles smashed to the floor. Jade reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out my sizzling, soaked PearPhone.

"Aww, man!" I yelled, racing over to her and yanking it out of her hands.

"Ha ha, that's what you get Vega," Jade sneered, shaking the mixture of water and beer from her hands and letting it fly everywhere. "And you can't blame me for that because I didn't let the glass spill."

I held my phone, trying to wipe it off with the bottom ends of my shirt.

"All right, well, I'm going to change out of this stuff. Don't go anywhere or do anything. Wait, that's right. You've busted your phone and you don't have a ride." She snapped her fingers mockingly before walking proudly out of the room.

I looked back at the counter, seeing a pulpy pad of paper and water dripping from the edge onto the floor. The liquid was close to my laptop, so I safely moved it to a small, cleaner table by the counter.

I rubbed the black screen of my phone furiously. I'm sure if I put any more pressure I would've cracked it, but that didn't matter anymore. I pressed the on button, but it didn't work.

I started to take my phone apart piece by piece, revealing the soppy wet battery and chip in the back. I sighed, and threw it down onto the counter angrily.

Screw Jade and her life! I thought, running my hand through my hair.

I heard a door open and close slowly, and then heavy footsteps in a hall somewhere. I ignored it and picked my phone back up, turning over the pieces carefully. Dad is going to kill me! I thought sadly.

The footsteps were getting louder, and I wondered why Jade was taking so long.

"Hey, Jade, I can hear you coming. You can't scare me," I called out.

I got no response. Shrugging, I returned to picking at my broken phone.

Without even looking up, I could see someone standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

What the heck was wrong with Jade now? I wondered. Was she feeling guilty that she had been in possession of my phone when it broke and was going to apologize for it?

But that was now the least of my worries as I looked up and saw who was standing there.

It was not Jade.

It was her father.

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"Hi, Mr. West," I said as calmly as I could. I didn't know whether to call for Jade or not and tell her that her dad was home. My fingers tightened around the pieces of my phone as I fumbled to put them back together.

Jade's dad didn't say anything, but continued to stare at me with the ferocity of a lion watching its prey.

He was wearing a nice suit and red tie, but it was his face that caught my attention. His eyes were glassy-looking and distant, with his pupils black and red streaking the normally white surface. His hair looked like it had been slicked back and combed down nicely originally, because it shone in the light of the kitchen, but now some of it had come forward and drooped on his forehead, the rest of it was looking strangely rumpled.

He took a few teetering steps into the kitchen, and I stayed put where I stood.

"You got a new phone, Jade?" Mr. West said in a low voice, getting closer and closer to me. His words were pronounced slowly but slightly slurred, causing my heartbeat to race as I realized something was not right here.

The smell of alcohol was getting stronger now.

"No, I'm not Jade, Mr. West. I'm Tori Vega," I replied, speaking slowly. "You met me before. I helped your daughter put on her play."

"Stop lying to me, Jade. I know you don't have a phone anymore. I broke it a few days ago when I banished your boyfriend. Do you not remember that?" Mr. West asked.

Hold on…I thought Cat said Jade had dropped her phone in the toilet? And what did he just say about 'banishing' Beck?

"You know you're not supposed to go and buy expensive things without my permission," Mr. West continued. "And you know what happens when you do."

"I am not Jade, I'm Tori," I told him patiently, although I was shaking with fear, struggling to put the pieces of information together.

"Stop lying!" Mr. West advanced on me quickly. He moved so he was inches in front of my face, and I gagged on the smell of his breath. "You're such an ungrateful little brat, you know that? I let you go to a good school, I let you live in my house…"

"But you don't give her much freedom, do you?" I challenged.

"I got fired today, Jade," Mr. West said in a dead tone of voice. "That's the second time in the past three months. And it's all your fault." His eyes were full of hatred and anger.

"Wha—what did I do?" I wanted to get more information about their relationship with each other so I would have lots of evidence to tell my dad once I got out of here.

"You existed. That's what," he snarled.

Oh, well I think I know where Jade gets her mean comebacks from, I thought dryly.

Mr. West reached onto the counter, and I saw him grab a completely intact beer bottle. I tensed up.

"You're drunk, Mr. West. Whatever you're going to do, don't. Put the bottle down, please," I said in my calmest voice. My dad had taught me to stay nice and cool during a situation like this, and I was going to listen to him.

"Jade, I hate you. Ya know that?" His hand retreated to his side, empty of anything that I could see. I blinked several times, unable to believe the things Jade's own father was saying. It was enough to make anyone sick.

"And I know I haven't been the greatest dad in the world, right?" Jade's dad lolled his head back onto his shoulders in a disgusting way. "And I see no need to be, after all, you're just an uncontrollable, ungrateful little animal.

"So maybe it's time to just end all of this. End the beatings, end the abuse, end the fear." His eyes rolled in his head, and I started shaking with fear. Jade had to put up with this monster for how long? And why in the world did she not tell anyone?

"My dad is a cop," I informed him. "When I tell him—"

I never finished my sentence. Mr. West lunged at me with speed I would've never thought possible with someone as drunk as he was. I fell over silently, seeing bright white stars.

He was lying on top of me, and I opened my mouth to shout for Jade, but he punched me in the face, and I felt the blood running from my nose almost immediately. I grabbed his face in my hands, trying to push it away from me, but he pulled back out of my grip. I saw his eyes clearly for a brief moment.

They were nothing but bright, bloodshot, red.

He was under the influence of alcohol, and he was going to kill me, or seriously injure me, possibly for life if I couldn't get away.

I struggled underneath his weight.

"JADE!" I screamed, much to my resentment of calling for her help when I was trying to help her in the first place. "JADE!"

Mr. West shoved my chin upwards with one of his hands, blocking my airway and shutting me up. My head tilted back and smashed onto the hardwood floor. I struggled to get his hand off my face so I could breathe.

He laughed softly at my actions, punching me in the stomach. I felt the air knocked out of me. My head spun in pain and lack of oxygen, and I looked back up at Mr. West as he got ready to hit me again.

My head hit the floor again, and I let out a muffled yelp against the palm of his hand. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up, throwing me onto the couch. Normally, I would be very grateful to land on something like a nice, soft, couch, but in this case, someone had left some very pointy and sharp objects on it.

I fell onto a bottle of wine, and my back exploded in pain when it broke into pieces under me.

I could barely see through the pain, but Mr. West was coming towards me again, his eyes thirsty for more blood. How could anyone want to do this to someone else, drunken or not?

I had a feeling that I wasn't getting out of here in one piece, if at all. I had never given dying much thought—not that I would die here (hopefully)—but the circumstances of that happening were climbing higher and higher by the second. Jade was still upstairs, and there all sorts of things around the room I could be killed with.

As I lay there in my dizzy state, I thought about why I had wanted to even come here in the first place.

Was it because I knew something was wrong with Jade and I wanted to help her? Or was it because I innocently wanted to work on the project with her that now led to this?

No, I think it was question one.

But whatever it was, I knew something bad would have to happen before this problem could be fixed.

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Jade's POV

I trudged up the steps, inwardly laughing at the look of sheer stupidity and amazement when Tori had seen her phone soaked in water and beer that she had caused to fall on me in the first place.

I went into my room, and jumped onto my bed, burying my face in the blankets. I didn't care that my pants were covered with water and beer and were getting everywhere.

I reached underneath and pulled out Cat's bright pink PearPhone. As much as I despised the prissy color, I couldn't do anything about it since it wasn't mine, and I would never be mean to Cat by changing it. Maybe anyone else, though.

I quickly dialed Beck, and while it was ringing I made sure the door was closed.

He picked up, and I could tell he was tired.

"Hey, this is Jade, right?" He knew I was borrowing Cat's phone to keep in touch with him because my idiot of a father had broken mine. Of course, Beck was very worried that we would get caught talking, but I was desperate.

"Yes. How are things?"

"Well, I'm dropping off my uncle, and he's the last one," my boyfriend informed me. For the funeral, he took his RV to pick up his many relatives that lived near LA and brought them to Bakersfield, and it was also his job to drop them off.

I didn't say anything, but bit my lip. I heard the sound of a door opening and closing downstairs. Then there was something that sounded like thudding footsteps in one of the halls. Stupid Tori. Always being a nosey brat, I thought, rolling my eyes.

"Are you at your house?" Beck asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Is your dad home? Because if he is, I should probably go—"

"No, he's not home. But Tori is." I rolled my eyes again.

"Did you just say Tori is at your house?" Beck sounded very alarmed. "Wait, is that okay with your dad? I mean, I know he likes to drink and what if he comes home when you guys are—"

I cut him off again. I didn't like hearing how he cared so much about Tori. It bugged me. A lot. "Look, Beck. My dad's not home. We'll finish the project before he comes. And anyway, I drove Tori here and took her phone so she can't go anywhere or tell anyone anything."

"You…you took her phone and she has no way to esc—leave?"

"Yes. I need to make sure she's not going to tell anything what she's seen before she leaves," I replied, shaking my head.

I heard Beck's teeth chattering on the other end.

"I'm coming over there right now," he announced suddenly.

"No, I can handle everything by myself!" I practically shouted.

"Oh yeah, and look where that got me." I could almost see him gesturing to his injuries my dad had given him a few days ago. I clenched my teeth together angrily.

"You are not coming here, Beck Oliver. If my dad comes home and sees you…"

"So it's okay for him to see Tori and not me?"

I was so angry I hung up on him. I pressed the red button and turned Cat's phone off. I leaped onto the floor and rushed into my closet, feeling a burning sensation in my chest as I pulled on a new pair of jeans.

Tori is not my friend! I don't give a care about what happens to her.

Why the heck did no one think I could take care of myself? I was Jade West, for crying out loud! I dealt with that monster of a father for twelve freaking years before anyone really found out. I know Beck's my boyfriend and everything, but come on. Life is full of secrets and challenges, right?

I buttoned up my pants when I heard Tori.

"JADE!" she screamed with a deafening intensity. "JADE!"

What now? I hurried over to the door and shouted, "Hold on, Vega. Geez." I adjusted my hair, taking my sweet time, in front of my mirror before leaving my room and heading down the stairs, two at a time.

I walked to the kitchen when I heard a thump. Cautiously, I slowed down, keeping close to the wall. Finally I came to the doorway of the kitchen, and I jumped out into the open. My heart almost stopped when I saw the scene in front of me. The first words that went through my head were:

Oh. My. God.

Whew! Things are heating up, aren't they?