"I think I saw Jade last night" Chloe informed and Daniel's eyes wide opened, he hadn't seen that coming.
"What? What do you mean you think you saw her? Explain yourself" He demanded and she looked down nervously.
"Forget it" She responded. "I must've dreamed it, she's dead"
"Chloe, this is serious" Daniel said. "Did you see her?"
"I don't know, maybe…" Chloe said. "I could be mistaking"
"Come with me" He demanded and grabbed her arm.
"Where are we going?" She asked as they got in the car and he typed a text.
"Some people might want to hear this" Daniel simply said and about half an hour later they were in Tori's house. The whole gang was there and they were anxiously waiting for the siblings to arrive.
"Daniel, what was that text? What's so important?" Tori asked confused as Daniel and Chloe walked into the living room.
"It's about Jade" He said and Beck immediately turned to them. "Chloe, tell us everything you think you saw…"
"I told you it must've been a mistake, she's dead and we all know it" Chloe said.
"What mistake? What are you talking about?" Andre questioned.
"Chloe thinks she saw Jade last night" Daniel informed and they all stood up.
"What?" Cat asked surprised.
"Just talk" Daniel demanded and Chloe sighed, she didn't want to tell them because that would mean admitting she'd done drugs but the pressure was too big so she had to give in.
"Fine, fine…" She said annoyed. "My friends and I went to this part of the city, I'd never been there before but they wanted to buy something…"
"What did they want to buy? Where were you?" Daniel asked and she stared at him nervously.
"I don't know, I told you I'd never been there but it was very ugly" She responded. "They wanted to buy drugs"
"WHAT?" Daniel asked clearly angry.
"Yes, I'm sorry, I swear it wasn't my idea" Chloe said sincerely.
"Oh my god, Chloe" He responded upset.
"Just let her finish, what did you see?" Beck asked and she took a breath.
"Well, we went into this very ugly building…it was nasty, there was smoke and needles and junkies and prostitutes all over the place, I was terrified…I felt threatened just by being there, I'm surprised I didn't catch an infection" Chloe commented. "Anyway, I was waiting for my friends to finish and I saw a man walking down the stairs with a girl, he was holding her by the arm because she could barely walk without tripping…she was wearing a short black dress and she was a complete mess, she was obviously a junkie and she seemed a zombie; the man, who was also high, paid some money to the dealer, said it had been worth the price and left…" She continued as she looked down remembering with a disturbed expression. "It was such a horrible experience, that place was scary" She said and they looked at each other not really knowing what to respond.
"What does this have to do with Jade?" Tori asked disconcertedly and Chloe looked at them.
"That it was her, the girl…the junkie prostitute, it was Jade" Chloe informed and their eyes wide opened as their mouths dropped; they hadn't seen that coming. "I mean I'm not sure but it could be, she really did look like her; the guy…the dealer, he checked her face like he was testing merchandise and then sent her back to the stairs so I saw her face for a few seconds…But she didn't recognize me, she saw me and didn't do anything so maybe it's not her, I don't know"
"Dear god" Beck said shocked; just imagining Jade in those conditions made him want to die but the fact she could be alive made him incredibly happy.
"Do you think it could be her?" Daniel asked and they looked at each other.
"Jade…a junkie prostitute? I can't believe it" Tori commented. "Maybe it's not her, you probably mistook her for someone else"
"But maybe not, we don't know what those beasts did with her and there is no body...Describe her" Beck demanded and Chloe sighed as she shrugged.
"What am I supposed to say? I don't know, she was tall, skinny…a lot more than the last time I saw her, pale skin, black hair, I don't know…" Chloe said. "I couldn't see her up close, she was facing the opposite side for the most part…and when I saw her face it was very quick but she looked like Jade, except for the dark circles around her eyes and a couple of bruises, her face was also very bony…like sucked in, I guess it's because of the weight loss" She continued as she tried to remember all the details of that moment.
"That doesn't really help, it could be just a girl with similar features and a more prominent bone structure" Robbie commented.
"Wait, there was something else" Chloe said.
"What? What is it?" Beck asked anxiously.
"This will probably just confirm it's not her but while she was facing the other side, I saw her arm…she had a tattoo" Chloe informed and Beck could feel his heart beating faster.
"Was it a star?" He questioned and the sole look in her face gave him the answer.
"Yes, yes…it was a star, oh my god, it's really her?" She asked and Beck covered his mouth shocked.
"Let's not jump into conclusions" Tori said.
"She saw a girl with Jade's features and the same tattoo, what are the odds?" Andre asked. "It has to be her"
"We need to confirm it, do you remember where that house is?" Daniel asked her.
"Yes" She said and they all immediately rushed to the cars. Chloe led them to the house and it indeed was a very ugly building, they could see men walking in and out and some prostitutes trying to flirt with them on the sidewalk.
They all walked into the house carefully and held each other's hands as they made their way through the small dark hallway until they got to the yard and saw the horrors Chloe had described. They could see the room full of junkies and the drugged girls spread around the yard so they started looking for Jade. "Where is she?" Beck asked anxiously.
"I don't know…" Chloe said and continued looking.
"Guys, over there…it could be her, right?" Tori asked as she pointed to a girl sitting on the stairs, her head was leaning on the side so her hair covered her face but she had black hair and pale skin.
"Yes, it could" Beck said as he walked towards her hoping to see her face, he just wanted her to be alive. He grabbed her chin gently and made her look at him with a smile on his face but as soon as he saw her, his smile dropped. It wasn't her so Beck simply made his way back to his friends and they sighed mortified. "I can't spot her anywhere here…"
"Look, that's the dealer…" Chloe whispered and they all turned to the scary looking man. He walked from the junkies' room to the back of the yard behind the staircase. They walked to the side a little just so they would have a clear visibility of what he was going to do and saw a couple of girls sitting on the floor facing the other side, one of them had black hair and she was hugging her legs while shaking desperately so they looked at each other not knowing whether to consider that girl as a possibility or just move on.
"Hello there, sweetie…I know, I know, I'm gonna give you your medicine now" Rick said as he stroked the girl's face and grabbed an injection from his pocket. "Sh, sh, sh…it's okay" he grabbed her arm to inject her the drugs and as soon as the gang saw it their eyes wide opened; it had the same star tattoo, it was Jade.
"Oh god" Tori said scared as they watched the man injecting her and a few seconds later the shaking became less intense.
"Son of a bitch" Beck said and tried to step towards him angrily but Daniel grabbed his arm to stop him.
"He's got a gun, don't be obvious…he won't just give her to us" He whispered and they saw the man making Jade stand up, he grabbed her arm and left her on the other side of the yard where two men were smoking and as soon as they saw her, they smiled at each other. The gang had just seen her back but they just knew it was her.
"What are you looking for?" Rick asked the gang and they turned to him nervously.
"Umm…we want some candies" Chloe said and he stared at them suspiciously.
"How much do you have?" He asked.
"A hundred" Daniel responded and Rick smiled.
"Alright, tell me what you want" He demanded but they didn't even know what to ask for. Beck couldn't keep his eyes off Jade so he was very anxious.
Meanwhile, across the yard one of the men grabbed Jade's face with one hand while the other looked at her body and they both kept smoking. Jade was just trying to remain up, she kept walking in small circles to avoid tripping. "Look at that!" One of them said as his hand made its way from her face down to her chest and he breathed the smoke into her mouth. Beck was watching the whole thing so his heart was beating faster and he felt the need to murder those two men.
"Sh, sh, sh…That's nice…" The other man said as he approached her from behind so Jade was in the middle of the two of them. He put his hand under her dress and started touching her leg while kissing her shoulders from behind while his friend kissed her neck and touched her all over as well. Jade wasn't even there, she was just staring at the sky dizzily but Beck was watching it and he felt they were going to rape her right there if no one stopped them.
"Excuse me" Beck said as Rick talked to one of his workers so he'd bring the drugs.
"What?" He asked coldly.
"How much for her?" He asked and turned to Jade, whom at that point was against the side of the stairs holding the bars while one of the men touched her from behind and basically rubbed himself against her body. The gang looked at each other scared for her but trying to hide it and Rick looked at Jade as well.
"Her? Looks like she's busy, I have others" Rick commented.
"I want her" Beck insisted. "She's the prettiest one…Tell them to leave her alone, I want her for me" He said trying to sound as cynical as possible and Rick chuckled. "How much?"
"Alright kid, give me thirty bucks and you have an hour with her" Rick said and Beck smirked.
"Deal" Beck said and Rick walked over to the men, one of them was already pulling her dress up a little and opening his pants while the other kissed her shoulder.
"Sorry boys, you'll have to wait…" Rick informed as he pulled Jade's dress down again and they stared at him upset.
"Come on, man" One of them said annoyed but he simply grabbed Jade's arm and made her walk towards the gang. She kept looking to the side and moving like a zombie, just like Chloe had said, she looked nothing like the last time they'd seen her even though she'd also been beaten back then, they couldn't believe their eyes but the fact she was alive made them very happy, they could barely contain the excitement.
"Here she is" Rick said and pushed her towards Beck so she almost tripped. He grabbed her arms to stop her from falling and hoped that she would recognize him but she couldn't even focus her sight, seeing her like that made him feel so sad but it was her, seeing her up close confirmed it and he could not believe it. "Take her to one of the rooms, it's more comfortable" He said and Beck simply nodded. "Also, take this" Rick handed him a condom and he stared at it. "You better fucking use it, pretty boy" He threatened and Beck nodded as he held Jade's arm but she kept moving her feet in small circles because she couldn't stand properly and she was wearing heels, which just made it harder.
"What's wrong with her?" Tori asked to see what the man would say.
"Nothing, this cupcake is just daydreaming…You'll see what it feels like if you try stronger candies, your problems will be over, it's a promise" Rick commented as he stroked Jade's cheek and Tori chuckled a little trying to pretend she was into it.
"Cupcake? What's her name?" Beck asked.
"She doesn't need a name for this job, you may call her whatever you want" Rick responded. "Anyway, these are the rules, you can do whatever you want with her…she'll cooperate so you don't need to get rough but if you're into that kind of stuff, go ahead and enjoy yourself, just know that every bruise or scar you may cause her increases the price" He commented and Beck felt so much impotence just hearing him talk about her like she was a thing; Jade had some bruises so he imagined how many men had decided to hurt her more just for fun and felt he would explode in rage.
"Okay…" Beck simply said and the gang tried to pretend they didn't care but they were also feeling incredibly impotent.
"Alright so…" Rick continued talking about the drugs with the gang while Beck basically carried Jade upstairs.
Beck opened one of the rooms and saw an unconscious girl half naked on a small mattress on the floor while a guy got dressed next to her so he closed the door and moved on to the next one, which was empty. Jade walked inside and he locked the door, he looked down trying to process what was happening and turned around to see Jade leaning against the wall. He couldn't believe she was alive and what she had become, he had seen how other men assaulted her while she was drugged and he'd paid money to be with her like she was an object. The whole situation was extremely overwhelming for him.
"Hey" Beck said nicely with tears in his eyes as he grabbed her face gently to make her look at him. "It's me, Beck, can you understand what I say?" He asked hopefully but the look in her eyes was empty. "Come on, please say something"
"I'm okay" Jade said and he smiled thinking she had reacted.
"Yes, Jade, yes!" He responded. "You're alive! Don't worry, we'll get you out of here tonight!"
"I'm okay" She said again and her eyes moved off him so his smile dropped, it was obvious she hadn't reacted. He stepped back covering his mouth from the impact and looked at her from top to bottom. Her dress was very short so he could see she had bruises not only on her face but on her thighs and wrists as well, her arms were full of needle marks from the drugs, her nose was reddish, her face looked bony as Chloe had said, she was skinnier, her hair was a mess, her eyes were red, she had dark circles around them and her whole appearance was drained; at that point he started to wonder if maybe it would've been better if Jade had died from the beginning but he loved her more than anything so he couldn't wish that, he felt blessed to see her alive. However, the current situation wasn't very different from death, they'd sucked the life out of her and Beck didn't know if it would ever come back.
I know, Jade's situation is horrible and those of you asking if you'll find out how she got there: Yes, you will just wait a bit haha
PLEASE REVIEW! AND DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME ALL YOUR THOUGHTS, I LOVE IT WHEN YOU GUYS EXPRESS YOUR REACTIONS TO THE STORY! :)