Sorry for the wait once again. My tooth is still hurting! It's hard to concentrate with a toothache! Anyways, here you go.

Chapter 25

This is Your Fault

[Cat's POV]

RING, RING, RING

"Who's that?" Jade asked as she sat on our bed flipping through the channels.

I picked up my phone to see the unsaved number of Tori and I quickly hit ignore. "Just bill collectors." I shrugged and played it off as I sat my phone back down and cuddled back into Jade praying that she wouldn't call again.

RING, RING, RING, RING

FREAK!

I grabbed my phone and hit ignore quickly once again.

"They are after you today huh?" Jade chuckled.

"..Yeahh..haha." I let out a shaky breath and it wasn't even 5 seconds later that my phone started ringing again.

"Ugh I'll just answer it!" I yelled out pretending to be mad at "tax collectors".

"Don't, they won't leave you alone if you do." Jade stated nonchalantly as she threw the remote down after finding something that interested her on tv.

"It's okay." I stated as I hit the answer key. "Hello?"

"Hey Cat, Ikenzie is complaining of a headache and being a little light headed. Do you think I should bring her…."

CLICK

"Hello?" I took the phone from my face to see that she had hung up before hitting redial and not getting an answer.

I sat back for a moment before picking up my phone again and redialing but still got no answer.

I hope Ikenzie's okay….

"Who do you keep calling?" Jade asked as she turned her attention from the tv to me.

"Umm, people." I said as Tori's phone went straight to voicemail once again.

Maybe she didn't'[t mean to call. Maybe it was a false alarm?

"Who is people?"

"I was calling to check on Ikenzie."

"Leave her alone babe. It's her first sleepover. She'll be fine. She doesn't need you up her ass the whole time she's there." Jade said as she sat back against the head board and closed her eyes.

I sighed. I'm a bit worried. Why would Tori call and say that to hang up?

I decided to let loose as I just cuddled into Jade and let my head fall on her chest.

I listened to her heart beat which seemed to have started to speed and beat louder after every few seconds. She started heavy breathing and that's when I looked up at her face to see her eyes closed with furrowed brows.

"Jade." I said in a soft voice.

"Don't, mom don't…." Jade whispered out and I knew her mind was deep down in her past.

Jade always has episodes like these. She would fall into a deep thought about her past and it was hard to get her out of them sometimes. I just….I feel bad for what her parents did to her and it's….my fault. I should have told someone, but I didn't.

"Jade it's okay." I said as I brought my hand to her face.

She immediately opened her eyes and they went from sad to fury. "Get the hell off of me!"

I sighed as I sat back away from her to give her air. "Why don't you just….talk to someone Jade?"

"The hell are you talking about?"

"I mean…about your past. Maybe if you talk about it and let some things out, you'll feel better."

"So you are calling me crazy?"

"Noo! No I'm saying just talk about it. You can talk to me if you want? Or if not me anybody, just talk to someone Jade. Talking always makes people feel better. You are holding too much in. Let something out."

"No." She stated plainly as her gaze went back to the tv. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is Jade. Please. Just talk to me?"

"I said no! Now shut the hell up!"

I sighed as I reached over and grabbed Jade's hand in mine. I leaned up and gave her a kiss on her cheek before sliding over to her lips in which she kissed back lightly.

"I love you Jade. I just want what's best for you." I said against her lips.

"I love you too Cat, but I'm fine." She grabbed my other arm and pulled me onto her lap so that I was straddling her hips as our kiss deepened. Her kisses left my mouth and started to make a trail down my neck as she stopped to suck on my pulse point while her hands tucked themselves inside my shorts from behind.

"Mmmmmmm"

RING, RING, RING, RING

I sighed as I reached over for my phone but Jade's hand stopped me. "No baby." She said in a lustful voice before turned my face to hers and kissing me.

RING, RING, RING, RING

I broke the kiss. "I have too."

She sighed as she pushed me off of her.

"Hello?"

"Cat!" I heard Tori yell through the phone in a shaky tone.

"Yeah?" I tried to sound uninterested so I wouldn't catch Jade's attention.

"Cat it's Ikenzie! She's hurt!"

"What!? What happened!?" I yelled forgetting all about playing it off.

"Everything was going fine, she said she had a little headache and I gave her some meds and then she just kept complaining of a headache. She started to act sort of weird and then she just all of a sudden had a seizer and then she didn't wake up! I just rushed took her to the emergency room and they took her from me!" She cried.

My heart dropped as Jade demanded to know who was on the phone in the background.

"What hospital?"

"General."

"I'm on the way." With that I hung up as tears filled my eyes.

"Cat! Who the hell was that! What's going on!?"

"Ikenzie. Ikenzie's in the hospital Jade."

Jade's faced cleared. "What? What happened?"

"She had a seizer! Come on we have to go." I cried as I grabbed her arm and ran her out of the house with me.

It didn't take us long at all to arrive at the hospital. Jade and I both in tears once we reached the emergency room and it only made it worse that she was crying. Jade never really crys, so when I see her cry it's another feeling that takes over me. It's overwhelmingly sad. I can't stand to see it.

"Where's my daughter?" I asked as I reached the front desk.

"Name?" The lady asked nonchalantly as she looked above her glasses.

"Ikenzie West-Valentine. She's okay right?" Jade asked as she stepped up to the desk.

"Waiting room 2A." She pointed before ignoring us completely.

"Is she okay?" Jade smacked the desk to get her attention.

"Does it look like I know?" She stated irritably. "2A." She pointed as she smacked on some gum.

I watched as Jade looked at her with fury before jumping on her desk and reaching out to grab her but I pulled her down quickly. "Jade stop! Come on!"

"Stupid bitch!" Jade growled as we made our way to the waiting room and this is when it hit me. She's going to see that Ikenzie was staying with Tori's daughter. Oh my god.

Jade busted through the door and immediately stopped when she spotted Tori who sat in a chair with her hands to her face crying while her daughter sat quietly in a corner.

"VEGA!?"

Tori instantly looked up. "I'm so sorry guys." She cried.

Jade turned to me with fire in her eyes before she turned them to soft ones. One's that mean "You're going to get it later, but I'm going to pretend everything is cool now."

I watched as Jade took a deep breath and let it out before turning her gaze back to Tori. "What the hell did you do to my daughter Vega!?"

It makes me wonder when she calls her Vega if she knows her name is now Oliver?

"I didn't do anything, I swear. She was fine one moment and the next she was having a seizer. I'm so sorry guys."

Jade growled as she sped over to Tori and grabbed the front of her shirt. "What was my daughter doing at your house in the first place!?"

"She's f,frends with my daughter Kaylee. Cat said it was fine."

No, no, no, nooooo

Jade turned to me slowly. "You knew about this!" She said pointing to Tori as her other hand still kept a tight grip on her.

"I….I….what does it matter! Our daughter is sick! We are all here for Ikenzie! She's the important thing right now! Not this ! I'm here for my daughter! Now stop it! Just stop it!" I yelled out as I covered my ears. I could hear the whole altercation that was going to take place in the near future loud in my ears. I don't want to go through that. I want all this to stop right now.

"Cat-"

"-Jade shut the hell up and sit the fuck down! I don't want to hear anything you have to say! It's not important right now! SIT DOWN!" I pointed to a chair before I went and sat down myself.

And it wasn't until I put my head down that I realized what I just said to her and Oh my god…I'm in so much trouble.

I felt a headed body sit next to me and I didn't dare look up. I just pulled out my phone and texted Isis and Italy and told them to get down here as soon as they can.

"What happened Tori? Like…what were her symptoms?" Jade asked in a hushed tone after things seemed to settle in the room.

I looked up to see Tori sit up in her seat that was across from us as she looked from Jade to me back to Jade. "Well, when I got her from school she was complaining of a headache and I did ask her if she wanted to go home, but she rejected. She seemed really down and she didn't really want to do anything. A little later my daughter asked if she could bring the dog out and she had Ikenzie sit with me in the living room and she said her head was still hurting and once Kaylee brought the dog out she jumped up and screamed like she was really afraid. She told her it was fine and she seemed like she had gotten….confused or something, but she shook it off and I sent them back up to Kaylee's room for a while. Then I asked them to come down and set the table. She was holding onto the rail as if she was going to pass out and I questioned her and she said she felt dizzy and that she didn't feel well. So that's when I decided to call you."

I heard Jade let out a huge sigh and cuss under her breath.

At that moment the doctor walked in the room. "Ikenzie's family?"

"Yes." Jade said as she stood up as well as I.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"Have a seat." The doctor gestured as he sat across from us beside Tori.

"What happened to her?" Jade demanded as she sat on the edge of her seat.

"Ikenzie seems to have had a Cerebrovascular Accident but we are running more test because of her age it doesn't seem likely."

"What the hell is a Cerebrovascular accident?" Jade asked as she threw her hands up.

"A stroke."

Tears filled my eyes as my heart started to ache. I put my hands to my face and started to sob before I could hear anything else the doctor had to say. I was scared of what he had to say. What if she didn't….make it!? What if she's brain damaged….what if….god no..

I felt Jades hand started to rub my back as the doctor's hand went to my knee for support. "I need to get some information from you guys. Are you her mother?" I heard the doctor asked me but I still didn't look up.

"We both are." Jade said in a shaky voice and I knew she was breaking as well.

"Has Ikenzie ever suffered from any head trauma? Any-"

"-She had a stroke 6 months ago." I said as I looked up and wiped my eyes.

The doctor wrote something down on his clipboard before meeting eyes with me again. "When did you first notice symptoms? Was she acting different? Complaining of any pain, numbness?"

I shook my head. "Tori just-"

"-She was saying she had a headache at school all day. She said she didn't feel well." Kaylee spoke up as she kept her head down.

"What time was that?"

"She said that first thing when I saw her this morning at school I guess around 9."

I watched as the doctor shook his head and started to write things down before I felt Jade tense up. "…She….she was acting weird early this morning actually. Her alarm clock was going off, but it didn't wake her up. She was kind of out of it, but she said she'll be fine to go to school."

"Did you notice anything last night before bed?"

Jade and I both shook our heads. "She seemed fine before she went to sleep."

"Why did she have another stroke? The doctors said as long as she stayed on her medication she'd be fine!" Jade yelled as a tear escaped her eye.

"This can be a recurrent stroke. It's a stroke that usually occurs with a year of a first stroke. Sometimes medications doesn't do the job. Do you know what caused her first stroke?"

"The doctors couldn't find a real reason. They said it was most likely linked to dehydration." Jade said as she wiped the tear with her sleeve.

The doctor nodded as he wrote more information down. "We are going to transfer her over to Los Angeles Rivers. They specialize in areas of heart attacks and strokes."

"Can we see her before you do that? Is she okay?"

"It will be best if you wait until she is transferred. She's slipped into a coma and…."

I didn't hear what else he had to say as my hands went to my face again and sobbed.

Why is this happening?

[Jade's POV]

Saturday Morning

I sat beside the bed of my daughter as machines kept her alive. It's….it's so scary to know that if that machine wasn't there that….she wouldn't be here.

I reach over and let my hand stroke her head softly as she lay there almost lifeless. It looks as if she's asleep, but I can't wake her. Doctors say comas can last from 1 hour to 100 years. They never know, but I need my baby to wake up. She's stronger than that. She can handle this. I know she can.

"Everything will be okay Ikenzie. I….don't promise."

I can no longer make a promise that I can't keep. I did that once before. And it was a lie. I lost her. I told her everything will be okay but it wasn't. She believe me, she believed that everything would be okay because I promised her it would. She trusted me but I lied.

I lied…

~Flashback~

"Ahhh! Jade!" My 7 year old little sister Jewel laughed as I (12 years old) splashed her in the face with water.

Our parent's weren't home at the time and we loved times we got to ourselves because we could be able to play outside and just have a good time without getting into trouble, but we always made sure we were back in the house with our chores done before our parents returned. They never knew we even left. We played it off so well.

Today we are playing in a creek that's filled with water since it rained yesterday. Kids from round the block come and swim in it a lot after it rains and it's 100% safe. Jewel and I always swam in our clothes since we didn't have bathing suits and other kids would look at us funny but they never questioned why we didn't wear bathing suits because some kids swam in shorts and tshirts, but they did question why we would wear long pants and sleeves.

We only did that to hide the bruises and scraps that took over both our bodies. Mother said if anyone ever questions us about it we better lie or she'd kill us. And we weren't good at lying about how we got bruises so we just covered up and told them our shorts and tshirts were clean and we didn't want them to get nasty with creek water and they took that.

Everything was fine today. It was a great day. We got to play and have fun in the creek with the neighbor kids and even got home before our parents.

It wasn't until our mother arrived home later that night that things got out of hand.

"Jadelyn!" My mother called as me and my sister sat in my room playing with some toys we found out by the creek today. I mean they weren't in the best shape, but I played with her.

I hopped up from my bed and walked into the hall and to the stairs. "Yes ma'am?"

"How about you and you sister come down here."

I looked over at Jewel who sat on my bed as I motioned for her to follow me in which she did. Once we got down stairs she hid behind me like she always does when our parents confront us.

"So I was talking to Catherine today (our neighbor). She said it was nice to see my kids out today having a good time." She crossed her arms as she spoke in a sweet tone.

Fuck….

"May I ask what you two were doing outside the damn house?" She said as her tone turned bitter.

I opened my mouth but no words came out.

We never have been caught outside before and I always had a speech and an excuse ready for if we ever did, but for some reason it was lost somewhere deep in my brain as fear crept in. I knew we were in for it.

"..I…we just….we…" I stuttered.

"We just wanted to swim." Jewel said from behind me in a hushed tone.

My mother smiled. "Is that right?"

Jewel nodded.

"I heard you guys went swimming and when I did I went out and bought you guys something."

What…?

"You…did?"

"Mhm." She nodded. "Come on it's out back."

I looked down a Jewel who just looked at me terrified before I grabbed her hand and followed my mother to the back porch.

There outside was a small family pool. It was blown up on the patio with the patio lights on so it could be seen in the dark.

"There you girls go." She smiled, but there's no way she bought us a pool. What the hell is going on?

"This is for us!?" Jewel asked excitedly as she let go of my hand.

"Yes ma'am. How about you two go check it out?"

I don't like this. Something isn't right….

"We don't have bathing suits." I stated plainly as I turned to walk off grabbing Jewel in the process but my mother grabbed my shoulder and stopped me.

"Oh that didn't stop you from swimming today did it? I found your wet clothes. Get in the pool. I bought it, you guys are going to swim in it. Now."

I shook my head as Jewel squealed with excitement. She doesn't understand something isn't right about this.

"Come on Jade! Let's swim!"

My mother smiled and then frowned. "Listen Jadelyn….I know I've been a…pain in the ass and I haven't been a good mother, but I want to change that. I love you okay? Just….swim in the pool. It would be an insult if you didn't. I wanted to do this for you guys. I love you."

She looked at me in the eyes when she said it and it seemed to be sincere.

I believed her.

I removed my shirt as well as Jewel but Jewel jumped in before I could. I barely got my foot in before it happened.

I felt strong arms pull me from the pool and hold me tight as the porch lights went out only leaving a small amount of light enough light to see my mother getting into the pool with my little sister and smashing her face into the water.

I screamed and screamed for help as my dad put his hand over my mouth and put his body weight on me so that I couldn't move. I knew it was my dad because I could smell the strong beer on him.

I watched as my mother held Jewel down and watched her legs kick and kick slashing water everywhere.

"You wanted to swim now swim!" My mother laughed as I screamed as loud as I could with a hand over my mouth but it was no use. No one could hear me. Tears started streaming down my face as I watched in horror my mother drowning my sister and there's nothing I could do to stop it.

Nothing.

The only sound that could be heard were water splashing everywhere and small snickers from my mother and then…..everything fell silence. Everything was steal.

I watched as my mother sat back and sighed before she got up from the pool and walked over to me. "See what you did Jadelyn? I told you guys to stay in the house. Did you listen? No. Now you have to suffer the consequences. This.." She pointed to the pool where my sister floated face down. "…Is your fault."

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