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Chapter Seven
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Beck wakes up a mere hour after he falls asleep, thanks to the pounding in his nose. While the swelling has gone down considerably, he's still in a state of pain that won't allow him to sleep. What proves to be even more painful than the throbbing on his face is his memory of what had happened three hours ago. After all of his girlfriend's pleads and reassurances, he had just barely gotten his hand into the unchartered territory of her pants when she hit him.
It was sudden and harsh, and he could tell only by the horrified look on her face that it had been completely impulsive. Jade wouldn't hurt him purposely. He knows that. What frustrates him more than anything, though, is her refusal to talk about any of it with him. He moves the rag so that it no longer blocks his eyesight, and looks down to see that she's still asleep. He wants to get up to wet his rag again, but the last thing he wants to do is wake her.
Carefully, he reaches over her to set the now mostly dry rag on his nightstand. Jade doesn't budge, but, when Beck returns to laying on his back, she rolls closer to him in her sleep. When she snuggles her head into his chest, the pleasant things he thought he'd feel are immediately interrupted by dreadful ones. Not knowing what happened to Jade to make her react the way she had is killing him.
He can't sleep. And, while his insomnia frustrates him, it's also the reason he's awake when, an hour later, Jade begins to move in her sleep. At first she's just mumbling—but then the mumbling turns into crying. She pulls her legs together and squeezes them up to hold herself in a fetal position, and Beck starts to panic.
"Jade." He jolts her shoulders in an attempt to wake her up, but she's still crying and shaking and, worst of all, asleep.
"Don't," she cries. "Don't, please."
"Jade, wake up. Wake up. I'm here, it's Beck. Wake up."
Her mumbling becomes incoherent so, going against what he wants to do, Beck shakes her more aggressively to pull her out of her nightmare. Her eyes fly open and she's gasping for air, so Beck reaches over to turn on the lamp.
"It's okay. It's okay; it was just a dream. I'm right here."
Her chest is rising and falling sporadically with each breath she takes, and when she tries to close her eyes for any kind of relief, she starts crying again.
"Shhh." Beck's heart breaks as he pulls her into his arms. "Shhh, it's okay. Everything is okay." It's a lie, he knows, but he'll do anything to calm her. "I'm here."
It takes another half hour for her to calm down completely, all of which Beck stays awake and attentive for. When her heart rate has slowed back to its normal speed, Beck is combing his fingers through her hair. She's embarrassed—humiliated from what had happened earlier and now even more so that she'd had a nightmare right in front of him—but she doesn't have the stamina to get up and go to her own room.
"Jade," Beck says softly, "we need to talk about this." She closes her eyes, but he shakes his head. "Jade." He tilts her chin up to meet his face. "What happened?"
"I don't know," she cries. "I'm sorry; I didn't think I would hit you; I don't even know why—"
"Jade, I don't care about that. I'm not mad about it. I just want to know..."
She's quiet for ten minutes, and Beck tries to be as patient as he can. "I can't," she finally says. "I can't tell you."
"You can. It's just me. I won't judge you or think of you any differently, but you're scaring me. This is scary."
She sighs. "It's not that. I just...don't want you to know."
"How come?"
She shakes her head. "I just don't."
"Jade, how can we ever have anything real if you refuse to be honest with me? Just sometimes, you have to tell me what's going on in your head or I'm going to go crazy. Please, let me in."
She blinks her eyes and a single tear falls onto the pillow. "I'm sorry."
"No, don't apologize, please. I'm sorry if I'm—" He cuts himself off and takes a deep breath. "I want to know. It's okay if it's bad." When she still doesn't say anything, he decides to prod her with questions. "Did someone hurt you?" No answer. "Did...Did Jordan—"
"He's never touched me."
"Promise me he's never hurt you." Beck's blood is boiling already at the memory of him on top of her and her body freezing up. He'd never forgive himself if Jordan had previously hurt Jade and he hadn't known about it.
"I promise."
He nods slowly. "So it was someone else, then." She won't even look at him. "Jade, who was it?"
Silence.
Beck cups her cheek with one palm. "I can't just keep guessing; I don't know very many people from your life." More tears fall from her eyes and she takes a shaky breath in.
"It started when I was twelve."
Beck feels like he's been stabbed in the gut, but he says nothing.
"He would only come to my room after my mom had passed out from her fifth vodka tonic. She never knew; she still doesn't." Her voice quivers, but she continues. "At first, I thought it was a one-time thing. I thought he was just…I don't know. But, when he came the second night, I knew it was going to happen again." She sniffles and takes another deep breath. "It ended when I was fourteen, as soon as my mom started AA. He knew that, once she sobered up, she'd suspect something. So, one day, he just stopped. He never said a word, and neither did I. It just went away."
It takes Beck a minute just to form words. "Jade, I am so—"
"I'm fine. I promise."
"But," he tries to protest, "you live with him. How do you... What if he—"
"He hasn't set foot in my bedroom since my freshman year. So long as my mom stays in AA and off her bottle, he won't touch me." He doesn't say anything for a few seconds, so she looks up to glare at him. "You cannot tell Georgia."
"But, Jade—"
"Not a word. You promised."
Beck wants to argue that he promised before he knew that her step-father had sexually abused her for two years, but he knows that it's more important to gain her trust. "I know you don't want me to say I'm sorry, but I'm going to anyways. I'm sorry that he did that. You don't deserve that, and it's not your fault. Please tell me you know that."
She doesn't reply.
"Jade."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore," she says, and her voice is weaker than before. Beck, willing to do anything to not upset her, nods his head. She sighs tiredly and presses her face into his shirt so that her voice is barely audible. "Please don't tell anyone," she cries.
"I won't." He tightens his arms around her and her heartbeat starts to slow again. "I promise: I won't tell a soul." There are three more words he wants to add, but he doesn't know if saying them aloud would scare himself or her more, so he refrains. "Goodnight, Jade," he settles for. Beck thinks she mumbles something into his chest, but she's already dozing off to sleep and, for that, he's grateful.
Again, though, he is unable to sleep. Hard as he tries, he can't think of anything other than the anger boiling inside of him. It scares him—the amount of rage he can feel even with Jade lying beside him. It scares him to think of wanting to kill her step-father, and to hope that he never comes face-to-face with the man who did this to her.
He doesn't know when he manages to finally fall asleep, but the next time he opens his eyes, it's bright outside. Jade is sound asleep in his arms, but he knows from one look at his clock that she has to be at work in just over an hour. Tiger is asleep at the foot of his bed, but Beck knows it won't be long before the puppy is wide-eyed and awake. The last thing he notices is that his nose is pounding, and that he'll definitely need to ask Georgia for painkillers.
In his first attempt to wake his girlfriend up, he presses a firm kiss to her temple. When she doesn't move, he tries rubbing her arm and kissing her head again. "Jade," he says softly, "it's 8:45." She grumbles something that Beck can't make out, so he persists until she opens her eyes. He props himself up on one elbow and brushes a strand of her long hair behind her ear. "Good morning." He leans in to kiss her lips and she responds instantly by kissing him back.
"Morning." She frowns. "Your nose is still a little swollen. Beck, I'm so sorry."
He kisses her forehead. "It doesn't hurt."
"Don't lie. There's no way you're not in pain."
"Jade, I'm fine. I'll get some painkillers from Georgia, okay?"
She pauses. "I'm still—"
He kisses her lightly to interrupt her, and is careful not to bump his nose. Jade sighs and lets his smell and his presence calm her.
"You sure you're okay to go to work today? I can call Bradley and tell him you're sick, or—"
"I can go. I want to; it's a good distraction. Besides, you've got your interview at Pickles today anyways. You can bring me lunch when you're done."
"Of course I will."
Tiger yawns from where he's lying at the end of the bed, and then shakes his head from side to side as he wakes up. As soon as he sees Beck and Jade's faces, he hops over to them and begins licking their faces.
Beck laughs and pets the puppy, who is now curling up to Jade. After a minute, the two get up to take Tiger outside. When they come back in, Georgia has their plates of eggs, toast, and bacon on the table.
"Morning," she greets them as she sits down at the table with her mug. "Coffee's ready."
While Beck gets Tiger's food and water into his bowls, Jade makes a cup of coffee for both herself and Beck. It isn't lost on Georgia that the two of them work together like a married couple, but she remains silent on the matter.
When Beck leaves to drive Jade to work, Georgia pats her legs so that Tiger comes over to sit with her. As she continues working on the schedule for Burley's 4th of July festival, she strokes the happy puppy in her lap. She's still working when Beck walks back through the door. Tiger instantly leaps out of Georgia's lap and runs over to Beck, who scoops him up and kisses him.
Beck smiles at Georgia. "I'm going to take him outside while I water the flowers. He probably needs to get some energy out."
"Okay." Georgia sets down her coffee. "What time is your interview?"
"12:30."
"And what are you planning on wearing?" She asks. Beck's mind goes blank and Georgia chuckles. "You can water the flowers this afternoon; right now, let's go into town and find you something."
"Georgia," he tries to protest, because, really, she's done more than enough for him already.
"No arguments. You can wear your shorts and t-shirts when you get the job—but you'd better look damn sharp when you're trying to get it."
He nods, so Georgia closes her laptop and grabs her car keys and Tiger's leash from the hook on the wall. "Let's go. Tiger, too."
Beck follows her out to her car, and the two make good conversation on their way into town. When they arrive at Jos A. Bank, they get out of the car and roll down the windows so that Tiger has fresh air while he stays in and plays with his toys.
"I've done all of Bradey's shopping here for ten years," Georgia explains as they walk inside. "When his wife passed, he realized how generally clueless he is about stuff like this. So, once a month or so, we come here and he picks out a few new things. I'm in charge of making sure they fit him right and that they're not completely hideous." Beck chuckles, but Georgia can tell it's a nervous laughter rather than his usual, jovial one.
"I'm going to do the same for you." She pats his shoulder. "What size are you?" He looks at her hesitantly and she smiles. "Well, that's what we'll figure out. Come on, let's get you sized."
After an hour has passed, Beck has picked out three dress shirts: one gray, one blue, and one red. Georgia makes him get a white one, too, as well as two pairs of slacks. A few ties and some dress shoes later, they're walking out of the store. "Georgia, I can't thank you enough."
"You're welcome, sweetheart. I just want you to look fantastic for your interview. Besides, every man needs a few nice outfits for special occasions."
He nods. "I want to pay you ba—"
"Ah-ah," she cuts him off. "We've talked about this."
"I know, but—"
"No buts. You looked very handsome in those clothes; it would have been a crime for us not to buy them."
Beck smiles and gets into the car, and the two head back home so that he can shower and get dressed in his new clothes. By noon, he's clean, shaven, and dressed. The swelling in his nose is hardly noticeable, but when he looks at himself, he hardly recognizes himself.
For the first time in his life, he's dressed in nice clothes. His hair is combed neatly and his body is clean. He's healthy, he's happy, and he's about to go in to interview for his first, official, paid job. If someone were to tell him six months ago that this is where he'd be, he would have laughed in their face.
And yet, oddly enough, the thing he's most excited about concerning this outfit is Jade seeing him in it.
When he descends the stairs, Georgia grins and nods her head. "Definitely worth the shopping trip. Beck, you look wonderful."
He smiles. "Thank you, Georgia."
"Alright, you should get going!" She pulls him into a quick hug and gives his arm a squeeze. "Good luck. You're going to do great. If my granddaughter can't resist that smile, the guys at Pickles won't be able to either." She winks and Beck drops his head back.
"Georgia," he chides her.
"I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. One more thing before you go," she says, handing him a formal, sealed envelope. Beck furrows his eyebrows. "It's a reference letter. It helps to have people you've worked for recommend you as a good employee."
He smiles proudly and it warms her heart. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now go! If you're not early, you're late!"
He rocks the interview. Despite the fact that he has no formal work experience whatsoever, the manager buys his genuine image of a hardworking, caring guy. The letter from Georgia, which speaks extremely highly of Beck and his both personal and professional characteristics, even further confirms the employers' confidence in him.
When he walks through the door of Dr. Dunne's, Jade's eyes shoot up to see him and Beck watches her expression carefully. He raises his arms to his sides and grins.
"I got the job."
Ignoring the presence of two people with their pets in the office, Jade rushes out of her chair and springs into his arms. "Congratulations!" She says happily as he pulls her tightly into a hug. After a few seconds, she leans back to look at him. "Did you and Georgia go shopping?" He smiles and nods his head. Jade lowers her voice. "You look really, really sexy in this shirt. I like it."
"Jade West, are you flirting with me in public?"
Before Jade can answer, the door behind her desk opens and she jolts back out of Beck's arms as Bradley is walking his most recent patient out. She returns to her desk to check Mr. Carleton and his dog out, and Bradley moves over to talk to Beck.
"Well, you look like a million bucks! What's with the tie?" He grins and pats Beck's shoulder.
"I just had a job interview. You're looking at the newest waiter at Pickles!"
"Wow, congratulations! That's fantastic—I love Pickles! They're certainly lucky to have you on board."
"Thank you, sir. I'm happy to get the opportunity to do it. You mind if I borrow your secretary for her lunch break?"
"Not at all. You two go ahead. In fact, I think that after I get Mrs. Brown and Mr. Divencinzo finished," he says, pointing to the other two patrons in his office, "I'm going to close up and take the rest of the afternoon off." He looks at Jade, who is coming around from behind the desk. "Thanks for all your hard work today, Jade. I think I'll be seeing the two of you tomorrow." Beck and Jade exchange confused looks and Bradley smiles. "Georgia invited me for dinner Saturday night. I hope that's okay."
"Of course," Beck reassures him kindly. "I look forward to it."
Once they've said their goodbyes, the couple heads out to the truck and Beck kisses Jade as soon as they're in the car. He smiles against her lips. "Hi."
"Hi." She kisses him lightly. "First: how's your nose?"
"I had forgotten all about it," he promises, and kisses her again.
"Liar."
"Really. And, hey, the guys at the interview obviously didn't notice anything, because they thought I looked good enough to give me the job," he jokes.
Jade's voice softens. "I'm so proud of you." She brings her hands up to cup his cheeks. "You deserve this more than anyone, and I'm so happy for you."
"We'll celebrate tonight," he tells her, and kisses her until her head spins.
Around nine-thirty that night, Jade makes her way across the hall and into Beck's room. He eyes her up and down once.
"Oh, no."
"What?" She immediately looks down at her outfit. Her black, slightly ripped skinny jeans show off her superlong legs, and tuck into her black boots at the bottom. Her top, also black with nondescript writing on it, covers her cleavage but sacrifices fabric at the bottom, where it rises just slightly in the front to show off her stomach.
"You can't wear that out!"
"What?" She folds her arms over her chest. "Why the hell not?"
"You're going to make me look like an asshole when I have to be constantly pulling guys off of you."
She rolls her eyes and Beck smiles more seriously. "You look beautiful, Jade."
"Then get over here and kiss me."
He laughs and does as she says, pulling her into his arms and starting a make-out session almost long enough to make him forget everything that had happened last night. Still, when he pulls away, he's smiling. "Ready to go?"
"Not yet." She pulls him by the collar of his plaid button-up back to her lips. They kiss until they know they have to leave to pick Andre up, so Beck takes her hand and leads her downstairs and out to the truck. Lucky for them, Tiger loves Georgia enough that, when the woman had offered to let him sleep in her room for the night, the puppy was perfectly happy with it. So, worry free, Beck and Jade lock the door behind them and set out to pick Andre up from his parents' house.
When their friend hops into the back seat, he pats Beck's shoulder and smiles at the two. "Thanks for picking me up, man! You guys ready for a great night?"
"Yup."
"Always," Jade adds.
When Beck parks outside of The Red Bar, they can already tell it's busy. "Alright, real quick." Andre pulls out a bottle of liquor that neither Beck nor Jade had noticed he'd had. "We all take one pull. Deal?"
"Where'd you even get that?" Beck laughs.
"My grandma." Both of his new friends give him confused looks. "Long story. Either way: you in?"
"I am," Jade declares, and takes the bottle from him. She takes a pull from the bottle of Three Olives vodka and puckers her lips to avoid tasting the burn on her mouth.
"Damn, girl." Andre laughs and takes the bottle back to drink a sip of his own, and then hands it to Beck, who looks hesitant.
"I don't know."
"Beck, it's fine," Andre assures him.
"I'm driving."
"Not for at least another couple of hours," Jade points out. "It's just a shot, but if you don't want to, don't."
Beck nods and accepts the bottle from Andre, after which he takes a swig and feels the burning alcohol go down his throat. "Wow. That is nasty."
"It's not supposed to taste good when you don't drink it with anything else," his girlfriend explains.
"Have you never had alcohol?" Beck shakes his head and gives Andre the bottle back. "Well, there's a first time for everything." He grins and messes with Beck's hair. "Proud of you."
"Shut up," Beck laughs and pushes his hand away. The three exit the truck, and Beck takes Jade's hand as they walk into the bar. Just like Andre had promised, there's no bouncer of any kind to check their IDs.
Thirty minutes later, when Andre has ventured to the bar to flirt with a girl he spotted, Jade drags Beck to the dance floor area.
"No, no," he tries to protest. "I can't dance."
"Bullshit. You're going to dance with me to my favorite kind of music."
"I'm really bad. Trust me."
"I trust you," Jade tells him, "but I know you. And I know that you largely underestimate yourself." She puts his hands on her hips and wraps her arms around his neck, and begins swaying back and forth. The impressively good cover band on stage is playing Frankie Valli's "Oh What a Night," and Beck smiles.
"So my girl is into old school, huh?"
"It's my favorite."
"You're not very predictable, Jade West. You know that?"
"That's what I like to hear. And, by the way, you are totally not bad at dancing. Liar."
"I've never really—" He stops himself. "I guess I just haven't ever found the right person to dance with."
She stretches up to kiss him and his body vibrates like it always does. He likes her so much that it scares him, especially considering all that he's kept from her. He can't help but wonder when she'll get tired of knowing so little about his past. Knowing Jade, he doesn't have as long as he'd like to. When he notices that she's mouthing the lyrics to herself, Beck is pulled out of his thoughts and realizes how effortlessly this girl can turn him on.
He leans in to kiss her cheek, and then whispers hot against her ear. "You were right. I'm do like dancing with you."
Jade laces her fingers in his thick, brown hair, and pulls him closer to her lips. "I thought you might say that."
Close to midnight, "Groove Me" by King Floyd is playing and the couple is back to dancing. The song is barely halfway through when Andre comes up and shakes one of each of their shoulders.
"Guys, I need help."
"What? Is everything okay?" Beck instinctively grabs Jade's hand.
"I'm fine, but—just come."
Jade furrows her eyebrows, but walks with Beck behind Andre anyways. When they reach the side exit of the bar, Andre pushes the door open and suddenly they're outside in a dark alley. The only light is the streetlight about ten feet ahead, but it's enough for them to be able to see the person laying on the ground by the dumpster.
"Holy shit," Jade mutters. "How did you—"
"I came out to get some fresh air for a second, and the next thing I knew, I saw her, so I went back in to get help."
The girl is laying on her stomach, face down, and the three teenagers move quickly to turn her over onto her back.
"Oh my god."
Andre and Jade look perplexingly at Beck, but he just keeps staring at the stranger. "Oh my god," he utters again.
"What?" Jade puts her hand on his arm. "What's wrong?"
He shakes his head in disbelief. "I know this girl. She... Well, she saved my life once."
"What?" Jade asks, but Andre speaks before Beck can answer.
"Before we do anything—no matter who she is—we need to pull this needle out of her arm. It could be infected."
"Shouldn't we let the paramedics do that?"
"Speaking of paramedics," Beck notes, "Andre, can you call 911?"
Andre nods and dials the numbers as he begins to explain. "If she's alive, she most likely has heroin surging through her body. The sooner we get the needle out, the less chance it has to infect her."
While Andre pulls the dirty needle from the girl's arm, Jade begins checking for a heartbeat. "She has a pulse, but it's really weak." She turns towards her boyfriend while Andre speaks to the phone operator. "How do you know her?"
"I," He starts, but realizes he can't continue his sentence without telling her too much about his past. "We used to be friends. I haven't seen her in months, though. I never expected to see her again."
Jade is still confused and is determined to press for more questions, but at this point Andre is off the phone and clearly has something to say.
"The paramedics want us to stay with her until they get here, which should only take a couple minutes. They said to keep her facing up and that they'll be here soon."
Beck nods and, true to their word, the EMTs arrive shortly. While two men lift her onto a stretcher, one of them looks at Beck. "You're the one who knows her?"
"Well, I—"
"What's her name?"
"It's Cat. I don't know her last name."
"Do you know anything else about her?"
"Some."
"Okay. We're going to need you to come down to the hospital. You got a car?" Beck nods. "Great. Meet us there."
"Should one of us stay with her?" Jade asks. "So that she's not completely alone?"
"Yeah, good call. I'll go; I'll see you guys there." Andre follows the men carrying Cat's stretcher, and Beck turns to wrap his arms protectively around Jade. She goes with it, resting her head on his chest as he holds her close to him. When he pulls away just slightly, he kisses her forehead.
"We should probably go."
Jade nods and takes his hand, and they're pulling up to Burley Memorial Hospital fifteen minutes later. She hasn't asked any detailed questions, but Beck can tell that she's curious. When they arrive in the ER, Andre informs them that they've taken Cat into a private room.
"They're doing her blood work and hooking her up to a few IV lines. Apparently she's got a lot of drugs in her system...some laces of hydrocodone, heroin, and cocaine. Beck, how the hell do you know this girl?"
"Mr. Oliver," a woman in a police uniform enters the room and gets the teenagers' attention. "Sorry to interrupt. You're the one who knows Cat?"
"Yes, ma'am. Sort of."
"Great. Can you come with me, please?"
"Sure." He kisses Jade's temple and squeezes her hand, then nods towards Andre as if to ask to stay with her. When he enters the room he's led to, the officer closes the door behind him.
"Beck, is it?" A male officer rises from his seat to shake Beck's hand.
"Yes, sir."
"Have a seat. You're working for Miss Georgia Wilson, aren't you?" Beck nods. "Lucky guy. Georgia's a fantastic lady. Real respected here in Burley." He nods again, so the cop moves on. "So, can you tell us about your relationship with Cat?"
"Well, we... We met about two or three months ago. I needed a ride and she offered me one."
"Hitchhiking?" The female cop clarifies.
"Yes, ma'am," he answers hesitantly, and his cheeks flush. "Cat pulled up to me on the side of the road and offered me a ride. She seemed nice and I was desperate, so I rode with her. I noticed that she had a coke problem; she sniffed from her nail polish bottle three times in twenty-fours—while driving." The officers look appropriately shocked, but Beck continues. "She gave me a ride to Burley, and then said she was going to keep driving up to Boise, where she had a boyfriend of some kind waiting for her."
"Do you know the guy?"
"No, sir."
"Was anyone else involved with her that you knew of?"
Beck nods. "A younger girl, Lola. She was thirteen, I think, and Cat had saved her, too. Picked her up in Texas, she said."
The officers continue writing. "Have you heard from Cat since she dropped you off in Burley?"
"No, ma'am. To be honest, I thought I'd never see her again. I never thought I'd find her outside of a bar here in town. Is she... Is she okay?"
"Dr. Anderson thinks she's going to be fine physically. They're working on getting the junk out of her system right now. As for her mental and emotional state... Let's just say she's going to have a long journey ahead of her upon waking up. You don't know of any family or friends she might have, for support?"
Beck thinks, hard, but finds himself without any other information. "Other than Lola, no ma'am."
"She's got no ID, no wallet. She's really a Jane Doe, with the exception of the fact that we know her first name. Thank you for your help, Beck. We'll do the best we can to get her home."
He nods. "If you wouldn't mind keeping me updated..."
"Will do."
"Thank you."
After promising the hospital staff they'd return in the morning, Beck, Jade, and Andre finally leave to go home. They drop Andre off and arrive back at Georgia's, where the couple heads upstairs to get ready for bed.
"Is she your ex-girlfriend?" Jade asks the question that's been burning on her mind almost as soon as they're settled in her bed.
"No. You know I've never had a girlfriend."
"I'm just confused. I have a right to be confused; you've hardly told me anything."
He looks at her sadly. "I know. I'm sorry. It's complicated. And...really embarrassing."
"I still want to know."
Beck nods in understanding, and distracts himself by twirling a strand of her long hair around his finger. "I needed a ride once. I had to get somewhere, but my car broke down and I had no way to get it fixed." He hates himself for lying to her, but he tells himself what he always has:
The more she knows, the more danger she's in.
"Cat gave me a ride to Burley; she's how I ended up here."
Jade furrows her eyebrows, and it isn't lost on her that Beck won't meet her eyes. "You were…hitchhiking?"
He sighs. "Yeah." They're quiet for a minute, but Beck isn't naïve enough to believe that that's the end of the conversation.
"Why?"
"Well, because my car broke down—"
"No, I know that. But…why were you all alone? What place were you leaving and why?"
His breath hitches in his throat and he leans down to kiss her forehead. "Don't worry about it. I'm here now, and that's all that matters."
"But—"
"Jade, you have to trust me with this. I promise that, one day, I will tell you everything. But, for now, the less you know, the better."
"You're scaring me."
"I don't mean to. You have nothing to be scared of, okay? I just don't want to put you in any danger. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you. You know that, right?" Beck is looking in her eyes now, and she nods. He kisses her lips softly. "Are you sure you're okay with going back to the hospital tomorrow to see Cat? I know you don't know her. I barely know her. I just…feel obligated. She really did help me."
"I know. I'll go with you."
"Okay. Jade?"
"Hmm?"
"Thanks for being patient with me."
"Ditto." She snuggles closer to him. "Goodnight."
When they arrive downstairs the next morning, they find Georgia sitting at the table, clearly waiting for them. She has her coffee in front of her, but her laptop is pushed to the side and she points to the other chairs around the table in an indication for them to sit down. After giving each other nervous looks, Beck and Jade each take their usual seats.
"I heard you two were at the hospital last night." They both nod. "What was that about? And why on earth didn't I get a call?"
"Well, to start," Jade explains, "neither of us has a phone."
"But we weren't at the hospital for anything wrong with either one of us," Beck follows up shortly after her. "We were at the bar, like we'd said we would be, and Andre stepped outside for some air and saw a girl laying in the alleyway."
"A girl from here?"
"No," Beck clarifies. "We don't know where she's from, but we figured we'd go with her to the hospital because we were the only company she had."
"Well, that was very responsible of you. Where is she now?"
"Still at Memorial," Jade answers. "We're going to pick up Andre and go visit her in about an hour."
Georgia nods. "Alright. That's fine; I just needed to ask. Now, onto the next topic: I am tired of not being able to get ahold of either one of you. Clear your schedules for at least two hours this afternoon; we're going to get phones set up."
"Grandma, my mom—"
"Yeah, I know, she cut your service off. But you're living under my roof this summer, so I can pay for whatever I want to pay for when it concerns you." Jade tries to hide a smile and nods her head. "Now, what do you two want for breakfast?"
A little over an hour later, Beck, Jade, and Andre are on their way to the hospital. Upon arriving, they're taken into Cat's room and see that the redhead is awake in her hospital bed. While Andre and Jade stay back, Beck approaches the girl cautiously.
"Cat?"
"Beck? Is that..."
"Yeah. It's me." He can see two things immediately: one, that her demeanor is polar opposite from when he'd first met her and, two, that she looks weak and tired—probably from all of the drugs they're pumping into her to keep her from having a withdrawal. "Long time, no see, huh?"
She smiles, but it disappears quickly. "What happened to me?"
He shakes his head. "I don't know. We... We found you outside of The Red Bar here in Burley. The last time I saw you, I know you said you were going to Boise, but—"
"I did. I did go. But we made a road trip to Burley two days ago for Travis to meet his guy, you know." Beck nods because he's pretty sure he can connect the dots between who Travis is and what kind of "guy" Cat is referring to. "Wait, who's behind you?"
"Oh." Beck steps to the side to clear Cat's view of them. "This is my friend, Andre, and my girlfriend, Jade. They were with me when..." He trails off. "They just wanted to come with me to see you; we thought you might want some support."
Her big, brown eyes widen up at Beck. "Do they know? Do the doctors know about...the drugs?"
He nods reluctantly. "But, it's okay. They're not going to get you in trouble." The words come too late, though, and Cat has started to cry. "Cat, it's okay. You don't have to worry; the doctors only want what's best for you. And we're here, me, and Jade, and Andre. We just want to help you."
"I can't go back to Texas. Please don't let them send me back there, Beck. Please," she sobs.
"Okay. I'll tell them, Cat. I promise. If you don't want to go back there, they can't force you." She nods her head through her sobs, and Beck places a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay. I'll go talk to the doctors; can I get you anything?"
"I want to watch a movie," she says between sniffles. "Do you think they have any good ones?"
"I'm sure they do."
"Nothing scary."
"I'll pick one," he promises. "We'll be back, okay?" Cat nods, and the three leave the room.
Nearly an hour—and a doctor's, a psychologist's, and a social worker's opinion—later, Beck is accepting the fact that Cat will have to be admitted to a rehabilitation facility. In the time since he'd last seen her, the redhead's addiction had spread from cocaine to heroin, and the doctors believed she would be sure to show signs of withdrawals once they eased her off the current medicine. Beck requests to be the one to tell her, and they grant permission.
When the three return to Cat's room, Andre puts in the DVD of The Help, and the three join Cat in watching the film. Although she's nearly asleep by the time the movie is over, Beck knows he still has something to do. He sits on her bed, and motions for Jade to stand beside him and for Andre to sit on the other side.
"Cat?"
"Yeah?"
"I talked to the doctors. You don't have to go back to Texas."
"Really?"
"Really. They said you could stay here in Burley."
"That's the best news I've ever heard," she says, still tiredly.
"Yeah." He smiles. "It's great. And, while you live here, you get to stay at a really nice place. It's a place where they'll help you get better."
Her eyebrows instantly furrow. "What? I thought... Well, I thought..." Her breaths get shorter and faster, so Andre clutches onto her hand.
"It's okay. There's nothing to be scared of." His voice is melodious and clearly calms Cat down, so much so that Beck and Jade are amazed at how he does it. "We're all here for you. We all live in the same city, and we can see each other all the time."
"Is it like rehab? I don't want to go to rehab," she cries.
"Yeah, it is," Andre answers. "But it's the best thing—"
"I don't need to go." She shakes her head in a pleading way. "I don't; I can stop all by myself. I only use a couple times a day, anyways. That's not so bad, is it? That's not bad. Travis was worse; he was worse than me. I promise."
"Shhh," Andre soothes her crying by rubbing his fingers against her hand. "It's okay. You're going to get better."
"We won't leave you, Cat. You saved my life; I'm just returning the favor."
Twenty minutes later, Cat has cried herself to sleep. Beck and Jade have to meet Georgia at the store to set up their phones, but Andre promises them he'll stay with her for the afternoon.
"She's got a long road ahead of her," Beck sighs as he starts up the truck in the hospital's parking lot.
"Yeah." Jade rests her hand on his arm. "That was really great, what you did back there. To be there for her like that... You're saving her life, Beck."
He leans over and kisses her lips, which he's sure he'll never get tired of. "Thanks for coming with me." He pecks her lips one more time. "You ready to get a phone?"
"Not really, actually. It's been nice to not have to keep up with all of the annoying people from home. I mean, sure, I miss a few of my friends—but other than them, I don't care to keep in touch with anyone."
"You can keep in touch with me," he points out, grinning.
"We live in the same house, idiot."
"Touché."
By dinnertime that Saturday night, Jade and Beck are each the proud owners of new iPhones. Since Bradley is supposed to arrive at seven, Georgia is busy making dinner, while Beck and Jade mess around on their phones outside by taking hundreds of dumb pictures of each other and Tiger.
When Bradley's car pulls up through the property gates, Beck and Jade head up to the porch to meet him. Tiger follows them clumsily, and crashes into Jade's feet for her to pick him up.
"Hey there, guys!" The vet greets them as he sticks his keys into his pocket. "How's it going?"
"Pretty good. Nice to have you for dinner," Beck replies, shaking the man's hand. Jade waves from beside her boyfriend and follows them both inside to the kitchen.
"It smells incredible in here. Georgia Wilson, what in the hell are you making for us?"
Georgia laughs and turns around to give her longtime friend a hug. "Good to see you, darlin'. We're having chicken pot pie."
"Fantastic. I brought this," he tells her, setting the expensive bottle of red wine on the table.
"Brad, you didn't have to do that, sweetheart."
"I wanted to," he promises her, and gives her hand a squeeze that doesn't go unnoticed by Beck or Jade.
Not surprisingly, dinner goes supremely well. There's hardly a moment of silence in the hour that they sit at the table, and the lively conversation is chalk full of laughter, stories, and obvious chemistry between both Beck and Jade and Georgia and Bradley.
After dinner, Jade offers to help her grandmother with the dishes while Beck and Bradley head out to the front patio to talk. As Georgia is handing Jade a plate to dry, she can't help but notice the smirk on her granddaughter's lips.
"What on earth has you grinning like a Cheshire Cat?"
"Nothing. You and Dr. Dunne are just...really close. Close for people who claim to be 'just friends'."
"Oh, hush. There is nothing going on between the two of us." Jade eyes her grandmother, and, oddly enough, she can detect the hint of disappointment in her time.
"What do you mean? He totally likes you."
Georgia hands her another plate. "He doesn't, Jade."
Jade sets the plate down and, putting both hands on her hips, turns to face the other woman. "Grandma, if you cannot see the way that man looks at you, you're either stupid or blind as a bat."
"Oh, you mean the kind of way Beck has looked at you for about a month now? But you two are just friends, huh?"
Jade blushes and throws her towel at her ever-sarcastic grandmother. "I'm just telling you: he likes you. It's very obvious. Beck thinks so, too."
"Mhmm. And what happened to you wanting to vomit at the thought of something happening between me and your boss?"
Jade shrugs and continues drying. "I guess I just realized that, if you like him, you deserve to be with him. Life is complicated enough as it is."
Georgia grins. "I always knew you were smart like your grandma."
Meanwhile, outside, Bradley informs his companion that he has something to tell him.
Beck nods. "What is it?"
"I want you to know...that Georgia told me...a little bit about your situation." Beck barely has time to panic before Dr. Dunne continues. "Don't worry; your secret is safe and I swear I won't tell a soul. I don't even know any details. Georgia wasn't trying to violate your trust; I think she told me because she thought I could be of some help to you." Beck can barely breathe, but stays tuned for Bradley's words. "I only do the vet stuff for fun; after my wife died, I got this degree because it was just something I always wanted to do. But, before then, I was a lawyer for twenty-eight years. If you ever need any legal help whatsoever, you know I'm behind you a hundred percent."
Beck lets out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, and Bradley pats his back. "Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it."
"Not a problem, son."
Inside, Jade and Georgia have almost finished drying the dishes when the landline rings, and Georgia hurries to answer it
"Wilson residence, Georgia speaking...Anna. I'm surprised to hear from you..." Jade darts her head in that direction and gives her grandmother a confused look. "What? Why?...Well, okay. I guess stranger things have happened...Him, too? Oh, Anna, you know how I feel about him...Yes, but—...Okay. No, okay. That's fine. When?...Monday? Seriously? That's in two days! Why the rush?..." Georgia rolls her eyes. "Yes, I know you hate the festival. Okay. Alright, well, I guess I'll see you soon."
"What the hell was that?" Jade asks as soon as Georgia has hung up the phone.
"Your mother. Something about wanting to see you and this being the only time all summer that Mitchell is off of work."
Jade's face goes white. "Mitch is coming, too?"
"Unfortunately," Georgia grumbles. "If you don't know this already, I hate the bastard. He practically ruined Anna." While she prattles on about her annoyance with Mitchell, she turns back around just in time to see her granddaughter faint.
"Jade!"
So, this is 8k. I could have chopped it in the middle, where they first find Cat, but I wanted you guys to get this ending.
That being said, since I was nice and gave you twice the length of a normal chapter...you should review! Right?!