Jaiden rounded the corner of her house, breathing as silently as she could. The entire building was quiet. The sort of quiet that you felt in danger for breaking. She shifted her weight from heel to toe as she stepped, praying she knew the floor well enough to avoid the creaking boards. With her eyes downcast to the hardwood, she didn't see the figure at the top of the stairs until it spoke.
"So you decided to come home anyway?" Jaiden's head snapped up at the curious voice and her heart leapt as she met her step-father's gaze.
"I'm just here to get my stuff," She replied softly. Her hand just reached the bannister and she gripped it tightly. The large man began walking down the flight of stairs, each one groaning under its weight. Jaiden backed off a few steps, unable to decipher whether or not he was promising violence.
"The things that whore you called a mother and I paid for? I don't think you'll be taking your stuff back, dear." He scoffed, stepping down closer to her. Jaiden's breathing quickened and she turned around to leave, only to see Beca standing at the end of the hallway.
"Beca," She whispered nervously. The small brunette looked past her at Ted, who had reached the bottom of the stairs, and nodded slightly.
"I see him." Beca replied simply.
"Can we go?" Jaiden prompted, moving towards her sister quickly. The older girl stayed put in the doorway and didn't reply. She felt her heart pounding faster as a hand clasped onto her shoulder harshly and she was pulled backwards.
"Beca, please! You promised to stop him." The older Mitchell sibling didn't so much as bat an eye as her sister pleaded with her. Jaiden struggled relentlessly against her stepfather's grip as Beca continued to watch in silence; her face an unreadably apathetic expression.
"She ain't gonna do shit." Ted laughed, hooking his arms under Jaiden's as they reached the steps. The teenager pulled against him desperately as they started towards the top of the stairs. Her feet hit the hardwood in desperate "thunks" as she fought against him, knowing what was about to occur. Beca still stood at the end of the hall, except Chloe had appeared behind her. The two of them wore matching expressions and Jaiden realized she had reached the stop of the stairs.
"Stop just fucking standing-" Jaiden's words cut off as the grip on her arms was released and replaced by a sharp push on her back. Her forehead collided with one of the hard stairs and she caught a glimpse of the two girls at the end of the hall as she tumbled down-
"Jaiden? Wake up." Jaiden woke up with a start to find Stacie looking down at her, her features painted in concern. The 18 year old propped herself up on her elbows and blinked the sleep from her eyes. "Are you alright? You seemed like you were having a bad dream," Stacie questioned.
"I'm fine. It was just some stupid nightmare. I always have them when I drink too much." Jaiden shook it off easily and rolled over towards the older girl. The sun was shining through the window and from the look of it; it was relatively early in the morning. "We're still going on a date tonight. But not Starbucks. That was not classy of me." Jaiden changed the subject quickly, offering a lightly laugh. Stacie smiled and rested her chin on Jaiden's chest, looking up at her with curious eyes.
"Oh yeah? Where are we going then?"
"Well, when I went out with Chloe a while ago, I saw this cute little Italian restaurant while we were waiting for the ambulance to come take her alcohol poison ass to the hospital. You a pasta girl" She propositioned.
"Italian works. Are you picking me up or should I meet you there, Little Miss Class?"
"I'll meet you there. 7:00 sharp," Jaiden rolled out of bed and winked at her companion. She found her jeans lying on the floor and slipped them on before snagging her shirt and her bra. "I'm keeping your t-shirt as a trophy." She added before opening the door.
"See you at 7." Stacie called out just before her door shut. Smiling to herself, she pulled her blankets up over herself tighter and went back to sleep.
Beca woke to a knocking at the door and opened her eyes to find her girlfriend running to it. Memories from last night surfaced in her head and she couldn't help but smirk as she watched Chloe from behind. The smirk was quickly wiped from her face as her sister appeared in the doorway and was replaced by a surprised smile.
"Jaiden, hey!" The tiny brunette jumped up from the couch and exchanged a subtly excited glance with Chloe. It was obvious that the redhead hadn't expected her appearance by the way she went dashing to the kitchen.
"I'm going to make breakfast!" She announced from the other room. Jaiden glanced in her general direction and half-smiled before turning her attention towards her sister.
"Hey," Beca offered finally. She patted the space on the couch beside her and Jaiden sat, though somewhat reserved. "So how was your night?"
"I'm taking Stacie on a date tonight," Jaiden replied simply. She watched her sister raise her eyebrows in surprise and leaned back against the cushions behind her.
"Stacie on a date? I'm impressed. Where are you taking her?"
"That Italian place in town. Speaking of which," Jaiden paused. "Do you think Chloe would let me borrow her car?"
"Probably. But you can also just borrow mine." Beca reasoned.
"Oh. Yeah, I didn't know you had one."
"Well, I am an adult now, so," The older girl replied dryly. Jaiden laughed under her breath before glancing down at the floor. Silence rested between them for a few minutes before she finally looked up and stared ahead.
"I want to go home this weekend and get my things. We should…we should just get it over withl." Jaiden murmured finally. Beca watched as she practically folded into herself at the idea of going home and quickly became as distant as when she had first reunited with her.
"Are you sure?" Beca asked finally. The younger girl nodded and finally looked at her. It was evident that her mind was swarming with anxiety and she nodded slightly.
"You're…you're still going to come, right?" Jaiden asked quietly.
"Of course. Chloe and I both." She reassured the 18 year old. Jaiden relaxed, but only slightly, and took a deep breath.
"I had a really bad dream last night." Beca's eyes widened and she waited patiently for her sister to go on. "I went back and he was there. And he…he started pulling me up the stairs, but you and Chloe were there. You guys just watched."
"You know that was just a dream, right?" Beca reminded her softly. Jaiden sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"Yeah. I'm sorry. Sometimes it just feels like everyone stood back and watched it happen. I mean, I know it only happened because I'm gay-"
"It happened because that piece of shit bastard-"
"It happened because I'm gay, Beca. That's what he said. That was his reason." Jaiden's voice shook and she glared at her older sister in frustration. Beca glanced towards the kitchen, hoping Chloe wouldn't come in to interrupt, and turned on the couch so she could directly face Jaiden. After the younger girl didn't follow, Beca took her by the shoulders and forced her to turn and look at her.
"We need to talk about this." She started seriously.
"About what?"
"About how you view yourself for being gay." Beca deadpanned. Jaiden dropped her gaze and chewed on her bottom lip, thinking.
"It's a sin, Becs." She muttered finally.
"Who the hell cares? I mean, I'm no Bible expert, but I'm pretty sure there's something in there about all sins being equal and the Big Guy forgives everyone for them." Beca reasoned, grabbing her sister's hands and praying she'd pay attention. The 18 year old pulled back a bit, but relented when she realized that Beca wasn't letting go and there wasn't a way out of the conversation.
"If someone can hate me that much for it, it has to be wrong." Beca's jaw clenched at her younger siblings words and she let out an exasperated sigh.
"Jay, he means nothing. That man is a homophobic, small-town, small minded piece of white trash and you can't care about his opinion. You are so much better than him, okay?" Beca reached up with one hand and tilted Jaiden's chin up so that she would look at her. She could read the uncertainty on the younger girl's face and decided to go another direction.
"Okay. How about Stacie? If someone said that shit about here, how would you feel? Would you think it was true?" She asked. It was clear that her point had been made when Jaiden's jaw locked and she shook her head.
"No. I'd probably hit them." Jaiden admitted. Beca couldn't help but smile at her and reached up to brush her hair out of her face.
"That's what I thought. So we'll go home on Saturday, Chloe and I will go in with you, and we'll be out before you know it. You don't have to talk to Mom, or him. We'll intercept everything and you just worry about grabbing whatever you need." Beca assured her solemnly. She waited for Jaiden to nod in understanding before standing up from the couch. She pulled the younger girl with her and then started towards the kitchen.
So this one's kind of short, but I'm setting up some stuff for the next one. It might be a few days before I post it because it's going to be pretty long, but feel free to drop some feedback or suggestions in the mean time! Thanks