Jaiden woke with a start, a thin sheet of sweat sticking to her skin, and she gasped for breath. The 18 year old struggled to get a hold of herself and gripped her bed sheets tightly, willing the last shreds of her nightmare to leave her mind. Even in her sleep, she couldn't escape the effect that her family had on her. In a split second, Jaiden stood up from her bed and ran her fingers back through her tangled hair anxiously. The freshman was past the point of panicking and had gone straight to flight mode. She needed to get away from Barden and away from her family. That was the only way not to think about any of them.
Moving silently in the dark bedroom, Jaiden grabbed a duffel bag from her closet and began to shove clothes into it. She had no specific destination in mind; in fact she had no plan at all, only to get away from everyone and anything familiar. As Jaiden threw half of the items on her dresser into the bag, she decided that she'd buy toiletries elsewhere in order to avoid a risky trip into the bathroom. The brunette knew that their guest was asleep on the couch in the living room, and the last thing she needed was for her to wake up and alert her sister.
Satisfied that she had enough, Jaiden zipped up her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and cautiously crept out into the main area of the apartment. Dim moonlight shown in through the windows and she squinted as her eyes adjusted before proceeding. Jaiden tip-toed across the wooden floor, careful not to make a sound, and made it past the couch without the sleeping blonde stirring. She held her breath as she passed Beca and Chloe's room and only dared to breathe again once she was at the door. The 18 year old slipped her sneakers on and then began to turn the door handle slowly. The tiny click as it opened sent a jolt of panic through her body and she froze momentarily; listening. To her relief, the apartment remained still and she sighed gratefully. With that, Jaiden stepped out of the apartment and shut the door behind her softly. As soon as she was out into the hallway, she fished her keys out of the front pocket of the bag and quickened her pace, desperate to be out of the building. Her mind flickered briefly to Stacie and Jaiden faltered for a second. Skipping town was going to worry the older girl beyond measure, but if she gave her a heads up, it could damage her escape plan. Jaiden picked up her pace again and hurried out of the apartment complex.
A wave of relief washed over Jaiden as her feet hit the concrete outside. The teenager rushed to her car and threw her bag in the passenger's seat. The 18 year old shoved her keys into the ignition and took off down the street. It was then that she caught sight of the time, something she hadn't done yet upon waking. She blinked in surprise to see that it was only one in the morning, which meant that she had only slept for just under two hours. Turning her attention back to the road, Jaiden pushed the gas pedal a little harder and sped up in the opposite direction from Barden.
"Beca, maybe you should check on her. It's almost noon and she hasn't even gotten up to pee." Chloe suggested. Beca rolled her eyes at the older girl and her odd familiarity with Jaiden's morning schedule as she finished her second cup of coffee for the day. Aubrey sat at their kitchen counter, watching the two girls interact with a bemused interest. Once she had gotten past her intense protectiveness over Chloe, she had come to quite like the two girls as a couple. Their contrasting qualities balanced nicely; something that she wouldn't have predicted initially.
"Fine," Beca relented. She set her mug down and brushed past the redhead, out of the kitchen. The last thing she wanted was to irritate a tired Jaiden and have her head nearly bitten off, but the brunette had also promised herself that she wouldn't argue with Chloe while Aubrey was there. "Jaiden? Are you alive in there?" She called as she knocked on the closed door. Upon getting no response, she knocked again and then listened. An immediate feeling of unease settled over Beca and she opened the door nervously. The brunette's heart dropped as she found the room empty and practically ransacked. Dresser drawers remained half open and half bare and Beca's eyes scanned the empty space where Jaiden's keys normally rested.
"She's gone," Beca gasped, running out of Jaiden's room and into the kitchen. Both Aubrey and Chloe turned to her with shocked expressions and Beca waited for one of them to do something. To do anything. A rush of panic was building up in her chest and she ran both of her hands back through her hair in exasperation.
"I'm sure she just snuck over to Stacie's or something-"
"Half of her things are gone," Beca cut her off and the redhead's disposition grew exceedingly more worried. "Her keys are gone. We need to find her." Beca murmured, more to herself than to either of the other girls. Aubrey stood up from her stool and glanced at Chloe questioningly, not knowing quite how to handle this side of Beca. She had seen the shorter girl angry and defensive and upset, but she had never seen her absolutely freak out.
"Let me call her," Chloe pulled her phone out of her pocket and found Jaiden's name in her contacts. The redhead tapped her name and listened as the device rung twice and then went straight to voicemail. She frowned, realizing that Jaiden must have denied her call, before calling her again. This time, it only rung once before going to voicemail. Chloe made eye contact with her waiting girlfriend and then shook her head. "She's not answering."
"Maybe she'll pick up if I try." Beca muttered hopefully. The tiny brunette quickly dialed her sister's number and held her phone to her ear, waiting. It barely rung twice before she was listening to Jaiden's voicemail. Beca felt her stomach tie itself into a knot and waited anxiously for the signaling beep.
"Jaiden, it's Beca. Look, I don't know what's going on or where you are, but please come back. Whatever happened, I'll help you with it. Please, just don't go. I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry," Beca's voice broke off and she struggled to fight the lump in her throat. Hanging up, she forced herself to turn back around to face the two other women who were waiting.
"I don't want to intrude here, so I suppose I'll be on my way. I hope this all works out," Aubrey bowed out gracefully and stepped towards the door with her overnight bag in hand. "Keep me updated." She mouthed at Chloe. The redhead nodded at her best friend and then turned her attention back to Beca.
"I'm going to call Stacie and see if maybe she just went over there for a few days or something, okay? I need you to breathe, Becs." Chloe squeezed Beca's shoulder once before dialing the tall singer's number and listening to it ring. To her utmost relief, Stacie's voice filled the small speaker after the third one.
"Please don't tell me this is an aca-emergency. I'm getting my nails done right now-"
"Have you heard anything from Jaiden since last night?" Chloe interrupted her.
"No, why? Is something wrong?"
"Stacie…it's starting to look like she skipped town." She informed her quietly. She could hear the other girl gasp on the other end of the line and looked briefly at Beca. It became apparently clear that the small brunette was about to lose it and Chloe couldn't handle two meltdowns at once. "Call us if you hear anything." The redhead hung up the phone and turned her full attention to Beca.
"She didn't even say anything to Stacie." Beca muttered. The tiny brunette started scrolling through her phone again with shaky hands and held it up to her ear again. "Come on, come on, come on. Pick up." Chloe watched as her girlfriend grew more and more desperate by the second and brought a hand up to her mouth as she ran through her options. Usually, calming Beca down was as easy as finding a solution to whatever her problem was. Except that Chloe didn't have one this time. She had no idea where Jaiden could have fled to. Certainly the 18 year old hadn't gone home, which meant she had exactly zero ideas.
"Beca, let's call the police, okay? Maybe they can find her." Chloe suggested finally. She was taken aback when Beca whirled around and whipped her phone across the apartment, with hot tears streaming down her face.
"They won't fucking do anything! She left on her own and she's an adult." She snapped through her tears. Chloe flinched at the severity of her voice and stepped forward in an attempt to wrap her arms around Beca. The smaller girl stepped back immediately, holding her hands out to block her.
"Beca, don't." Chloe whimpered. She couldn't stand it when Beca would push her away, especially when she knew she needed her the most. But that was always Beca's biggest hitch, or at least the one that mattered the most to Chloe. The redhead closed the distance between them before Beca could stop her and she threw her arms around her tightly. Chloe clenched her eyes shut and held on tighter as Beca attempted to escape her grip. After a few seconds of struggling, Beca finally released a held back sob against her girlfriend's chest and broke down. Her legs collapsed from under her and Chloe slowly lowered them both to the floor. They settled with Beca half in her lap, with her small arms wrapped around Chloe's neck tightly and her face buried in her shoulder. Her tears soaked through the t-shirt the older girl was wearing and Beca grimaced at how weak she felt.
"It's okay. She'll come back. Jaiden loves you, Beca. She might just need some space." Chloe assured the weeping girl softly. She tightened her grip around Beca's waist and felt utterly useless as her words did nothing to stop the sobbing.
"Everyone always leaves. They leave after I finally decide to give something and then I'm just left here, with nothing." Beca's voice shook on the last word and her hands curled into fists, grasping Chloe's shirt tightly. She sucked in a harsh breath as her right fist ached with pain; a harsh reminder of the events of the previous night.
"I'm never going to leave you." Chloe offered softly. She felt Beca sniffle in response and kissed the top of her head, holding her impossibly closer. The two girls sat like that for a while, until Beca's sobs eventually turned to the occasional sad sniff, and then finally, silence.
Jaiden glanced down into her cup holder, where her phone started to vibrate for what had to be the thousandth time, and then fixed her eyes back on the road. She had been ignoring the device for the last half hour, when her former roommates had apparently noticed she left. But then her mind had shifted to Stacie and the guilt had begun building up. At the next red light she came to, Jaiden picked up the iPhone and scrolled down through the notifications. Chloe's name popped up twice, Beca's twice, as well as a voicemail from her. And then Stacie had apparently left her three voicemails, as well as 6 missed calls. The 18 year old quickly deleted the three messages from her, knowing that if she listened to them, she'd turn around. Her thumb faltered on the one from Beca and she sighed before deciding to listen to it.
"Jaiden, it's Beca. Look, I don't know what's going on or where you are, but please come back. Whatever happened, I'll help you with it. Please, just don't go. I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry," Jaiden bit her bottom lip as she heard her sister's voice break off and the message ended. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tighter and her car slowed down for just a second before speeding up even faster. This was exactly why she couldn't go back. Beca made her weak, just as all her family members did in one way or another. She couldn't afford to be weak anymore.
Boom. Angst. Let me know what you think and suggestions are welcome. Really going to dig into Beca's past next chapter.