A/N: Things are still complicated with our group. What will happen next? Stay tuned.
Just so you all know, this was the hardest chapter for me to write so far.
Please leave a review and throw me some well wishes if you could - this is my birthday week!
I plan to work on the next chapter for THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC this weekend to have it out soon!
Jade spent the better part of the day crying silently to herself.
When it became too emotionally draining, she would give into her desire to nap. When prompted by the nurses off and on to eat something, she politely refused. It didn't matter because Jade was also refusing her pain medication.
She was warned by a nurse in the later afternoon that if she continued to not take any nourishment voluntarily, they would be forced to administer an I.V.
Jade wasn't interested in being hooked up intravenously to a bag all day, so she reluctantly acquiesced to their rules. She ordered a fruit cup and yogurt with some orange juice. As little she desired to eat, it wasn't going to do the healing process any favors if she deprived herself of protein and other nutrients.
Being lost in her own thoughts and self-loathing, Jade wasn't aware that she was being watched.
Her little roommate, Jamie, was regarding her from afar in his bed. Then a thought struck him and he tugged on his mom's sleeve.
"Huh, what?" she yawned.
Lori had nodded off for a moment. Getting one's forty winks while being a seemingly never-ending visitor at a hospital was difficult. Later her husband was going to take the next shift so she could get a shower and a change of clothes. Given the new normal, both of their schedules have been wonky. Rather than getting a shower every day, it was more like every day and a half.
"Mom, can I have some crayons and paper?"
"Uh, sure" she smiled. "When daddy gets here, I'll go get some. Did you want to draw?"
"Yep," he said.
Cat drove her and Tori to the hospital. They decided to go on their own and not tell the boys. They can be stubborn like that. Maybe they will forgive some time in the future but they won't be so willing to take that first step.
The girls needed to know what the score was.
"I have to know," she told Tori on the way. "I don't think I could sleep if I didn't know for sure."
The Latina had to agree. The uncertainty was maddening.
Going only from Sinjin's story, the accident that took place on Saturday night was on the level of a mechanical malfunction. Since the whole stunt was a surprise to the audience, their panic may have been blown out of proportion.
Tori just couldn't bring herself to believe that such a calamity could happen at their school. Let alone to someone they were close with like Jade. Knowing her, she was probably more humiliated than hurt. Tori recalled when she was little and doing one of her first performances on stage to a captive audience. She tripped over her own feet and landed flat on her face. She got up but the blood coming from her nose had gotten all over her shirt. Whatever cute little production the first graders were putting on quickly turned to Sweeney Todd.
6-year-old Tori thought she could never show her face again to her classmates. And it was tough for a couple of weeks but as kids do, they forget and something completely different drifted into their attention.
The pair entered the hospital lobby and walked over to the receptionist.
The older woman greeted the young ladies and asked if she could help them.
"Jade West," Tori said. "We wanted to visit her."
"West?" the woman asked for clarification.
"Yes," said Cat shakily.
She adjusted her glasses and checked her computer.
"Let's see. Fourth floor, room 410."
The friends looked at each other and nodded.
"Lets go." Cat said.
"You'd better hustle," the receptionist warned. "Only two hours left for visiting hours today."
(This shouldn't take long) Tori thought.
"Hello, Jade!"
The goth barely acknowledged the registered nurse checking in.
"I have some news!"
She moved her eyeballs to her direction, not changing her expressionless face.
"What?"
"Somebody's here to see you."
Jade looked at her like she grew an extra head.
"Are you serious?"
The RN nodded and turned toward the open door.
"Oh! And here she is now."
Her guarded enthusiasm was dashed by the sight of her mother.
"Jade," she said, looking a little less frazzled than she did this morning.
(Must have hit the spa after taking a power nap.)
"Mom, you're back."
Lori shot the businesswoman a glare from across but kept to herself.
"So I had a talk with my attorney, Rothschild. You remember; he was the one who helped me with your father's affairs."
Jade was already not feeling her best. The last thing she wanted was a reminder of an even more depressing time when her father died and all her mother talked about was investments and assets. Yes, as the primary provider settling any debts or protecting valuables were important. But when a child loses a parent, they're not thinking about all that. They're scared, they don't feel safe anymore. They don't want financial advice.
They want a loving presence. They want reassurance. Someone to hold her while she cried.
She needed a mom.
Now ten years later, things hadn't changed.
"They are still investigating the accident but he feels we might have a case when all is said and done."
"Case for what?" Jade groaned.
Pamela scoffed.
"Criminal negligence, reckless endangerment of a minor, involuntary manslaughter..."
"Isn't that a bit much, mother?" she said.
She went over to the other side of Jade's bed to set her purse down. The clickity-clack of her heels was irritating to everyone in the room.
"So someone is responsible for the maiming of my child and I'm supposed to stand there and let them get away with it?"
"Mother, it was my idea though," Jade admitted.
"What on earth do you mean?"
Jade closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.
"I mean that the part where I was lifted above the stage was originally my idea. They weren't going to do it in the first place if it wasn't for me."
Pam looked around as if there were ears for the defense in this very hospital room.
"Jadelyn!" she shout-whispered as she leaned in. "Don't start telling people that! Are you trying to get these people off the hook?"
"No, but..."
Her mother held up her finger which meant: momma's on a roll and you'd better get out of her way.
"Okay, maybe it was your idea. But that didn't mean they had to go along with it, right? Are you their superior? No. Are you a professional stunt performer? No. These are grown ups and college students, which on paper are also adults. They are the ones with all of the autonomy, all the agency! You are the minor! End of discussion."
She then stood up straighter and adjusted her clothes.
"One must keep up appearances all day every day."
"Excuse me a moment," Pam said. "I need some coffee. You getting any?"
Jade shook her head meekly.
"Doctor said it would be wise to hold off caffeine for a little while."
Her mother rolled her eyes and left the room, muttering something about doctors and how they think they know everything.
The elevator dinged and Tori and Cat got off on the fourth floor where they bump into Pam.
"Mrs. West!" blurted out Cat.
"Oh, yes" she snidely said. "You're one of Jade's little schoolmates."
Tori offered her hand.
"Hi, I'm Tori."
Pamela gave a disapproving look and ignored the gesture.
Tori lowered her arm.
(Is this shit hereditary?)
"We wanted to see if Jade was okay," Cat explained.
The woman looked down on the teenagers.
"Oh really?"
"Is she okay?" asked Tori.
"Jade is fine," Pam coldly sighed. "It will be some time until she is on the mend. You'll see her next week in school, I guess."
"Can we see her?"
Cat looked like she regretted asking the question when her mother reacted.
"I don't think she would want to see you."
"I know we had a fight..."
She immediately cut Tori off.
"I don't care what squabble you had. My daughter had an injury and needs her rest. I don't know about you two, but Jade has responsibilities at home. The sooner she can be discharged from this place the better."
Pamela didn't have to be this cruel. But she was on the mission for a hot cup of coffee and these girls are an obstacle. Rather than satiate them quickly, she was in rare form and decided to crush them. Pam can be vindictive over some really mundane things. She can be downright outraged that you got in her way. It didn't take much to set her off and god forbid you showed any joy around her when she was in a fowl mood.
Sound familiar?
When she was around, the sun had to have her permission if it was ever going to shine.
"Did you call her?" she asked the girls.
Cat and Tori exchanged looks.
"We only just found out about it today," Tori said.
"And when we tried it didn't go through," Cat added.
"Then she doesn't want to talk to you," Pam smirked. "If she had, then you would know how she's doing. She has arms, she has a mouth. I've seen her phone always near her. Like I said, she isn't interested in talking to you!"
Before either of them could say anything else, she brushed past them, feeling pleased with herself. They were frozen in shock as the elevator doors closed, taking Pam down to the cafeteria.
"What the fuck?" Tori said.
Jade stared at her phone, which had gone dark since yesterday.
Mother failed to bring her a charger so she was cut off from the outside world.
(My dumbass fault for getting my hopes up.)
While she thought it was unlikely, Jade had harbored some hope that maybe one of her friends had come to visit. Maybe she hadn't burned her bridges after all.
But no, it was only her mom that came. Even the coldest of people in her life at least showed up.
Now here she was; one working leg and no friends.
Secretly, she wishes that she hadn't survived the fall. What if she landed on her head or broke her neck? Like the doctor said, it wasn't that much of a long shot. Jade didn't tell anyone this. She didn't need the indifference of her mother nor the added attention from the hospital staff. So she kept such things to herself.
Jade glanced up as Jamie's dad came in and hugged his wife and kissed his son on the head. They exchanged some kind words and Lori waved goodbye, promising to return in a couple of hours.
The goth set her phone down on the little table beside her and tried closing her eyes for a bit. A small reprieve until mother returns.
When her father died and left her and her mother behind, it was a terrible time. But really letting the full magnitude of her loneliness sink in, Jade felt like she was trapped in a dry well. Unlike back then, Jade had friends and came to know real companionship and care and love.
Now its just her and her mother again. And everything is worse now.
Cat and Tori left the hospital, despondent.
"I can't believe she would ghost us like that," Cat said. "I know we were not speaking but..."
The redhead started to sob and Tori pulled her into a hug in the parking lot.
(This is crazy. Even if we weren't going to bury any hatches tonight, we wanted to do SOMETHING!)
Tori tried to be a rock for her friend's sake. While it was Cat who was wronged by Jade directly, the whole thing felt like a betrayal among the group. She didn't want to be friends anymore and whether she cared to begin with was called into question.
She didn't want to believe it but Jade's mother didn't look concerned and said Jade had the opportunity to call. She just didn't. Again, yes they were fighting and broke up but normally something like this would supersede all of that. So for Jade not to reach out feels so...permanent.
"It's really over," Cat shakily sighed.
(So now what?) thought Tori.
A/N: Jade's mother is crass but she had a point back there. Jade feels guilty because of course she does; she regrets her actions. But Pamela is right that the ones in charge could have said no, its too dangerous but they didn't. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. But I think Pam was just regurgitating what her attorney said, to be honest.
So now Jade believes her friends are really gone this time and Cat and Tori believe that she blew them off.
Part of what made this one hard to write for me is that I have someone in my life very similar to Jade's mother. They are quite cruel for no reason and the next moment they act like nothing happened. I can mostly ignore it but I hate when they make others around me miserable. I butted heads with this person on occasion but its like arguing with a brick wall. If you can cut someone like that out of your life, please. But if you can't there are ways that you can practice some self care to get you to a place where you can get away or at least keep going until that time comes.
Things weren't easy for me and I'm sure they weren't for a lot of you. Stories can be cathartic for people like us. Too much in real life does evil go unpunished, or love doesn't win, or the good die young. But when we write, we can change the script and get some true justice in the universe.
Stay strong and see you at the next update.