A/N: Yeah, Pamela West is a piece of work.
The reactions from all of you are terrific. Hey, Invader Johnny; they really liked your idea!
But I want you to be just as entertained (and surprised) by this!
;-)
Tuesday came around and it didn't feel like today was going to be any different.
Jade was not in good spirits whatsoever. Even the doctor's "good news" that she could go home at the end of the week fell on deaf ears. It only meant that she will be in the company of her less than stellar mother when she's not going to school.
The doctor explained that she will be equipped with a cast. In the meanwhile, Jade can get herself around in the wheelchair. Only after some healing takes place will they trust her in a walking cast and graduate to crutches. It sounds like a drag but they will be less limiting than the wheelchair because just one step can mess up your day.
Dr. Fitzhenry said that unlike victims of paralysis, she would not necessarily need physical therapy unless her recovery hits a wall. He stressed that while her leg was on the mend, she needed to stay active somehow. Keep the mind busy with stimulating activities. You can also put your upper body strength through its paces and keep physical health going. Jade's going to do things very differently for a while (and she's gonna need some help) but this "new normal" won't last forever.
"The biggest thing that can make the difference, believe it or not" he told her. "Is your spirit. The right attitude can do wonders. We find it hard not to heal when we have something to look forward to."
Again, she didn't die or become permanently disabled, which she very well could have been if things were a tiny bit to the left.
Jade was frankly tired of being told how lucky she was, as if her pain and misery weren't valid.
(I'm not an idiot! I know there are those worse than me! But why can't I cry about what happened to me? Why can't I feel like shit for being alone, or alone with her.)
Jade couldn't decide which was worse. She hated both very very much.
In the afternoon, after Jade had lunch to make way for her first pain killers in over a day (it was getting to be unbearable), a friendly face made her way over.
"Hi, Jade" waved Lori. "How are you holding up?"
The goth shrugged silently, as was her default response to most things.
"I have something for you," she went on. "Well, not me. Jamie made it. But he wanted me to deliver it to you."
Lori handed Jade a piece of paper.
Jade could already smell the familiar aroma of crayons before even seeing what was on the white sheet.
She held it and then realizing it was upside-down, she fixed it and looked closer at it.
The very colorful scene showed a little person with a blue shirt riding on a stegosaurus who was fighting a T-Rex, which was being ridden by a figure in black.
Jade smirked and pointed at the blue person.
"Is that Jamie?"
Lori nodded. "And the other one is you."
She gazed back at the drawing again. Then Jade looked up and saw the boy's very eager face.
(He wants to know what I think.)
"You drew this?" asked Jade, trying to muster all the energy she had to match his enthusiasm.
"Uh-huh," he nodded while smiling.
"You have us riding dinosaurs, dude?"
"Stegosaurus is my favorite!"
Jade smiled back.
"And who told you that the T-Rex is my favorite?"
"I guessed," he replied, very pleased that he guessed right.
Jade hadn't thought about dinosaurs in years. After seeing Jurassic Park at a very young age, she didn't think the prehistoric predators could get any cooler than that. But if you were to ask little Jade what her favorite was, she'd probably say T-Rex. Raptors are cool and all, but a T-Rex can eat one of them.
"He made it for you," Lori said. "He wanted to cheer you up."
If this were the ending of The Grinch, someone's heart would've grown three sizes today.
After the emotional powerhouse of sadness and despair, here was something that actually made Jade happy. But she couldn't help but cry a little.
Lori looked concerned.
"You okay?"
She held it close to her chest and looked over at Jamie.
"Thanks, Jamie. This is the nicest thing I got in a long time."
"You're welcome!" he shouted.
The two laughed at the boy.
"Thanks again," Jade told Lori.
"I heard you're...um getting out of here in a few days."
Jade's face fell and her normal mood returned.
"Yeah. Can't say I'm looking forward to it."
"May I?" asked Lori, pointing to the drawing.
Jade reluctantly handed it over. Lori then took out a pen and wrote on the back in the upper right corner.
She handed it back to Jade.
It was a phone number.
"I just want you to know I'm here if you want to talk. When you go back home and...you just need to...sometimes it helps to talk it out."
When she returned with the supplies Jamie asked for, he was excited to get started. When she inquired what he was drawing, he said it was a present. Lori asked who it was for. He then pointed to the sleeping Jade and replied, "It's for the sad girl. I want to make her a get well card."
Lori was so moved she didn't know what to say.
She looked at the troubled teen and saw so much of herself. Life hadn't been easy for her. When her father came home hammered, he would beat up her and her baby brother Hal. Lori, being the protective older sibling, would try to re-route his rage toward her so he would spare him or give him the chance to hide. Eventually the bruises would catch the attention of the schools and they were both taken out of the home and placed into the system.
Hal ended up getting adopted but Lori was destined to age out. She hugged her brother, promising to see him again as soon as she could. But bad news hit when a devastating 7.5 earthquake wrought its way through the Los Angeles area. The house of the adopting family was leveled. There were no survivors.
Lori thought her world had ended when she lost Hal. But one step at a time, she pressed forward and eventually finished her education and would end up with a pretty sweet guy by the end of it. And when their first child was born, they signed his certificate as Jamie Hal Porter.
(That kid looked like she's had some bad days, even before the injury. I can feel it. And I'm worried they're far from over.)
Cat thought about the whole encounter with Jade's mom back at the hospital.
She ran into her a few times here and there. Pam mostly kept to herself but those occasions when they did cross paths, it was usually drama.
Jade's mom would start laying into them about always hanging out and making the house a mess. They didn't really but one tiny thing out of place would just get her going. The only pet that she allowed that Jade wanted was a rabbit. He was relegated to his hutch outside but oftentimes Jade wanted to bring him inside at night because she didn't want him to be cold.
Pamela told Jade that she was to keep it in her room and make sure it doesn't go anywhere else in the house. And if it had an accident outside the newspaper, she was to clean it up. Jade took good care of that rabbit, feeding him and playing with him.
Cat was worried about the rabbit, who Jade named Renfield which was Dracula's mortal henchman. She preferred something more cute like for the grey fluff ball like Wicket. Jade shot her down immediately, refusing to name her boy after an ewok.
She wondered if he was being cared for. Jade was away for a few days now and Pamela would be the only one who had been to the house so far. Cat was afraid that nobody was feeding Renfield or changing the cedar in his habitat.
The redhead opened the drawer of the nightstand by her bed. She fished around the mass of random junk and found the cold feel of metal.
"Yes!"
Cat still had the spare key for Jade's house. They exchanged keys (without telling their respective parents) in case of an emergency. She pondered the thought of sneaking over Jade's house in secret and checking in on little Renfield.
The more she thought about Jade, the less mad she was. But those emotions are still there.
Right now, her priority was that bunny. He's an innocent animal that had nothing to do with anything. And she will be damned if he suffers from Jade's absence and her mother's likely indifference.
She bounded down the stairs, told her dad she would be right back and got in her car.
Cat drove past Jade's house and didn't see anybody in the driveway.
They had a converted den instead of a garage so if nobody was in the driveway, Pam wasn't at home.
But being cautious, Cat parked around the corner. She made the point when she was on the side of the road that she wasn't too close to the fire hydrant or the stop sign. Learned that lesson the hard way with an afternoon at the impound lot.
The redhead jogged over to the West residence and looked around before putting the key in and turning the knob. She was in.
The house had a security system but fortunately it was only set to go off if a window was broken or a fire was detected. She remembered them trying the full version with the motion detectors and a code you had to enter indicating you were at home or going out. But too many false alarms irritated Pam and she scaled back to the basic model. A positive trigger would send the police or fire department in a pinch so it was good enough for her.
Cat looked up the stairs, thinking of checking Jade's room first.
She crept up the steps as if someone was home and could hear her.
Cat crouched down beside Jade's bedroom door for fear of Renfield being in there and accidentally setting him loose. She slowly opened the door and there was no bunny. The redhead stepped in and did a 360 of the room but no sign of the rabbit anywhere. Before going out, something caught her eye.
It was the friendship bracelet that she threw back to Jade in anger.
She picked it up for a second and the memory of that fight came rolling back. Cat was still plenty pissed by what Jade did.
(No, Jade. Not now. Not ever. I'm only here for the rabbit.)
Cat put the bracelet back and went downstairs to check the hutch outside. Once in the living room, she heard the lock to the front door disengage. Panic rushed into her throat and she bolted through the kitchen to the back door. She knew she would be out of sight for a few seconds while the door was opening, so Cat closed the back door as quickly (and quietly) as she could.
Pamela emerged through the front door and sighed, throwing her purse down. She then pulled out her phone to check her messages. Walking a few steps, she glanced up and from her point of view...Jade's bedroom door was open.
It was absolutely closed this morning when she left the house.
"WHO'S IN HERE!?"
She sneered as she readied her taser.
"COME ON! SHOW YOURSELF!"
Cat held her hand over her mouth to not make a sound.
Yes, she was outside but now she had no clue where Pam was. For all she knew, she could be looking at her out the window right now.
She bit her lip and dared to peek through the bottom of the kitchen window over the sink.
A quick glimpse of Pam charging up the stairs was all she could make out.
Cat rushed to the hutch and sure enough; Renfield was there, safe and sound. He looked okay, fresh food and water by the look of it. But the stench from the cedar was palpable.. Doesn't seem like it was changed at all recently.
But she was out of time.
She had no choice but to flee as fast as her little legs would carry them.
(Please, don't let her see me! Please God, please! She didn't see me! Please!)
Taking cover behind a tall white fence, Cat stopped to catch her breath. The barking dog was masking her heavy breathing.
Cat dared to take a gander around the corner of the white fence and there was a frazzled-looking Pamela checking the perimeter of the house.
A small part of her felt bad because this was going to make her obsessively paranoid for hours.
She couldn't think of that right now and ran to her car and made a quick getaway.
A/N: Yeah, you didn't think this hurt/comfort drama would have suspense did you?
The second half of this chapter was directed by Alfred Hitchcock lol