A/N: Jade is back home (yay?) and she will be forced to confront her friends on her first week back at school.
Weather seems insane no matter where you live right now but we'll all get through it! Spring is coming, I can feel it.
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Jade jolted awake at the sound of the alarm app on her phone. It was the same sound as a meltdown alert from a nuclear power plant. And it doesn't have a snooze function. You have to answer 3 simple math problems to disarm it, so you could not possibly do this in your sleep.
When she wants to wake up in the morning, she doesn't fuck around.
She wanted to be up extra early because she wanted to get her shower done and over with so she could spend the rest of the day downstairs. Her mother tends to sleep in on Saturdays, so this was her chance. Jade would have to switch gears on weekdays. She'd have to get it in the afternoon, or right after mother leaves for work before she gets picked up.
Jade made a point to lay on the couch facing away from the front door, which would have her injured leg on the inside of the couch. To get up, she could literally put her best foot forward. She gazed at the banister and it was only a couple of feet from the couch. Jade entertained the idea of possibly hopping from the edge of the sofa to the banister but quickly thought better of it.
Once sitting up, she grabbed the crutches that were leaning against the coffee table.
She grunted as she used only her right side to push her whole self up, using the hollow metal sticks as ballast.
"UGH!"
Finally, Jade was vertical but almost fell backward before finding her footing.
"Okay, okay, you can do this."
She hobbled over to toward the stairs and looked up.
"Great," she sighed.
Jade took a deep breath and planted the crutches firmly on the first step. With a hop, her legs followed.
(One down. Twelve to go.)
Every since she was a kid, she knew it was exactly thirteen steps to the upstairs.
It took her about ten minutes to ascend these stairs until she finally reached the top. Fortunately, the bathroom wasn't far from where she was. A couple of moves later, she was inside the blue tiled bathroom. There was a window but it was still plenty dark outside so Jade flipped on the light. Bright bulbs kicked on, temporarily blinding her. Blinking for a few seconds until the green and purple blobs no longer danced in front of her, she adjusted to the light.
Jade looked down at the toilet and the urge to pee came rushing up, so she carefully positioned herself to begin lowering her body at an angle. You try to squat when one of your legs is unbendable. Thank God the lid was up or that would've added more steps.
Once finished, she flushed the toilet and used the towel rack to bring herself up. Jade wished she had such things in the shower. At this point she didn't care if it made her look like an old lady. Right now safety bars in the shower would be wonderful.
She will have to make due.
Jade left the one crutch leaning against the sink and used the other one to pivot her body toward the knobs. She turned the hot on and then a tiny bit of the cold to keep it from getting scalding. Jade preferred a really hot shower but didn't want to melt like somebody had opened the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders.
After a few seconds, steam rose from behind the curtain and began fogging up the mirror.
She looked down at her cast and thought.
The goth entered into the shower sideways to the right, letting her other leg dangle outside the tub. The hot water felt amazing against her skin. She had missed her shower that week she was at the hospital. Jade didn't care much for showers in other places. The pressure wouldn't be there or the temperature was almost impossible to get it higher than ice cold.
Jade very cautiously reached for things like shampoo and body wash one at a time because each item involved her keep only one arm free. If she lost her balance, it would be a big problem anyway. But one handed? That would be a total disaster and she may end up more banged up than before.
But it was the only way really to get clean. A bath was out of the question with her predicament.
It was more than twice the length of a normal shower because of her limited movement.
(Mental Note: maybe DON'T take a shower in the morning before school.)
She had received an email from Hollywood Arts that some students from her class would be helping her get to school in a daily rotation. Sikowitz then sent a personal email, wishing Jade be well and the names of the students that would be her ride.
The roster made her heart sink.
Obviously, Monday onward was going to be very awkward. The last thing she wanted to do was kick things off on the wrong foot and make both of them late to school. So weeknights are where showers are gonna be.
Jade turned off the water and pushed back the curtain. She looked down and was relieved that her little song and dance worked and her cast was still bone dry. Which was more than she could say for the bathroom floor. Apparently, having the curtain nearly half open during a long shower would create a puddle.
(Well, shit.)
She reached for the nearby crutch and tried to put it under arm.
OUCH!
"Nope, that's a boob" she winced. "Log that away for next time."
Using the towel rack again, she guided herself toward the sink for her other crutch. Then she looked at the towel hanging behind the door.
(Okay, genius. Now what?)
Jade peered out into the hallway. Her mother's snoring was indicative that she was still asleep. She figured she could shimmy her way into her way into her room, find some clothes and by the time she was in a position to dress herself; she would have air-dried.
She opened the door and shuffled her way inside.
Once in her sanctum, Jade let her crutches drop and she plopped on the bed.
(Wouldn't it be hysterical if this was the moment mom walks in my room?)
At this point, she didn't care anymore. But she was feeling cold so she propped herself back up and hobbled over to her drawers.
Jade quickly rummaged through her drawers and took out a black t-shirt and black basketball shorts. Then she got some socks and underwear out of her top drawer. She was originally thinking of going braless today because she wasn't really going anywhere but then remembered that little incident in the bathroom and reluctantly found one of her black bras.
The top was the easy part. Dressing her lower half was going to take stages.
First, she put her leg that was in the cast through the hole and once it was up halfway, she slipped her right leg in. Then she pulled the underwear up. She repeated the process for the shorts and done!
Jade decided to throw the socks back because there was no way she was going to put on socks without the ability to bend her left leg.
The brunette took a minute to rest.
Typically a shower and throwing on some casual clothes wouldn't exhaust her. But this was the "new normal."
(What a pain in the ass! Maybe I should shower every other day...)
Jade was fully up with her crutches and made her way out of her room when she was stopped by Pamela.
"What the...Jade!" she blurted out.
"Mom?"
"What are you doing up here?" she asked, indignantly.
The pale girl was not in the mood for the third degree this early in the morning.
"I. Was. Getting. A. Shower. Then I dressed myself."
Pam looked at her with a bewildered expression.
"Shower?"
"Yeah, mom" Jade sighed. "I told you last night I was going to get it in the morning before you-"
But her mother went over to the bathroom before her daughter could finish.
"Jadelyn! Look at this floor!"
She was absolutely not a fan of when she called her that.
"Look at it!" Pam iterated. "It's completely wet!"
"I'm sorry," Jade said. "I was worried about my cast getting wet so I did my best to-"
As always, Pam holds up her hand and refuses to let Jade finish a thought.
"You know what? Leave it to you to create a problem like this for me. I was up all night and hoping to catch up on some sleep. But now I have a mess to clean up!"
Jade now felt terrible.
"Mom, I can clean it up. It's only water anyway..."
"Don't trouble yourself!" she spat. "Just go downstairs and be careful! And do me a favor; stay the hell away from me!"
Pam marched away and slammed her bedroom door.
Jade was left bemused by what had just happened here. If this was her first morning back home, this was not a good omen of her long road to recovery.
The rest of Saturday was pretty quiet, save for the occasional rant that would come rolling downstairs in little bursts. Jade knew it was about her. Mom gets on these tirades and you could piece together what she was talking about. Sometimes it was to herself or sometimes it was with her friend on the phone.
Either way, this woman expressed in no uncertain terms that she was disapproving of her home life and wished she wasn't there.
This made Jade feel worse, like she was being some kind of burden on her. While she was growing further apart from the woman, she still hated being on the hook for someone doing something for her. While her friends (if she can still call them that) are taking her to school, they might have reservations but they likely won't vocalize them much. Jade had an envy that it took a lot to faze her friends.
Pamela on the other hand seemed uncomfortable and pissed off all the time. Nothing pleased her; least of all something Jade had done. She wondered if she secretly wished that she had died along with her father. Jade also wondered if she even loved him.
Whenever she got in one of her moods, it was wise to keep out of her way. Hurricane Pamela is coming through. Nothing you can do; just nail everything down and wait.
Jade mostly sat in quiet in the living room since returning to the ground floor. She then remembered someone she hadn't seen and dearly missed.
She got her crutches and slowly got through the kitchen to the back door. Once outside, Jade breathed in some of that fresh air. She was not going to be cooped up in that house all day if she had any say about it. Because her best boy was right here.
"Hey, little nugget" she smiled at the cage.
Renfield wiggled his nose as he looked up at her.
Jade opened the cage and petted the bunny.
"Missed you. Has mother been feeding you?"
She looked at his food bowl and it was full but the new food clearly sat over the old. The water in his tank for drinking looked cloudy and the closer Jade got the more she was aware of a stench from the habitat.
Jade was furious. Renfield was alive but her mom was doing the bare minimum, if that.
She looked down and saw the little metal fence that made a circle on the ground. Jade put her one crutch aside and with a little struggle managed to pick up the rabbit with one arm and gently place him in the circle to chill out in. Now the cage was empty, she was going to clean it up.
Again, limited movement made the task take longer. Jade was thankful that she stored everything she needed very close by: cedar, food, water. About an hour later, Renfield's little habitat was looking fine and smelling better too.
The door opening made Jade turn around.
"Mom, can you give me a quick hand?" she asked.
Pam was annoyed but less aggressive than she was a little while ago. She put the bag of trash into the receptacle and walked over to her.
"What is it, Jade?"
"Can you pick up Renfield for me?" Jade asked, nervously. "I had to clean up his cage but I can't bend down to reach him."
She rolled her eyes and picked up Jade's rabbit from his wee metal pen and placed him back in his bungalow. Jade closed the door and engaged the latch.
"Thanks," Jade said.
"It's fine," Pam said back. "I'm going out in a bit just so you know."
Jade nodded. "Okay. Hey mom?"
"What?"
"Did you get fresh water for Renfield?" Jade asked. "It wasn't looking very clear and his cedar..."
"I know, I know" she huffed. "I gave him his food. Just couldn't find the other stuff!"
Jade knew that was bullshit because literally everything he needs is right out here by his habitat. But there was zero reasoning with her.
"Okay," she said, feeling defeated.
(Such a load. You probably only fed him because you wouldn't be able to explain a dead bunny! You never gave a shit about him! He was always mine anyway!)
"At least I still have you," Jade whispered to her fuzzy friend.
She wished that she wasn't hurt and could just take him in her room and let him run around like always. Playing with Renfield always cheered her up when she was having a rough day. But until Jade has free reign again, she was forced to keep Renfield out here. So she'll make a point to visit him in the backyard every day.
The rest of the day was rather unremarkable. Jade just watched TV and fiddled with her phone.
It was nice to have the house to herself for most of the day. When Pamela left, it felt like she could finally exhale.
Jade turned in shortly after dinner, where Jade had a sandwich and some chips. She was tired from today. While on paper she didn't do very much; Jade had to do five times the work to perform the most simplest of tasks.
Sunday rolled around and Jade instinctively avoided the shower that morning. She was debating whether she was getting out at all today but quickly decided that having it tonight would get her ready for school on Monday.
Pamela was home today but mostly kept to herself. She was reading her book while Jade looked over her schoolwork. Lane sent over the stuff that she missed from her teachers personally that morning and said he'll see her tomorrow at school.
Jade would normally be annoyed by someone sending her assignments, but she welcomed the distraction. With her mother around, Jade was less inclined to watch TV or anything remotely "fun" because she could sense this thing in the air that today, injury or not, should be devoted to something constructive. It was just easier to indulge in her passions and interests when she wasn't around. Even if she didn't object to Jade watching television, Pam would inundate her with condescending questions like "you really watch this?" or "what a waste of time!"
That night, Jade was in a deep sleep when the events of that night played out.
But this was different.
She vividly remembered seeing the crowd as she flew above them and the terrible tumble to the floor. But in the dream, Jade supposedly didn't make it.
When she fell, everything went dark.
Cut to an overcast day at the cemetery. Jade stood a sparse turnout for her own funeral. She couldn't hear anything being said by the priest. Looking around, Jade didn't see any of her friends present. In fact, hardly anyone showed up. Her mother was there but she was distracted with a phone call than anything else.
Then storm clouds rolled, making the shadows of the tombstones vanish and the scene went dim. The thunder could be heard but not seen. Suddenly, Jade felt a raindrop on her head and looked up to see a downpour begin.
Before she could come to terms with getting rained on, she was no longer standing outside. Now Jade was inside the casket and somehow could still see out of it.
She pounded on the space in front of her, as if the coffin was closed but the lid was transparent. Jade screamed and screamed but the priest nonchalantly kept lowering her into the six-foot hole.
The rain grew heavier and heavier; the light got fainter and fainter. Jade's hole was filling up and the coffin was submerged within seconds. Treacle of water started to leak into the coffin, soaking Jade's clothes. The breach in the pine box got bigger.
Her anxiety was through the roof. She was being buried alive and drowning at the same time.
And nobody could hear her. Or at least nobody seemed to care.
Jade yelped when she woke up. She clutched her neck, thankful that she could breathe again.
She managed to catch herself before rolling off of the sofa. What if she landed on her leg? Jade dreaded the idea of any progress in her convalescence becoming undone.
The goth hugged herself and sobbed. It was the most terrifying nightmare she had in a long time.
Jade then reached for her phone, which didn't drift far. She checked the time, and it was two in the morning. Checking through her texts, one new one was there.
It was from Tori.
"Just so you know, I'll be there at 8:00 to pick you up."
And that was all.
Jade hit the back button and selected her contacts. She scrolled until coming to Lori. The teen debated messaging her. After that fright she really could use come comfort from a friendly face right now. But Jade decided against it, figuring she might be asleep or something. Lori may still be at the hospital.
As much as it hurt, Jade put the phone down and closed her eyes, trying to go back to sleep.
A/N: Truth can be stranger than fiction. Much of Pamela's dialogue is based on real things I have heard from a less-than-agreeable parental figure I have had the displeasure of knowing. I'm okay but the effects still linger even as I write this. This is why I ask people to be kind; you don't know that person's story.