Once they arrived back home, new phone in hand, Jason was already waiting by the door ready to help the girls carry the boxes inside. Yesterday he was angry at his daughter for not going to her Nan's birthday meal- but as soon as he knew the reason he forgave her instantly. Before Jade had even asked, he'd offered the spare room for Cat to stay however long she needed. There was not a single doubt in his mind that it was the right thing to do for the girl. She'd been through a lot, so a place away from it all was the least he could do. Anything more she needed, he'd get her it- as he reminded her a hundred times already. He'd already sent his assistant out to buy a new adjustable rib support brace, along with a box of as much chocolate as he could carry. "Anything else you need-"
"All I have to do is ask." Cat finished for him, thanking him for the hundredth time. "Thank you Jason."
It confused Jade a little to see her dad like this, and hurt a tad too. He was so sweet to Cat. Not that he was ever unkind to Jade, but they just weren't like that. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that, right now the focus was on Cat.
After everything was in her new room, Jade started hanging up Cat's clothes in the wardrobe; while Cat sat on the bed, uploading her phone backups and inserting the SIM card, her new phone blowing up instantly with missed messages.
First were the texts from her parents last night - neither realising that her phone had laid broken on the living room floor. And then 5 missed calls from Andre- she'd forgotten that she'd promised to practice their song with him today. "Oh chiz!" Cat gasped, pressing his contact to call him back.
"Wha-" Jade asked, before realising Cat wasn't talking to her.
"Oh Andre I'm so sorry!" Cat rushed out her words as soon as the boy picked up the phone. "I'll be right there-."
"Like hell you will." Jade grumbled, "You're taking the day to rest, and the rest of this week."
She wasn't wrong- there was no way she could face the world just yet- there was too much going on in her head. She closed her eyes, trying to muster up a steady response. "Actually, Andre. Um..." Her voice cracked, the pain leaking through, and she swallowed hard. "I'm really sorry, but I... I don't think I can make it today."
Andre's tone shifted instantly, a subtle alarm creeping in. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
Her gaze drifted to Jade, who was watching her carefully, her brow creased with worry. Cat forced herself to sound fine. "Yeah. Just... I'm a little out of it today. But I can get dressed and be over in, like, twenty." She tried to cover, a part of her thinling she might be okay to go see him.
She saw the slight tension in Jade's expression turn into full-blown frustration as she held out her hand, silently asking for the phone. But Cat shook her head, pushing herself up, gripping the side table for support. Before she could say more, Jade strode forward and took the phone firmly from Cat's hand, raising it up to her ear. "Hey, Andre, it's Jade," she said, her voice calm but unmistakably serious. "Cat's not going anywhere right now."
"Wait, what?" Andre's voice was loud enough that Cat could faintly hear it, laced with worry.
"She needs to rest," Jade continued, casting a look over at Cat. "And you know her—she'd try to show up for anything even if she was on her last leg. But she really can't sing with broken ribs."
The finality in Jade's voice hit Cat harder than she'd anticipated. The full reality of her condition settled over her, a feeling she'd been trying to ignore since the pain began. She couldn't sing; she could barely breathe without wincing. "WHAT?" She heard through the phone, Andre was never one to yell, especially not loud enough to be heard from a phone call a few feet away.
Cat reached a hand out, her fingers trembling slightly. "Jade, I need to explain to him—"
Jade shook her head and placed a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder. "We'll tell you what happened if she's in school on Monday," she said, her tone softening as she pressed the phone back to her ear. "Just trust me. I'll explain."
The faint sound of Andre's voice on the line was reassuring in its steadiness. "Look, tell her to take care of herself. I'm here whenever she's ready."
Jade hung up and handed the phone back, her expression softening. "See? It's not the end of the world, Cat. Andre understands. Right now, you need to focus on healing and processing it all. That's all you need to do."
Cat's heart sank as she took the phone, barely able to look up at Jade. She could see the concern in Jade's eyes, could feel her warm hand on her shoulder. She wanted to argue, to tell Jade she should've just let her talk to him. But the mental exhaustion pressing down on her was just too heavy. She closed her eyes, letting the silence settle around them. "Okay." She choked out. Jade was right- she was always right really. She just needed to let herself relax.
It was an hour later when a sharp knock on the front door disrupted the girls' unpacking. Jason answered the door, calling his daughter down shortly after.
"Andre?" Jade asked as she rounded the corner, dismissing her dad who walked away.
"I was worried and went to Cat's house and her Mom said she was here- she was crying and packing- is Cat moving away?" He asked all at once; there was so much to catch him up on.
"Come on, Cat will do a better job at explaining." Jade rolled her eyes, turning so that the boy would follow her up the stairs. It had been a while since he'd been upstairs in the West household- he used to be over a lot when they were younger, but as the years passed the times became less and less. They walked past Jade's room, and into one of the guest rooms that was now occupied by Cat's stuff.
"Andre!" Cat smiled as the boy entered the room, she was sat on the floor organising her stuffed animals back into the same order they'd been in her old room. "What're you doing here?" She tilted her head in confusion, trying to stand up before instantly regretting it from the ache in her back.
"You okay chicka?" He asked, rushing over and offering his hand to help her up.
"Thank you." She smiled up to him, accepting the help.
"I like what you've done to the place." He smiled back, connecting a few of the dots already. Cat's stuff at Jade's, her Mom packing at her house- her family was moving away so she moved here.
"Thank you." Cat repeated, apparently being lost for all over words. She didn't want to explain to Andre what had happened, just telepathically hoping he would know. "Matteo had a moment again." She told him, vaguely. "Like the vase incident."
"Oh shit." Andre's jaw dropped and eyes widened, he knew exactly what she meant. "Oh Cat I'm so sorry." He added, "How hurt are you."
"2 broken ribs and-" she turned, raising the back of her shirt which revealed the bottom of a early purple yellow bruise. "I'm okay though just, colourful." She smiled, the mask creeping back up.
"Anything you need- I've got you okay." Andre reassured. "Forget the songs, they can wait okay- I don't want you singing another note until you're healed."
"How long will that be Jade?" Cat asked, looking over to her girlfriend.
"Google said 2-6 weeks when I checked." She replied, stood leant against the door.
"Thats good- we can still write the last song and then you can sing after you're healed." Andre thought aloud. "Not that the songs are the priority-" He quickly recovered, wanting to slip that in before Jade punched him for his insensitivity to the situation. "I just want you to be okay Chika." He smiled, brushing a strand of Cat's hair away from her face. "I would hug you but I think that would make it worse."
"Hugs are okay just no squeezing." She smiled, reaching her arms out towards the boy, who replied with the most gentle hug he could muster. "Thank you for checking up on me." She whispered to him before stepping back.
"You two are my sisters." Andre smiled, including Jade. "I couldn't just sit in my room without checking that you're okay."
For the rest of the day, Andre helped unpack the heavier boxes of Cat's stuff, letting her tell him exactly where everything needed to go. The spare room at Jade's was a lot larger than Cat's old room, so it still looked a little bare even after all the unpacking- and a lot less pink. Jason had told her he would happily get the room painted for her if she wanted- but Cat dismissed it, maybe it was time for something a little more neutral.
The day had gone completely fine, the three chatted and hung out just as they had done a thousand times before. If anything it felt more like the old days than normal. But it wasn't until Andre had left and Jade cooked their dinner that something changed.
The kitchen was filled with the aroma of tomato, warmth flowing from the stove as Jade stirred the pot. She hummed a low tune under her breath, a soothing undertone to the quiet clinks of dinner preparation. Cat sat on one of the breakfast bar stalls, absently scrolling through her phone.
Jade leaned over the counter to grab her phone from the edge. But in her rush, her fingers slipped, and the phone fell, crashing onto the tile with a loud, harsh smack.
The sound split the calm like a lightning bolt.
In an instant, Cat was thrown back to the evening before— the sharp crack of a phone hitting an unforgiving surface. Her chest tightened, and the air seemed to thicken, the room darkening at the edges. She gripped the edge of the counter, but her hands trembled, her knuckles turning white as the sound reverberated in her mind.
Jade, oblivious at first, let out a sigh, brushing it off. "Well, there goes my screen protector." But when she looked up, her mood darkered. Cat's face had gone ghostly pale, her gaze fixed somewhere in the middle distance, her body tense and trembling.
"Cat? Babe?" Jade's tone shifted to concern as she took a step closer. But Cat didn't respond.
The walls of the kitchen fell away, and Cat was no longer in Jade's house. She was trapped in last night, her body and mind betraying her, refusing to let her go. She remembered the cold, hard ground, the flash of movement, and the violent sounds that followed — sounds that still rang in her ears. Her breathing was sharp and shallow, chest heaving painfully as she clutched her ribs. The familiar ache intensified as panic squeezed tighter and tighter around her.
Jade's heart sank, watching helplessly as Cat sank deeper into the memory which seized her. She'd never seen her like this before. She'd had panic attacks sure, but the rawness, the depth of Cat's terror tonight, was different. Jade's throat tightened as she forced herself to stay steady, stood close to Cat's side incase she fell off the seat. "Cat… it's me, Jade," she whispered, keeping her voice low and even. "You're safe. We're in our kitchen."
The words drifted to Cat through the fog, faint and barely recognizable. She was barely aware of Jade's presence, the comforting softness of her voice trying to break through the darkness. But the terror held fast, like an anchor, dragging her down.
Jade placed her hand near Cat's, letting her know she was close without touching her, keeping the contact light and careful. She'd read somewhere that touch could sometimes ground people in moments like these, but with Cat, she knew she had to let her decide. She stayed quiet, breathing slowly and audibly, guiding her own breath in and out in a rhythm she hoped Cat might hear.
After a few moments, Cat's eyes flickered, focusing on Jade's hand — close but careful, steady and waiting. She clung to the sight, trying to ground herself in it, to find a way back from the terror engulfing her.
"It's just us here," Jade said softly. "You're safe. Take your time."
Jade kept breathing audibly, slow and deep, letting her breaths be the gentle guide Cat needed. In the quiet, with the kitchen lights casting soft shadows around them, the horrible memory slowly loosened its grip, and she was able to follow Jade's breaths, letting them draw her closer to the present.
"Keep breathing with me Cat. You're doing great." Jade encouraged, her voice a low, steady anchor.
Cat managed a small nod, her breaths still shallow but slowing as she focused on matching Jade's rhythm. In, then out. Each breath felt like a struggle, but slowly, the panic ebbed, slipping back into the darkness where it had hidden before.
Jade waited until Cat's breathing evened out, then, very carefully, took Cat's hand in hers, letting her thumb trace gentle circles along her palm. "You're okay. We're in our kitchen, it's warm, and dinner's cooking," she said softly. "Can you smell the tomatoes?" She was talking more to distract than anything else, hoping to keep Cat grounded in the present.
After a long, silent moment, Cat finally nodded, the ghost of a smile flickering at the corners of her mouth. She could smell it.
As the last shreds of panic released their hold, Cat's shoulders softened, and she slumped against the table. Jade gently shifted closer, her arms wrapping around Cat in a loose embrace, careful of her ribs. "I'm here, Cat. Whatever happened… it's over now." She held her just close enough to feel her heartbeat, grounding Cat in its steady, comforting rhythm.
The silence filled the kitchen again, but this time it was different. It was healing, and with Jade's arms around her and the familiar warmth of their home.
Finally, Cat looked up, her eyes meeting Jade's. "Thank you..." Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but the gratitude in her words was unmistakable.
Jade held her closer, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "It's okay," she whispered. "Its okay."