A/N: This fic contains potentially triggering subject matter including but not limited to: suicidal references, gun violence, sexual trauma, homelessness, drug abuse, depression, homophobia, and cancer. It may contain inaccuracies. No copyright infringement intended. Thanks for reading!
BOOK ONE - PART TWO - CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"And there she is," Jade announced dramatically as Cat approached her and Tori inside the JetBrew coffee shop. They were seated at a table together with a trio of steaming drinks in front of them.
"Hi, guys," Cat greeted quietly, hesitant to join them. She was avoiding their eyes and wringing her hands.
"We got your latte," Jade told her, motioning to the unclaimed cup on the table.
"Oh, thanks." Cat took a seat at the table and picked up her drink to take a sip. She pretended to be distracted, looking around at nothing in particular, and then awkwardly asked, "How was the rest of your guys' day?"
"Cat…" Jade drawled instead of answering the question.
"Yeah?" Cat mumbled, already feeling her face growing warm.
"Are you gonna explain what we saw this morning?" Tori asked incredulously.
Cat looked around again, then bit her lip and lowered her eyes. "I'm not comfortable talking about it in public."
Jade sighed forcefully, then pushed herself to her feet. "Come on. We're going to Yingo's." Yingo's was an abandoned amusement park on the edge of town where they liked to hang out. Jade knew there was no chance of getting any information out of Cat if they stayed here.
Together, the three of them made their way out of the store and onto the sidewalk. Their destination was only about two blocks away. They sipped their coffees while they walked, exchanging very few words. Finally, they arrived at the broken fence and climbed through. Once inside, they headed to their favorite spot—the tea cups. Or, Yingo's old knock-off version, at least. They had been spray-painted black and had graffiti all over them, so they were no longer the most child-friendly place.
Once they all claimed their spots in their favorite cup and sat down, Jade turned and looked at Cat again. "Okay. So." Jade began, setting her drink on the table between them and narrowing her eyes at her, "Would you like to explain yourself?"
Cat had known this was coming. Jade and Tori were both very nosy. "Not really," she replied.
"Oh, come on. You're really gonna make us pry this out of you?" Tori sighed, "You can tell us anything, Cat. You know that, right?"
"I know." Cat stared down at the ground. After a minute, she took a deep breath, then turned and looked at each of them. "Okay. You guys are allowed to ask questions. One at a time. I'm not really sure where to start."
"How did you end up bringing a guy home?"
"Who did you sleep with?" Jade and Tori spoke at the same time.
Cat exploded, "I said one at a time!" But she gathered her thoughts and attempted to explain, "I didn't bring a guy home. Somebody showed up at my house late last night. And, um… the answer to the second one's… complicated."
Jade rolled her eyes. "Okay, well we obviously know him, or you wouldn't be freaking out like this. Why don't you just tell us?" Cat didn't reply, so Jade continued, "Is it Dice?"
"No! Gross!" Cat scoffed.
Jade sighed. "Well, it's not Robbie, and it's not Dice, and you obviously didn't fuck Beck or Dylan, so… who else is left that you're close enough to? And if you say Sikowitz, I will literally fucking vomit."
The thought made Cat gag a little too. "No! Jeez, would you guys just—? Why can't you ever just mind your own business? Why does it even matter who it is?"
"Um, because you basically lost your virginity to him last night," Tori remarked.
"Yeah," Jade chuckled in agreement, "It's not like Robbie counts for anything."
"Hey!" Cat frowned. "He does so. Just 'cause we didn't enjoy it doesn't mean we didn't do it."
"Okay, well, regardless, this is the only other guy you've been with," Jade pointed out. "Why can't you tell us who he is?"
Cat bit her lip. "I'm scared."
Tori furrowed her eyebrows. "Of what?"
"I'm scared it'll make you guys… upset," Cat tried to explain.
Jade and Tori looked more confused than ever now. "Why would we be upset? Is he, like, one of our ex-boyfriends or something?" Jade asked.
Cat shook her head. She knew she needed to just say it—to just take a chance and see what happens. Sam was a permanent part of her life now, and sooner or later her friends would have to deal with that. It was time. She wasn't looking at them as she took a deep breath, calming herself. She slowly breathed out, and in a voice that was hardly more than a whisper, said, "Sam came back last night."
Jade and Tori were staring at her like she'd grown a second head. "What?" Jade demanded, as if she'd somehow misheard her.
Cat sighed. "Sam showed up at my door really late last night. We've barely had time to talk about things, but she'll be staying this time. For sure."
Jade could barely contain her anger. "That fucking bitch. She seriously had the gall to just show up like that? After all this time?"
"And you just let her in without a second thought?" Tori questioned in disbelief.
Cat looked at each of them. "I'm in love with her, you guys. And she came back 'cause she feels the same way about me." She couldn't help but smile. She'd never been able to talk to her friends about her true interest in Sam before. It was exciting, even though they both had very negative opinions of her at the moment.
"Well, where the fuck has she been all this time?" Jade asked in annoyance.
"We haven't talked about it much yet, but, um…" Cat recalled what Sam had told her, "She was in a motorcycle gang for four years, and then she went to prison for another four years. And for the last two years she's been homeless."
"She got four years?" Jade sounded almost impressed. "What did she do?"
Cat tried to choose her words carefully. "She didn't really tell me much about what she did. She was getting really upset trying to talk about it. But she told me she got charged with second-degree manslaughter."
"She killed someone?" Jade actually sounded impressed. "Fuck; did she beat 'em to death with a butter sock or something?"
Cat forced a small smile, which quickly disappeared. "No. She used a gun, but that's all I know. She wouldn't tell me anything else," she explained.
The reality of the situation seemed to sink in when Cat mentioned a gun being involved. Even Jade was sitting silently now.
Tori remarked, "I can't believe she only got four years for that." Her dad was a cop, and she knew a little about how the criminal system worked in California.
"Well, we don't know the circumstances. It could've been in self-defense," Jade remarked.
"Anyways, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that she came back," Tori said positively.
"And it seems like she got quite the warm welcome," Jade muttered under her breath, concealing a smirk.