Jade muffled a grunt as she stood up from the floor where she had fallen. She cursed at herself for not cleaning the floor where she had spilled water earlier. Now it had made her slip when she had an important business to take care of. However, she decided not to clean it.
She made her way out as quietly as she could, trying to ignore the pain in her upper back. As she stepped out into the darkness of the backyard, she merged into the darkness. She was dressed in black cargo pants and jacket, and leather boots. Her black hair was tied up in a ponytail and was covered by a black cap. Around her waist was a leather bag and on her hands were black leather gloves.
She ran to the fence and jumped over it into the neighbor's house. Then she went out through the open gate into the roadway. She waved down a taxi immediately and entered into it, careful not to alert her bodyguards. The taxi driver gave her suspicious looks but he still drove her to her destination anyway.
“Please!!!” Shawn pleaded, his eyes widening as he stared up at Jade. Turning her back to him, Jade continued eating her cereal, chewing as quickly as she could so she could disappear from Shawn's sight. She was sure to lose her temper if he continued pestering her.“Forget it, Shawn. I'm not teaching you anything.” Jade said as Shawn came to squat in front of her. She placed her plate to her mouth and used her spoon to push the remaining food into her mouth. Chewing slowly, she stood up and made her way into the kitchen, trying to ignore the fact that Shawn was following her around.He stood by the counter watching her as she rinsed her bowl and put it back with the others. And as she walked out of the kitchen, he followed closely behind.Jade sighed as she stopped abruptly, making Shawn almost bump into her. Shawn was using her trick against her and it made her uncomfortable. She didn't want to teach him to fight. It wasn't a plea
Shawn turned to look at her. Burying his green irises into her blue ones, he tried to search for proof that she was lying but all he found was sincerity. “Okay then. I want to protect myself and... And my mother. From my father.” He said with a sigh.Jade raised her eyebrows in confusion. “Your father. Didn't he prom...”Shawn scoffed. “Yeah, he did. But, a beast never keeps promises. He promised your parents that he'd be better but he became worse. That day, he made me regret telling you. He hit me till I fainted and when I woke up, I saw that my mother had it worse. I swore never to tell anymore.”“Why didn't your mom leave? That is enough reason for a divorce.” Jade spoke, softly.Shawn sighed softly as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “My mom saw how hard it was on you when your parents divorced and she didn't want me to go through the same. Besides, dad had threatened her to stay. He
Jade grunted as she made her way up the stairs. Clenching on tightly to her bleeding stomach, she tried to walk steadily over the stairs. However, with her spinning head and wobbly legs, she found it impossible to do so. And before she realized it, she fell from the fifth step.Even though the fall wasn't much of a distance, it aggravated her condition. Her back and butt began aching as well and she felt glued to the floor. The cut on her stomach continued bleeding and she knew that if she didn't stand up to treat it, she'd probably die here. And if she didn't die, then she'd be rescued by the housekeeper, who'd tell her father immediately and she'd be shipped off to one stupid asylum where everything they do is to make her believe, she's insane.She groaned as she tried to stand up again but no part of her body was moving. After a few more tries, she decided to accept her fate - the first option. She removed her hand from where it had bee
Jade sat cross-legged on the couch while Shawn sat up straight, both eating a bowl of popcorn and watching TV. The sports channel was on and they were watching a basketball game. They were supporting different teams and Jade's team was in the lead. They both had markers in their hands and for each goal scored by their teams, the other person's face would be drawn on. Shawn's face was almost full of different shapes while Jade's face was barely drawn on.The tables turned and Shawn's team began to win and Shawn wrote a letter on her forehead for each win. At the end of the game, Shawn's team emerged as the winner. On his face were a mustache, a variety of shapes, and a hippo while on Jade's face was written: JADE IS A LOSER!!!The room was filled with laughter as they both laughed at their own and each other's faces. They were still laughing when they heard th
Shawn heaved a sigh of relief and sank to the floor as he heard the sound of Sergio's car starting. Jade sighed and leaned back against the wall, watching as her bodyguard put back his gun. “This won't do. I'm moving back in.” He announced stoically. “No.” Jade protested, frowning as she stood upright. He glanced at her and sighed. “I need to protect you at close range and I can't do that staying in a hotel five kilometers from here. I can't imagine what could have happened if I was a minute late.” “I had it under control, Lewis.” “You didn't. Jade... Miss Adler, I know I promised you freedom but I can't keep letting you endanger yourself. So, I'm moving back in. If you have a problem with that, let your father know. I'm pretty sure he has sent your details to that boarding school. All that's left is you.” Lewis said, his voice sounding threatening. Her eyes flared up in anger but he didn't seem to care. “Are you trying to threaten me?
Jade sighed as she threw another glance at the couch where Lewis was sitting. His eyes were fixated on her, watching her like a predator does its prey, and if she were not alone in the living room, she would have felt a little more comfortable. Also, if he hadn't downloaded the video of the incident with Sergio, threatening to send it to her dad, she would have forced him to leave. She sighed again as she looked at the television, thinking of a plan to escape his watchful eyes. She could drug his juice but he'd probably follow her into the kitchen. She could knock him out but when he woke up, he'd be angrier. She could make it look like he was trying to molest her but he was her favorite bodyguard so far and she didn't want to lose him. She could try to appeal to him but as long as he called her by her last name, nothing she said would touch him. She sighed again as she folded her arms around her chest, sulking as she turned her attention to the television. The show
Shawn sighed as he watched Jade run in and out of the water. She was giggling loudly as she chased crabs and threw them into the sea whenever she caught any. Even though he had excused himself from going into the water, she still seemed to be having a good time. If he went away now, she wouldn't notice. He turned around to look at Lewis who was still standing where Jade had told him to. He was holding her shoes, hat, the sunglasses she had turned back halfway to get, and the swimwear she decided not to wear anymore. All his attention was on her, and even though it was barely visible, Shawn could still see the smile on his face as he watched Jade. If it weren't Jade whom Lewis was watching and smiling, he would have tagged him a pervert or a freak. But, knowing who Jade was and everything she's gone through, seeing her smile should be enough to melt the hardest heart. Besides, he could tell that Lewis cared a lot for Jade. It wasn't a type of care he had been gi
Bang!!! The sound of a door banging echoed from inside the house. Shawn bolted into the house and Jade ran after him. The entrance door was wide open and the sitting room was a mess. Broken glass, clothes - some torn, others intact - and a bunch of books littered the floor and giving Shawn an idea of what was happening.His dad had probably wanted to destroy everything that belonged to him in his rage but his mother had disallowed him. Shawn pressed his lips together, balling his fists as he ran to the kitchen where Sergio was banging against the door.“Leave my mother alone!” He said, earning him a stare and a chuckle from Sergio. “You wanted me. Here I am. Leave mom out of this.” Shawn said again as Sergio turned to face the door again.Sergio glared at him. “She's not your mom! She's my wife and you're not my son. Not anymore. So, she's not your mom.” He turned to face the door. “Rachel, you have five minutes to come out to me. If you don't, I'll break down this
Jade screamed angrily, tearing out and crumpling up a sheet of paper from her sketchbook. She threw it across the room and it landed on the floor close to the door, increasing the litter of crumpled paper and broken pencils in the room. She took a new pencil from behind her ears, her fingers shaky as she began to draw lines and curves, in readiness for another sketch. Closing her eyes, she tried to picture a face, Tiger's face - that was what they called him but she knew his name began with the letter H. However she was only met with an empty space and a heaviness in her heart that was trying to drag her down. She tried to remind herself of him - his lifeless gray eyes, his hair and beards that smelled like shampoo, the scent of his unfamiliar cologne, his cold lips, his strong muscular arms, his large callused hands, and his burly chest that had the tattoo of a tiger.She still couldn't remember his face. Just like the first day after she woke up. Her therapist had said it was due
Doink! The sound of a notification made its way out of Shawn's bag and he quickly dug into it, bringing his phone out of his bag. He unlocked his phone, eagerly looking through it. The text had come from his network provider and he hissed loudly, obviously disappointed. “Yes, Mr Beckett,” the voice of his teacher rang, startling him from his phone, and she started walking toward him, “we know calculus is boring but I thought that you would at least stay off your phone.” “I'm sorry, Miss V,” he said, holding onto his phone like it was some diamond he had just found, “it's just that Jade is supposed to be in this class but she's not here.” “You're here and right now, that's what matters. So if you don't put that phone away for the rest of my class, I'll hand it over to Principal Dolan to add to his collection for the year.” Shawn sighed softly and switched off his phone, putting it into his bag. “I'm sorry, Miss V.” “Don't apologize to me. If you were paying attention, you'd h
★ Two Weeks Later ★Jade jolted awake, her heart racing, and her sheets drenched in sweat. The remnants of her nightmare lingered, the image of a tattooed tiger on a man's chest etched in her mind. Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.Panic set in. She struggled to break free, her fists flailing wildly. “Let me go! No! Ah!” she screamed, her voice hoarse from sleep.But the grip only tightened. She kicked and squirmed, her mind still trapped in the darkness.Then, a gentle whisper pierced the haze: “Shh, Babygirl, it's okay. You're safe.”The voice was familiar and soothing as it slowly penetrated her fear. She paused, her chest heaving, and looked up into the face of the man holding her. He was her dad.Tears of relief mingled with lingering fear as she collapsed into his embrace. His arms cradled her, warm and protective, dispelling her doubts.“It was just a dream, Babygirl,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “You're safe now.”She shut her eyes, grateful tha
★One Year Ago★Jade sat on the floor, sobbing loudly and scratching her arms, trying to get rid of the feel of her harasser's skin against hers. She kept replaying the last few hours in her mind. She could still feel his body against hers and it made her feel worthless and dirty. And like a thousand bugs were crawling through her skin, eating her up. Her skin was hurting from all the scratching. And even though she couldn't see it, as she had been locked up in a very dark room, she knew it was bleeding. She could feel the warm liquid under her fingernails. But she didn't care. In fact, she wanted to peel off her skin completely. Maybe that would make her feel better.Or would it? She thought to herself, her body shaking as she cried even harder. These people. They had killed her mother. In the most inhumane way possible. They made her suffer before she died. And she slept through it all. If she had been awake, maybe she could have stopped them.Stop them? She mocked inside her head.
Jade hummed happily as she removed the chicken from the oven. She carefully carried it and placed it on the counter. She carried a tray containing Mac and cheese and put it in the oven. After closing it and setting the timer, she went back to chopping the cabbage she had been working on before the oven had beeped. She heard silent footsteps behind her and her nerves tensed up. The only person in the house who walked that quietly was Sally. She never forgave Sally for ruining her parents' marriage and she had planned on making life as miserable as she could for her. However, she had promised to be nicer to her and while she didn't know how to go about it, she knew it involved not chasing her out of the kitchen. “Uhm... Hi.” Sally said awkwardly, making Jade cringe. What on earth did Jacob see in a woman that struggles to even have a conversation? “What are you making?” Sally asked in an attempt to get Jade to talk. It was always like this, she would try to engage her in a conversat
7:45 a.m. Shawn sighed with relief as he checked his phone. He was right on time. He knocked on the door of the principal's office feeling somewhat lucky. His father was currently behind bars so his mother was safe. He had found a job and could now support himself and his mother.His suspension had been rescinded and so he was back on track to emerging as the valedictorian. And best of all, his estranged best friend was again warming up to him. Also, even though he had only woken up about thirty minutes ago, he had somehow managed to be on time for his appointment with Principal Dolan. The universe seemed to be working in his favor.He was about to knock again when he heard footsteps and a chuckle from behind him. He turned around and saw Principal Dolan and Jacob Adler - Jade's father - walking toward the office. Immediately, he bowed his head a little, offering a word of appreciation to Jacob but all he did was smile at him.Principal Dolan cleared his throat, stretching out his han
Jade shut the door after Jacob left, biting her lip as she walked to the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, tears falling from her eyes. She hated the person she was becoming - an irritable person with no interest in life who keeps pushing away everyone from her. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life alone but she knew she probably would. Everyone she knew hated her. Rachel, Sergio, Principal Dolan, her teachers, and her classmates all hated her. Sally only pretended to like her because she was her father's wife. Lewis only protected her because he was paid to. Jacob couldn't wait to be rid of her. And Shawn - she had no idea why he was even pretending to like her. She closed her eyes trying to imagine a life where nothing went wrong. A life where her father didn't cheat on her mother. Or one where her mother forgave him. She would probably still be alive and Jade would be a carefree youth with a perfect family. A straight-A student whose goal is
Shawn trudged slowly along the street, his phone in his hand, praying for a call from Jade. He hoped she'd stop being difficult and let him by her side. Even though he knew it would never happen, he still wished she could go back to being the carefree yet lovable girl he used to know. He wished he could reverse time. He would make sure she never got hurt.But these were all wishful thinking. Jade had changed and was never going to call him back and if he doesn't return to his home, he'd have to sleep on the streets. He hated the idea of returning to his home. Being in it made him feel caged up and now that he had tasted freedom, he was reluctant to go back to his cage.He groaned, coming to an abrupt stop. It was the middle of the night and he was stuck outside with no money on him and nowhere to go. Heck, he hadn't stayed up this late intentionally before. Thinking about it made him want to cry, but according to his father, real men don't cry - only sissies do.
Jade tapped her feet impatiently on the floor as she scrolled through Netflix, searching for something to watch. None appealed to her as her mind was preoccupied with Shawn. It was almost 9 pm and he still hadn't returned. He hadn't even sent her a text to inform her of his job or that he wanted to move out.Now that Sergio was away, and only his mom was home, it made sense for him to accompany her. She was being selfish to hope he would still stay with her. To hope he would choose her over his mom. To think she meant anything to him.All his smooth talks about being best friends were to get something from her. He was just looking for a place to stay. Maybe, he had intentionally shared in her punishment to get her to trust him. He was a smart kid and always weighed his decisions carefully. He had a backup plan for his backup plan. Why would he intentionally jeopardize his future by ruining his perfect school record with a suspension if he had nothing to gain?