#scgarrush

Once the play ended, it was the tradition of the little corner diner (not the one Jade worked at) that had their favorite chili cheese fries and a small ice cream. There was only one passing comment from Amelia – quiet and quick, “I wish dad would’ve come,” then swiftly brushing by it. Moments like that reminded Jade that her daughter could be a lot like her, at times. Still, she gave her a small hug, “I know, kid, next time, maybe.” She couldn’t promise it, but it was always a possibility, at least. By the time they got home, it was past her bedtime. The thing that did tug at Jade’s heart was Amelia asking if Blake would read her a bedtime story. That was a first. She attempted to let him off the hook, but knew he’d do it. Heck, she was fairly certain Amelia would con him into reading two – if she lasted that long.

When she was finally tucked in and asleep, door closed, Jade sighed a little. “Thank you again for coming,” she dropped down on the couch with him, “I have no doubt you were bored, but I’m sure I can find a creative way to thank you… and make your eyes roll back,” she flirted, leaning in to nip his ear. Pushing up from the sofa once more, “Want some coffee or anything? Or vodka, I think I still h…” her voice faded when her phone starting to ring. Jade stopped short at the unfamiliar number, answering it, “Hello?” A warm voice spoke on the other end, “Is this Jade Ralston?” Jade’s gaze drew to Blake then to the floor, “Yeah, it’s her,” she said slowly, like she wasn’t sure she wanted to admit it. “Miss Ralston, it’s Leon – Shawn’s friend,” before he could finish, Jade uttered quietly, “No… no.” Leon was quick, “He’s alive – but it’s bad. He was hurt badly in a car accident on the job. You really should get here as soon as you can.” With that, he promised to text the name and address of the hospital. “Ok – ok, I – I’ll figure it out,” she said adamantly, “thanks, Leon – for calling.” Though she couldn’t see him, he nodded, “Of course. I promised him. See you soon,” he offered. With that, they hung up. Jade was sure the color drained from her face. “I gotta go. I – I have to wake Amelia, I don’t even know what to say. S-Shawn was in an accident, I – maybe there’s a bus cause my crappy car isn’t going to make it…” she looked at the phone, “… hours away. I…” she hadn’t moved from her spot, clearly not quite knowing what to do or which direction to go in first - which was unusual for Jade.

Finn fought every muscle in his body to not roll his eyes at Sierra's request, finding it ridiculous that they were even in this position. "Try inconsiderate, since when do you get to police where I get to have sex in my own apartment?!" This was his defense mechanism, to make Sierra feel as shitty as possible so he wouldn't have to admit that yeah it was pretty inconvenient for him to be doing all of this in their shared apartment but he wasn't about to admit that.

"I think the real issue here is that you're jealous I've moved on from us and you're stuck here listening to all of the ways i'm able to prove it." He said with a smirk.

Sierra really wanted to throw up right now. He was insufferable, she couldn't even remember a single redeeming quality about him that had made her date him for as long as she had. she was currently kicking herself for moving in so quickly with him, she had been swept away with his good looks. "you think i'm jealous?!" she asked, trying her best not to raise her voice. she was not going to give him the satisfaction of making her hysterical.

The first couple weeks were brutal. Jade had to swallow her extensive pride, ending up at her closest friend's house - Effie. She almost went to Shawn's parents, but couldn't seem to swallow that much pride. Effie's, at least, she felt like she could help contribute, feeling less like she was mooching. It was a very tight fit, but Effie gladly took the pair in, and Jade worked her butt off to get her life together. She found a job at a diner though her boss was a jerk and a bit of a perv - it was a job. It took awhile to save up money, ending up finding an apartment not that far from Effie's place. The neighborhood wasn't good, the building was old and run down, but he didn't require first, last, and security - only the security deposit and first month. It was easy to figure out why - the place looked like he'd barely done anything to it. The wall unit looked like something from the early 90s and sounded like it, too. The walls were paper thin, and half the burners on the stove didn't work - nor did the dishwasher. Still - it was theirs. Two bedrooms, a roof over their heads. Jade did the thing she truly didn't like turning to for money - working for the chop shop. It was the easiest and fastest way to make a large enough amount to get the things they needed immediately. Her main issue was the risk of prison, but she did it - two jobs and enough money to barely afford necessities.

A whole year. It's been a year. And there's a knock on her door, grateful Amelia is at school when she opens it. Scoffing, "Are you kidding me? No. No," she shoved him as hard as her petite frame could manage, "What the hell are you doing here?" The walls were thin enough that a door or two opened, causing her to roll her eyes before walking into the apartment. It was the only reason she was letting him inside - nosy neighbors.

Jade raised a brow ever so slightly when he gave her that look like he couldn’t understand her question. It was simply enough, she thought, and the brunette fought to keep her tone light, neutral… like it was just a question and not this nagging worry it was some woman. Scoffing at his response, she rolled her eyes, “Way to deflect,” she teased, giving him a smirk like that would play off any hint of jealousy that she would absolutely not confess to feeling. But Jade could absolutely be quite jealous – and certainly petty, at times. “So it’s one of your little booty calls?” she half laughed, though deep down, she really hoped it wasn’t true. On the surface, internally, she told herself she didn’t care but it was tough to truly convince herself of that most of the time.

“Ugh,” she rolled her eyes once more at him, “Don’t be so cocky. And no. It was just a question cause you keep checking your phone.” The terrible part was that she liked the cockiness, especially in the bedroom. Jade was well aware she could be a handful or two, and, if a man could handle her, that was always arousing and intoxicating. And there were certainly moments where Blake got under her skin in the most infuriating but attractive ways. Feeling the arm wrap around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, she allowed it. Part of her was tempted to pull away because it felt good, nearly too good, and that freaked her out a little. She was too stubborn to show it. Instead, she dropped a hand to his thigh and squeezed subtly, “Oh please, I don’t get jealous… nor is there a reason for it. Like whomever you’re texting can give you the kind of blowjobs I do,” she shot back with her own cocky, self-assured smirk, challenging him to defy her words.

For the past few days, the driving thoughts in Cass’ mind had been that night. The night they had a little too much to drink, that one of them kissed the other… and neither pulled away. They say in vino veritas – in wine, there is truth. Was there truth in what happened? She wasn’t sure. Maybe he was more inebriated than she realized – or he was just lonely? Was their friendship ruined? She hoped not. She adored Lucas. No, that was only partly true. Cass loved him. She’d loved him for years, trying to recall the exact point it went from her seeing him as a good friend, a safe person to wanting more, wishing he’d see her as more. Everything in her craved him. She saw him in ways she knew others didn’t – the real Lucas. He was there for her every step of the way – from the trial, when they met, through sleepless and terrified nights, through PTSD triggers, through the good times, like graduating high school, graduating college – through so many things, he was there, and he was safe. She was never afraid of him.

Cass tried to date a little, but that was a struggle. She would say it was the trauma, but the truth is that none of them were Lucas. It was somewhere around the third man she attempted to give a chance to where she realized it was useless. Her heart belonged to someone else. Cass wanted to call him, to try to figure it all out – if he didn’t have feelings for her, well, she didn’t want to lose one of her very best friends, either. It was in her mind, that debate to call, phone in hand when the thing began ringing. Brows furrowed, she knew the number – the detective who worked her case. I’m so sorry, Cass, Garreth’s being released from prison today. It was early in the morning when she got the call. She didn’t even remember what she said or when she hung up. She didn’t even remember calling into work sick. Instead, she was rushing to throw together a bag of the most random items. She didn’t know what she was doing – a change of clothes, but she forgot a spare shirt and socks. Medical supplies – which were complete as she always had a ready to go bag for that. Tossed in the backpack were a few snacks, some water, some food for Wren, somehow the TV remote got in there, along with a few other random things. The main thing, she tucked the gun her dad gave her in there. She made sure, three different times, it was in there with the box of bullets. Wren was following her around and whining softly, a telltale sign of him attempting to get her attention, to warn her that her body was going to react. The pup tried to stop her from leaving, but she was insistent. He hopped in the car, barking as her legs began to spasm. An autonomic response to her stress and emotions. Breathing in, she used the remote to her baclofen pump to help ease it. She didn’t hesitate, beginning to drive, trying to explain to Wren they had to get out of there.

Cass had no idea the detective called her dad, too. She simply wasn’t thinking straight. She didn’t pay any mind to the ringing phone. It was like white noise, driving and driving until she found herself at a familiar place, a place that usually made her smile. It took her longer than usual to get her chair out and assembled. She managed it, though, getting out with her bag, with Wren. She went through the trail as far as she possibly could, wheeled herself until her arms burned, until Wren started to huff an alert to her she needed to stop, the dog releasing a single bark, trying to nudge her arm. She was going into an autonomic. She wheeled off to a look out area. She hadn’t been up to his one often. It wasn’t easy to reach for her, but she did it today. Tossing down a blanket, she transferred out of the chair to the ground with Wren’s help. She knew that might not be the best move, but she felt like she wanted to sit on the ground, like that was somehow better. Cass did awkwardly half fall onto the ground, but managed not to injure herself. The moment she was still, Wren draped his body over her lap to offer her deep pressure to calm the spasms and help regulate her blood pressure and heart rate. She already felt dizzy and lightheaded which had her half leaning on Wren who pawed at the backpack. She managed to tug it open and he was able to reach in without getting up and pull her water out. She opened the bottle, taking a few sips before setting it aside. After a few minutes, she reached in and got the gun out, verifying it was loaded. She made sure it was aimed away from them, but kept her eyes peeled.

Now, back home, she’d ignored her cell phone, ignored his texts, but knew that couldn’t last. Leaving her home, she went to his place the day after she returned. Her face showed she had something on her mind, she was upset, angry. She waited for the door to close, walking part of the way into his place, “I met someone interesting the other day. Oh, she had so much to say about you, Jordan… and proof, too. Emma. Remember her? Here I was, stupid enough to think that we had something real, that you cared about me. How stupid,” she scoffed. Her gaze dropped a moment, shaking her head, “All you wanted was my money and to humiliate me… and for what? I did nothing to deserve it. And you wouldn’t get away with it. You clearly have no idea who my father is, Jordan.” Aurora let out a shuddered breath, “Give me a good reason not to call him or one of my brothers right now?”

There were times the nightmares could be rough, and other times where Cass’ mind just didn’t let her sleep with the fears and worries that would begin to run through her – all those what ifs. Last night had been particularly rough. She was pretty sure she’d started screaming at some point. It was so vivid, like she could feel Garreth there, on her, hurting her, but she couldn’t do anything to stop him. Worse yet, he’d hurt Lucas, which is what had her screaming and waking up terrified beyond words, barely able to breathe. The only thing that helped, even as Wren jumped up onto the bed, was Lucas’ arms wrapping around her tightly. Between Lucas holding her, and Wren laying his body across her legs, slowly, Cass managed to calm down.

The last thing she remembered was mumbling something to him about not letting go, yet. She felt safe. With everything going on, Cass was far more exhausted than she realized, not expecting to fall asleep. She thought she’d calm down, and then pull back so she wasn’t being awkward. But the truth was, she’d wanted to be in his arms so badly, to feel him close, to wake up with his arms around her so many times. She certainly didn’t quite expect it like this, though. When Lucas spoke, Cass smiled softly, still a little sleep dazed. Wren was already back in his dog bed, unsure when he’d left. She blushed softly, “I guess I did. I – I’m sorry, I know it hasn’t been easy, though I know last night was pretty bad.” Her head tipped up to look at him, trying hard not to have her breath catch in her throat. How he could look so good just laying here was beyond her. “I did – better than… well… since … since we heard,” she left it at that. “I, uh… I’d dreamt he got me, I don’t know where we were, but you came to find me and he – he stabbed you,” she said it quickly, trying not to let it impact her again. “I – I don’t know what I’d do if he hurt you, Luke.”