West & Vega: The Untold Jori

So This is What Home is

There was a knock.

I think there had been several, but there was one in particular that I know I heard, because it was followed by a voice.

"Jade?"

My stomach heaved. Tori.

My head throbbed. I was on the floor, between the bed and the window. Something was underneath me. Bedsheets?

Shit. Those are curtains.

I slowly looked up and found the lovely red drapes half torn down. I was partially wrapped up in them, with a lamp from the nightstand near my feet. I managed to get myself untangled and replaced the lamp. It still worked, and its dim light revealed the horror of the rest of the room.

The sheets were on top of the dresser. The desk chair was across the room. The couch was on its top. The coffee table was...well, it was hanging out of the bathroom. It looked like a tornado had hit the place.

Not a tornado. Just a force of nature.

Another knock at the door. "Jade? Please let me in."

She was still there. I clenched my hands into fists and dug the nails into my palms. Damn it. "No," I said, but it was barely audible. The screaming had left my throat parched and sore. I wandered over to the mini-fridge next to the fireplace and pulled out a water bottle. I coughed as it ran down my aching throat.

I moved through the mess, stepping around the fallen desk chair and over the busted room phone. Guess I won't be calling for room service, I thought bitterly. I reached the door and looked out the peephole. Tori was on the other side, still looking gorgeous in her black and crimson gown. The only thing was that her eyes seemed bloodshot.

She placed a hand on the door, unaware I was watching her.

"Jade, please."

"Why?"

She heard my voice and her eyes widened. She leaned closer to the door. I couldn't see her face anymore.

"Because I want to talk to you and I'd rather do it face to face."

I turned and leaned against the door. My eyes pooled with more unshed tears; my heart rattled in my chest.

"I don't want to see you right now."

A moment of silence dragged on for so long, I thought she left.

"I know that I don't deserve to come in," she said slowly. Her voice cracked and wavered. "But I'm hoping you'll find it in your heart to let me."

I slid down to the floor and rested the back of my aching head against the door. I wanted to let her in. And I wanted to open the door so I could slam it in her face. "Joke's on you. I don't have a heart."

"Come on, Jade. I know that's not true."

"It's true," I snapped. I was losing control and I knew it. "I mean, I had one. Earlier tonight. But see, then I did something really stupid. I made the mistake of showing it to you and sharing it with you. And then it got stepped on and spit on and completely fucking broken."

The tears fell. I wiped them away quickly, as if I were afraid someone would see them.

Get it together you damn baby.

"I am so, so sorry. What you did was the most beautiful thing anyone's ever done for me." Her voice cracked again, bad this time. "I didn't understand what was happening. I thought you were singing to Beck at first, but...then you reached out and took my hand. And I thought, oh god what is she doing? Beck's right there, what's happening? I freaked out, and I'm sorry."