ᴄʜᴇʀʀʏ ʙᴏᴍʙ: a Nicky Nichols Story

Chapter 1.

CRASH

Time had stopped.

She falls to her knees.

For a brief moment, all sound in the world seems to silence.

It returns, and she lets out a guttural scream.

The firemen and paramedics dash towards her, but Jade doesn't move, she can't. Her gaze is fixed on the demolished automobile in front her. The same automobile that her mother had just been killed in.

Her head pounds.

A firm hand clasps her shoulder, "Ma'am? Ma'am are you alright?" a paramedic asks with concern. Jade doesn't say anything, and she feels the tears begin to press in her eyes. In fact she can hardly hear him through the ringing in her ears. She turns and sobs into the man's chest, desperate for any sort of comfort.

She buries her head into his embrace, it's all happening too quickly.

Her world fades to black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think she's waking up"

"Bless her heart"

"Okay, okay get ready"

Jade's eyes flutter open, it takes her a few moments to adjust to the fluorescent lights. To her left are two police officers with looks of sympathy on their faces. To her right are her grandparents on her moms side, her grandfather comforting his weeping wife.

She lets her eyes adjust to the fluorescent lights in the room. Through her fuzzy vision she takes a moment to observe her surroundings, it looks to be a police station. A few officers are sitting at their desks typing or doing paperwork. She notices a young girl who looks to be about Jade's age being taken into a holding cell. "Hey I said don't touch me!" the girl shouts while struggling against the men.

"Your parents are on their way, try and keep it down kid," one officer says firmly to her, then slams the cell door shut. "They weren't mine I promise!" she protests, but he'd already walked away.

"So sorry about that, how are you feeling Jade?" The female officer at her table says gently to the trembling teenager, bringing her attention back to her situation.

"I...I..."

"It's okay if you can't say, my name is Officer Massey, I just want to talk to you about some things. Is that okay with you?"

Jade uncertainly nods her head.

"That's wonderful," Massey grins, "I know this will be hard Jade, just take your time. Why weren't you with your mother at the time of the accident?"

Jade's grandmother's sobs intensify at the mention of her, "I...left my project in...in the building," the girl mutters. The male officer scribbles something down in his notepad.

"I see. Look Jade, we've spoken to a lawyer, and we've decided it's best that you stay with your grandparents," Massey reassures.

Words aren't the kind of thing that Jade can produce in this moment, a blank stare remains on her face.

"Great, you'll stay here until they finish the paperwork, could I get you anything to eat or drink? You must be exhausted."

She remains silent. Massey mutters something to her co-worker and he leaves the table. About a minute later he returns with a banana, some chips, and a water bottle. Jade takes a few nibbles but remains still for the remaining duration of this meeting.

As Jade's grandparents are finishing up the paperwork, a man and woman in their 40s or so storm in towards the holding cells with infuriated looks on their faces. A guard unlocks the cell of the young girl Jade had seen earlier. She steps out of the small room and gives the couple an annoyed glare.

The woman grabs her wrist tightly, "Nicole do you have ANY idea of what kind of trouble you have gotten yourself into? Young lady the consequences for this will be serious, do you understand me?" she hissed.

The young girl doesn't say a word. "Your mother asked you a question!" thundered her father.

"Yes ma'am," she sneers, and the three of them start towards the exit. Shouts of "no daughter of mine" and "ungrateful brat" continued and the girl made brief eye contact with Jade, sending a wave of fear towards her.

Wonder what she got herself into.

"Are you about ready to go Jade?" asks her grandfather kindly.

She gives him a small nod and collects her things. The ground seems to sway below her feet as she stands, her heart still beating at a tremendous pace.

And that was how she lived out the rest of high school. Though only fifteen at the time, Jade had always been a resilient girl. Obviously she was never quite the same after that day, she became more closed off and reserved. However, this new coldness caused her to fall in with some of the wrong crowd. Something that would alter her life to be more disordered then ever before.