To The End

Pain

The only thing left for Victoria to do was return home. But when she returned it wasn't to a warm welcome. She stepped inside and stood in place at the grave expressions on her parent's faces. They were sitting on the couch, and by the look of it, they were waiting for her to come home. That only meant one thing. They knew.

"Andre told you," she stated.

"How could you, Victoria? How could you let that creature take advantage of you?" her father demanded.

"I didn't let her do anything! It was my choice!" she responded, already irritated. Her mother gasped and her father turned red with rage.

"You what?" he growled.

"She isn't what we thought her to be, father. She's capable of being kind and caring. She only lashes out when she's afraid. What she needs is help and to be understood, not hunted down. She doesn't deserve our hate," she pleaded. He scoffed.

"That's just what it wants you to think. It wants you vulnerable," he accused. Victoria let out an exasperated sound.

"You'll never understand. I'm wasting my breath," she muttered, walking away.

"I refuse to allow you anywhere near that monster. Know now that you no longer have my permission to leave the house. Do you hear me?" he ordered in a voice right under yelling.

She ignored him and continued to her room. She didn't care for anything he had to say. It wasn't like she had any reason to go out anyway. Not now. Even if Jade hadn't been chased out, she wouldn't have gone back to see her so soon. Jade was a sensitive being, as much as she wanted to deny it. She was especially sensitive when it came to Victoria. They had a connection. The young woman didn't exactly know what it meant, but what she did know was that she wanted to do everything she could to nurture it. But at the moment, she had nothing to do other than wait and hope. Again.

With each day she stuck to her room, unwilling to talk let alone see her parents. When they realized that it would continue this way indefinitely her mother breached the doorway of her room to tell her that she could spend time in the garden, but no further. She took the offer, missing the open space and the beauty of nature. She wasn't one to be indoors for too long. Being confined dampened her spirit.

She made sure the way outside was clear before leaving her room. Then she was stepping outside for what felt like forever. It had only been a week and several hours at the most. Not that she was counting. But really, what else could she do to keep her mind off Jade? And if worrying about her wasn't enough, her father was acting oddly.

Every time she asked if he was okay, he would either steer the conversation to another topic or outright lie that he was fine. But he wasn't. Sometimes he missed work, and he never missed work. Her mother began fretting over small things that never used to bother her before. Something was obviously wrong but neither of them would let her in on it. She figured it was because they didn't want her to worry, but she was already worrying by being left out. The whole cover-up put her in a constant state of anxiety. It also added to her restlessness.

Victoria sighed and tipped her head back, looking up at the clear sky. The snow had finally melted away, leaving a cool breeze and a bright sky. The sun hadn't fully warmed the earth yet so each breeze that brushed at her hair made her shiver just a bit. It was relatively quiet except for the buzzing of the town. She thought of Jade, picturing her unguarded as she listened to nature. She was always so in tune with it. It was admirable. Victoria tried to do the same.

For a brief moment she felt something akin to complete relaxation, only hearing the various sounds nature had to offer, but it was shattered by a single ringing sound from inside. It was the phone. It rarely rang unless Trina was calling to talk their ear off. Everyone else in town just talked directly to each other. So then who was calling? Unless...A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. She rushed inside to see her mother pacing, the phone to her ear. Absolute fear creased her features.

"Mother, what-"

But she was silenced by a raised hand, palm facing her. Victoria bit her lip in an attempt to hold back all the questions she had. She was left wringing her hands and listening to one side of the conversation. Her mother finally hung up several minutes later in tears. She looked so defeated that Victoria couldn't bring herself to ask her what happened now. In a way, she knew already. Her father. He had to be ill and he must have gotten worse. That had to be what they were hiding from her. She looked at her mother with a sad frown.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she simply asked. Her mother wiped at her face, but more tears took their place.

"We didn't want to worry you. It wasn't really anything at first, but then it progressively got worse. We didn't know what to do besides visit the doctors. By then we agreed to continue keeping it from you. It would be easier that way," she began. Victoria crossed her arms, half angry and half hurt.

"Easier for who?" she mumbled. Her mother averted her gaze, staring at the floor. Victoria recounted the day they had gone out and left her at home. They said it was a date, but Victoria hadn't believed them. But she was still a bit sore at them so she snuck out to wander the town. She avoided the outskirts, but she couldn't completely ignore the urge to go. She pulled her thoughts from Jade to focus on her father.

"So what did the doctors say?"

Her mother shook her head.

"They weren't sure what it was."

"Well, that's helpful," Victoria spat sarcastically. Her mother's brows shoot up in surprise at her tone.

"That was our thoughts too. But the call, that was them. Your father passed out during one of his meetings and couldn't be woken up. They took him to the local doctor, but they recommended taking him to the city where they could better monitor him and keep him stable. He's doing okay now but they still don't know what caused it," she explained. Victoria didn't know what to say. She had been so mad at him the past few days that she felt almost guilty for her behavior now that he was unwell. She felt a number of emotions all at once and they all fought for attention.

"Are you going to see him? Trina will have to be told too," Victoria said. Her mother nodded.

"I plan to go as soon as possible. I know you haven't seen eye to eye with him, so I'll leave the decision to go up to you."

Victoria could only nod in response, already trying to decide if she wanted to go. Her mother rubbed her arm in passing, heading to her room to pack for the trip. However, Victoria turned to go back outside. She wandered to the backyard and sat heavily on the bench in the garden. She stared at the ground numbly, only looking up when she heard her mother leave the house. The next moment she was standing in front of her.

"Not coming I take it?" she inquired carefully. As much as Victoria knew she should see her father, she just couldn't. Not now at least. It hurt that she didn't want to, but she also didn't want to see him and have it end in another fight either. She was unable to voice it, but her mother seemed to understand anyway. She left her youngest to her thoughts with a gentle smile. Only after her mother was gone did Victoria feel anything.

It all came back like waves crashing on the shore. Tears fell and she suddenly wished she had sucked up her anger toward him and gone. But there was nothing she could do now. With her thoughts and emotions crippling her into a jumbled mess, she neglected to move from her spot. Hours passed but she was unaware. She didn't return to reality on her own, but by a warm presence pressed to her side. She slowly looked up and saw Jade. For a second her brain couldn't comprehend that she was there.

But when it caught up she threw her arms around Jade's strong frame and held her tightly. Jade's arms encircled her, expression reflecting the human's sadness. She didn't like seeing her so torn up. Jade hated Victoria's father but she still understood the pain she was going through and was sad for her. She let Victoria lean further into her, feeling her tears soak into her shoulder. Victoria took in the offered comfort and felt a small sense of relief from Jade's return. It was enough. Things didn't seem so bleak now.