Saving Cat Valentine

Promise

The days had gone by quickly, the two of the girls sitting in Jade's black room that looked like Hot Topic had just thrown up all over it. Cat never thought she would have this much fun with Jade-especially under the circumstances of her being there. Jade hadn't asked much about her father either. She was expecting it sooner or later. Not that she was complaining.

She was kind of hoping Jade would. She wanted to tell Jade, she trusted her now.

On the other hand, Cat had managed to grow on Jade. Jade didn't want the girl to leave, or to ever get hurt the way she had by....by whoever it was that had hurt her. She wanted to ask Cat so badly who was hurting her, but she respected Cat, and Cat would tell her when she was ready.

Jade did need to ask Cat about the medication though. She felt a bit bad for taking it out of the cabinet, but she truly meant no harm. Jade remembered when she had gotten to her house with Cat a few days earlier.

She had given Cat a shirt, it was one of Beck's old shirts, and was quite large on the red-head. She then had taken Cat to her mom, and had her mom look at her ankle, but only her ankle. It was a sprain luckily. Maybe some stretched ligaments, but nothing that needed x-rays and a cast. Jade had taken the gauze off of Cat's back every now and again, then put Neosporin on it, and made sure it wasn't infected. It was going to scar for sure; she probably should have gotten stitches.

Stubborn girl and her refusals, Jade couldn't get her to give in to anything unless it came to desserts.

"Cat," Jade began, as the two of them sat on her red mattress eating licorice and watching television.

"Yeah?" Cat replied, taking her eyes away from Reno 911.

"I wanted to ask you something." Jade watched Cat's face go pink, as Jade herself got a feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Go ahead."

"I found something that was on one of the shelves in your mirror. It had your name on it." Jade opened her night stand drawer and handed it to Cat, "If you want to you know...talk about it or something."

"This? Oh, uhm, well I guess you can tell what it is huh?" Cat spoke nervously.

Jade nodded her face blank.

"That's about it. Just you know, with what's happening, and how my parents are divorced. I haven't seen my brother for a long time either. Nothing that can be changed; but this stuff isn't very important."

Jade nodded, not wanting to go too far into the problem with her family quite yet. She wanted to ease into it, "Alright. I get that, my parents are divorced too. Do you need to be taking it though? It won't bother me." It felt weird. Jade talking all nice and what not made her feel different, better.

"I guess that would be a good idea. That stuff makes me sort of loopy. I'm already loopy, so the medication doesn't help much." Cat looked up at the ceiling.

It was true though, Cat hadn't been acting as she usually does. Jade liked this Cat. She wasn't as hard to understand or to talk to. Maybe it wasn't really the medication that made Cat loopy though. Maybe it was just the fact of holding such a deep, dark secret that was literally ripping her apart at the seams. Maybe that was it, but maybe not.

"Well, if you aren't...sad....then you don't have to." Jade spoke slowly, making sure that what she meant was gotten across.

Cat paused, "I'm not. Ever since you dragged me out of my house, I haven't been."

Jade's lip twitched towards a smile, but she quickly forced a frown and looked towards the red head, "Good."

They turned back towards the television and Jade set the pills back onto the TV. It hadn't been long before Cat spoke up again, "It's nearly midnight. We have school tomorrow." She said the statement like it pained her. It did. It pained Jade too.

"I know." Jade didn't want Cat to go back home, but she knew that the girl would have to one way or another.

"Can you drive me back to my house?"

"Do you want to go back to your house?"

There was a pause, "I have to."

"No you don't. You can borrow some of my clothes." Oh how Cat wished...

"Jade, don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous."

"I have to go back to my house."

"Why?" Jade asked, turning her face towards Cat. The red head had a pained expression etched into her face.

"It'll sound stupid." Cat began, "He's probably not even home."

"Who?" Jade tried.

"If my mom and brother are gone, who's left?" Cat questioned.

Jade knew the answer, her dad, but it still hurt that her own father would do this to her.

"It's midnight now Jade. He will be out at the bar. If you drop me off in the next half an hour I'll lock my door and I'll go out the window in the morning. I promise."

Jade felt ridiculous to be concerned about someone's well-being, but she couldn't help it, "You do promise?"

"Yes."

"Don't get hurt again alright?" Jade said, "You're still a bit banged up. You can barely walk on your ankle and tomorrow I'm going to have to help you with your back."

"Thanks Jade. I really appreciate it."

"Alright, let's go."

Jade pulled up to Cat's house and parked on the street, looking at her friend as she unbuckled and opened the car door.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Cat said with a smile.

Jade's face contorted, "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." She forced a smile.

"Cat turned and walked up her sidewalk, limping but trying hard not to show it. She quickly opened her front door and scurried up her stairs to her room. She closed the door behind her, but didn't lock it.

12:41. Daddy should be home soon. Cat thought to herself. She grabbed a pillow off of her bed and the sheet and walked over to a door at the corner of her room. The doorknob opened with a creek and Cat made her way into her walk in closet. She turned on the light, then went to the back, and began tearing down all of her winter clothes. It was nearly summer after all.

Cat shoved the pile of clothes to the side of the wall, and pulled some of the clothes towards the front of her rack farther back to hide her new pile. Cat then turned off the light and used the light on her phone as she got to her hands and knees. Crawling to the pile, she flattened it out as much as possible. She laid her pillow on top of the pile and then lay on the pile herself. She pulled her sheet up to her chin, and heard the motor of her father's car in the distance.

The engine was cut and the car door opened in closed in haste. Her front door was barely open before she heard her father screaming, "Kitty? Kitty are you home?" His voice rang out.

Cat cringed, and it was hard to keep quiet under her sheet and to not get up and walk towards her father and tell him she was home. You promised Jade! She told herself.

"Kitty, Daddy's so very sorry!" His words slurred, "It was an accident! The glass! That's all that it was...." He trailed off, walking up the stairs. Cat's bedroom door opened, and Cat stiffened, "KITTY!" He screamed, and she heard the clattering of her nightstand and her lamp hit the floor with a crash!

Just, stay calm. You can't go out there, not tonight. You have to be at school tomorrow for Jade. Just tomorrow, no one made you make any other promises.

"Kitty what did you do? When I find you, Kitty you are going to be in some deep trouble!" His voice had softened now, "It's alright though Kitty, I'm sure it was an accident. Just like before."

Cat made a noise in her throat; she didn't want to think of that.

"You'll have to come out eventually, and when you do..."