Jade West's Sister

Chapter 11: Returning Trauma

Little Jade is hiding in the dark cellar. The darkness has always something comfronting to her, noone can find her there. She's about eight years old. She hears yellingg coming from above. Her parents are fighting again. Suddenly she hears a glass break. It sounds like someone has thrown it against the wall. Jade shrugs back in the corner she is sitting in. She wants to cry but she doesn't. But she hears her baby brother crying. Hopefully, he won't do anything to him, Jade whispers to herself. He's only a few months old. Jade finds a hammer. She starts hitting the floor. It makes a sound louder than the yelling she hears from her parents. She feels powerful aand in control for a second. Boom, there is another loud noice. Jade can't tell what it is but if it's so loud that she can hear it through the noices she's making with her hammer it can't be good. She sneaks upstairs, past the frist floor to the second one. Carefully she opens the door to her baby brother's room. He's fine, thank god, Jade thinks.

„It's all alright. I am here now", Jade tries her best to calm down the baby. She can't let him cry, she knows her father hates seeing her cry because everytime she cries he hits her. He says showing feelings is weakness.

„You can't cry, Jason. He will hurt you! Don't you understand? Please stop", Jade whispers to her baby brother. The yelling gets louder. She does not want to listen, so she presses her hands again her ears. But her Jason starts crying even louder.

„For fuck's sake make that kid shut up or -", Jade hears her father scream.

„I would if you-", her mother begs but Jade can hear a slap. It's all quiet for a second until she can hear his footsteps coming up the staircase. Jade lifts her brother up from his bed. He stops crying for a second and she manages to hide in the closet of her parents bedroom.

„Where is the baby?!", her dad screams as he notices Jason is gone. He walks back downstairs. They have never been fighting for so long. Jade notices the phone on the bed, her mom must have left it there when she was talking to her aunt.

„911 what is your emergency?", the voice on the other end aks.

„I am scared. My dad hurting my mom. I am hiding with my brother right now."

„Can you tell me your adress?"
Jade tells the lady their adress. After she finished her sentence she needs to hang up the phone because her dad is standing right in front of them. He looks like a giant compared to her size. Like an angry giant who's about to kill her. Jade's heart starts racing. She tries to run away but he gets her. Her tears begin to fall but there is nothing she can do right now.

„Wake up!", Beck shakes her. Jade opens her eyes.

„What's going on? What happened?", she asks him and notices her face is all wet.

„You have been screaming hystarically and you are crying!", he points out. Jade comes to the conclusion that it has just been a dream or more a memory but she save next to Beck.

Beck hugs her, pets her hair and lets her calm down in his arms. He can't imagine what she is going through. Jade has always had her personal struggles although most people never noticed. But it has never been this bad before. They both lay down side by side until they fall asleep again, cuddled together.

„Hey! You!", Jade points at Katelyn who is standing by her locker in the school's hallway. „We need to talk!"

„I really don't wanna talk about-", Katelyn says more quiet than usual.

„I don't care!", Jade interups her, „I maybe have considered what Tori has told me earlier. I think we should call the cops."

Jade won't understand it, Katelyn thinks to herself, she won't let go off it.