Chapter Text
Being a heiress was difficult for Jade Harley, and nobody understood.
Sure, people could sympathise for her, listen to her complaints about the private tutors that were unnecessarily strict, or the stuffy balls she was required to attend, or her inability to lead a normal life. But they would never understand her disdain for the supposedly privileged life she had.
Rose understood though. It was Rose who was there whenever she felt lonely, bored or depressed. Rose was the only person she could vent to– even if it meant getting constantly psychoanalysed. They were similar in a way, Jade thought, both having to live up to their family’s impossibly high expectations with no hope of succeeding. That was just what Rose told her though, Jade knew that she could live up to her grandpa’s hopes if she tried hard enough!
No matter what Rose said or what Jade thought it was nice to be normal sometimes; to not have all of her responsibilities crushing her, even if it was only temporary. That's what they were doing now – being normal, boring, regular teenagers at a random McDonalds a good few miles away from either of their homes.
“Jade”
She sighed
“Jadeeeee”
What would it be like to have a normal life?
“Jade!” Rose shouted
“Uh, what were you saying then Rose?” Jade asked, having finally snapped out of her stupor
“I was saying, Jade, that we have been here in Mcdonalds for quite a while now and my fries are beginning to get cold and my mcflurry has melted into a pitiful, sticky puddle. I don’t know about you but I prefer for my fries to be hot and for my ice cream to be cold, not the other way around. And while I don’t particularly want to deal with her drunken antics, I know my mother will be concerned and she gets angry when she's concerned, which is something that I definitely want to avoid if I can.” Rose stated, her lilac eyes boring into Jade’s own. “I Think it's time to go home.”
“Bluhhh! Buzzkill, stay a little longer– you can deal with your mom later!” Giggled Jade, who was blowing a raspberry.
“Sorry Jade, but I'd rather not upset my mother, and it is getting dark. If you would like we can meet up again tomorrow, it will be Saturday after all.”
“Ok…” Jade huffed, already accepting defeat “tomorrow, is that a promise?”
“I promise” Rose winked, already beginning to collect her many belongings that were scattered around the table. She struggled for a moment, desperately attempting to cram it all into her already overflowing bag before finally giving up and bundling everything together into her arms. Hopefully she doesn’t drop anything, that would be deeply embarrassing. “Bye Jade, pester me later.”
“Bye Rose, see ya later” Jade waved, only moments before running to catch the door “Rose! Let me get the door for you.”
Rose smiled “oh yes, it seems that i've forgotten that my hands are full, thanks Jade.”
Swinging the door fully open, to the point where a loud “BANG” could be heard, Jade followed her out and then twirled around in the opposite direction. “No problem.”
She sighed happily, is this what it’s like to be a normal teenager with a normal life: being able to hang out with friends without having to worry about stupid responsibilities, free to be free? She’d give the world for it.
Content, she walked through the streets, making sure to smile at all the strangers she passed. (even the ones that looked mean and scary, her grandpa told her not to judge a book by its cover!) For now she was free to bask in the early summer sun, her role and unending responsibilities as heiress hidden in the back of her mind– for now. She would have to get back soon; she didn’t want to worry her pa and she certainly didn’t want to get caught.
GAAHHH! This was reminding her of the last time she got caught sneaking out: she had wanted to meet up with one of her many online friends– a boy named Dave– he was in the city and she was a sheltered kid who was desperate for more friends, who could blame her? Looking back, she realised how silly it had been, meeting up with a stranger late in the evening as an alone young girl– even if said stranger had been unfairly charming! Maybe her grandpa’s overprotectiveness was for good.
Finally, she looked up, she was at the train station. Luckily, she didn't bump into anyone on her way there, she must have been really distracted. Jade wasn’t usually the type of person to take a train, usually preferring to enjoy being outside for as long as she could, but desperate times called for desperate measures so it was likely she would be forced to take the train– unless she wanted to be caught and subsequently grounded.
It was already pretty obvious that she was going to take the train, nevertheless the optimist within her drove her to check the time. 5:00. Hmmmmm. On fridays Jade had plant club, it was fun and a good way to be avoidant, she had skipped it to give her more time to hang with Rose. But that time ran out quickly, there was no way to make it home in time on foot so sadly Jade had to take the train. Classic first world problems.
Quickly, she ran inside, not wanting to miss the train. Technically, another would come in only an extra 5 minutes, even then that was too much time to afford– every minute counted. A train– her train– pulled up, snapping her out of the stupor she found herself in.
Finally
Hopping on, she looked around. It was pretty rare for her to go on a train as she usually wasn’t allowed didn’t have a reason to get out of the house much (or go very far) so this was a rare, somewhat new sight for her. She was excited, after all everything unfamiliar is just a new adventure!
The train car jerked to life with a low hum and a horrible grating sound of steel on steel, causing her to lose her balance and almost fall. Embarrassing. nobody seemed to notice, or at least if they did notice they didn’t care, not one bit. That was a relief for Jade, sure everyone on the train were strangers to her, strangers who had little chance of meeting her again, but first impressions were important so she couldn't have her impression on these people being that she was a massive klutz. She looked around again, just to make sure nobody saw her almost-fall. Phew. No one noticed.
Except… one guy noticed. And it wasn’t a simple observation– the type where you see a person embarrassing themselves and quickly look away, embarrassed by association. No, this was a full on stare. Right in her direction.
Carefully, she glanced behind herself, being as careful as possible not to move, not even a tiny bit. She just wanted to make sure, just in case he was staring at someone else who just happened to be directly behind her, just in case she was being unnecessarily paranoid in this unfamiliar situation. She began to peek, aaaaaand, there was nobody there, not a singular soul. Her blood went cold,
Why? Why was he staring at her in such a predatory way, his eyes drilling deep holes through her entire being. Fear, the peaceful feeling from before had left her, and fear was all that remained. Oxygen escaped her lungs. She couldn’t breathe– breathe.
Breathe.
She needed to breathe, needed to stop freaking out.
Slowly, she inhaled the grimy subway air, being careful no to make her evident breakout too obvious.
Steadily, she held that breath– held it like a lifeline– held it until it hurt.
Gradually, she released that breath, letting it go with her panic.
Ok, she felt better. Much better. Now she had bigger things to worry about, like that strange guy with the dark, relentless eyes. Fearless, she looked up, ready as she could be to meet his gaze. Except, he wasn’t there, he was gone. Panic began to return: she couldn’t see him, where was he, where did he go, where could he go, did he get off at the last station while she was distracted– scared for her life. She hoped, she hoped with all her might that's what happened, that's what he did. Slipped out while the innocent girl he scared feared for her safety.
Yeah, that was probably it, that’s all that happened. Not to toot her own horn in a way, but she believed she was quite pretty. Could that be his reasoning, to look at her for a bit, then get off at his stop, not realising the effects of his actions. Yeah, that was definitely it,
Strangely, the realisation did little to reassure her.
“Ding!” This was her stop, she stood up– being careful not to wobble this time– stretched, then simply walked off the train, leaving the memory behind back in the carriage. Jade ought to forget about what happened now, she was going home, where it would be safe. And anyway, it wasn’t like she'd ever see that guy again, so she shouldn't let him ruin the day’s good mood,
She looked up at the sky, then down to the ground, she was definitely going to be late home. Internally, she sighed, there wasn’t much she could do about her impending grounding.
Unfortunately for her ankles, Jade had to practically run home in an attempt to decrease her punishment. Never again would she run in heels, no matter how small they were, she would rather be grounded or have a less overprotective grandpa.
It took her a moment, but she finally managed to open the door after fiddling with her keys for what felt like ages. Usually, she wouldn't have to bother with this as the doorman would open the door to greet her when she got back, but for whatever reason he wasn’t there today, so she had to do it herself. Huh. His absence struck her as strange, maybe he was on break? Not like it mattered. She pushed the door open, then stepped inside.
And there was…
So
Much
Blood.
Jade wanted to scream, she really did, but her pa had told her to avoid drawing attention in situations like these so she restrained. Oh God… her grandpa. What happened to him? Was he ok? Her mind was racing at a million miles an hour, she couldn't think– it felt like her entire world was crashing down around her. Should she leave, run for help? Or should she go inside, look for her grandpa, see if he was ok?
From the direction of the dining room there was a loud smashing sound– like plates being thrown onto the floor with violent force. Whatever, whoever it was, was not a good sign. Suddenly, a person rounded the corner. She couldn't see much about their appearance– due to the shock she felt and the tactical gear this mystery person was wearing– but what she could see was that they were walking towards her at a disturbingly slow pace. She was frozen in fear, unable to move as the person moved towards her. They had already crossed over half the foyer before her brain kicked in, the instinct to run overtook her brain as she backed away. Into the locked door.
She didn’t remember locking the door, but it must have been something that she did otherwise she wouldn't be so trapped. There was nowhere to go: a locked door behind her and a person who was determined to close the gap between them in front of her. Flickering eyes looked to the side, then back to the assailant, she made her decision.
The two events happened in tandem: the attacker drove forward– a “he” from the looks of it, Jade concluded– and she lept to the side, into the kitchen. She had to admit, it was pretty funny seeing him smash his head into the door, even if it did nothing but increase his anger. He was only on the floor for a small handful of seconds before jumping up and turning to face her, his annoyance now clearly visible through tensed posture and a slight frown where his mask began to ride up. Momentarily, she wondered what he looked like, what was the identity of her invader.
That didn't matter– she had more important things to do (like surviving). Before he could lunge at her again she ran into the kitchen, searching blindly for a weapon. She had never really been in the kitchen that much; all her food was made by private chefs so she had never needed to. All that meant was that she was unfamiliar with her home at a time where she ought to be. She had no idea of where any hiding places were, any exits, or in a dire situation, any weapons– she was stuck, like unprepared prey that had no idea it was being hunted.
Hastily, she threw open cabinets and draws, searching for weapons, keys, phones, or just anything that could help her. Finally, after what felt like way too long she stumbled upon a knife draw, it was her best bet at defending herself. There was no time to be picky; she grabbed the biggest, meanest looking knife and held it in front of her in what could be a suitable stance, but probably wasn’t. Hey, she was much better with guns and had never even picked up a knife before.
She hadn't much time before she got caught. Turning around, Jade looked behind herself, he was there. There was no doubt in her mind that he was going to stop taunting her and actually take catching her seriously. Skidding across the floor, she tried to run again, confident in her ability to. It didn’t work, he was faster and much stronger than her, it was laughably easy for him to catch up. What else could she expect to happen?
He was holding her up by her long black hair– and boy did it hurt. She could feel the individual strands snapping and fraying under her weight as the hairs escaped from her scalp. It felt like torture, and if this was just the start then she didn’t want to know what was coming next. But still, she continued to fight back, to shout and thrash and question. This wasn’t the end– it couldn't be- it wouldn’t be and she would make sure of that.
For many minutes, she screamed, shouted, fought and fought and fought, yet he– this mystery man who had her trapped– had no reaction to her struggles. He simply did not care. Eventually she gave up, defeated and hopeless, nobody was coming to save her and she didn’t believe that she could save herself now.
“Why?” she questioned quietly, being careful not to sob, not wanting to seem feeble or weak even after being defeated.
The man tilted his head down to look at her, if his mask was off he would have been staring into her, af if she was a bug and he was a god. Of course, his mask was on and wasn’t coming off anytime soon, so Jade was unable to tell what he was thinking– if he was thinking anything.
“It’s nothing against you, little lady.” he replied.
Jade thought that he would have remained stoic, not bothering replying to her meek question. Just to taunt her. His response confused her, to say the least. What did he mean by “It’s nothing against you”, surely he wouldn't be hurting her if that was the case? She needed answers, but more than that she needed to escape.
“What happened to my grandfather?” she said simply, her voice didn’t wobble and there was no lilt at the end of her sentence to signal a question, although that was most definitely what this was. It was her way of saying that she wasn’t going to be taking any shit, that she was still strong even if she seemed weak. After all, it was her grandpa who taught her to speak like this, for “future conferences” after she overtook the business. What better way was there to use this skill than intimidate her opposition? (Even if said opposition was currently holding her by the hair, Ow!)
“Wouldn’t you like to know, missy.” he smirked. Clearly, he was enjoying her discomfort. He probably got off on pain, the junkie.
Hmmm, it was obvious that she wouldn’t get any info from him and WOW, she did not like those nicknames at all. Since he was not being very helpful in telling her anything, she needed to escape. She needed a distraction. But what could distract a man like this, who had deflected her questions instead of indulging her– and by extension, himself.
“What are you gonna do to me?” she mumbled, barely above a whisper; he would have never heard her if he wasn’t so close. Intentionally, she made sure to show all of the vulnerability and pain she was feeling, make him feel like he won he has. This was her distraction. Truthfully, she was scared to find out what he was gonna say, she didn’t want to know, but at the same time she did– morbid curiosity.
There was a shift in the atmosphere. The man suddenly went from uncaring and impassive to downright murderous, his demeanour darkened and his lips twitched into a cruel smile. Idly, she noted that it was not a good look on the man, he would have been much more attractive letting her leave.
“Hmmm, what would I do with you?” He questioned, dancing the words around in his mouth. Quite frankly, Jade didn’t really care what he said because she wasn’t gonna let him succeed. Slowly, she began to lift the knife.
He frowned. “Well, I could allow you to live, let you go, but… that would be no fun.” His words disturbed her, she had no hope of ever beating him in a physical fight; he had 40 pounds and over 8 inches on her. But it didn’t mean she couldn't trick him, she raised the serrated knife high up, just below the fist bunched in her hair.
“Or, I could give you a quick death, have it over and done with in five seconds flat… no, that wouldn't work.” He seemed deep in thought, how can someone be deep in thought over what torture methods they were going to use. Haltingly, she began to saw, stopping every moment to make sure he wasn’t paying attention– she had to be careful, one wrong move would alert him and then she really would be done for.
Without any warning, the man tightened his grip. “For you, Jade Harley, I have something very special planned. He purred. Freak, she thought. For a tick she almost stopped, but she was almost done so she had to keep going. If not for her own sake– for her grandpa’s.
He leant down to whisper in her ear “You don’t wanna know what I would do to you.” she shivered; his breath smelled heavily of tobacco.
At that moment, she lopped the last of her hair off. This then in turn, caused her to drop towards the ground, towards freedom (she made sure to elbow him in the face on the way down, it was satisfying to see the blood gush from his broken nose.)
Wasting no time, she jumped up from the cold floor and made a break for it into the main sitting room. Don’t be confused, Jade was still very much trapped in her house with a manic kidnapper and her tail and virtually no way to fight back except for a shitty knife, but she would have the advantage. That was where her Grandma’s urn was stored. It wasn’t a simple urn, no, her pa would only have the best for his wife, even after her death. It was a monstrous thing: over 2ft tall and a ft wide, cast out of solid gold (making it crazy heavy) and most importantly, stored on a high shelf. If she could knock it over with the man standing below it… it would knock him out, at the very least.
Bolting into the room, she knew she had very little time to act– only a couple of seconds, unless the guy decided not to follow her (highly unlikely) Hastily, she jumped up onto the back of the couch, knocking some of the pillows onto the floor in the process. Then, from the couch she stepped up on to the fireplace, prayed that it would hold her weight, and hid behind the urn. The urn was big, but it wasn't that big, meaning that it didn’t fully hide her shaking body and she’d probably be spotted the moment her kidnapper strolled it– that was exactly what she wanted though, so she wasn't too worried.
Exactly like she expected, her kidnapper strolled into the room casually, as if nothing were amiss, like he wasn’t literally trying to murder her. Ugh, his nonchalance made her feel ill. “Jade… Jadey… come out, come out wherever you are.” he cooed, sending a shiver down her spine. How had he not seen her yet? It wasn’t like she was hidden particularly well– it worried her, did he have a plan? She hoped not.
He rolled his shoulders, looking around in an excessive manner. Confident in his abilities, he was just playing with her now, he knew full well where she was hiding. Relaxed, the man began to roam around the room, quickly drifting in her direction– getting closer, and closer, and closer.. Standing at the base of the fireplace, he tilted his head up to meet her gaze, smiled, and then said: “found ya.”.
It was now or never– she began to push the golden urn. The urn was heavy, making it very difficult to push the thing off the fireplace. But, it was life or death, so, with all of her might she pushed. Time slowed down, making everything feel like slowmo: the urn wobbled off the edge and began to fall slowly– almost too slowly for her comfort– as the man started to lift his arms above his head in an attempt of shielding himself.
Time sped up and suddenly the man was knocked out on the ground, his arms twisted around in an awkward way. It looked painful, painful to the point where she almost felt sympathy for him, but she didn’t. Still stood on the fireplace, she didn’t dare to move– just in case.
Minutes passed without the man even stirring. Hopefully it was safe, she would need to get down eventually and she would rather do it when he was still out cold. Slowly, she climbed down, making sure not to fall or slip and risk the guy rousing.
Technically, she should have run out of the room as fast as possible, put some distance between the guy and herself or find some help, but she wanted to check something. Carefully, Jade squatted down next to her masked assailant, making sure not to wake him. Gently, she placed two fingers on his throat to check his pulse. It was somewhat weak, but definitely there. She couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Curiosity crept up on her, she wanted– needed to know who this guy was. Would it be someone she knew? Or would it be a complete stranger? She glanced down at his unmoving form for a tick, then seized the chance and removed his mask in one swift movement. Her first thought was oh hey i was right about it being a guy. Her second thought was oh my gosh oh my gosh it’s that creepy guy from the train what the fuck–. Then, she realised that she was hyperventilating, something that was very much bad.
She needed to stop hyperventilating, but how? Going through her mental checklist, she realised that it would be helpful to pay attention to what the guy– was she seriously gonna have to keep calling him that– looked like so the police could identify him. Maybe that would ground her. Leaning down, she looked at him– really looked at him: he had greasy blonde hair (gross), a long face that screamed “pointy” and some serious muscles. She couldn't tell how old he was, he didn’t look old but he definitely didn’t look young either, possibly thirty– but he could be oulder of younger.
She couldn't bring herself to care.
Quickly, she stood up, not wanting to spend any more time in the same room as him and ran back to the foyer. Sometime during the fray she had dropped the key, meaning that she didn’t have it anymore, meaning that she had no way to get out– or at least not out of the front door. In the back of her mind she remembered that her pa left the backdoor key on a hook in the dining room, that just so happened to be next to the back door. Speed Walking, she went to the dining room (running wasn’t really effective inside) so she could retrieve the key. She could memorise its exact position, it would be easy to just grab it, unlock the door and walk out.
She stepped into the dining room, only to be greeted by more blood; she felt like throwing up. The blood here wasn’t splattered around semi-randomly like in the foyer or the kitchen, instead it was concentrated all in one large circle, directly next to the back door. There was a few dark red, bloody handprints on the aged pine door. Handprints that were the same size as her pa’s. This really didn’t look good.
Investigating, she walked closer to the blood pile: it was big, sizable enough to show a concerning amount of blood loss. She hoped that it didn’t all belong to her pa, that he had managed to draw some of the attacker’s blood as well. If the blood wasn’t disturbing enough, the brass key– dusty from many years of disuse– was. It just sat there, innocently, directly in the middle of the pile of blood. What could have been her grandpa’s only chance of survival crudely torn away from him and abandoned at the crime scene.
She was so angry! Angry at what, she didn't know. Angry at her pa for failing to escape. Angry at the attacker for existing. Angry at the goddamn key!
Just as quickly as it came, the anger left. What even was the point of feeling angry anymore, she didn't know. What she did know however, was that she had to get away to anywhere but the house. Wasting no time, she grabbed the key, unlocked the door, pulled it open (making sure to to wake any sleeping intruders), and slipped out.
TT: Hello Jade, i told you that I'd pester you, and here I am.
TT: Are you there, Jade?
TT: I have something you may like to see.