In The Van With Angels

Scarlet couldn't get out of there soon enough. Corey and Sapphire were ahead of her and Rivers, they'd found the pair talking to Melody and Clem, and those two were now outside, getting ready to climb into Melody's car. They agreed to go in three groups. Corey and Sapphire would cruise around the City, in case Jade was wondering around. Rivers and Scarlet would take the van to the flat, and Melody and Clem were driving to their hometown, checking their old haunts and Jade's home.

It was clear from what they'd managed to drag out of the kid that, in the video, Jade seemed oblivious to the hidden camera, and they knew she could never have consented if she had known it
was there.

Scarlet looked around as they got outside, and bit her lip when she spotted Nick, looking like he was waiting for someone. Rivers' eyes blazed with anger when he saw him. Scarlet looked for Melody, to calm him down, but she'd already gone.

"Not now Rivers." She looked at him. "Please."

Corey and Sapphire stood by Corey's car, as Corey fished out his keys, and Sapphire watched, her eyes locked on Scarlet.

Rivers nodded, turning towards the van, but Nick had already spotted them.

"You fucker." He hissed, and Scarlet watched as Rivers' body tensed, his fists clenched.

Both were still scared from their last fight. Rivers had had stitches in his back and along the bottom half of his right side on his torso. It had been obvious Nick had something more than just his fists in the fight, but Scarlet saw, with satisfaction, a row of stitches on Nick's cheek, and a gap in his teeth.

"I don't want to fight you Nick." Rivers spoke slowly, and Scarlet glanced over her shoulder at Sapphire, who immediately saw the fear in her friend's eyes.

"Tough.'Cos I do."

"You two," Scarlet spoke to Corey and Sapphire. "Get to the flat."

Sapphire opened her mouth to protest, but Scarlet silenced her with one word. "Jade."

"Looking for that whore, are you?"

Corey looked ready to step, to help Rivers if things got out of hand, but Sapphire pulled him into the car, and the pair drove off, Sapphire feeling guilty for leaving the other two behind, but she knew they had to find Jade before it was too late.

"Don’t." Scarlet hissed. "You fucking dare. You know she's not a whore, so stop trying to coax Rivers into fighting you because he's better than that. He's better than dirt like you." She wondered briefly how she could have ever loved Nick.

"You’re right," He grinned, stepping towards them. "She's not a whore, not like you, right Scar?"

Her blood ran cold. The only people she'd ever told about her 'experiences' at University were her band mates and Nick, because she had trusted him, and all of them knew how bad it had been for her.

"Don't you dare say that again." Rivers' voice was just as it had been the night of the party. Quiet, dangerous.

"What? That Scarlet's a whore? Just like that slut girlfriend of yours. I heard she's sleeping with her band mates, you need to surround yourself in better company…"

Whack.

Rivers had punched him, and Nick stood there, laughing.

"That's more like it."

He dove for Rivers, and in seconds, the pair were entangled.

"Stop it!" Scarlet screamed. "Stop it please!" She kept yelling, even as tears fell down her face.

They pulled away, Nick panting on his knees, a manic grin stretched across his face. He looked up, laughing, and the next words out of his mouth froze Scarlet.

"Why didn't you tell her Rivers? Tell her I was screwing a pretty blonde piece of shit behind her back? You knew, you let me know you knew…so why didn't you tell her?"

"Rivers." She turned her head slowly to look at him, at his split lip, the cut above his eye, his suit splattered with blood as it fell out of his mouth.

"Scarlet, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorr…"

"Rivers!" She screamed it this time, when she saw a glint of metal in Nick's hand, second before it was sliced down Rivers' right side, splitting the stitches, and cutting his suit. The knife crashed to the floor, and Nick threw another punch at his head, knocking him out. Nick stepped forward, laughing as he kicked him, his boot colliding with Rivers' with a horrible sound.

Whack.

Whack.

Whack.

Scarlet ran forward, tears falling from her eyes. "Stop it you fucking bastard!" She screeched. She had always been weak, and Nick laughed as she charged towards him.

The girl who could never punch, whose slaps were usually feeble, who couldn't kick for shit, suddenly found her body charged with adrenaline, instead of her usual flight path, she was fighting, finding herself stronger than she'd ever been before, and Nick, for all his faults, just couldn't hit a girl.

She pounded her fists on his chest, until he gripped her wrists, holding them tight.

"Scarlet stop."

She looked at him. He was crying now, tears filling in his eyes before they rolled down his cheeks. He looked at the knife on the floor, then at Rivers, bleeding, completely knocked out.

"Oh shit…oh fuck…"

They locked eyes, both crying, and Scarlet saw, for just a second, a tiny glimpse of the man she'd once known, she'd once loved.

Then he let her go, and was running as fast as he could away from the scene.

For the first time in her life, Scarlet knew what it was to feel true, gut wrenching, burning, pure hate.

It scared her.

Then her mind cleared, and she grabbed her mobile, dialling 999 with shaking hands.

"Ambulance please…oh god…it's my friend…" She looked up, as one of the security for the gig ran out. He saw Rivers, and Scarlet, and dropped to his knees, throwing up as he did so. "My best friend…he's been in a fight…he…he's been knifed…oh god the blood…please hurry…" Another man ran out, and she realised they'd heard the commotion outside. He took the phone, quickly giving the woman on the other end the location. "Rivers…please don't you dare fucking leave me…I need you Rivers oh fuck Jesus Christ Rivers you're my best friend I need you please god no…."

If Scarlet hadn't sent Corey and Sapphire to the flat, it may have been too late for both their friends.

Jade had reached the flat, running flat out, and had stuck Eighteen Vision's You Broke Like Glass on repeat, the video playing in her head over and over again. It seemed appropriate.

She searched the medicine cabinet, taking out a bottle of sleeping tablets, before looking at the cupboard where they kept the booze, fishing out a half empty bottle of Vodka. She retreated to the bathroom, placing the Vodka and tablets on the sink, her hands gripping the sides.

She looked at herself in the mirror, as her days at University flooded back to her.

Slut

She bit her lip, digging her teeth in, feeling the metal rings between them, welcoming the cold feeling.

Dyke.

She tasted blood.

Whore

She bit harder, as tears streamed down her face. The words echoed in her head, Lucy's words added to the mix.

Stupid. Gullible. Idiot.

She screamed, punching the mirror, blood pouring from her knuckles as the glass shattered everywhere.

She grabbed the sharpest piece, drawing it along her wrist, cutting deep as blood welled up, drops falling down her arm.

Slut.

She chucked the blood stained glass to the floor, gripping the sink. She ran the water, watching as the blood poured down her hand into the sink, washing away from the water, staining it red.

She felt dizzy.

Dyke

She grabbed the tablets, pouring a handful into a red hand, before pushing them into her mouth, tasting her blood as she did so.

Whore

She struggled to swallow, but refused to spit them out.

Stupid. Gullible. Idiot.

She washed the tablets down with the Vodka, tipping her head back and downing every last drop in the bottle.

Slut. Dyke. Whore. Stupid. Gullible. Idiot.

She laughed then, before taking her finger and dipping it into the blood on her wrists. She lifted her hand, writing on the wall. Her last act.

Her suicide note.

She placed her finger on the clear white walls.

Slut. Dyke…Gullible…Idiot…

The words were becoming more separate in her head now, more spaced out.

Lucy was the last straw, she drove

She looked at her words for a brief second, before the room began to spin. Just before she blacked out, she hoped it wouldn't be one of her friends to find her.

"Where's your rent?"

Sapphire walked past their landlady, Mrs Lyons, walking swiftly towards the door to the
flat.

"Not now Mrs Lyons." She muttered, her feet carrying her.

"And you can tell whoever let that almighty scream out in your flat they can cut it out. I won't have that going on here at this time of the night, that's just what I came down to tell you…" Sapphire froze. "Your neighbours phoned me, complaining of some noises they heard. Who's in there?"

Sapphire looked at her. "What kind of noises?"

"Well I don't know. They said a scream, and a smash, like broken glass. And that music is playing awfully loud. They said they wouldn't mind, but it's the same song over and over again…"

Sapphire reached the door, Corey standing behind her. She looked at him, hoping for some reassurance. They could hear it now, and through the door, Sapphire could just make out the sound of the song…

"Shit." She swore, dropping her key as she realised what the song meant.

Corey picked it up, slid it into the lock and opened the door.

Mrs Lyons put a hand on Sapphire's shoulder, the harsh landlady gone, replaced by a worried old woman.

"Dear, what's wrong?"

"I…" She looked up, as she heard Corey.

"Sapphire!"

She saw the bathroom door open, and saw Corey in the kitchen, pointing at the open medicine and booze cupboards. She ran towards them, had a quick look, and two things registered as missing in her head.

Vodka and sleeping tablets.

She leapt up, running to the bathroom.

"Phone an ambulance." She screamed, running over the glass. It crunched beneath her feet, before she fell to her knees and lifted Jade's head up.

"Jade, Jade can you hear me?"

Jade's head lolled in her hands. She picked up her hand, noticing her hands were stained with blood.

"Shit, what have you done?" She muttered, tears in her eyes as she heard Mrs Lyons giving the person on the other end the address of the flat.

Scarlet was shaking when Sapphire reached the hospital. Clem was holding Scarlet, Melody pacing up and down, unable to keep still.

"I'll get some coffee." Corey kissed Sapphire's cheek, before disappearing down the hall.

Melody looked at the three girls, and knew they needed each other right now. Holding back her own tears, she said "I'm going with Corey. He can’t carry five cups…five cups on his own."

Sapphire nodded, before sitting in the chair opposite Scarlet. She took Scarlet's hand.

"Scar, what happened?"

"I….Nick he…he had a knife…" She started to shake again, crying, she turned to Clem, burying herself in Clem's shoulder.

"What about Jade?" Clem asked, looking at Sapphire.

She shook her head, as if to say 'not now.' Instead, she simply said what the paramedics had told her: "We found her in time. She'll be fine."

The paramedics had been great, they'd said they'd send some people to clean up the bathroom.

Scarlet lifted herself up, looking at Sapphire. "What do you mean she'll be fine? What happened to her?"

"She…" Sapphire tilted her head forward. "She tried to kill herself Scar."

"Oh Jesus." Scarlet rested her elbows on her knees, her head in her hands. She started to shake again, and Sapphire moved to sit next to her. "I…I should have been there for her." Scarlet sniffed, unable to believe what she'd just heard. "I didn't even ask who she was seeing, I was too wrapped up in my own problems."

"None of us asked her." Clem hugged Scarlet. "Don't blame yourself."

"I'm going for a walk." Sapphire left the other two, escaping into the cold air.

Out of a job, unable to pay rent…she sat on a bench outside. We'll be kicked out soon….and with Rivers and Jade in hospital…

Scarlet blamed herself, but she had no reason to. Sapphire knew how upset she'd been about Nick. Maybe I should have done something… She'd been so wrapped up with Corey, she felt maybe she had a part in it…maybe she was partly to blame. They all knew it was a girl Jade was seeing, of course they did. They knew she was gay, they'd known for so long. So why hadn’t they spoken to her about it?

They'd been embarrassed, she guessed. Or they were waiting for her to tell them herself.

She tilted her head forward, remembering something…something Jade had said over two weeks ago now…

"Sapphire?"

She was getting ready to go out. Corey was taking her out to a proper posh meal, at a proper posh restaurant. She was doing her make up, wanting to apply it just right.

"Not now Jade."

"Please Sapphire, it's really important."

"I'm kind of busy."

Jade looked tired. She hadn’t been home for a while, and was spending less time at the flat.

"Corey's picking me up in like 5 minutes." Sapphire muttered, hating to be interrupted while she was getting ready.

The doorbell rang, and a grin lit up Sapphire's face.

"I got to go. We'll talk when we get back, alright?"

Jade nodded, but was silent as Sapphire dashed to the door and out with Corey.

When Sapphire got back to the flat that evening, Jade was gone.

She looked up, glad it was raining to disguise her tears. Sapphire never cried, ever…but now…

She saw a girl with spiky red hair, running through the rain towards the hospital doors. She looked at Sapphire.

"I…I heard about the video…" She bit her lip. "At the gig. I wanted to talk to Jade…" She wiped the rain away from her face. "I went to your flat…and this woman said an ambulance picked her up…I was worried."

"You weren't the one who filmed the video, were you?" She asked, standing up, wondering if this was the girl Jade had been seeing.

"Oh hell no." She shook her head. "I'm a friend of Jade's, that's all…" She stepped forward. "Nikki…is she alright?"

Sapphire nodded, standing up and leading this girl inside.

"You're an idiot."

Lucy swam in front of her, laughing at her as she stood there, her body shaking.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed, closing her eyes. "Just leave me alone!"

"You should have told them Jade…" Lucy dissolved, turning into Nikki. "I told you. They could have helped you."

"I tried!" She was crying now. "I tried, I tried to tell them I did I did I did…."

"Jade!" She heard a strange voice now. "Jade, can you hear me?"

A deep breath, her eyes snapped open.

She looked around her, seeing the white walls, smelling the hospital. She saw the nurses, the doctors, gathered around her.

"Jade, can you hear me?"

She nodded slowly, feeling confused, and lost. "Where…." She shook her head, she knew where she was. "Who found me?"

"One of your friends…Sapphire."