Jade stood in front of Beck's bathroom mirror in a pair of shorts and a tanktop, gazing at her marred skin and wondering how she had let it get so bad. She fingered a particularly purple bruise on her thigh, traced the shape over and over until the touch of her fingers became numb. When had she gotten that one? Was it when he had pushed her down the stairs? Or when he had shoved her againt the wall when she was late returning from school? She couldn't remember, and in the back of her mind, she knew something was wrong with that. She sighed and opened the door to the bathroom.

Beck layed on his bed, flipping through a magazine. He looked up, and his dark brown eyes immediately burned with a fire Jade didn't reconize.

He sat up abruptly, letting the magazine fall from the bed. "Jade." His voice was slow, calm, but his hands were clenched into fists. "Where did you get those bruises?"

Jade closed her eyes. She had practised this many times before.

I slipped down the stairs.

I fell off my bed.

But she knew that Beck wouldn't believe her. She knew that as soon as she fixed her eyse on his, he would be able to read her face. Because try as she might, she could not fool Beck Oliver.

Jade looked steadily at her boyfriend. Took a deep breath, and told him. The word felt dirty in her mouth.

My father.

My own father.

The only person who is supposed to love her unconditionally. The only person she is suppose to be able to trust.

That person was not her father. That person was standing in front of her.

Beck came forward now, quick, slick movements and in a moment, his arms were around her.

"I'm going to kill him," he murmured against her hair. She buried herself into his chest and took pleasure in the warmth that radiated off his skin.

She felt completely safe here.

Jade shook her head. "You can't say anything, Beck."

He gazed at her aggressively. "What the hell do you mean I can't say anything? Look what he did to you!" He gestured at her bruised body, and she uncharacteristically felt embarrassed under his stare.

"I'm going to tell someone. I will," she said slowly. "But I need time. He's my father."

Beck shook his head, but wrapped his arms around her once more.

He squeezed her tightly against him, as if he could protect her from the world.