Every Beat of your Heart Makes a Song in Mine (A Victorious Story)

Chapter nineteen

It wasn't long before the night of the performance finally arrived. Beck, Cat, and Robbie stayed at Hollywood arts to set up for the show, as Cat was a backup singer and Robbie was playing guitar. Beck stayed at Hollywood Arts for obvious reasons. It was a full performance dedicated to Jade, after all, and he was the main singer. That left Tori and Andre to set up stuff for the hospital to tune into the show.

The lady at the front desk was really sweet; they had checked with her when they first came up with the idea for the show, and she was more than happy to help them set a tv up in Jade's room for the performance. She even told them that if Jade woke up during the performance, she would call them immediately. Checking in with the front desk lady, Tori couldn't help but smile. For the first time in a while, things were finally going their way.

"Hey," Tori waved, the front desk lady looking up and smiling. "We're here to check on the progress of setting up the program for Jade? We're going live in about one and a half hours."

The lady nodded. "We've almost got everything set up for her; it's channel 10, right?" Tori nodded.

"Is it cool if we visit today, too? Last time we tried...we had a pretty big scare." She asked.

The lady nodded again. "I understand. She's doing much better. There's actually another visitor in there, now. A man with...an interesting temper."

Tori and Andre looked at each other uneasily. Mr. West? They hadn't seen him since Jade's mom kicked him from the hospital room, the first day that Tori, Cat, and Beck had seen each other since the crash. Why was he here again after Ms. West had clearly told him that she didn't want him near Jade?

Nevertheless, Tori and Andre followed the lady back to where Jade was still staying. In the same hospital room, the same heart monitor going at the same pace (thankfully), the same machines doing the same jobs. One thing was different, though: someone was here that shouldn't be.

Andre and Tori found themselves face to face with Roy West. He stared daggers at them as soon as the lady from the front desk walked out of the room, and then he crossed the room so that he was in between them and Jade. Tori tried to stare daggers back. She wasn't...that afraid of Mr. West...

"What are you two doing here?" Mr. West snapped, crossing his arms in the businessman-way he did.

"We should ask you the same." Tori replied, crossing her arms and trying to assert dominance, but just making herself look stupid. "I thought Ms. West didn't want you around Jade."

"My family matters are none of your business." Mr. West replied.

"No, but Jade's our friend, and I don't think she'd like how sassy you're being." Andre pointed out.

"Why is there a tv in here? Is this your all's doing? She needs to get some rest." Mr. West said, rolling his eyes.

"I think she's been getting enough rest for the past few months." Andre said. "What she needs is to wake up. And until she does, we figured she may enjoy this."

"Well, you may as well stop trying." Mr. West said, rolling his eyes again. "Jade's not coming back to Hollywood Arts."

Tori and Andre were taken aback. "What??" Tori gasped. "What do you mean she's not coming back to Hollywood Arts?? Do you know how hard she worked to get in???"

Mr. West only shrugged. "I wanted her to get out of that school a long time ago. And if I can transfer her myself, which I did, I'll do that. It's just a matter of keeping her safe, and trying to get her to actually be successful in life."

"You can't do this!!!" Andre protested. "Jade won't let you!!!"

"I don't see her stopping me." Mr. West replied. "Now, I think it's time for you two theater twerps to get lost and get this ridiculous idea, whatever it is, away from my daughter, before I-"

But that was as far as Mr. West got before he was interrupted.

"Dad."

Just a stern, three-letter word that made Mr. West freeze immediately. Tori and Andre knew that voice. It wasn't Liam. It sounded like a younger version of Adira. They had heard it many, many times before. If you heard that voice, you usually knew you were in trouble.

Tori and Andre looked at each other, and then at Mr. West. Then he turned around, and they all looked to see if they were possibly just hearing things.

Jade looked almost the same. Her nasal cannula was still in, her right arm still wrapped in bandages, her wrists loaded with IVs, her curly dark hair spread out on the pillow. But there was one thing that was different. One thing that made Tori, Andre, and Mr. West stand there in shock.

For the first time in months, Jade West's icy blue eyes were open again.

And she was giving her father the same dagger stare that he had given Tori and Andre just moments before.