Final part to my 'Spirit's' series. Takes place a few years after 'The Spirit's Justice'.
Warning: Character death early on.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'VicTORious' or any characters.
No POV
Since the last time Tori and Trina saw Beck, and Tori saw Jadelyn, life for the Vega sisters and baby Jade have gone well. I missing person's report was eventually released for Beck when his family came back to L.A. and found he wasn't there, and when the others found out he didn't go to Canada with his family, using their acting to be believable about Beck missing.
On baby Jade's sixth birthday, things went downhill for Tori and her family and friends. While they were getting Jade's party planned, Tori went to the nearby bakery to get a cake she had ordered the day before the party, before she was run off the road by an apparent random person.
What she didn't know was that it wasn't a random drunk driver or anything. He was a friend of Beck's, a friend no one knew he knew, and an old ex of Tori's. Steven Carson. The two becoming close after Beck was caught cheating on Trina with a random Northridge girl months before Jadelyn killed him. When he found out about Beck's death, he wasn't happy, but couldn't do anything because there was no body or apparent crime scene, just a missing body. When it was revealed that he was last seen at the Vega house, he assumed, somewhat correctly, that Tori was involved. So, to get revenge, he tried to have Tori killed by running into her as she was driving around town, trying to run her into a ditch or off a cliff, even going as far as to steal a car so no one would connect it to him.
It wasn't known at first, since Beck's new friend ran her off shortly after she left the Vega house. When Tori didn't return after almost an hour, Trina got concerned. Calling their father, she told him that Tori left to pick up Jade's cake, and that she wasn't back yet, telling him it's been an hour since she left.
An hour later, her car was found in a ditch a few miles away from the bakery she was picking up the cake, her motionless body in the driver's seat, her neck broken from the impact and the faulty airbag not activating until it was too late.
"Were there any witnesses?" Trina asks, her crying daughter in her arms, after David told her about what he found.
"No. The road was abandoned for construction and it hasn't been released to the public that the road was opened. And since it's not a popularly driven road, few people knew about it." David says, rubbing his granddaughter's back. "There's a security camera nearby, and I'm having the tech crew at the station run it. The only other signs were paint transfer on the back bumper where she was hit, and the skid marks from both cars." He says softly, pain and anger in his voice from what happened.
"Is there anything that can be done?" Trina asks as Jade coils up into her side.
"I don't know yet." David says with a sigh. "I promise you though, I'll do anything I can to get justice." He says firmly.
The next day, David gets a call from the tech crew at the station. All they were able to get from the footage was a white Ford Fusion and a partial license plate. Running the license plate and car info, the find that it belongs to a middle aged soccer mom who reported it stolen two days ago while she was at work.
For the next month, David and his partner Gary spend all their free time looking for who ran Tori off the road, as the rest of the family and Tori's friends mourn her death. Her funeral, which took place a week after the 'accident', was somber. No one said anything except the preacher, the only other sound being everyone crying. Carly, Sam, Freddie, Spencer, Gibby, and even T-Bo from Seattle, who Tori and her friends all became close to after Kenan's party years ago, came to pay their respects, taking the long drive once they heard about what happened and when her funeral was.
Hours after Tori's body was lowered into the ground, Trina and the others find themselves back at the Vega house, no one making a sound, just sitting silently and staring at nothing. "Is there any news?" Andre asks softly after a few minutes of silence.
"No. The car was found yesterday, no sign of who stole it." Trina says in a soft whisper, holding her daughter.
A month after her death, they finally find news. Less than an hour before the accident, a gas station gave the cops tapes from the day of the accident, revealing a young man pumping gas, his back to the camera. He paid with a credit card, but records show it belonged to Beck. What no one knew, was Beck gave Steven the card a week after they became friends to get alcohol for a party they were throwing while Beck told Trina he was going to Canada for a few days. After the party, Beck told Steven to hold onto the card for the next party, not caring what he used the card for.
"We have a suspect." David says, running though the living room to grab his gun, badge, and keys.
"Who?" Trina asks, jumping up from the chair she was sitting on in the dining room to stare at her dad.
"That Steven Carson kid Tori used to date. Someone remembers seeing him pumping gas at the same gas station the stolen car was last seen." David says, leaving. "I'll let you know." He says, closing the door behind him.
"Steven? He's behind this?" Trina asks, staring at the front door her father just left from.
A little over an hour later, Trina gets a text telling her to check the news. Not knowing what's going on, she picks up the remote and turns on the t.v. and puts on the news channel in time to see a picture of Steven being dragged out of an apartment building, two cops Trina doesn't recognize dragging out the angry boy.
"Just moments ago, Steven Carson, 24, was apprehended for the murder of Victoria Vega, 23, at his L.A. apartment. There, authorities found evidence of the crime." The news reporter says, looking at the camera. "In his bedroom, the found a picture of Miss Vega, the stolen credit card, and a copy of the stolen car's key. They also found a map of the area around the Vega's house, marks of possible sites, and a newspaper article of the disappearance of Beckett Oliver with various words, such as 'Vega' and other names circled." He says, looking ahead.
Watching the screen, Trina's eyes widen when an image of the newspaper article comes up onto the screen, with Tori's, Andre's, Cat's, and her name come up on the screen, each circled with red ink, a question mark beside Tori's name.
"I don't believe this." Trina says, shutting off the t.v.
"Believe what?" Holly asks, walking into the house.
"Steven, Tori's ex from years ago, is her murderer." Trina says, staring at the blank screen.
"What?" Holly asks, moving to Trina's side and sitting beside her eldest daughter.
"The cops arrested Steven earlier. There were pictures, maps, evidence pointing him to Tori's murder." Trina whispers, staring blankly ahead.
Hours later, David returns with a tired, yet satisfied, look on his face. "He confessed." He says, sitting on the couch as his wife and daughter move from the kitchen to sit beside him. "Where's Jade?" He asks before they ask him what he knows they want to ask.
"Upstairs. Cat's playing with her while mom and I work on dinner." Trina answers, staring at her father. "Why did he do it?" She asks, eyes wide.
"Beck. From what Steven said, he and Beck became close friends one night after catching Beck leaving a party with a Northridge girl." David says, hesitant since he's unaware of Trina knowing Beck's a cheater. "He said, after calling him out on it, the two hit it off when Beck said he would help Steven get Tori, under any means necessary." He says darkly, leaving out what Steven admitted he wanted Tori for, not realizing the cop interrogating him was Tori's father.
"So what? He wanted revenge for Beck?" Trina asks, shaking her head.
"Why did he pick Tori?" Holly asks, staring at her husband.
"He saw her name, plus Trina's and their friend's, in a news article about Beck's disappearance." David answers, leaning back against the couch. "He's going a way for a long time. One count of auto theft, three counts of stalking, and first degree vehicular homicide." He says, closing his eyes.
"Wait. Stalking?" Holly asks as she and Trina stare at the officer. "Who was he stalking?"
"Tori, he said." David says, opening his eyes and looking at his wife. "He admitted to following Tori for the last few weeks to determine his best chance of running her off the road."
"Why would he admit all of this so easily?" Trina asks, suspicious of Seven's intentions.
"He was bragging about being the one who killed Tori. He was boasting about it, telling the story like it was a prize." David says with a small snarl.
"Is that it? Steven killed Tori because she was one of the last ones to see Beck?" Holly asks, shaking her head.
"Looks that way." David says, calming himself down.
"So, this is over? Tori can finally rest in peace?" Trina asks, staring ahead.
"I hope so." David says, pulling his wife and daughter into a hug. "I hope so." He repeats softly.
Jadelyn POV
Time is a think I stopped worrying about years after I was murdered. To me, days and nights are one, weeks, months, and years nonexistent. When I was able to get revenge on the family of the man who killed me, I was finally able to move on.
Or, so I thought.
That is, until the child of the man who killed me started haunting the family who lives in my old house. When I first started sensing a dark presence, I started watching over the family members, specifically the two sisters. While I watched, I discovered it was always darker around the eldest, a lesser amount towards the youngest, and a surprisingly high amount for the infant daughter of the eldest.
At first, I hoped the presence would stay away, not cause problems. That changed, however, when I recognized the presence as Beck, the man I killed to get justice, and his presence wasn't watching them like I was.
He was planning something.
Before his plan could happen, I intervened by warning the youngest that I felt his presence and feared he wished to harm the family. I was early enough to get the warning out, but late enough because Beck already made himself known to the eldest, Trina.
We managed to get rid of him, getting rid of his remains and banishing him to Hell, allowing the sisters and the infant to finally start living free.
After that, I truly did move on, my worries and fears behind me. And since, I was calm.
Oddly enough, that changed. I felt a disturbance, nothing like what I felt with Beck wanting to harm the Vega sisters, but still a disturbing feeling. For a while, I didn't know what it was. I soon found out when I could see a spirit wandering around. Though my first thought was 'How could they be here?', since death isn't as simply as going to Heaven of Hell, it's simply going to where you belong, my second thought concerned this person. When I saw her face, I knew something bad had happened.
Tori, the youngest sister was dead. Not just dead, murdered.
You might be wondering how I could know that? It's quite simply. The ways you die leave a mark on your soul. Natural death leaves you looking normal, no pain of your living life. Suicide leaves you in pain, the pain you felt alive and the pain you caused yourself visible to any who see you. But murder leaves a different kind of pain. Like a natural death, you look normal, the way you were when you died. But, like a suicide, signs of what happened remain. From what I could tell, she was in an accident. I couldn't make anything out, but I knew it wasn't painless.
Walking over to her, yes we float, even in death, I stop in front of her, surprising her.
"Jadelyn?" She asks, staring at me. "Where are we? What's going on?" She asks, questions even I asked when I first died.
"You died, Tori. That is the only reason you're here." I tell her softly, the odd connection I felt with her after we last saw each other sparking. "And it wasn't natural. I know that."
"I'm dead?" Tori says, pain in her eyes. "How? Who did it? I don't remember anything." She says, shaking her head.
"That is how death works. You are not meant to remember your death. Not immediately." I tell her, placing my hand on her lower back and guiding her away, my thoughts on she would appear in my part of the afterlife, when each person is meant to get their own. "You will find out later, I assure you." I say, knowing it is of little assurance, if any.
"What about my family? Do they know?" She asks as I lead her around a small lake, a swan in the middle of the lake.
"I do not know, Tori." I tell her, stopping. "I do not know."
After relaxing, and calming her down slightly, she gasps, a sign that she remembers what happened before she died. "I was getting a cake for Jade's birthday party. I died before I could pick it up. I died on Jade's birthday." She says, starting to cry. This time, I could tell that she wasn't crying for herself, but what her niece and family must be going though.
"Today is her birthday?" I ask, not knowing if the day has changed to the living yet or not.
"Yes. July twenty-six." She says quietly, tears streaming down her face.
As she cries, she misses the shock on my face. July twenty-six? The young girl named after me shares more than just my name and gender with me. She shares my birthday.
Sorry if this is kind of a crappy way to end this. And if the name was misleading in anyway. There won't be another part to this series, because I feel like that'd be pushing it too far.
As for what the afterlife is like, I based it on what Heaven is like in the show 'Supernatural', where everyone has their own.
Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it. Please review.
Blesses Be.