Well, you guys asked for this. There will be one more chapter after this one.
Oh, and just so you guys know, this is about a year (maybe a little longer) after the last chapter.
Tori sat at the counter on a bar stool in Jade's kitchen, waiting. It was just about eight in the morning and she was wearing a tan jacket and a pair of dark green skinny jeans tucked into boots. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wasn't wearing much make up. She looked as if she had been crying.
Jade walked out of her room and into the kitchen. She glanced at Tori through sleep filled eyes and yawned.
"Hey Babe." She kissed her on the cheek. "Do you want some coffee?" She asked moving to the opposite counter and pulling out a coffee mug.
"Jade, we need to talk." Tori said soberly. Jade turned back to face her and realized how terrible Tori looked.
"What's wrong?" She asked immediately.
"Us." Tori inhaled deeply. "Jade, I need some sign of commitment from you." She slipped from the barstool and walked over to the tattooed woman.
"I want to be as permanent in your life as this ink." She traced her finger over a sunflower petal.
"Ink fades, Tori." Jade told her and her finger froze against the pale skin.
"Oh." Tori mouthed and her hand fell to her side.
"Do you even want me here?" She stepped away from Jade.
"Of course I do." Jade answered looking worried.
"I don't think you do, I can't find any reason to stay, you're not ready to commit. I don't know if you'll ever be ready."
"Don't go." Jade pleaded wrapping her fingers around Tori's wrist.
"I left everything in New York, for you. You have done nothing here for me. This is not home for me. It is exactly the same as when I moved in a year ago." Tori sighed and pulled her arm out of Jade's grasp.
"Look, maybe, you need some time to think, I don't know. I just cannot be here and putting my life into our relationship if you can't commit." Jade's mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find words.
"But I love you." She finally managed.
"I love you, too. But I want a family. I want to get married. You have expressed no desire for any of that. Hell, I don't even have a drawer here, Jade! I've been living out of boxes." The tears started to slip down her face.
"Please don't cry." Jade reached for Tori but she stepped back.
"None of this feels permanent." Tori whispered.
"I can't." Jade responded.
"Then, I cannot stay here." Tori closed her eyes and a few more tears squeezed out. She wiped at her cheeks and when she opened her eyes again her face was set in determination.
"I have to get things in order in New York. Trina will be coming for my things." Tori walked forward and kissed Jade.
"Good bye." She whispered and walked out the door, leaving Jade stand frozen in her kitchen.
XXXXX
Some part of Tori was hoping her life could be one of those cliché love stories. The ones where a person breaks it off and their significant other comes running after them at the airport as they plan to board a plane and fly away. They profess their love, vow to change and it ends happily ever after. Unfortunately, her life was not a cliché love story. Jade did not, in fact, call her name as she was about to walk down the boarding tunnel. She got onto the plane without a disturbance and groaned audibly when she realized she was sitting behind a single mother with two young children.
By the end of the stuffy and cramped five and a half hour flight Tori thought she might strange the toddlers. She hurried through the tunnel and baggage claim as fast as she could. The airport was busy and she just wanted to get to the hotel room the recording company arranged for her when she informed them she was returning to New York.
After she slid into the taxi and gave the address to the driver she started to cry. Her chest hurt and she couldn't breathe, but she didn't know if she even wanted to without Jade. The taxi smelled like tacos and dirty socks and the odor was only covered slightly by the air freshener on the dashboard. For some reason this made her cry harder because if Jade were with her, the loud mouthed woman would give her opinion without being asked for it, but Tori sat silently sobbing in the back seat. When she went to pay the driver the fare he refused.
"It's on the house. You seem real upset, just know that even though it may seem like the end now, things will work themselves out." He said. Tori gave him a small smile.
"That is kind of you. Thanks." She said and he helped her get her bags out of the trunk.
"I hope your future days improve." He told her before getting back in the taxi. She smiled and tugged at her jacket. The spring weather in New York was not nearly as warm as California.
XXXX
Trina knocked on Jade's apartment door.
"It's open!" Jade's voice yelled through the apartment and Trina turned the doorknob and pushed it open. Heavy metal was playing loudly throughout the rooms and Trina stood awkwardly in the entrance. The windows were wide open and the spring breeze aired out the bright apartment. Trina looked around and took in the boxes that were sitting open on tables and the floor. The white walls were stark and empty and Trina wondered if Jade was redecorating.
Jade stepped out of the bedroom in the back and waved at Trina. The eldest Vega did not return the gesture. Her look of distaste deepened as she watched Jade move towards her. Jade wore a pair of jean cutoffs and a red tank top. Her hair was twisted in a bun and a red bandana was wrapped around her head and tied on top. Her bare feet padded across the carpet until she stopped in front of Trina.
"I expected you to be more upset." Trina crossed her arms annoyed.
"Well, you expected wrong." Jade answered, hands on hips.
"Why are you so happy, anyways?"
"I'm moving." She picked up a stack of books. "Your sister's things are over there." She bobbed her head in the direction of the counter that Tori last sat at. Now the barstools were gone.
"Where are you moving?" Trina asked as Jade dropped the books into a box on the coffee table. Jade glanced back at the tan woman. Her hair was curled and her makeup flawless, she was barely showing her latest pregnancy and she seemed genuinely happy except for the scowl on her face.
"Does it matter to you?" Jade questioned and shook her head from side to side slowly. "It's just time for me to get out of here. Too many bad memories holding me back." She said. Trina sighed and walked over to the boxes.
"Do you need help with those?" Jade asked. Trina opened her mouth to refuse help from her sister's ex-girlfriend but stopped.
"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea." She patted her small bump and lifted a box into her arms. Jade nodded and helped her carry the boxes to her car.