Trina's Return

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious or CSI

A/N:

Chapter 10 (Years of Pain and Guilt)

Tori, I know it's been many years, but Beck and I want to invite you to our son's birthday party this Saturday. We're inviting gang, so maybe we can try and fix whatever went wrong. I hope you'll consider. –Jade and Beck Oliver.

Tori held the card in her hand, trembling as tears stung her eyes. She wanted to go, she wanted to see them, but at the same time, there was an old animosity in her heart that was returning like the bile up her throat. To her right on the couch was her daughter, Katrina. To the left, her aging father. Andre was in the recliner, tapping his foot gently on the floor. There was a coldness in his eyes, one that had been there for a while now. Her depression, along with his alcohol issues was rapidly destroying their marriage.

"I know I said I never wanted to see them again," she whispered as teardrops fell onto the card. This card tore the band-aid that was covering the pain of losing Trina. Still she blamed them, she blamed herself. It was part of that blame that made her distant from Andre, as he too was partially responsible for Trina's leaving. "That was fifteen years ago, right? It's been fifteen years since I talked to any of them?"

"Yeah," Andre responded. He and David had been watching the news. For some reason, David had been insistent on watching news going on in Las Vegas. He never talked about it. "I mean it's up to you if you want to go. I don't think I'd want to see them as much as you wouldn't want to…There's a lot of bad blood there." Of course, who could forget the destruction of their friendships?

Nineteen years ago, an intense fight broke out amongst the group. "What are you blaming us for?" Jade screamed, throwing her hands in the air. "It's not our fault your sister quit you guys!" Cat and Robbie shot a look at Jade, then averted their gaze.

"Actually no, it is!" Tori cried, tears streaming down her face. She glared at all of them surrounding the table, her shoulder strap slid down onto her arm and she quickly pushed it back up. Her heart was racing and her body ached from continual screaming. "The police don't care about a twenty year old woman who told her family she's leaving. She's leaving because you all continually assaulted her."

Beck smacked his hands on the table, pushing himself up, "You're not blameless in this, Tori!" His voice boomed over the others. She froze in place as his dark eyes glared out at her. "She was your sister, so maybe you should have stood up for her a little, huh?" She gasped out and covered her mouth. This was the biggest fight any of them ever had with one another. She loved her sister, but where Trina thought she lived in her shadow, was truly the other way around.

Cat had her hands over her ears and was making random noises in attempt to shut the others out. Robbie and Andre weren't reacting to anything going on. Robbie's face was tense and his hands were grasping tightly to his knees. "Maybe you should have thought about your sister before letting all of us walk over her? Maybe?"

"I just wanted to be accepted, that's it! I didn't know what any of you guys would think, none of you liked Trina."

"Since when does that excuse anything?" Robbie asked with a bitterness lacing his tone. Why were these people giving her the riot act? They were the ones that attacked Trina all the time! "None of us are innocent in this, and I honestly hope she has a good life somewhere." He started to rise from the table and pointed to each of the group. "Because I can assure you, none of you will have good lives after this. I think the guilt, and other things, will eat away at you." He folded his arms and shook his head. "Either way, I'm done. I'm done with all of you. None of you are willing to accept responsibility for running Trina off, and every one of you are full of shit. It'll be a cold day in hell I see any of you again…"

"Well you'll still be with Cat," Jade pointed out. "I mean after all, she-"

"She doesn't want me the fuck around." He moved his hand through the air, scoffing mildly. Tori meshed her brow and looked to Cat. The girl lowered her hands and was now gazing at Robbie, starting to avert her eyes.

"It's because of that dumb puppet of yours," Cat muttered, "I don't think you'd make a good father…I mean…" He rolled his eyes and shook his head, clearly he'd been struggling with this for a while now. By now, they all knew Cat was pregnant, she and Robbie had spent some 'quality' time together in nothing but their underwear. Of course, that led to temptation, which led to the obvious.

"That's just it. She doesn't want me around, doesn't want me freaking out our-oh I'm sorry her fucking kid. I don't want to be around any of you, so it's a win-win situation!" He grabbed Rex from the table and waved his hand in the air, muttering in his anger. "Fuck you assholes…" His words stung Tori's heart, and once more, she questioned if she was the reason he was leaving. Just like Trina, she'd pushed someone else away.

"I ruin everything," Tori whimpered, "I ruin everything!" Andre looked up at her and rose from his seat, reaching out to pat her back. She turned away from him, then proceeded to hurry off. She could feel their glares burning her, destroying her.

"I want to see them, Momma," Katrina smiled. David looked away from them, scoffing as Trina lowered the card. She was still unsure whether it would be the right thing. Would any of the others bother showing up? Robbie had been clear when he said he was done with them. "They have a son, maybe he's my age?"

"Their son? I suppose…" She only knew based off the celebrity status that they had a son who was thirteen years old. His name was Zach.. They had a daughter who was turning four, her name was Lauren. "Lauren is closer to your age, but even still you're in the middle, sweetie. Their son is thirteen, I think, and their daughter is four."

"Okay, five year difference then, right Momma?"

"Yes. I guess we can go, but…" She was frightened, and everything inside her was telling her to stay away from them. "They were a bad influence when I was younger, baby. So…we need to be careful." She looked to the television, sighing as a news story appeared regarding the closing of another case.

The reporter was asking a white haired man about a different case though, "Mr. Russell, you're the lead reporter for the case of this serial killer correct? Have you and your team deviated from that investigation?"

"No ma'am," he replied, "We work many investigations at the same time."

"Are you any closer to solving this?"

"We get a little closer each day. My team is hard at work, and will be until we solve this…"

"Sir, another question we have is will you be retiring anytime soon? You're one of the city's top investigators, but aren't you getting up there in years?" Russell flashed a smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"My daughter in law works for me, she and the team have been asking the same stuff. She wants to head the team after I retire, but that's going to have to wait. We have a serial killer to catch."

She sighed at the screen, the news was always depressing, and sometimes scary. With this serial killer stuff, she almost wanted to be concerned, but was thankful that it was in Vegas and not LA. "Turn that off, Dad, there's nothing in Vegas." Tori struck the remote and David shrugged his shoulders. "Why don't you come with us to Jade's son's party?"

"Doesn't seem like something you'd involve yourself in," David replied. This was true, Tori didn't really want to be involved with these former friends of hers, but it couldn't hurt to see what everyone was up to now. "I think I'll stick around here. I have no reason to show up there."

"You can't just stay stuck in the house for the rest of your life, Dad."

"I leave…There's just nowhere to go."

"So come with us, maybe you'll meet someone new?"

Katrina climbed into David's lap and grinned into his eyes, "Please, Granddad will you come? I'm going to be so bored with mom and all the old adults!" Tori blinked several times and Andre snickered.

"Jade and Cat do have kids, children will be there."

"Oh I know, and that'll be a plus." Katrina didn't get to play with other kids that much, she seemed to have her sister's social anxieties. Moreover, her social anxieties. It was Trina that pushed her into getting in Hollywood Arts, after all.

For years, she wished Hollywood Arts never came into their lives. It ruined her, ruined everything she ever loved and held dear. Before that infernal school, she and Trina were practically inseparable! Well, to that extent, perhaps she clung to Trina too much. Hollywood Arts came along, she found friends, and could be independent.

Then, she forgot Trina. Her friends became a higher level than the sister who protected her through elementary school. Always the innocent and naïve one, Tori had been a constant victim of the bullies at school. Her lunch money had been stolen, she'd been shoved into the school pond, off the jungle gym, and several other things. That all stopped when her big sister showed up one day and smacked those bullies around.

After Trina stood up for her, nobody ever dared to endanger her. Everyone said Trina was the crazy big sister that would wreck them all if they ever hurt Tori or made fun of her.

So why did that change? Why did she go from needing Trina every day and clinging to her like she was her only source of protection, to one day making fun of her sister and making Trina feel worthless? Why couldn't they have reminded her or let her know, the truth was she was the favorite. Tori knew David cared more for Trina than he did her, though he always said he never chose favorites. She just knew. But she could never be jealous of her sister, she loved her too much, and missed her for far too long.

Tori 'go-with-the-flow' Vega, that's what she thought people ought to call her. She had still been naïve, still been the same girl on the playground wanting attention from the bigger kids who could put her down in an instant if she didn't comply with them.

"Thank you can handle it?" Andre asked while taking a swig of a Miller Lite bottle. Tori's face went sour and she turned away from him, disgusted when he drank in front of their daughter. Some days, it frightened her.

Hell, his drinking was the whole reason she sought so hard to convince her father to move in with her. He'd grown into an angry over the years, all the guilt and regret in his life boiling up and releasing whenever he got drunk. With her father there, Andre drank less, but it was still clear he would sneak out and have a drink or two. He was charming at his job, though, and nobody would even know he had a drinking problem.

"Yeah, I think I can handle it, Andre."

"Good, cause I think I'll stick around here. I don't care to see any of them."

"Fine."

At the party, the Oliver mansion was filled with balloons and children. Katrina stood beside her mom, holding onto her hand. Tori smiled lightly as Katrina studied the kids. "Why don't you go play with the children, Katrina?" The girl nodded and scratched her sandy brown curls. She looked like a young Shirley Temple, but with brown hair. It was adorable. Katrina smiled up at her mom, her dimples deepening as she ran off to the children.

"Vega!" Jade's voice called out. She turned to see the woman in a long black dress with a glass of red wine in her hands. Jade had shoulder length brown hair and a pleasant smile that distracted from the mystery in her eyes. "I didn't think you'd show up."

"Well, I guess I figured it was worth a try…" She moved towards Jade and looked to the table on her right, it had several glasses and a large bottle of wine. "Anyway, it's Harris now. Andre and I married…" Jade gasped and began to smile as Tori turned away from the drinks. "We're having some difficulty though."

"Oh? Why?"

"Just…a lot of things boiling up." Jade brought her glass to her lips and closed her eyes as she sipped the drink. "I mean, he's become an obsessive drinker, we've been fighting a lot…I think the fights started when I…I messed up one day a couple years ago. Got drunk myself and had a one night stand…" Jade's eyes shot open and her eyebrow arched up high. She lowered the drink and Tori quickly breathed in, shaking her head. "We've moved past that, I think. Times are rough."

"I know how that feels." Jade pat her shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "It's okay though. If it's any consolation, Beck's a compulsive gambler! In fact, right now even he's out back with some poker friends of his, probably gambling away a couple grand."

Suddenly an arm shot out and landed around Jade's shoulders, she jumped and Tori glanced over to see Beck standing beside her with a bright smile, "On the contrary, love. I've been here the whole time!" His deep laugh soothed the nerves within Tori, but even still, she couldn't stand being here. She wanted to throw herself out the door and charge away. "Glad to see you made it, sucks to hear that about Andre though…We tried contacting Robbie…" Beck didn't look different either, like Jade. He was a little less tan, though Jade was a bit more tanned now. His hair was still long and looked like a young Nicolas Cage. His eyes still had the shady and brooding look to them.

"We never found him." Jade groaned and shut her eyes, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, we found his address. Apparently he was living in Texas. Tried calling a few times this last week, but never got an answer."

"I wonder if he knows it's you?" Tori had to ask, even though it was unlikely. In the corner of her eyes, she saw a flash of red. Cat was walking in with her teenage son. She had her hair cut short, in between her chin and her shoulders. Her forehead had creases on them and her eyes held a degree of sorrow. When Tori looked to the girl's eyes, they seemed a tiny bit bloodshot, which was odd.

Her son was tall and a image of Robbie when he was younger. Only, his hair was shorter, the son had thinner glasses, and was without a puppet on his hand. "He-ey!" Cat exclaimed happily, as if there were no tension between the friends whatsoever.

It was there, and it would always be there. Tori saw them all in different lights now, she didn't trust a single one of them. They were demons to her, or perhaps, they were her demons? Their group felt incomplete without Robbie or Andre there, but she understood why the two men might not want to be here.

After all, these were the people that singlehandedly helped run off the single most important person in her life. These were the people who destroyed her family. She carefully grabbed a glass and let Jade pour her some wine, after thanking the woman, she sipped nonchalantly and eyed the group of her former friends. All she wanted to do was see what they'd been up to, but now, she was regretting her choice to even be here.

Thoughts my friends?