Chapter 13. Somewhere in the Fallout

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

...

The Vega Residence - January 10th, Senior Year

...

To Tori, the first few days following Trina's sentencing were, challenging to say the least, at least within the Vega household. Following the actual sentencing, Tori had quickly departed from the courthouse with her friends, not wanting to see her parents, not speak with them, to have not have anything to do with them. Hell, she wasn't even sure entirely if they had known that she was there. Perhaps they were more hoping that she hadn't arrived, which was what she couldn't help suspect.

No, not suspect it. She knew it.

After all, why would they have waited until the day before the actual sentencing to tell her that not only had she been arrested, but that they had also worked out an apparent guilty plea – which Tori didn't know the details of, nor would her parents give her any indication of what was covered under it – and that a date for the apparent sentencing had been worked out too! All things considered, the only thing that the Latina could rationalize was that she was unwanted there.

Unwanted…

Unwanted by her parents and despised by her sister. Tori struggled to process in her head how any of it made sense, or why it seemed to be happening all at once. And why it was happening to her. Why? That was the million dollar question, and Tori felt like she had used all of her life lines and there were still a thousand potential answers to the question.

Whatever the reason it was that they had chosen to wait so long to tell her about everything, whether it was to protect her or because she was in fact unwanted, she didn't have much of a desire to speak with either of them. When they had left the courthouse, it wasn't until late that night that Tori even arrived back at her house, though she heavily considered just not going home and instead spending the night at either Andre's or Cat's or even Jade's house. When she did get home though, she was a bit surprised to see that her parents were home, or anything even to indicate that they had arrived at home at all by that point.

Tori actually preferred that. She preferred not having to talk to them, having to listen to them come up with some sort of reason as to why they were keeping things from her. Chances are that that reason would just be a lie, and she was hurt enough. Her parents lying to her face was the last thing she was interested in withstanding that day. Or any of the days that followed, for a while at least.

That was perhaps the prime reason why she sought out seclusion within her room. Within there, even if it was in her parent's house, she felt safe. There was a level of privacy, a degree of respect and trust that had been built up over the past year that entitled her to it. Maybe it was partially out of guilt that her parents felt after what Trina had tried to do with her, topped with the phenomenal grades that she had been getting, full letter grades better than what she had ever been getting at Hollywood Arts before. Whatever the actual reason might have been, for the time being she was intent on taking full advantage of it.

It was pretty much routine. She would go to school, perhaps stay later to work on homework, study for a performance, or just staying for no other reason than to not go home. Afterwards, whenever that would be, she would go home, ignoring whoever might have been at the house, though it was becoming rarer to see both of them together by the time she arrived. There might have been a note on the counter, letting her know that dinner had been prepared, or if not then there was money for her to order out. Perhaps her mother might have been there, planted on the couch, staring aimlessly at something on the TV with a glass of wine and the home phone beside her. Waiting. Waiting for that rare chance that maybe an incoming call might have been from Trina.

Tori didn't pretend to understand the sudden obsessiveness her mother had with hearing from Trina. Perhaps it was in a sense a way of easing her heart, her own way of coping. A part of Tori sympathized with her mother, the other part didn't understand why she bothered blaming herself. She shook her head as she tried to forget about trying to rationalize what her mother was doing; it was as hard sometimes as trying to figure Trina out. Instead, she focused back on the homework that Sikowitz had assigned for the class, reading the book handed out for a bit before feeling the vibration within her pocket.

Yo Tori. You there? – Andre

Tori smiled when she saw the text. Andre had told her that he was having his audition today, but he wasn't entirely sure of what time he'd actually have it. She made him promise her that after he had it that he would contact her to let her know how it went. Tori was a bit surprised that he was getting back to her so late. It was almost 6 PM already.

Hey! Howd the audition go? – Tori

Each minute that passed while she waited for him to respond only further added to the anticipation, the excitement of it all. But as time went on, that excitement dissolved into panic. Panic of things going poorly.

Andre? How was it? – Tori

A few more minutes passed, but now Tori was convinced that Andre hadn't done well. The thought of it terrified her. Not just because it might have killed his shot at going there, but for a slightly selfish reason of his audition might reflect poorly onto hers as well, for whatever reason. Once she felt her phone vibrate in her hands, she was almost afraid to look and see what it said. Finally, she mustered her courage and took a peak.

Killed it. – Andre

Tori sighed in relief, but she also wanted to extend her arm through her phone, have it travel out through his phone, and slap him in the face for not just making her wait, but also for the mini-panic attack he gave her.

How rude! Leaving me hanging – Tori

Oh come on now. You got a kick out of it. – Andre

Tori rolled her eyes at how easily Andre seemed to find humor in Tori's reaction, and at herself for how she still found that fact surprising, in spite of knowing him for nearly three years now.

More like a mini heart attack! – Tori

:O That aint good cause I need to know the homework for Sikowitz – Andre

Tori chuckled aloud. So that was the real reason why he was messaging her. Typical Andre…

He wants us to read pgs 20-40 in the book he assigned yesterday. We have to have lines remembered by friday – Tori

A part of her wanted to say something along the lines of Sikowitz "strongly recommending" something ridiculous in hopes of making Andre panicked. But right now, Tori wasn't feeling particularly creative, and given Andre, it was likely he'd ask a ton of questions on the matter which she wouldn't want to try to come up with explanations for.

Sounds easy enough. How r things? – Andre

Tori smiled at his latest text. For as much as Andre might annoy her at times or just manage to completely outshine her when it comes to things like musical talent, he did have a good heart. And while she didn't confide to him some of the more personal details as to what happened with Trina that both Beck and Jade knew, he was still supportive or her. And even though his grandmother didn't exactly make his home the most enjoyable or welcoming place, she was touched by the selflessness he showed in offering her a room in the event that her family situation became too much.

IDK. Fine I guess. You gonna be at school tomorrow? – Tori

Tori hoped that he would understand what she was implying, and in the event he did, she hoped that he would be at school. Things just felt really dull with him not being there. Or Jade either for that fact, but her absence was a mystery to Tori.

Yep. You wanna talk then? – Andre

Yeah – Tori

You got it. Later Tor – Andre

Bye Andre – Tori

Tori put her phone away, satisfied knowing that Andre would be back tomorrow rather than use his audition as an excuse to skip another day of school. Even though that would probably have been exactly what Tori would have done herself if she were in his shoes. At the same time, it might have just been that she wanted to take a break herself from class. The last few days had left her utterly exhausted and despite seemingly all of her teachers assigning very light work given all of the students coming off of break, Tori felt like she had barely been on a break. At least not an enjoyable one.

Skimming through the pages she had already read a few times now, Tori contemplated between going out to get something for dinner and preparing something for herself. She leaned towards the former, given that it would mean less of a chance of having to interact with her mother, who no doubt was propped out on the couch, probably with an empty bottle of wine beside her. At least she suspected it was an empty bottle by now. From what she saw of it when she had gotten home, it was at least half empty, and judging by the receipt she saw on the counter, was bought just today. After a few minutes, she made up her mind, grabbing a light jacket and her car keys as she headed out to grab a bite to eat. I wonder if Cat would be down to get some sushi?

...

Spring Street Bar, Downtown Los Angeles

...

On the other side of town, David Vega sat alone at the bar, his mind absent while his fingers gently rung around the rim of the scotch glass before him. It was maybe his second drink, but for as long as he had been there it could have assumed that it was his fourth or fifth. In reality, he hated the taste of scotch, but it wasn't like he was drinking to enjoy himself anyways.

"Heard a rumor that you were here," A familiar voice caused David to turn his attention, to which he nodded at the sight of prosecutor Ted Cabot. "Couldn't believe it myself. I mean, David Vega slumming it at a cop bar? A bit cliché wouldn't you say?" He jokingly remarked as he took a seat beside him.

The bartender, noticing his arrival, lifted his head in his general direction, acknowledging the man's presence. It didn't take anything more than a simple hand gesture for him to recognize that the latest patron wanted the same thing as his companion. The bartender had no objections. Made more on scotch than pretty much anything else he had to offer.

As Ted patiently waited for the bartender to pour his drink, he looked at David, clearly seeing just how fatigued and exhausted he seemed. Now, Ted was no stranger to seeing officers who were drained, be it from working a particularly tough case or following an officer involved shooting, but what he saw of his friend was different. It wasn't so much that of a job-related ailment, but rather something else. "So, I gotta say, I never figured you for a scotch drinker. Always assumed you a tequila guy." He hoped that David would be slightly engaged in small talk as they were friends, but it wasn't looking like it. "What's wrong Dave?"

David Vega sighed as he took a small sip from his glass. "Eh, about what you can expect for someone in my place. I got one daughter who's expected to go to prison for at least a year, and my other daughter hates me." He laughed, though it was more a sarcastic one than a genuine laugh, "So, I guess you could say just dealing with typical daughter bullshit."

Ted frowned. He knew the situation with David's older daughter and while he had done what he could to keep it hidden from their colleagues, he hadn't realized just how much it seemed that this affected him. While they spoken occasionally about Trina, how David and her relationship was strained, there was always a hint of contempt towards her in how he spoke. So seeing him now, almost grieving, it was different. The fact that his other daughter seemed to be upset with him too was a surprise.

"Your other daughter hates you? I take it then that that's a new revelation?" He asked as he took a sip from his scotch. I really wish that this place would invest more in improving their liquor cabinet.

David nodded. To a degree, even he couldn't believe how things between him and Tori had seemed to deteriorate, and how quickly it happened too. When Ted told him that his colleague had not only issued an arrest warrant for Trina but were going to take her into custody the next day, a part of him wanted to tell Tori. As a father, the idea of withholding information like that from a daughter, particularly a daughter who obviously still cared about her sister, seemed like a taboo.

But given how much Tori still seemed to care about Trina, it made the situation all the more impossible. On one hand, he could have told Tori that the D.A.'s Office knew where Trina was – something that none of the Vega household knew – and that she was going to be charged immediately. If he did that, she would have lashed out at him like how she did when they first talked about the situation with the pills. Or he could have kept quiet about everything like he ultimately did, and she would be irate because he tried to keep it hidden from her. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation, and at least for the time being, there didn't seem to be any clear cut indicator of things improving between them.

"The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt Tori. I mean, Holly and I, we didn't want to baby her. You know, in the last year, my God, just how mature she's become, how she's taken on the world and with such confidence. You tell me how a father is supposed to justify shattering that?" That was what hurt and scared him the most; that everything recently with Trina just threatened to undo all the good that Tori was accomplishing.

"I don't think there's a father in the world that would dare to." Ted wasn't a father himself, but even then, just in speaking with victims and their families, he had a strong sense of what they were willing to do for one another, of how close they were. "That said, I think you're being too hard on yourself. You were caught in honestly what was a fucked up situation. Like you said, either way you would walk out a loser. So while I understand the wanting to blame yourself, you think it's fair?"

David took a slight sip of his drink, "Fair? Fair to who?"

Ted also took a sip from his drink, his face not contorting slightly like how David's did a moment earlier. "To everyone. Holly, Tori, yourself. Like I said, in the end you were caught in an impossible position." He stopped for a moment and thought to himself before returning to the conversation at hand, "What you did might have devastated your daughter, but what do you think you being here is doing to her?"

As he was about to take a final sip from his drink, David stopped, opting instead to stare at the glass for a moment before putting it down, the last sip still there. Ted had a point, a damn good one at that. Tori was still probably furious at him, and she had enough of a reason to be, but instead of trying to mend their relationship, all he was doing was trying to avoid home, and by effect, avoid her. Whether he meant to or not, he was giving up on Tori just like how he had given up on Trina.

"For someone who is acting as broken as you are right now, you don't smell like it," Ted coolly remarked before taking another sip from his drink, placing his glass onto the counter, which was promptly refilled by the bartender. "Running is easy. Fighting is harder."

"You want another one?" The bartender chimed in, pointing towards the nearly empty glass in front of David. He and Ted looked at David for a moment, the latter realizing the potential impact of what his answer might have been while the former was just wondering if he wanted another drink. "Well?"

David shook his head, going a step further as he reached into his wallet and pulled out several bills and placed them on the bar counter. As it looked like he was about to leave, he looked at Ted who had been seated at the bar still. He was smiling.

Smiling at a man who hopefully was going to take the first step along their road to recovery.

More specifically, the recovery of David Vega's relationship with his daughter, hoping not to repeat history a second time and lose Tori too.

Hope you guys enjoy! Feel free to leave a review!