Downward Spiral

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:


Chapter 55 (Time Draws Near)

Trina took a long sip of her coffee, peering over the rim to study the ladies' reactions. All of them were gazing up with tensed brows and thoughtful gazes, which told her they were thinking very hard about some of the details of her story. "Did I hear right?" Paula asked. Trina pulled the rim of her cup away, peering down at the paper rim, wishing she'd remembered to grab her usual metal mug. "The good doctor hasn't been with anybody? All these years? A man like that?"

"No that's wrong." She raised her eyes and shrugged. "Married, he's never been. He's dated here and there, even had sex with someone when he was still in college." There was a good deal she didn't want to discuss about Jason, because like her, he was an extremely private man.

Jason was by no means a perfect parent. He did well as a father, and Rachel very well could have saved his life. When he was younger, like Trina, he'd gotten on the wrong side of the tracks. His teenage years were littered with fights, and even he had that same kind of abusive step-father.

The only difference in that case was he fought back physically were Trina did not, and that only caused him more blows. Eventually his uncle helped his little sister and nephew escape that marriage and they moved to California. His mother eventually remarried her first husband, the one that had an affair with a Canadian prostitute many years ago.

"Originally, he's from Texas." The ladies nodded at her addition. Jason had a girlfriend in college who wound up being crazy and tried to fake a pregnancy to get him not to break up with him. He'd even fallen into a brief depression which ended when Sikowitz got him back into martial arts. Then, Rachel came into his life, and he had someone to care for.

All of this made him very understanding of Trina's life when they started dating and she opened up a bit more to him.

Sharon's fingernails tapped the table and she began to hum. "What about your little sister? I know you don't say much about her. How is she doing?" Trina leaned back, taking a deep breath.

She hadn't been entirely honest about Tori, and several details about her sister she'd asked Jade to intentionally leave out of her lectures just in case. "My sister's up in New York with a child of her own." The women looked at her with their eyes bulging and mouths dropping open. "It's a tough situation, if I'm honest. Someone with her disorder."

The best way to describe borderline personality disorder: I hate you, please don't leave me. A person with that instance would push and pull, drive someone on a rollercoaster ride. These things were known. She didn't want to say Tori had gotten worse since the girl was taking therapy and had gotten a little better, but she didn't believe someone with borderline personality disorder could ever be one hundred percent better.

She'd grown worse verbally as she aged, and now demanded her child take constant care of her. If ever the child disagreed or said they were taking too much grief, she would tell them, 'I carried you for nine months and went through pain of labor for you. You should take care of me, you should do this.'

Holly and Gary were eager to take the child under their wing, especially since Trina knew if something were to happen, that she would find it much harder to take custody. Something was slated to happen after all, since Beck and Judge Baker were finally ready to make an arrest.

Tori wasn't necessarily trying to be abusive, but that was the problem. Someone with that disorder used guilt as a weapon and painted themselves a victim without realizing they were doing it. She'd dated men that would complain about her behavior, and she'd cut herself with car keys and show it to them, telling them they were causing her this behavior. When they'd leave, she'd cuss at them and say she had always known she'd leave.

Even as her child reached dating age, she felt threatened because whoever that child dated would take the attention away from her. She would threaten them, one time running after one of these dates with a pair of scissors, and another time telling them all she needed to do to be rid of them was 'go downtown with some money'.

"Moving on from that subject. One of you mentioned vasectomies earlier." Trina pointed at the group and her eyebrows rose. "I slightly agree, but I could never ask for that to happen."

Nancy nodded, lifting up her hand. "And has Jason had one?" Trina pulled back the corners of her lip, unable to keep from letting out a laugh.

"Never." This was a man that didn't intend on going through a surgery like that in a million years. "I refuse to get my tubes tied, so I'm not going to force him into getting a vasectomy."

"Mhm." Nancy raised her hand, pointing three fingers up. "You've only slept with three men in your lifetime, right? Three boyfriends." Trina crossed her arms and smirked, taking a mental note of the trend Nancy was establishing. "You've managed to have a child each time."

"Okay."

"What happens if that trend continues? At your age, having another baby-"

"Would be difficult, but I can deal with it. It's not like I'm fifty or older, girls." She was barely forty. Yes it would be harder on her body, but fortunately not as hard as it would be if she were much older.

She knew to be careful, especially since she and Jason were sexually active. They didn't sleep together too much, but it was at least once or twice a week at this point.

"You were once into martial arts, right?" Janet inquired, likely wanting to change the subject. "We've always thought you look great for forty." She chuckled once, thankful for the compliment. Her body wasn't as great as it once was, she had slight pain from time to time due to age, but overall she was still in good shape.

"Jason and I regularly practice martial arts. I've even given my daughters a chance to see if they'd be interested in it." Sasha was more artfully inclined while Megan preferred to read and write. "As far as I know, Jason got Rachel involved in it from an early age, and she still enjoys practicing." She leaned back, stretching her back and letting out a sigh. "Also, we're involved in yoga. He's got a gym in his garage as well, so we do lift weights and jog in the morning."

"You're living with him?"

"No. I'll visit his place or he'll swing by mine. It depends on the mood and the time."

"I suppose it makes sense." Janet moved her hand in a circular motion. "You know that girl you mentioned, Dr. West?"

"Yep. What about her?"

"She's been really crucial to the world of probation and parole. I hear she's giving a lecture at one of the schools in town." Trina rolled her eyes and shrugged. Of course she knew Jade was giving one, but it mattered little for her anymore. "Oh to be a fly on the wall in that lecture."

Her eyebrows rose and she started to chuckle. "No. No you don't want to be." She leaned forward, grabbing up her coffee cup and raising it towards her lip. "Some of her lectures you don't need."

Jade had multiple lecture subjects, but always told Trina when her life was to be one of the subjects lectured on. "Do you know how lucky it she's in town?" Nancy laughed and pat her chest. "I've heard she's often selective with where she goes, and the teacher that picked her up I believe had to ask a couple of times."

"Here we go again." Trina sipped her coffee and closed her eyes. To her knowledge, Jade's most recent lecture wasn't a matter of a teacher begging. Jade told her she was looking forward to the lecture and said yes with only a little reluctance.

Her phone began to ring, so she grabbed it up without a single thought and answered the call, grinning when she heard Cat's voice on the other end of the line. "Oh Cat." She turned around in her chair and took another sip of her coffee, sighing as she glanced sideways to the women who were now going on about Jade's lectures. "You don't know how happy I am you called."

Cat hummed for a bit. "You're on break?" Trina's eyes darted back over and she coughed as the coffee went down the wrong pipe.

"Yes." She rubbed her chest and shook her head. "My shift is actually almost over." Judge Baker was letting her finish up early for the dinner that night, he wanted her to be with family.

"So that means you're with the chatterboxes?"

"Yep." She heard Cat snicker and narrowed her eyes as the girl started to tease her.

"Oh honey I'm so sorry for you."

"Uh huh." She straightened her posture and set the cup down on the table. "No you're not."

"Why do you torture yourself with them?"

"They provide me with entertainment." She stood up and walked to the trash can next to the counter, dumping the now empty cup. "So what's up?"

"Well. Speaking of gossip…" She groaned and raised her eyes to the sky. "Robbie got a text from Beck earlier. Apparently Beck wants to hook Jade up with Andre, since they're both in town now." She lifted her head slowly, pondering how and why Beck would even be in communication with Jade.

She felt her heart clinch and shook away the worry rising up in her. "Andre, huh? He's changed a lot since his days in high school." Andre used to be a player, picking up a new woman each week. It was an odd pair, but the way he was now might make a good match for Jade. "I trust Beck's judgment, I guess. He seems to be pretty damn good at his instincts and setups."

Cat laughed airily. "You mean like his pitting you and Jason together?" She closed her eyes and started to smile. "Speaking of which. I got a text from Sasha, she and Jason are heading your way."

"What? They are?" She pulled her phone from her ear and frowned when she saw she had a missed call and a missed text. "Ugh, I only just turned my phone on."

"I figured you had it silenced, otherwise they wouldn't have contacted me. I was going to try and call you first, then I was going to head over." Trina rolled her head to the left and folded her arm over her stomach. "I've gotten a few texts from Mae too."

"Something must be going on. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, well, about that…" She peered out the breakroom window and gasped when she saw Jason and Sasha down the hallway.

"Oh! Cat, sorry to cut you off, but they're here" Cat grunted in reply.

"Alright. They'll fill you in. Call me later if you can."

"I will." She hung up the phone and glanced at the women at the table. The looked up to her almost expectantly. "I've got to check out ladies. Jason's here with one of my girls."

It was strange that Megan wasn't there too, but the teenager was probably off in her own world somewhere. Usually Sasha would be with her, but that wasn't so alarming as how guilty her youngest daughter looked.

She could tell something was up, or that Sasha had done something she knew she shouldn't have. "Alright…" She pushed the door open and walked down the hallway, raising her hand. "Jason, Sasha, over here!"

Jason looked up and Sasha started sprinting towards her. "Mommy!" Trina knelt and opened her arms, taking her daughter up as the child threw her arms around her neck. "I love you momma."

"I love you too dear."

Jason approached with a knowing smirk. "She's buttering you up." Trina laughed as Sasha started to kiss her cheek and say how she was the best mom in the entire world.

"I know," she whispered, "What's going on?"

"It might be best to let her tell you." He pointed to Sasha and cleared his throat. "Sasha, maybe now is a good time to let your mother know what you and Megan are up to?" Trina felt a heaviness in her heart and looked sternly into her daughter's eyes.

Sasha bowed her head and started muttering. "It isn't anything really bad. Not like pranking or going somewhere momma tells us not to. Like the freeway when we go on walks."

Trina blinked twice. "What?" Sasha's eyes widened and she began laughing nervously. With a sigh, Trina set Sasha on the floor and pointed to a nearby bench. "Sit. Now." She caressed her forehead and groaned as Sasha climbed onto the bench. "Okay, I'll forgive your last statement for now. You and your sister will be in a lot of trouble if you keep going out there. It's dangerous."

"Yet you might not ground them for that," Jason remarked, "When you hear what they've been up to." Sasha bowed her head and clasped the front edge of the bench seat. She kicked her feet forward and started to whine.

"It was mostly Megan's idea, I only follow."

Trina sat beside Sasha and pat the girl on the back, speaking softly. "Sasha, if it is something bad…something dangerous…I need to know." Sasha whined again and shook her head.

"Not bad. She wanted Rachel to know about you." Her heart stopped and she froze on the spot. After several seconds, a tremor could be felt shooting through her body. "So she went to Beck because that's Rachel's uncle."

Her thoughts travelled back to what the ladies in the breakroom were saying about Jade's lectures, then what Cat said about Beck matching Jade up with Andre.

She knew Rachel was taking Beck's semester course.

Fear and anxiety swept through her, forcing her heartbeat into a race it wouldn't win. "What are you telling me Sasha? What have you and your sister done, dear?"

"You were always talking to that Jade lady, he knew about your life and was a teacher. We wanted her to tell Rachel about you so Rachel would understand and accept more." She closed her eyes and dropped her hand to the bench. "Mr. Beck seemed to Megan like a good place to start so she convinced him to have your friend lecture."

Trina stood suddenly, agitated and afraid. She knew what was in Jade's lecture, and none of it was information she ever wanted Rachel to learn in a classroom. "This is not good." If anything, she wanted to tell the girl everything herself. "We have to stop it."

"But momma, we just wanted Rachel to know." Sasha started to tear up, looking up with a frown. "Did we do something really bad, momma?"

Trina let out a sigh and knelt down, caressing the side of Sasha's face and smiling tenderly while gazing into her eyes. "No sweetie, of course not." Sasha smiled back and leaned forward, setting her chin onto Trina's shoulder. She put her arms around her daughter and lifted her up. "You're not in any trouble, Sasha." She glanced up and at Jason. "Although Jason, I might have to tear a new one into Jade and your brother."

"Fair enough," he replied.

Sasha's tiny legs wrapped around Trina's waist, and the girl slid her arms around her neck. "Why was it wrong, Momma?"

"Sweetie." She walked swiftly down the hall, with Jason fast behind her. "There are certain things in Jade's lecture that I would have liked to talk to her about."

"We just wanted her to know how great you were, momma. So she would come see us. We wanted to be with our sister."

"I know baby. I know."

"We didn't know about tonight's dinner. We didn't know she'd be there."

"It's okay, sweetheart." She made her way out to her car and looked over at Jason's vehicle with a frown. "Jason? You want to ride with us? We can come pick up your car later."

"Sounds like a plan." Jason opened the back door and helped Sasha into the car. He then shut the door and looked at Trina with a sigh, placing his hand on the top of the car. "God only knows what's going through Rachel's head right now."

Trina ran her hand over her arm and pressed her lips together. She knew Rachel was struggling to accept her, and the girl had been avoiding her for a while. She thought tonight was a sign that Rachel was coming around, but now she was scared Jade's lecture might push the girl even farther away.

"She knows we're together but naturally and that I actually care about you, right?" Jason smiled and put a hand on her upper arm.

"Of course." He kissed her forehead and leaned back slowly. "She knows we're happy."

"I've always wanted to sit with her, answer any questions she had." She opened the car door and growled. "There's nothing in Jade's lecture that I wouldn't have told her, but most of it is something she needed to hear from me, damn it." She was about to go off on everyone, and even now, was using all her strength not to do so.

Halfway into the driver's seat, she felt Jason's hand on hers and looked up at him. "Trina." He leaned in, speaking with a hushed voice while looking into her eyes. "Don't be angry with your children, okay?"

"I'm not."

"I know, but consider they don't need to be punished for doing something they shouldn't have this time around. Tell them why what they did wasn't the right course of action, but keep in mind their reason for this whole thing."

She breathed in slow and deep, closing her eyes and then mustering a smile. "They just wanted to get close to their sister, I know Jason. They're not in any kind of trouble, I don't need to ground them right now."

"Maybe right now, anger at Beck and Jade would also be less important."

"Yeah. I need to talk to Rachel. Both of us do." She motioned to the passenger seat and cleared her throat as Jason leaned out and chuckled. "Get in and let's go. We can talk on the way."

"Sure." He hurried in on the other side and shut his door quickly. "I think Beck may have his phone silenced. I've been trying to call him on the way here, to tell him to stop the lecture."

"Silenced but not off. Cat was just telling me he texted her a little while ago. Did you text him?"

"You know I don't do texts, right?" She laughed and started up her car. It wasn't surprising Jason wouldn't try and text Beck, he never got around to bothering with text messaging when he could just call. Besides, he was likely driving and even calling was something he didn't like to do when driving. "What do you need me to do?"

"Cat's only a minute or two away from the college." She shifted the gear into drive and flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "Call her and Robbie." She narrowed her eyes. "Mom and Dad too."

Gary was now fully retired, but her mother wasn't. Her mom left the hospital many years ago and was teaching part time at the college. "Holly will get there faster than Cat, but one of those two will get there before we do. Tell them to go and put a stop to the lecture."

Jason pulled his phone out and nodded swiftly. "On it right now." She breathed out slow and pushed down on the gas pedal. This wasn't how she envisioned meeting her daughter at all, but now that it had come to this, there was no way around it.

She would do her best to remain calm, though her nerves were going haywire at the moment. "I never intended to meet Rachel in the middle of a school classroom, Jason." Jason squeezed her hand gently and nodded with understanding. "How do we do this?"

"Carefully. We don't want to start a scene in front of her classmates." That would be hard enough. They could take Rachel outside of the class if need be, she wasn't going to storm into Beck's classroom and start a scene in front of all of them. She knew better than to do that. She could wait until his class was over and students were starting to go home, but she needed to insure the lecture over her life would end first.

That was where Cat and her mother would come in, hopefully. They knew how to go in and calmly disrupt the classroom setting to tell Beck something important. Given the lecture as it was, her presence would only cause an undesired effect because the entire class may actually recognize her if Jade included photos.


Here we go guys, the time has come. What are your thoughts about the things in this chapter? What do you see coming up?