Optimism is a luxury and it is one that not everyone can afford. Struggles are inevitable in life but how you handle them is what defines you, especially when you can come out on top and do right by yourself and those around you. At least that's what Tori had thought initially when she was younger and still believed in decency and goodness. Nowadays all she did was survive and get by with barely a word uttered past her lips. Cat stuck by her as often as she could but her work as a costume designer required her to have an unorthodox work schedule. Some days she could be working late on a project that would wrap up near midnight or later while other days she could not be required to come in or only need to stay past noon. Every chance she got, the bubbly red head would share stories about working with celebrities and directors and how much fun and stressful it was to work on such high budget projects. Tori knew Cat only wanted what was best for her but it was pointless in her mind. The rest of her close friends were no different as they constantly tried to tell her about their careers and opportunities, they'd found for her. At one point, people saw her as a potential heavy hitter in the music world and had the chance to make it big but life dealt her a hand that didn't do her any favors after graduating from Hollywood Arts. Setbacks happen to everyone no matter who you are no matter how talented or powerful you are but something changes inside with each one.
"Tori? Hey Tori, did you hear me?" Cat asked on the other end of the phone.
Tori quickly shook her head and said, "What? No, no I'm sorry Cat…I got distracted. I'm sorry but can we talk later? I'm really tired."
On the other end of the call, Tori could hear Cat sigh and put down some rolls of fabric and said, "Was it a bad day?"
"No. Everything's fine, I'm just not in the mood to talk. I just wrapped up my last lecture and I just want to go home. Are you inviting yourself over again?" She quickly caught herself and apologized, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry Cat, I didn't mean for that to come out so harsh."
Cat laughed a little and shook her head as she put the phone on speaker and packed up her things and said, "Tori, you have to stop apologizing for everything. It's okay, how about I pick up some food on my way out there?"
"I'd appreciate that. Just let the dogs out when you get there, okay?" Tori asked as she flipped the lights off in her classroom and started to make her way out of the halls of the community college. Taking the keys to her old beat-up Honda, she unlocked the trunk and double checked she had everything she needed before heading out.
"Tori please tell me you aren't—" Cat started to say before Tori hung up the phone and tossed it onto the passenger seat. She didn't want to hear the same speech again from her best friend, especially when she knew she was right.
The sun was setting on the Hollywood skyline as Tori pulled out of the parking lot and took the fastest route out of town through the various backroads to the forested and more suburban areas that lined the city. It was a long forty-five-minute drive in pure silence as she kept her mind quiet and focused on the road ahead with the same destination in mind that she has had for the past week. Every day for the past week, Tori drove through this smaller neighborhood and just outside of it spotted a beautiful dog wandering and rummaging through the scraps and garbage looking for things to eat. The first night it ran at the sight of her a she pulled over and tried to greet the clearly malnourished animal but she didn't let that deter her as she returned each night with food and treats to slowly build up trust with them. Tonight, was no different. Reaching the same road Tori parked her van and popped the trunk before turning on the emergency lights to let other drivers know to pass her. She got out and looked around through the darkness as the sun officially disappeared and the moon began to rise, making things much harder to see. Taking a seat in the trunk she crossed her legs and grabbed the small bag of kibble and whistled loudly, calling out in hopes that the dog would return. Patiently she waited in silence for ten minutes until the nearby brush rustled and the head of a Border Collie with long tangled black and white hair that was matted with mud and dirt peeked out. "Hey buddy, how's it going?" Tori asked as she outstretched her hand towards the dog who rushed out of the bushes and licked her hand and nibbled on the food.
Tori whispered and softly spoke with the dog about nothing and said, "How about we get going?" With a little more coaxing from the dog food, she guided them into her car in the passenger seat and started to drive the rest of the way home through every back road she could take. This way took longer but she didn't care since it calmed her and relaxed her to be alone with just the trees and the sounds of nature greeting her as she drove with the windows down, letting the cool evening hair brush her hair back. "Just a little further buddy, we'll get you cleaned up and settled in. Everyone's excited to meet you," she said as she petted the unnamed dog and pulled down a long series of twisting roads to a hidden and rundown cabin tucked just outside of civilization. In her younger years, this old family summer home was seen as a punishment since it was so isolated from the fast-paced life that Hollywood was known for but after her grandmother died, and willed it to Tori, she saw it as a blessing, an escape from everything and embraced it with a smile. The one good thing in her life that she had aside from her found family.
As she pulled in the long dirt driveway, she parked her van next to Cat's new red convertible and guided her new animal companion to the front porch where she had set up everything she needed to clean off the large dog. Silently, Tori worked on washing and cleaning the dog off as best as she could. After about ten minutes, Cat came out of the front door and frowned before crossing her arms and said to Tori, "You know you can't take in every single one that you find."
"I know and you're right," Tori said in agreement, not even attempting to argue her.
"Should I bring everyone else out and let them meet their new brother? Or is it a sister?" she asked as she kneeled down next to Tori and softly petted the dog as Tori finished drying them off.
"It's a she. I'm naming her Nyx and you can let them out but let me put her in a kennel for tonight so she doesn't get too overwhelmed by them all," Tori said as she gave Nyx a kiss on the head and started to guided her to a kennel lined with blankets and some toys. She tossed some treats in for them and gave them food and water for the night as she sat on the chair on the front porch looked towards the front door as Cat emerged again with her furry family. All five of Tori's dogs rushed her and surrounded her, leaping towards her to try and get her attention and to give her some affection. The first was an older Basset Hound with tired droopy eyes named Lola, followed by a German Shepard with a series scars along their side that was named Axel. Right behind them came a very small but very fast French bulldog that was named Kona who was racing alongside a Bull Terrier named Zippy. The last one to come out was a massive and lumbering Great Dane that was named Duke. The half-Latina laughed and greeted each one of them with a hug and a kiss on the head before petting them and telling them to sit down or to go play. Their attention was drawn to the newest animal and they started to rush the cage to try and greet Nyx but Tori quickly stopped them, "Tsk! Tsk! Lay down!" she said sternly and Cat watched as all five of the dogs obeyed without so much as a whine.
"Nyx, this is everyone. Everyone, this is Nyx," she said as she spoke in a soft motherly tone and let them slowly approach one at a time and get used to one another.
As Tori observed them and made sure nothing went wrong, Cat placed a hand on Tori's shoulder and said, "Happy birthday Tori!" In her other hand was a small plate with a couple of handmade red velvet cupcakes and in the middle two were lit candles that read as twenty-seven. "Well? What are you waiting for? Make a wish and blow out the candles!" Cat said excitedly as she eased herself onto the porch chair next to Tori.
Tori looked over the handmade pastries and smiled softly before wiping away a tear or two that threated to try and break through and said, "I didn't even realize it was today."
"What?! How could you forget your own birthday? Didn't anyone else call or say something to you today?" Cat asked with a shocked expression on her face. "I thought the guys would have at least called you or something!"
"To be honest, I don't bother checking any of that stuff that much anymore." Tori took a moment and looked over her dogs as they got comfortable on the front porch and looked out over the night sky that framed the trees surrounding her cabin then back to the candles and made a wish in her mind and blew them both out. "Thank you for everything Cat. It really does mean a lot to me. You and everyone else have done so much for me."
Cat smiled and leaned over and gave Tori a kiss on the head and hugged her before saying, "We'd do anything for you Tori! You're the best and I want you to be happy again—"
"Cat please, not this again. I am happy." Tori said sternly and pulled out of the hug and set the plate down before snagging one of the cupcakes and taking a bite of it. "I have everything I want and I'm content. That's all I need."
"Tori…" Cat shook her head and leaned back in the chair before saying, "I know it hasn't been easy but you're so much better now. Why don't you try to get back into music again? Or maybe you could do one of those voice over jobs? My friends at the studio would love to have you even if it's just as an extra! You have so much talent, you shouldn't let that go to waste."
"And I've told you already that those days are behind me. Performing was fun and I'll always cherish everything we did at Hollywood Arts but I can't do that sort of stuff anymore. I'm not that same little songbird you all think I once was and I don't have any intention of trying. I'm happy to just teach and be alone…with exceptions," she said with a playful jab to Cat's shoulder. "I love you Cat but I'm don't want to perform professionally, I'm fine with just singing for myself and casually."
Cat rolled her eyes and took one of the cupcakes for herself and started to eat it as she said, "I know I can't convince you but I'm going to keep trying. You are still an amazing singer! I just think you'd be way happier if you were involved with show business again! What if I find you just a simple job? Like background vocals for a commercial jingle or a choir piece? Just something small like that! If you don't like it then we can put the whole thing behind us and I won't bring it up again!"
The wrapper of the cupcake was crumbled and placed on the plate as Tori shook her head and let out a sigh and said, "Sure. Why not. Just a small job, if they'll have me that is. I'll audition for it but if I don't get it then can we finally be done with this argument?"
Cat held back an excited squeal and extended her pinky to Tori and said, "It's a promise!"
The brunette rolled her eyes and laughed before making the pinky promise with Cat and said, "Just let me know if you find something then and there is really no rush."
"You've got it! I've got one in mind that a friend in the music department mentioned, so we'll see. Hey, why don't we see if anyone else tried to wish you a happy birthday?" Cat said as she took another bite of her cupcake.
"Why?" Tori asked as she took another cupcake and adjusted her seat as Lola leapt up and into her lap almost knocking the cupcake from her hand. "Oh, hello there, I guess you can sit here!" She laughed to herself as Lola looked up at her with tired eyes and licked Tori's cheek before resting in Tori's lap.
"Because you still have friends besides me. Not that any of them are as amazing as me," Cat said with a wink, "But they still care about you! Here I can look for you!"
Tori didn't argue and just handed Cat her phone before going back to giving Lola all of her attention as she pet the older dog, Duke had come over at some point as well and laid down at Tori's feet. The same position he always took as he acted as her protector. As Cat unlocked the phone and opened up the messages, she wasn't surprised to see that everyone except for her and a few others had been muted and Tori had dozens upon dozens of unopened texts and calls dating back several months. She focused on the most recent ones and spotted several messages from coworkers wishing her a happy birthday as well as some acquaintances she had made along the years. "Oh! Oh! Here we go! Look there's ones from Robbie, Beck and Andre!" Cat said excitedly as she opened up each message.
Tori barely glanced up at Cat as she listened to Cat read through a heartfelt birthday wish from Robbie asking that they will meet soon once he is done writing for the current season of the sci-fi show he was a part of. The one from Beck was about the same and very sweet and included pictures of the beautiful Irish landscapes that his most recent movie was filming. The last one from Andre was a video of him in front of an entire crowd in the background at a concert in some city that he was touring in. He sat at the piano and began to play and sang her happy birthday and the entire crowd shouted and cheered, almost muffling Andre's voice as he wished her a happy birthday and promised to visit her once the tour wrapped up. "You should call them back and talk with them," Cat softly suggested as she handed the phone back to Tori.
"If I promise that I'll call them tomorrow, will you stop trying to drag me out to every production party your studio has?" Tori said with a laugh as she looked down at the messages and froze as she noticed another muted contact had just come through. Cat laughed and said something but she didn't hear her as she looked down at the screen and opened the message without even thinking. There was a simple birthday wish and an audio recording attached with it. Hesitantly, Tori's finger drifted towards the play button before stopping and handing over to Cat and quickly said, "Just play if for me please."
Cat nodded as her face grew stern as she looked at Jade's name on the screen and hit play. They waited a moment and adjusted the volume and could hear muffled cars honking in the distance of the recording as Jade softly spoke and said, "Hey Vega. It's been a while, hasn't it? Well…umm fuck. Sorry, I-I just wanted to give you a call and wish you a happy birthday. I miss you. A lot. Why don't you give me a call sometime? Umm well…anyway, I hope you have fun today."
Duke looked up at his master as a couple of tears fell from Tori and the loyal companion as well as the other four started to surround her and huddled in close to her to see what was bothering her. Cat was fuming as she took the phone and set it aside and said, "Why don't you turn in for tonight? I'll get Nyx inside and lock up for you. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Don't let this get to you."
Cat hugged Tori tightly but she could feel her shiver a little in her arms but she nodded and started to get up and made her way inside followed by all of her dogs. Through the windows on the front porch, Cat watched as Tori quickly made her way upstairs and out of sight with all of her animals and looked down at the kennel that held Nyx and brought the confused dog inside and placed them in the living room to get used to the house. Everyone who knew Cat described her as bubbly and sweet most of the time, childish at times or a bit scatterbrained but at that moment, Cat's usual demeanor was replaced with one of absolute anger as she quickly locked up the front door to the cabin and flipped off the lights on the way out and pulled her phone out and started to make a call as she climbed inside of her convertible. She turned the key and fired up the engine and put the roof up and rolled up her windows as she pulled away from Tori's cabin. She glanced back through the rearview mirror and spotted Tori's silhouette in the upstairs bedroom window watching her leave to make sure she got out okay, just like Tori always did, and then disappeared from view most likely to go to bed as Cat instructed.
Cat placed her phone in a holder so that she could operate it handsfree and pulled up Jade's number and dialed it and waited for her to answer. Her knuckles were nearly turning white as she gripped the steering wheel and drove through the twisting backroads back towards civilization. Her mind was racing and piecing together what she wanted to say when Jade picked up but her call was ignored three times which only made her frustration swell even more. She knew she'd have to tell the guys soon but for now, she wanted to know why Jade had the gull to pull something like this after so long. For seven years she had to have Tori's back through thick and thin while Jade abandoned her with no hint of remorse. She left her in such a vulnerable state and didn't make any effort to apologize or reach out, leaving Cat, Robbie, Beck and Andre to pick up the pieces. It was a long struggle but through their efforts and multiple doctors and several medications, they managed to get Tori back and pulled her from the brink. Over the past few years, Cat had to take over as a caretaker of sorts and watched over Tori as best as she could while the rest of their friend grope pursued their passions. Each of them stayed in touch and were updated through Cat every week at least once or twice and when they were back home or done with their projects or tours, they always made it a point to spend as much time with Tori that they could. They each owed her so much and took it upon themselves to try and give back to Tori what she had given to them, even if she felt that she didn't deserve it.
Eventually, after five unanswered calls, the sixth call was picked up after the fourth ring and Cat immediately yelled, "Who the hell do you think you are?!"