In no time at all, Sikowitz was through the bulk of the city and traversing the winding backroads that led through denser woods to reach Tori's cabin. The trek was brutal on his run-down car but one that it's made many times before when Tori was released from the hospital after her drastic suicide attempt. He could still remember the day when he found out that one of his prized pupils needed help.

It was two years after Tori and her friends all graduated from Hollywood Arts and went off to pursue higher education and tried to make their mark in the world of performers and artists. They had managed to keep tabs on each other and chatted every once in a while, through email or on the phone but not on a regular basis. During one sweltering summer day, he was at the school working on some mundane tasks in preparation for the coming school year when he heard the news that there was a horrible accident on the highway. He opened up the story on his computer in the teacher's lounge and watched the report with a sad indifference as he watched the ambulances rush off to the hospitals with those that needed treatment. Although he was never a very religious man, Sikowitz wished the departed a safe journey to the other side and prayed that they would find peace there but as he went to close out of the broadcast, he heard the names of three victims and felt a chill run down his spine. The reporter on the screen mentioned how five young men were intoxicated and caused the crash which killed them all, then listed eight other individuals who perished, three of them being members of the Vega family. The reporter then went on to say that those that survived and were injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The next day, Sikowtiz went to the hospital and was told that Tori could not take any visitors and needed time to rest and since he was not a blood relative, he could not visit until they were given permission by the patient. Sikowtiz calmly nodded and explained the situation and left his contact information with the nurse to give to Tori and left. Three days passed and he was given a call from a receptionist that said he is allowed to visit Tori now that she is in a more stable condition. The next thing he knew, he was walking through the doors of the hospital and was directed to Tori's room where she weakly greeted him. It was clear she wasn't sleeping and she wasn't eating that much since the lunch on her tray was barely even touched. Together the two of them sat and talked until Tori broke down when she thought of her family. Sikowtiz held her for as long as she needed but was wondering where Jade was during all of this.

It wasn't until after the funeral a few weeks later when he saw Tori again and all of her friends did, he receive an answer. Beck was the one who filled him in on all the details and Sikowitz felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment in Jade's course of action but tried to remain neutral, hoping that things weren't as they seemed. During the end of the funeral for the Vega's, he managed to talk with Tori again and told her to contact him if she needed any help at all. He remembered how she smiled and nodded, thanking him for the offer but he could see the hollow expression hiding in her eyes.

A full year passed and Tori had not reached out to him once. It was during the late evening that his phone started to go off. He went to answer it and heard a distraught voice that belonged to Andre on the other end, rambling and crying that Tori tried to kill herself. From the bits that he was able to understand, he learned that Tori had been drinking heavily as of late and was noticeably paler as well. Andre was concerned and went to visit Tori and found her laying on the floor in a pool of her blood in a room towards the back of her cabin. He said that she was being taken to the hospital now and he was following along but went on to say that Tori was wearing shorts and a top with no sleeves so he was able to see numerous fresh scars and some that looked older.

Sikowtiz managed to calm Andre down and told him to wait outside the hospital for him and went to meet him. Together they waited and informed the others who all arrived to check in on Tori. That night was the most painful for him as he watched the hands of the clock tick by at an agonizingly slow pace until they were finally given some news. After Tori was back in a stable condition, they managed to convince her to go into rehab for her alcohol abuse and to get the help she needed. He remembered how it broke all of their hearts to see Tori cry and agree, yet still apologize that she made them all worry about her. Once she was admitted into rehab, things calmed down a little bit. It wasn't until a few months later that he received an email from the doctor overseeing Tori stating that she wanted him to be her sponsor and confidant during her rehabilitation process. The acting teacher was more than happy to agree and helped Tori whenever she called upon him. After she was released, she continued to go to therapy and kept him updated but as another year passed and Tori started to get her life back in order and found a job, she called him less and less but still kept him updated. When he received this latest call, he knew there had to be something more going on.

Parking his car next to Tori's, he made his way up the stairs to the door and could hear the clattering of paws coming to greet him. Almost every member of Tori's pack came to greet him as he slipped inside the house and said hello to them and ran his hand along their sides and ruffled their fur. The house smelled overwhelming like weed and he shook his head as went to the back porch, pausing momentarily as he glanced down the hall to the locked door, where he found Tori sitting in a chair with Duke resting at her feet and another black and white Border Collie he had not met before. The young woman glanced at him and smiled softly and patted the chair next to hers to which he gladly took. Together they sat in silence watching the clouds pass by until Tori finally spoke and said, "I tried to hurt myself again."

Sikowitz nodded and took her hand in his and gave it a couple of reassuring pats and said, "I'm glad you stopped. Can I ask why?"

"I-I don't know…there's a lot going on," she said.

"Well, it's a good thing I have all the time in the world," Sikowitz said with a soft smile.

Tori chuckled to herself and withdrew her hand from his and started to explain the situation, starting from the very first call with Jade all the way to the text she received today from her abuser. When Tori revealed that information to him, she noticed that he became visibly paler and started to tap his foot to keep himself from getting up and pacing. "Tori, this time around, I think it's best if you contact the police, this is serious."

"I want to! I know I should, but I can't!" Tori said in a sorrowful voice. "If I step out of line, then I risk ruining everything that my friends worked so hard for. I can't do that for them!"

Sikowtiz ran his hands through his wild hair and said, "Tori…what you're doing is noble…but foolish. You can't make yourself a martyr just so your friends can be happy. This time around, they aren't just struggling performers! Now they are working and have people who can support them and money to defend themselves. You have suffered so much already and I don't want to see you go down the same paths that led to your demise."

Tori nodded and reached into her pocket and pulled out another joint and tried to find where she set her lighter as Sikowtiz said, "Those aren't helping much either. I thought you said you rarely use them."

Tori looked at the joint and said, "Yeah…but it keeps me grounded and off of the harder drugs the doctor wanted me to take. I have a prescription, so it's fine."

"Tori, I lived in Hollywood all my life," Sikowitz said with a soft chuckle, "I've heard that same answer so many times. You do realize that if you're smoking these then you aren't really sober."

"I know Sikowitz!" Tori cried in a fit of anger. "I know! But it's all I've got right now! I swear, before all this started, I barely touched them except for days I really miss my family! But now I smoke so much and I hate it but I need it!"

"Tori, Tori, it's alright," Sikowtiz said as he placed a hand on Tori's shoulder, only to have it brushed off.

"No! It's not! I'm disgusting! I'm just another druggie but I need them to keep some shred of sanity!"

"Tori! Take a breath!" Sikowtiz said as he firmly placed a hand on her shoulder, noticing her breathing was becoming rapid and she was starting to ramble and speak at a thousand miles per hour. During her rehabilitation, he learned how when she got nervous, she would either withdraw into herself when she was depressed or how she would ramble and speak nonstop when she was overwhelmed. Given the situation, he understood why she felt like she was drowning.

Tori nodded and shook her head, trying to release the thoughts that were plaguing her mind and set the joint down on the small table between them, and started to take some deep breaths. When she started to calm down a bit, Sikowitz continued and asked, "I don't want to lose you, Tori, you are such a bright and talented young woman. I think we should take this to the police."

Once again, she shook her head and said, "I can't. Not yet. Jade's movie would be at risk. Same with everyone else. I can't do that to them."

"So, what do you want to do?" He asked. "You want to be hurt and touched again? This is Hollywood, I'm disgusted to admit it, but there are so many people like them out here and if even one of them can be put away, I think it's worth it."

"I know…and you're right…but I have no evidence," Tori said as the wheels in her head started to turn. "B-but maybe I can get some."

Sikowtiz gave her a quizzical look and said, "What are you thinking Tori?"

Tori looked at him with an apologetic yet inspired expression which made Sikowitz's eyes go wide as he shook his head and said, "No! No! Absolutely not! You can't do that to yourself, it would be better to go to the police and have them help!"

"But it could work! I can record it without them knowing and then take it to the cops! I know so many from my dad and they would protect me!"

Sikowitz got up and started pacing back and forth, holding his hands together and drumming his fingers together as he tried to calm down and said, "Just let me report this, you said it yourself, there are still people on the force that would love to help you! Tori, I'm sorry but this isn't like your time at Hollywood Arts. This is far more serious! I can't, in good conscience, let you do this!"

Tori stood up, challenging her former teacher as she said, "Well it's a good thing I don't need your permission to do this!"

"Tori, please. Just take a moment and think about this!" He fired back, "You need to stop and think this through! I can't watch you put yourself in harm's way like this!"

"You aren't my father so I don't need to explain myself to you!" Tori cried.

Sikowtiz looked genuinely offended by that as he stopped pacing and turned towards Tori and crossed his arms and said, "No…no, you're right. I'm not your father. I never could and I would never try to replace him, he was an amazing man. But as your sponsor and the one you've trusted to keep you accountable; I have to put my foot down. What would your father think? Do you think he'd want you going off into danger after concocting some hair-brained scheme?"

Tori slumped back in her chair and lowered her head for a moment before looking back up at Sikowtiz, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm just so tired of being pushed around and seen as the victim…I just want to be happy and to have a normal life."

The older teacher sat down next to her and said, "Maybe you and Jade could have that."

She shook her head and said, "Maybe. But there's a lot of baggage there…and I don't want her to find out about this stuff."

"She'll find out eventually," Sikowitz said calmly. "Jade is a stubborn and determined young woman, just like you. Maybe you should just back out of the movie and take the time to focus on yourself and your relationship with Jade. I think that out of everyone, you've earned the right to be a little selfish and want what's best for yourself."

Tori chuckled at that and nodded and said, "Maybe…come on inside, I'll make us some lunch and we can talk some more."

"That would be lovely," Sikowtiz said as she held the door for Tori and her dogs.

Tori and Sikowitz then spent the first part of the afternoon relaxing and chatting while cooking together and playing with Tori's pack. All the while, Sikowitz was nervously hoping that he was able to get through to Tori and talk her down from taking drastic actions. He also tried to focus the conversation more towards Tori's relationship with Jade and encouraged her to try and give it a chance, but it was clear that after a couple of hours of talking with him, Tori was getting tired and needed to rest. After saying their goodbyes and making Tori promise to reschedule her therapist appointment to be sooner and to call him if she needed anything, he left and drove back down the uneven dirt roads. Tori, as usual, stood watch at the door as her old mentor pulled away and waited until he was out of sight before going back to grab her phone. Unlocking it, she pulled up her messages and typed out a quick reply.

Tori: What time should I come to the studio to meet you?

Author's Notes:

Hello everyone! Another installment of Unsaid for your enjoyment, originally I had some other things I wanted in this chapter but I had to break it up into two chapters so it wasn't overwhelming or too long and tedious to read through. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter and I would love if you could leave your thoughts in a review or PM me, or however you feel comfortable! Your feedback is always appreciated and helps me out on the days when motivation is failing me.

Thank you to everyone that has been favoriting and following the story so far and my other ones! It means the world to me!

I hope you all have a great day!

Songs Used for Inspiration:

1. ?

2. "She Got the Best of Me" by Luke Combs

3. "Miss Missing You" by Fall Out Boy

4. "Glimmer" by Marianas Trench

5. "Payphone" by Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa