Fractured World

Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious or iCarlyxa

A/N:z


Chapter 9 (Celebrating Life)

Tori stretched her legs out on the sectional in the den, basking in the natural light that soothed her tired body as she listened to a playlist through her headphones. Heathens by Halestorm was a part of the daily mix.

Closing her eyes, she thought of those former friends of hers. This song was playing just after Interpol's Evil; which was a song she discovered through searching music a few years back.

The music video for Interpol's song was essentially a dancing puppet that she thought looked like David. The song was inspired by the serial killer Rosemary West, who tortured and murdered at least nine women that investigators knew about in the early 70s to late 80s; this included her stepdaughter.

It had been chilling to learn of, and now that she thought back on her research she had to wonder if Holly had been inspired by that killer. The more intriguing note was the killer's husband was in on it, but definitely through research, Tori thought the woman was more the lead role.

These days Tori had more morbid fascinations, not so much interests as just knowledge building. She enjoyed researching anything and everything, it kept her mind busy.

Glancing to her left, she saw John inside the bar area setting up the computer and audio equipment. The family was going to try doing some singing, but she was honestly uninterested. She could see also, Ian standing near the elder, looking her way with arched brows.

The first one to start singing was Sarah, attempting a popular Celine Dion song. Tori opted not to pay too much attention and grabbed her phone to turn up her own music.

Hello Darkness My Old Friend by Simon and Garfunkel played in her ears, and The Who's Behind Blue Eyes was following it. Content to simply listen to her own music and ignore the obvious singing around her, she sank into her seat with a smile and focused on her cell phone.

"Everything is going well." She texted Jade and then swept her thumb across the screen, looking for a mobile game app to play. She didn't care for most app games due to micro-transactions; but some of the idle games were intriguing.

With that thought in mind, she flicked her gaze upwards and her mouth dropped to a frown. "Shit, my Playstation. I never grabbed it." She rolled her eyes and felt her phone vibrate. Looking back, she saw Jade's text.

"That's cool, what are you doing now?"

Biting the corner of her lip, she quickly responded. "I just realized I left my Playstation at the Vega house. Maybe Detective Malone can grab it?" She hit send and watched for several seconds before Jade answered.

"Sure, I can let him know."

"Thank you." She was relieved, she didn't know what she'd do if she couldn't pick up her games. She had good progress in her favorite series: Dragon Age, Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and Assassin's Creed. "Anyway, they're doing some singing. Apparently Mom's family was big into making covers. I'm staying out of it though."

Jade took longer to respond, leaving Tori curious what was happening on the girl's end. "You don't want to sing with them? Really?" She looked up as Spencer began to sing Whitesnake's Here I Go Again; which was sadly in tune with the next song in her list.

Returning to her phone, she raised her shoulders and let out a heavy sigh. "No, I don't want to sing. That was Hollywood Arts's thing." She was lying to herself and she knew it; but she couldn't help but to feel pain and uncertainty in whether or not singing was at all something she could feel again.

She hadn't bothered with singing much since leaving Hollywood Arts either. Hearing these people singing, she did feel like wanting to join in but that was a sense of longing she could fight.

Singing was a hobby she could live without. Tori swept her fingers over the digital keyboard, picking up on her conversation with Jade. "Mom loved to join in their recording sessions, so they set up to do this today to remember and celebrate her life. Same with my grandparents."

Her playlist switched to My Way by Frank Sinatra. She closed her eyes and slowly hummed along with the song. It had been one of the songs she enjoyed singing in the shower before Hollywood Arts came along and thrust her into the realm of modern pop music.

According to most of the instructors, people today wanted to listen to modern pop music and that was the genre everyone was getting into. She didn't mind the genre at all; but she didn't care for the sexualization of it and how artists were getting more and more naked on stage.

Sometimes, she just wanted to stand still and sing a classic hit. There were times she wanted to just snap her fingers and sing The Platters, The Great Pretender or Fats Domino's Blueberry Hill.

Opening her eyes partially, she saw Sarah walking towards her. The girl's head was slightly tilted to the right and her eyebrows raised. Not wanting to be rude, she put her music on pause and removed her headset. "Hey."

"Hey Tori." Sarah sat down in front of her feet. Tori set the phone on the table and breathed in slowly. "I just wanted to apologize for earlier, Jacob's comment at the table." Tori shut her eyes and mustered a half-smile.

"It's okay." Jacob was young, she couldn't blame him for the things he didn't fully grasp.

Sarah ran her hands around the sides of her knees and leaned forward, the girl's gaze drifted to the table. "It's not okay. He can't help it though." Tori arched an eyebrow. She pulled her feet back, bending her knees upwards as she watched her cousin close. "He's not fully aware of his actions." Sarah exhaled and shook her head. "It's difficult to explain."

She was starting to understand a bit of what the girl was trying to say and judging by the quietness of Sarah's tone, Tori theorized this wasn't an easy topic. "You don't have to explain it." She sat upright, throwing her feet to the ground. Sarah curled her hair over her ear and raised her head a bit. "Anyways, nice to see everyone trying to be together like this."

Sarah started to smile and quickly nodded. "Celebrating life, remembering Aunt Sasha, Grandma and Grandpa. I like it better than a sad funeral." Tori watched as Mark and Jenny finished the song they were doing. "You don't want to get involved?" Tori's lips sank and her gaze fell.

"I don't know. I used to enjoy singing as a hobby, and then those people pushed me into Hollywood Arts where everything was fake." Her shoulders rose and sank with her breath and she slowly shook her head. "That school pushed for pop music. I don't like a lot of today's music. There's plenty to like, don't get me wrong, but…I don't know."

"You sound conflicted."

"Maybe. Maybe I'm just blaming the school for something I'm afraid of."

"What're you afraid of, if I can ask?"

She closed her eyes and swayed forward. "I'm afraid of the pain. I'm afraid if I get up there, I'll just freeze up, that I'll start remembering everything that was wrong."

"Singing as a hobby shouldn't be painful, especially not if you're around people you care about." She chuckled softly and raised her gaze to the family. When she saw Ian pick up a recording microphone her breath caught in her throat.

"What does he think he's about to do?" Sarah followed her gaze with a hum. Ian was one of the few people she was comfortable singing with even now, and since dating they had a few songs they liked to sing together.

Ian's lips curled into a smirk and his gaze connected with hers, causing the blood to rush to her cheeks. "Just one," he whispered into the microphone, "Your favorite." He began to approach her with a second microphone and the song Endless Love by Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross started to play.

Tori shut her eyes and listened to him begin Lionel's part of the song. Her body started to sway and she instantly stopped, growling inwardly as she tried not to let him draw her in. This was one of those songs that she couldn't resist, and he knew that; but much less, he was one of the few people she enjoyed singing at all with anymore.

She lowered her voice to a whisper and narrowed her eyes as he started to move the second microphone towards her. "Someone wants to die." A soft chuckle fell from his lips and he winked.

"Kill me later, love." She raised her gaze towards his, her heartbeat skipping like a record. "Just me and you, Tori." He was drawing her in like a moth to a flame, his soft voice was like silk to her ears. Tori closed her eyes and inhaled as she reached for the microphone and his hand.

Her voice trembled as she slowly and quietly began Diana Ross's part. "My first love…" She rose from the couch, her eyes opening slowly to return to his. She watched a smile form on his face and began to slide into his arms, melting against him. "You're every breath that I take, you're every step I make…"

Swaying with him, the room seemed to transform and the sunlight became a spotlight upon them. Their hearts beat as one and their voices joined together as they sang like no one was watching.

Perhaps with him it didn't matter, perhaps she could still find some joy in something when she was with someone she loved.

Towards the end of the song, they embraced one another as though each breath could be their last. His arms were gentle around her waist and her hands slid up his back as she grew lost in his eyes. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" He whispered as the music came to a close.

"You're lucky you're cute." Her hands slid along his arms and slowly into his hands to squeeze gently.

"I don't want you to be made at me for getting you up to sing but it didn't seem right to leave you sitting like a bump on a log while everyone else was doing something." He squeezed her hands back and she felt his chest rise. "I know you enjoy singing. Those car rides together, even at the hotel where we could hear you singing in the shower. Don't let Hollywood Arts or the Vegas steal something you enjoy."

She felt a lump in her throat and slowly shook her head. "It's not so much the singing I don't enjoy anymore, it's the performance. Right now, with you, I can put everyone watching us out of my mind."

"I understand." His lips kissed the top of her head, leaving a warm spot behind as they pulled away. "It's not a performance when you're singing with those you care about."

Her heart skipped and her lips parted as she studied the family members in the room. Before she could say much else, Jacob ran into the room calling for Sarah. "I'm done," he said, "I finished them."

Sarah hopped off the couch and Tori heard a groan in the teen's voice. "Not the best timing, but okay." Curious what was going on, Tori followed her cousins. The rest of the family was moving as well.

They made their way to the back yard where an impressive sight awaited them. "Here, in front of Spencer's paintings." She raised an eyebrow at the painted portraits leaning against Jenny's car. There were three, they were striking to Tori's eyes. The center was Sasha, laughing with eyes closed. The portrait was painted with rich, vibrant colors. The same could be said of her mother and father's portraits.

What appeared to be exciting to Jacob was the three baskets tied by strings to stones in front of the paintings. Each basket had a large helium balloon trying to lift high into the sky. The baskets had names written in black marker, and a photograph was taped to each balloon.

Also before the baskets were three Yankee Candles, each one lit. Sarah walked in front of them, turning to the family. "Jacob and I were trying to set this up. Something of a farewell thing." Tori breathed in quick and looked to Spencer, who was smiling with tears in his eyes. "Since we don't want to start any fires, we're not making sky lanterns." Sarah looked over her shoulder and swept her hand towards the candles. "I thought as a way of saying goodbye, letting go, maybe we could send the baskets off and blow out each candle…I know it's weird, but-"

"It isn't weird." Tori heard Lillian say. She turned to the older woman, watching as the woman's eyes glazed over. "I think it's a wonderful sentiment."

Spencer pointed to Sasha's portrait and Tori followed his motion. She was surprised to see words written in cursive at the bottom. Vaya Con Dios, a song Tori recognized as a song sung by Les Paul and Mary Ford in the '50s. She tilted her head and furrowed her brow as he spoke.

"I would point out that I have a recording I've struggled to share." She heard him take a breath, he closed his eyes and removed his phone from his pocket. "I don't know if it was meant as a taunt from Holly or an early act of grace but a message had been sent to us all those years ago." He raised his head and looked to the family with a frown. "It's time to let go, and with that, I want to share this…"

The others nodded and Tori waited as Spencer's thumb trembled over the screen of his phone. "I've probably saved this file on every device I've owned. If the police had tracking systems back then…" His voice started to crack and he hit the play button.

When Tori heard Sasha's voice, her entire body froze and her breath held in her throat. "Mom, Dad, Mark and Spencer." Sasha's voice was shaky and Tori could almost visualize the girl's frightened tears. They struck her heart like a blade slicing through butter. "I don't know if I'm going to see you again, I want you to know I love you. I can't say what's happening, or what's going on. Just, I have one last song I'd like to record, no matter what happens to me, I will always be with you."

At that moment Sasha began to sing, her voice weak and shaky, but after a few seconds Tori could hear the girl's melody coming back. It was the song by Les Paul and Mary Ford, Vaya Con Dios.

Fresh tears ran like gentle streams down Tori's face and she raised a trembling hand over her mouth as she listened to what was likely the time Sasha felt her life was truly over.

The song appeared to embody how much Sasha wanted them to live. Tori had to wonder why Holly would have allowed this; but that didn't matter nearly enough. Perhaps it was a taunt, perhaps it was the one and only act of mercy Holly had.

In this moment, Tori didn't care to theorize. As she looked around, the silence from the others spoke volumes and each person had tears running down their faces. Even Sarah and Jacob were startled by Sasha's haunting final message to them.

Moving slowly, Tori picked up the candle in front of Sasha's portrait. Sarah and Jacob followed suit with Michael's and Amber's candles. Sarah handed Michael's candle to John and Lillian while Jacob took Amber's to Mark and Jenny. Tori made her way to Spencer, looking into his eyes as he slowly wrapped his hands around the candle and over her hands.

She looked at Mark and Jenny, watching as they exchanged tearful glances and carefully blew out the candle. Tori watched Sarah then cut the cord to Amber's balloon basket. With a gasp, she watched the basket start to rise.

Nearby, Lillian put her head on her husband's shoulder and John leaned forward, carefully blowing out his son's candle. Soon after, Sarah cut the connections to Michael's basket.

Her heart began to pound in her chest and she looked up at her father. "It's time," she told him. He slowly nodded his head, his hands were shaking like a leaf over hers. "We'll do it together."

She counted to three, breathing in deep and slow, then blew out the final candle with Spencer. She took a step back, holding the candle and looking up as Sasha's balloon basket began to rise after her parents.


So a bit happened here, and we see the end of this day's family gathering. Things will pick up just a bit, there's a lot to come.