The next morning came quickly, Tori's alarm playing her favorite song that was supposed to gently awake her every morning and set the day up for a good mood. It hadn't worked for a while now, and today was a special case. She hadn't slept at all last night. She had been crying instead. It was a long night for her, maybe the longest night she had ever endured. Her emotions went from desperation caused by the circumstances she had no control over and couldn't get a grip on to anger about everything happening to her at the moment. She thought about calling one of her friends at one point, but didn't do so. They wouldn't believe her. They all would only look at her as if she had gone completely crazy. And maybe she had gone completely crazy. After the last two weeks, she wasn't sure herself anymore.
Tori got out of her bed, walking slowly towards the bathroom. She had a massive headache and felt completely drained. She felt as if her body would break down on her any moment after what she had put it through. She didn't sleep, she didn't eat. The only thing keeping her going is a small, leftover glimmer of hope that things would get better in the next morning. But she knew that it was only hope, and right now, it only became smaller by every passing moment.
After a cold shower she walked back into her room and got dressed. Long sleeves, jeans and a scarf. She wouldn't take any risks today at school. She didn't want to stay at home despite everything. She wanted to face everyone. She wanted to show to them that she was fine. She wanted them to believe that lie she had tried to tell herself. She wanted them to believe the lie she couldn't even convince herself off.
As she walked downstairs, she heard something. She didn't slow down in her steps. She didn't flinch for a second at an idea of an intruder or anything. Right now, it would be a nice way to rid her of her misery, at least to her. Her mind played a bit with the idea. Someone showing up, killing her and ending everything. Instead of horror, serenity began to overtake her mind at the scenario. She shook her head in disbelief, wondering how she could have changed that much in such a short time.
Downstairs, she found the source of the noise and the little bit of inspiration she just had. To her slight disappointment, it wasn't an intruder or a robber. It was just her father as he rushed out of the house without even looking at her. She looked towards the dinner table, the mess on it not surprising her anymore. The police officer who before wouldn't tolerate any type of mess in the house now didn't bother at all with any of it. He didn't bother with shaving, with the dishes, nothing. He only cared about getting to the police station as quickly as possible where he would work sixteen hour shifts before coming home and falling into bed. It had been like that ever since Holly had ran off.
Tori walked into the kitchen and cleaned the mess her father had left. She still had time before she had to go to school, and she would rather do it now instead of waiting until school was over. She put the dirty plates in the dishwasher and vacuumed the pieces of food that fell of the table. Once she was done, she took the dishes out and placed them back in their respective cabinets.
Glad with having a single, small worry less in her day, she took her bag and left the house, locking it once she was outside. She got into her car and took a deep breath. She couldn't panic like she did yesterday. She had to keep her cool, no matter what. Her picked clothes that covered almost her whole body and she would be twice as careful now about any physical contact happening. She also knew that she would have to explain her behavior from the previous day and why she ran off. Tori decided to think about it once she was in school. Now, one thought wouldn't leave her mind, even after haunting her mind the whole night. Andre and Beck seemingly both had something she wasn't aware off. If what she experienced indicated anything, it was that both Andre and Beck have been through something that caused them pain. But while Beck's memory seemed to be recent, since he looked as always, Andre's seem to be an old one. He was still young and his grandmother looked a lot younger herself. Not to mention, she seemed normal.
It bothered her a bit that her friends had not told her everything after all those years. She had done a lot to help them, and they always had come to her whenever they needed help, advice or anything else. Why haven't they told her about any of those things? She believed that she knew everything about them, but now, there seems to be way more about them than she ever expected. She knew that there was something about Jade and Cat and possibly Robbie she didn't know yet, but not her best friend and the guy who claimed not to have any secrets.
She parked her car and got out, walking towards the school entrance. She knew that she would have to face the crowd soon, and she knew that it might be the hardest acting performance she would have to perform. And as she reached her locker, she saw the first one of her friends.
"Hey, Tori. Do you feel better?" Robbie asked her as he stopped a few feet away.
"Yeah, I feel a lot better. Just needed some sleep which I finally got." She lied, knowing that the truth would only make them worry more. And this wasn't about her. It was about them.
"That's great to hear. You had us all really worried yesterday. We all tried to call you, but none of us could reach you." Robbie said.
"Yeah, my cell phone… the battery had died on me and I didn't even notice. Don't worry. I'm fine." Tori reassured him.
"I still think that something's up, Rob." Rex said.
"Why do you think that?" Tori asked.
"Don't know. Call it a sixth sense if you will. I'll keep my eye on you, girl." Rex said.
"Don't mind him. He's just paranoid." Robbie said.
"And you suck your thumb while you sleep." Rex retorted.
"W-what? No, I-I don't." Robbie nervously said.
"Oh yes you do. You also… mhmhhm." Rex tried to say, but Robbie covered his mouth.
"Enough!" Robbie said as he kept his hand over Rex's mouth.
"Well, I have to go to my class. I'll see you at lunch then." Tori said as she wanted to leave. "And if you see the others, tell them not to worry. I'm fine." Tori said again.
"I'll tell them, don't worry." Robbie said as he put raised his hand and playfully messed with Tori's hair.
A young Robbie was sitting in his room reading some of his comic books and imitating the actions of the heroes in them.
"Robbie!" He heard someone yell from downstairs.
"Yes?" He yelled back, not taking his eyes off of the comic.
"The phone. It's for you." His mother yelled as Robbie jumped up and headed downstairs.
Tori's snapped back into reality, her vision clearing and recognizing her surroundings again. She tried to hold her breath calm and even while Robbie was telling her something.
"Well, I'll see you later." Robbie said as he walked towards his class while Tori seemed glued to the ground she was standing on. She knew two things now. First, she still saw visions as soon as someone touched her and second, Robbie has a childhood memory that caused him great pain. But something else was there that hadn't been one day ago. She was left with a feeling in her gut. It was a feeling she had experienced very often. It was sadness, sheer sadness. But this one was a bit different. She didn't know in what way. She couldn't put her finger on it at the moment.
She made her way towards history class, glad that it was one of those long classes in which nobody had to do anything while the teacher happily filled the classroom with his speeches. She needed that. It gave her time to think.
When she opened the door, she saw two people she forgot had that class with her. One was Beck, and the other was Sinjin. She sat on the chair next to Beck's, knowing that if she sat somewhere else, he would have called her up on it later.
"Hey." She greeted him with a small smile.
"Hey. Why did you just run off yesterday? And what's up with your phone. I tried calling you three times." Beck asked. Tori knew this would happen, and she quickly came up with an answer.
"Next to stress add some girl problems. As soon as I got to my car I both threw up and also began to…" She said, but he cut her off before she finished her sentence.
"Wow, wow, I don't need to know all details, Tori." Beck said as he put up his hands and shook his head. "Do you feel better now?" Beck asked, concern filling his voice.
"I do. I've got some sleep and feel much better now. I'm sorry if I got you guys worried. It was all too much yesterday." Tori said.
"No need to apologize. I'm just glad that you are fine again." Beck said as he turned his attention back towards the teacher.
"Um, can I ask you something?" Tori said, getting his attention again.
"Sure. What is it?" Beck asked.
"How are you? Is everything fine?" Tori asked, looking him right in the eyes.
"I'm fine. And everything else in my life is great. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. Just wondering. You know you can always tell me everything, right?" Tori said.
"Of course I do. Don't worry about me. Just don't pull off another one of those stunts like yesterday. Next time, tell us what is going on." Beck said as he patted her on the back. No vision, thanks to the jacket, but she still felt something in her gut. It was anger. She wondered why she felt anger now. Could it be that Beck's memory had something to do with it? She wanted to know, but at the same time, she was afraid. She turned her head to glance at him again. He carried his stoic, neutral expression as always. From his expression, it seemed that he didn't have a single worry in his life. But now, she was sure that there was something. But what she didn't know is why it was anger.
She got the idea to find a reason to try and touch him again so she could get a vision, but she decided against it. It wasn't right to just invade his personal thoughts like that. He must have a reason why he didn't tell her. On the other hand, she might be able to help him if she knew what was bothering him. If she knew what was seemingly making him angry. But she didn't do anything. Not now. She needed to think, and she would use the first period to do so.