A small groan escaped Tori as she woke up. She opened her eyes for a second before she shut them again in order to subdue her headache. She covered her eyes with her hand and hissed at the constant pressure that stayed in her head. She didn't know how, but she remembered everything that had transpired last night, and she also remembered that she and Jade downed a bottle of whiskey together. Tori removed her hand from her eyes and opened them again. She looked to her left where Cat was still sleeping peacefully, somehow not clinging to Tori this time. Tori sat up, and immediately regretted it. She felt as if her eyes were about to pop out of her head. She pushed the covers off of herself and stood up before she walked out of Cat's room and into the bathroom. She locked the door behind herself as she walked to the sink and let cold water run. She splashed the cool water on her face a few times before she looked at her image in the mirror.
"Mother of god." Tori uttered with a frown when she saw what she looked like. She was pale, had large rings under her eyes and her hair was a mess. She also seemingly forgot to take the little makeup she had on off before she went to sleep, so now she also had her eyeliner run down her cheek. She washed it all off before she dried her face with a towel and unlocked the door. She walked downstairs and right into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and found a bottle of water. She downed the whole bottle in mere moments and let a loud, satisfied "ahhh" out once she was done. She immediately felt better. She put the bottle on the table and turned around. She looked towards the living room, but to her surprise and disappointment, Jade was already gone. She let out a sad sigh as she walked into the living room. She had hoped that Jade would stay a little bit longer.
Tori enjoyed the new dynamic between them. Jade's new honesty with her meant a lot to Tori, especially during these times. Despite always someone being with her, she felt alone most of those times. The others always try hard to help her in any way possible, but they can't, because they have never been where Tori is now. But Jade is different. Tori feels safe when the other girl is around because Jade does understand what Tori is going through. Unlike the others, Jade does know what is going on in Tori's head and what she needs to say to her in order to calm her down. That is what Tori needed; what she wanted the most right now. But for whatever reason, she is always left without it. Life refuses to give her a break. It only seems to give her small glimmers of hope, before it sucker punches her and drags her back down into the devil's circle she has been stuck in for so long now.
Tori sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. She watched some of the morning cartoons, hoping that the comedy would at least cheer her up a tiny bit. But it didn't. She watched everything that happened on the screen with apathy. She turned the TV off a few moments later. She brought her leg up on the couch and leaned her head on her knee she had drawn to her chest.
"Tori, are you okay?" She heard Cat ask as the redhead walked downstairs.
"I'm fine; a bit hung-over from last night, but still fine." Tori said.
"Jade already left?" Cat asked, noticing that her best friend was missing.
"Yeah. She was already gone when I came down here." Tori said. Cat walked into the kitchen, and walked back a moment later with a bottle of fanta before she sat down on the couch next to Tori.
"You two finished the bottle?" Cat asked, although she already knew the answer.
"Yeah. We talked for hours. She told me about her parents fighting over custody in court." Tori said as she shook her head. "I had no idea that she went through so much crap in her life."
"She doesn't like to talk about those things to anyone really." Cat said.
"But you knew about it."
"Of course. She did talk about them while they were happening. She used to come here almost every night for a while. She always said that she hated her parents for this, but I don't think she does." Cat said.
"What do you mean?"
"She just wants her family back. All of them united, as they used to be. They used to be a happy family. She would always do things with her father over the weekends and her and my family would often do things together since she and I were so close even then. And suddenly, without a warning, one day Mr. West found his wife with another man. One day, and everything fell apart." Cat said.
"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Tori asked with a small smile. She almost laughed at the irony.
"I know… But if anything, Jade proves that something like that isn't the end of the world." Cat said.
"You're right. It's not. Life goes on. I only wish that that fact would get through this thick skull of mine." Tori said.
"Give yourself more time Tori, and let us help you when we can. I already watched one best friend do a lot of crap as she tried to deal with that by herself. Please, don't make me watch another one do the same mistakes." Cat said. Tori turned her head to look at the redhead. She would have never believed that Cat of all people possessed both so much wisdom and experience about the hardships of life. Despite witnessing many herself, she also watched so many people she loved go through greater and lesser hardships right in front of her eyes. And yet she never allowed it to break her; to change who she was. She always stayed positive, cheerful and happy because she understood that anything else was useless and only did more harm. And not only did she understand that, she was also the only one who had enough strength to continue living like that and share all of it with anyone in need. She was truly the spine of the group, holding together so many individuals who would have fallen apart had it not been for Cat. And yet, despite all that, she never asked for anything back.
Tori leaned towards Cat and hugged her, not because she needed the contact, not because she wanted to calm herself down. She did so because she appreciated everything Cat had done for her.
"Thank you for letting me stay here and keeping an eye on me." Tori said.
"Tori, you don't have to thank me." Cat said.
"I know, but I want to. I know its hell with me right now, and yet you kept me around. You are my best friend and I love you, you know that?" Tori said as she tightened her grip around the other girl. She heard Cat giggle, which only made Tori smile even more. She felt Cat hug her back.
"I love you too." Cat said.
"I'll go home today. Time to take the bull by the horns." Tori said as she pulled away from the hug.
"You can stay if you want to. Mom and dad will understand." Cat offered, but Tori only shook her head no.
"Thanks, but I want to stop running away from my problems. I'll be fine." Tori said.
An hour later Tori had grabbed all her things and gotten home. She stood in front of her door and took a deep breath in. She opened the door and knew that somebody had to be home. She walked inside and saw Trina sitting on the couch and eating something as she watched TV.
"Hey." Tori said as she took of her shoes and put her bag down. Trina turned her head to see her younger sister standing there.
"Tori." Trina said as she put her plate down on the table and got up. She walked towards her sister and wrapped both arms around her. Tori felt that a vision was about to start, but fought against it. She didn't want to deal with it right now. Not while she was mentally drained. She didn't know how she did it, but she stopped the vision from appearing. A small smile formed on the edge of her lips. She was finally getting some control back over her life. She hugged her sister back, glad that she could again enjoy a hug without a vision appearing immediately.
"I heard what happened. God, I can't believe mom could do that. How are you?" Trina said as she pulled away, but still kept her arms around Tori.
"I'm fine. Spent the weekend at Cat's place. I'm glad we didn't have school today. I don't think I could have handled it." Tori said. The school board meeting could not have happened at a better time.
"At least some luck recently." Trina said.
"How are you?" Tori asked. She didn't want to have to find out through a vision. She wanted people to be honest to her, like she thought they were before she got the new ability. If Jade was willing, ready and able to tell her the truth and how she felt, why couldn't the others?
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Trina said with a small smile. Tori knew that it wasn't the truth. She was disappointed, but she understood. Trina was in the same situation as she was, and Tori had clammed up for weeks before she finally told someone. She couldn't blame Trina for doing the same, despite the obvious fact that she wasn't telling the truth.
"I'm glad to hear that." Tori said. She wouldn't try to push the truth now. She was too tired, both physically and mentally, to do so. "If you need me, I'll be upstairs." Tori said. She walked upstairs into her room. She closed the door behind her and changed into her own clothes immediately. She put the clothes Jade had given her on a chair and laid down into her bed. She took her phone and let some music play as she closed her eyes. She wondered how she managed to stop the vision form appearing this time. She knew that it was coming, she felt it, and yet, for the first time, she managed to stop it. That means that she could control it. She then remembered. No vision appeared when Andre hugged her after she had stormed out of the house. No vision appeared when Jade slapped her. She hadn't even realized that until now. The visions can be controlled, and she would learn to do so.
There was a knock on the door, and Tori snapped out of her thoughts. She looked towards the door, wondering if it was Trina again.
"Come in." Tori said. The door opened, and to her surprise, Beck walked into her room, carrying a full plastic bag.
"Hi there." Beck said as he closed the door behind him.
"Hey. I didn't expect anyone. Sorry." Tori said as she sat up.
"I wanted to check how you are, so I drove by. I was at Cat's place first, but she told me that you had left." Beck explained as he sat down on a chair.
"I'm okay. I just didn't expect my mother to do what she did on Saturday." Tori said.
"Who would? With all due respect, but your mother…"
"Is a cunt. I know. We all agree on that." Tori said. Beck chuckled at her words, glad that she took it all with some humor.
"Well, I brought you something." Beck said as he picked up the plastic bag he had brought with him. "In my lifetime I learned two things: you need to bring something when you visit someone, and whenever girls feel bad, chocolate makes them feel better." Beck said as he threw the bag on the bed and packs of chocolate fell out.
"Beck… you didn't have to." Tori said as she looked at the gift.
"If it helps, then why not? And I've yet to see a moment where chocolate can't make anyone feel better." Beck said.
"Thank you. I really appreciate you trying to cheer me up." Tori said. "I'm okay. I've decided to face my problems instead of drowning in sorrow and feel sorry for myself."
"That's a good attitude to have. However, don't go off again acting all fine when you are not. If there is anything I can do…"
"I'll let you know. Don't worry. I won't make the same mistake again." Tori said.
"Good. I'll take your word for that." Beck said.
"How are you? Is there anything troubling you?" Tori asked.
"Nope. I'm fine, as always. My only concern right now is you." Beck said.
"You don't need to worry about me. You know me. I don't give up so easily." Tori said.
"I'm glad to hear that. I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow at school." Beck said.
"I'll walk you downstairs." Tori said as she got up. Both made their way downstairs. Beck opened the door and both walked out of the house.
"Thank you for visiting me." Tori said.
"No problem. Take care." Beck said. Tori's curiosity got the better of her. She hugged Beck goodbye and touched his arm as she did so. She felt the vision coming, and this time, let it come.
Beck was sitting at a table in a white room, talking to someone in a hospital gown. The woman's face looked strange; her gaze was glassy and distant. She didn't seem to react or notice to anything he had said. Beck sighed and patted the woman on the hand before getting up.
He walked out of the room. One of the doctors was there. As he was writing something down on his board, he saw Beck standing there.
"Anything new?" Beck asked the doctor, who only sadly shook his head.
"No changes since last time, Beck." He said. Beck let out a sigh, drawing his hand through his hair.
"Beck, we are doing all we can. But I don't think that she will recover." The doctor said.
"Are you sure?" Beck asked in a desperate voice.
"I'm sorry, but the damage done on her brain is too severe." The doctor said. Beck sighed as she drew his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry Beck. I know you want your mother to recover, but there is only so much we can do."
"I understand." Beck said, regaining his stoic expression.
He walked out of the hospital and got into his car. He let out a long sigh before he began punching the steering wheel in rage.
Tori snapped out of her vision after that. She looked at Beck in shock as he said goodbye again and walked to his car. Tori, without a word, waved goodbye, but couldn't move. She stood there, frozen in disbelief. That woman was Beck's mother? How could that be? She met Beck's parents many times. She talked to them, and his mother looked completely different. She walked back into her house and her room. She didn't know what to make of this. Nothing made sense. Could she be wrong? Could her vision have shown her something wrong?
Tori tried to make sense of it for hours, but to no avail. If that woman was in fact Beck's mother, what happened to her? Was she sick? Did his father remarry? She didn't understand.
She opened her laptop, hoping to distract herself from everything. She needed to find out more, and there was no other way but asking Beck himself. She opened her TheSlap profile and saw that she had a message. It was from Robbie. She opened it and saw a link attached to it. Under it, it read: After I heard what happened, I decided to try and cheer you up. I worked two nights on this. Hope you like it.
Tori clicked on the link and a video began downloading. A minute later, it was done. She clicked on the video, and it started immediately later.
In the video was someone who resembled Tori standing on a wide grassland with a beautiful, purple nightsky. She guessed that it was her. She had to compliment Robbie. Animated Tori really did look like her. Then, to her surprise, a ring of fire appeared and surrounded the ground around her. The flames circulated in a beautiful animation, but as they spun, they came closer to Tori and scorched the grass and ground under it. The flames reached her after a few moments, devouring her while she only sat down and allowed it to happen. Tori didn't understand what was going on, and why Robbie sent her a video where she was scorched by fire. However, she saw that the video wasn't done, and a few seconds later, she saw the color of the flames change. The bright red flames slowly turned into dark blue ones, and from the blue flame emerged Animated Tori, blue flames burning around her and on her, but they didn't damage her. As she walked, the charcoal black land that was burned by the fire got rejuvenated by the blue flames around Tori. She had a smile on her face, a smile that showed satisfaction. Then, a slow, yet rather calming melody started playing, and Animated Tori looked up into the sky as the video ended, the smile never fading from her face.
Tori closed the video and leaned back in her chair. Robbie surprised her again and again, and only with positive things recently. She understood what he wanted to say. She understood what the flames meant. The red flames were all the negative things happening right now, devouring her. It destroyed everything in its path, and she was the last goal of it. The blue flames represented harmony; peace; serenity. They represented rejuvenation. They healed all the damage the red flames had done on her and on everything around her. The video was Robbie's own way to tell her not to give up, no matter how bad things seemed, and that everything, every wound, no matter how bad, can heal. Tori smiled as she shook her head again in disbelief, but in good one. She really had some great people that cared for her. She would retake control of her life. She would ignite the healing flames and not only heal herself, but also heal her friend's wounds, just as they are trying to help her.