A small groan escaped Tori's mouth as she opened her eyes. She sat up and looked around, remembering where she was and what had happened the night before. She couldn't see neither Cat nor Jade in the room. She was disappointed about the later one missing, especially after what had happened the night before. She turned her head to find a glass of water and two aspirins on the makeshift table. Tori quickly took the pills and emptied the glass of water. She got off the bed and walked out of Cat's room. As soon as she was outside, she saw that the bedroom door was open. She peeked inside to find Cat lying there, still asleep. Tori smiled a small smile when she saw a glass of water and two aspirins on the nightstand next to Cat. That answered the question of who was responsible for that nice gesture.
Tori made her way downstairs before she heard two voices come from the kitchen. As she reached the final step, she was more than surprised to see Robbie and Jade sitting together in the kitchen, both having a coffee mug in their hands.
"Thank you again. I haven't seen her this happy in a while." Tori heard Jade say.
"You don't have to thank me. She is the one making me the happiest I've ever been." Robbie said.
"You don't understand. You weren't the one holding her while she cried after every breakup. I've seen her cry after all those sons of bitches dumped her or cheated on her. From Danny to that football guy at that stupid Prome we had to the bastard at the beach to that moron who only liked blondes. All of them seemed too good to be true and then they broke her heart. And then you walk into school one day, not looking like yourself at all, and ask her out. It seemed too good to be true, again." Jade explained.
"I might have not held her after every breakup, but believe me, I knew. How do you think I felt watching those idiots do all that to her when all I wanted was spoil her and make her laugh? All that time I wished she would just give me a chance, but I was stuck as the friend. And I would have stayed there had I not taken initiative and asked her out directly." Robbie said.
"But what made you do that? You haven't done anything in all these years, and all my provocations did was make you feel like shit. Why the sudden change of heart?" Jade asked.
"Tori." Robbie stated.
"What did she do?" Jade asked, both still unaware of the half Latinas presence.
"Gave me the best advice I could have asked for." Robbie said.
"And that was?"
"Dress every day as if you are about to meet the love of your life and that rejection can never hurt you as much as uncertainty. And she was right." Robbie said.
"I'm glad I was of some help." Tori said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Hey." Robbie greeted her as he stood up and gave her a quick hug. "How's the head?" He asked.
"It hurts, but I've had worse. At least I managed to sleep." Tori said as she sat down on one of the chairs. A moment later, she saw a cup of coffee placed in front of her. She looked up to see Jade standing next to her, smiling.
"Coffee is one of the best solutions to a hangover." Jade said.
"Thanks." Tori said as she took a sip.
"Well, I'm going to wake Cat up. I have a surprise for her." Robbie said.
"What's the surprise?" Jade asked.
"I'm taking her somewhere."
"Where?"
"Well, I could tell you, but I don't want you two to follow us again." Robbie grinned before he made his way upstairs.
"What happened at the prom with Cat's date?" Tori asked, looking at Jade, who in return let out a sigh.
"She came there with that football player from another school. After you and her were done singing, she went to look for him and found him in one of the toilets. Him and some other drunk chick." Jade explained.
"She found them kissing in the toilet?" Tori asked in disbelief.
"Oh no, she was doing something a bit south from his mouth." Jade said.
"Oh… OH…" Tori uttered, realizing what Jade had been telling her.
"Yeah. He even told her that "it's not what it looks like". I don't know what else looks like what they did, but it ruined her night as you can imagine. But that's a good thing. Better they do something like that on the first night before she really can fall in love with them." Jade said.
"It's my fault…" Tori said.
"What?" Jade asked, surprised by Tori's statement.
"It's all my fault. I'm the reason she and Danny broke up because I got jealous for no reason. I never even heard from him since that day. I never even tried to call him or anything. That stupid Prome was my idea, and not only did it get one of your plays canceled, but Cat had to see her date cheat on her… And don't get me started on that blonde thing. It was my idea to wear those wigs. It was my idea to go out with them. Had I not had that stupid idea, that idiot would not have even asked her out in the first place, not to mention broke her heart." Tori said, clutching both sides of her head with her hands, shaking her head in disbelief and horror. "I…I'm the reason her heart got broken so many times. It's my fault."
"Oh shut the fuck up." Jade said. Tori looked up at her.
"Yeah Vega, it's your fault that she ran into all those morons and fell for every lie that got out of their mouths. Sure, that Danny thing was your fault, but that is long over and forgotten. She could have gone to the Prome with someone else, not a random guy she met a week before. She didn't have to sit down with that blonde hair loving jerkoff the moment he looked at her. All those things were her choice. But you know what you can put the blame on yourself for?" Jade asked, reaching down and taking Tori's hands in her own. "You can take the blame for making all of us take a step in the right direction. Andre and Beck both told me that they go to therapy to deal with their past, Robbie has finally stopped acting like and idiot and Cat has never smiled brighter than during their date. So cut the crap, forget what happened years ago and let's enjoy the fact that something good is happening." Jade said, but Tori only shook her head.
"Not to me. Not to my family." Tori said.
"Family? You call the people who abandoned and left you alone family? No, that's no family. Blood alone does not make family." Jade said. "Family is when someone cares about you no matter what. Family is when someone stays with you even when you are at your worst. Family is when they try to help you even if they know they can't. Your mom did something horrible, but your dad and sister are not better than her. They left you, too. While you faced everything, they keep running away. Look where it got them."
"But where am I, then? How am I different than them? I didn't help any of them." Tori said.
"How can you help someone who doesn't want help?" Jade asked. Tori wanted to say something, but their conversation was interrupted when Tori's phone rang. Both Robbie and Cat walked downstairs that moment, stopping when they saw Tori's face pale as she looked on the screen.
"It's…It's my mom…" Tori said, her voice barely audible.
"Tori…" Cat said, taking a step towards the half Latina.
"You two go. I'll stay with her." Jade said, making Cat stop right in her movement.
"Jade, we're in this together." Robbie said, looking back at Tori, who kept staring at her ringing phone.
"I know. But it's too crowded here. I'll make sure she's fine. Go." Jade said.
"Kaykay." Cat said. "Call me if…"
"I know. Don't worry." Jade said.
Robbie and Cat nodded before they left the house, while Tori's phone kept ringing.
"Put it on speaker." Jade said as she walked towards her.
"I…I can't…"
"Yes you can. Don't run away like everyone else." Jade said.
Tori took a deep breath before she hit the answer and speaker button.
"Yes?" Tori said as she sat down on the couch in the living room.
"Tori! I was about to hang up! Where are you?" Miss Vega asked.
"What do you want?" Tori asked, hoping to keep the conversation as short as possible.
"Y…Your father told me about Trina." Miss Vega admitted.
"Then call her." Tori said, biting both of her lips in an attempt to calm down.
"I tried. She is not answering her phone. Do you know where she is?" Miss Vega asked.
"No. I don't know where she is; I don't know who the father is and I don't know what she is going to do now." Tori said.
"Tori, please, don't be like that… I'm worried. I…"
"You're worried? As if you care how we are?" Tori asked.
"Of course I do!"
"No. If you did you wouldn't just have left us. You could have told us that you and dad are divorcing; where you were going; if either Trina or I wanted to come with you… But you didn't do any of that. You didn't care then, don't act as if you do now." Tori said, watching as her tears slowly fell on the screen of the phone. She felt as if every word she said burned her throat anew.
"But…But…"
"So to give you a quick update: Trina hasn't been at school for weeks, hell, months now; dad has been home maybe four times since you left and stays at work or wherever he spends his time now and I am done with all of you." Tori said before she ended the call.
She kept her head down as her shoulders began trembling. She didn't have anything left to say to her mother anymore. She didn't have anything left to say about any of them.
She felt two arms wrap around her body and pull her back. She felt her back lean on Jade; she felt Jade lean her head on her shoulder. And as much as she wanted to cry and scream; as much as she wanted to let all of her anger out, she had to admit, she felt better. She felt relieved. And most importantly, she felt as if she wasn't alone. She was with someone who understood; someone who knew how she felt.
"It's alright. I'm here." Jade said, not letting go of the girl.
"Thank you." Tori said.
"It's alright. I owe you this one." Jade said. Tori chuckled, not believing how good it felt to be around someone who just two nights ago felt lost forever.
"Did I do the right thing?" Tori asked.
"You did. You told her the truth. Maybe a little reality check was all your family needed." Jade said.
"I hope so." Tori said before she sighed. "I'm going to be an aunt." Tori said.
"Yeah. Your sister is reproducing. Goddamnit." Jade said.
"You are just trying to make me laugh now." Tori said, not able to hide a small smile on the edge of her lips.
"I can do one better than that." Jade said. "Get up. Let's go to the beach house." Jade said.
"Why?" Tori asked. She didn't want to get up. For some reason, she did not want to leave Jade's embrace.
"I want to make up for the disaster that was Friday night. Come on." Jade said as she let go of Tori.
"Okay." Tori said, her mood dropping immediately.
And her mood didn't get better during the drive to the beach house. She saw Jade glance at her every now and then, but she didn't ask any questions. Tori knew that Jade wanted to give her some time to think about the conversation she had with her mother. But all Tori was thinking about was how much she missed the Goths embrace. She didn't know why. She didn't understand why her mood dropped the moment Jade had let go of her. She didn't figure it out half an hour later when they arrived at their destination. She hadn't figured it out when they walked into the house. She hadn't figured it out when she sat down on the large couch. She looked at Jade as she was trying to start the fire in the fireplace.
"You haven't said a word since we left Cat's place." Jade said as the flames began dancing in the fireplace.
"I'm trying to figure something out." Tori said.
"Maybe I can help. What is it?" Jade asked as she walked towards the couch and sat down.
"It's… it's stupid. It doesn't make sense." Tori said.
"The girl who can read other people's memories by touching them is saying that something doesn't make sense to her?" Jade asked.
Another chuckle escaped Tori. Jade was right. Why was she still surprised by anything?
"It's…" Tori began as she turned her head to look at Jade. She saw the fire illuminate Jade's pale skin. She sat there, silent, and the only thing that came to her mind is how beautiful Jade was; the same thought she had that night in the woods. She saw Jade look at her back, a puzzled expression on her face. "I don't know… I don't know…"
"I think I do." Jade said. She leaned forward and hugged Tori again, leaning back so that Tori was leaning against Jade.
"Jade… I… I'm just broken." Tori began, but before she could say another word, she felt Jade gently place her hand on Tori's cheek.
"You're not broken. And I'm not broken. Life didn't break us yet. We are still going. We still have not given up. I haven't, I won't, and I won't let you give up." Jade said.
"But how? I can't do this anymore." Tori said.
"You do. You will. And I'll be there with you." Jade said. Tori looked as Jade leaned forward and gently kissed her. Tori didn't hesitate for a second before she kissed back. A minute later, both girls pulled back, waiting for the other to react. "I'm sorry. It just felt right to do."
"Don't be sorry. It… It felt good." Tori said. "I… I feel good when you are there. I feel stronger. I feel like I… I…" Tori wanted to explain, but Jade cut her off by kissing her again.
"I know. I understand. Believe me, I do." Jade said. "What you told Robbie… That rejection can never hurt as much as uncertainty? I agree with that." Jade said. Tori smiled before she shook her head and leaned it on Jade's chest and shoulder.
"I can't believe that this is happening." Tori said.
"It is. I promise you, from now on, things will get better." Jade said, kissing the top of Tori's head.
"I know. They already are."