Estrangement

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 13 (Tips for Survival)

Tori followed Trina into a small apartment in downtown Manhattan near the gym she would be working at. The apartment was a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with rent close to $850 a month. "So Mom's decided to stay with you?" Tori raised an eyebrow as Trina looked over her shoulder.

"Yes. Apparently she wants to make up for lost time and insisted she be able to stay in the guest room." This hurt Tori a little, but she was glad that Holly was going to be okay with Trina. It was probably for the best, because Trina and her family could take better care of Holly. "Anyway what do you think of this place?"

"It's…nice." The apartment was part of a building that was about ten stories tall. She was on the tenth floor, overlooking the city. The biggest area was this front room that turned into a kitchen close to the back. It was almost like two squares, the living room was a square of brown felt carpeting, and the kitchen was a large square area of white linoleum flooring. The border between the two rooms was just where the two floors met, though the kitchen counter did run from the wall to the middle of the space. The sink and stove, along with fridge were pressed up beside a window, with the sink right against the window. The bedroom door was on the kitchen side of the apartment, while the bathroom was over the living room.

There was a medium sized television that set upon a maple TV stand. This faced a brown, bulky couch. "Well this is where you'll be living." Trina folded her arms and closed her eyes. "This is, or was, my first apartment. I bought the place when I got my Bachelor's degree and was able to get a full time job. This is where I studied for my Major's."

"That's surprising, I thought the house you're in now-"

"Sinjin and I bought that house together, yes. Our first family home, but we had other places we rented, or owned. I never sold this apartment because Sinjin said I should make it rentable. The last tenant that lived here moved out about four months ago, and I've been contemplating getting rid of it. Now that you're here, I don't have to. I expect payments to be on time at the end of each month, and precise. Meaning don't underpay, and don't expect rollover payments."

"What does that mean?"

"That means don't slip in a hundred bucks extra thinking it'll shave off your next month's rent. It will not. Take care of this place, don't do things that will make me have to evict you. This also means no parties. Unless you know the people and know they won't break everything in the house, of course."

"And I'm in New York, who am I going to know here? None of my old friends are here, except Jade, and I'm not sure how long she's going to be staying."

"Good. That means the people that influenced you to be negative won't influence you. Jade…seems okay. Now."

"Glad you approve…" It was going to be difficult if Jade had to leave, but she knew she wouldn't be able to stay forever. Trina sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Look I have reasons that I'm being so hard on you. People around here aren't as nice as I am. As I'm sure you know as of late, that's saying quite a bit. You need to be pushed, you're being thrown into the real world after years of failure, and the only way for you to succeed is for you to rise up against everything. You aren't just proving anything to me, and I still don't see much in you other than a flicker, you're going to have a lot to learn. I need to see you dedicated to something, committed, before I let you anywhere near my children where you're going to hurt them by ignoring them or disappearing after a week or two."

"I wouldn't-"

"My children are everything to me, Tori. My husband, my children, my dogs, they're my entire world. If something were to happen to them, if something were to hurt them, I don't know what I would do. I'm their mother, I can't let anything damage them. You caused me a lot of grief in the past, and I won't let you do the same to my kids. You think I've been mean up to this point?" Trina leaned forward, glaring into Tori's eyes. Tori leaned back, a heaviness grew in her chest while her breath locked up in her throat. "Screw with my family, and you'll see just how nasty I can be. Are we clear?"

"As crystal…" Trina leaned upright and pressed her lips tight together. Tori didn't need any further sign that she wouldn't be a part of Trina's family's life until she showed a particular amount of dedication and commitment. This was a matter of how hard she wanted something. She closed her eyes and breathed in sharp. "I've never wanted anything more than this, Trina. I want to be a part of their life, I do, and I'm serious about it. I won't let you down, I'll show you, I can commit."

"Good." Trina looked to the calendar on the wall beside the door, then took a red pen from her chest pocket. Tori watched her circle a date, April 30, 2030. "First month's rent is due then. I will be here at eleven in the morning, and I expect to see rent."

"What about bills?"

"All you have to worry about is rent, and cable, which comes with internet access. Focus on your job." Trina started for the door, stopping for a second. "Is there anything else you need before I go? Because you will not see me again for a while, probably."

"Um…I don't think so." Tori snapped her fingers. "Nancy mentioned something about the Hollywood Arts high school diploma. She thinks I should go ahead and take a test at the local high school to certify my diploma, then strive for college classes."

"Do you think you can handle that? With the job you're at right now, you will be making about 11.50 an hour." Minimum wage hadn't gone up much since 2013, though prices had gone up some. There was a president that managed to lower everything pretty well and clear up a lot of the country's debt, so that had been a great thing for a struggling nation. Minimum wage was now 9.00 an hour.

"Maybe part time. I don't know."

"Focus on work first. Trust me, you want to have the money."

"My guess is you wouldn't help me out too much with college expenses? I don't exactly have mom and dad to help…"

"Well too bad! You think I had their help? You think Sinjin had help? No! Sinjin paid for his own college and for Courtney's, and she had to work because he was separate from his mother. I obviously separated myself from you, mom, and dad, so I dealt with it my own."

"You could at least give me some suggestions!"

"I could, but I'm not going to." Trina scraped her fingers along her forehead and groaned. "Okay, you want a tip? Try for a community college." Tori started to smile as Trina lowered her arm. "You have 850 for rent each month, cable and internet will cost you 150. That's 1000 dollars. Add in groceries, and any other necessary expenses you're going to need. You're not going to have money for wants, so separate your wants and needs. Think up a budget plan for every single month, that is what I had to do, that is what many have to do. At the Gym you're getting paid every two weeks and working 8 hours on 11.50. Do the math."

"That's about…" Tori calculated in her head and pulled her lip back into a slight frown. "920 dollars biweekly, and 1840 monthly." Trina smirked and slowly nodded her head. "Leaving me with eight hundred and forty dollars after rent and the bills. Maybe if I buy groceries once every two weeks, that might be one hundred each time, so two hundred brings me down to 600…"

"And this apartment is within walking distance from the gym, so you don't have to worry about a car. You have a cell phone? How much is the plan?"

"Cell phone is on mom's plan, she handled the cell phone bills with the pension she got from retirement."

"Okay, then tell you what I can and will do for you, I'll talk to mom to see if she can keep that up. Now if you're wanting to do college, and only if you're really serious about it, I recommend a community college because the prices will be a lot cheaper than a full university. I swear I was sleeping in an empty apartment on a mattress for nearly a year until I could manage to afford anything. Now I've also talked with your previous landlord, and he's agreed to let Jade pick up all your stuff at that house and bring it up here."

"Really?"

"Yes. That's the extent of the help I can offer you. Let me down, and you'll be in a tougher patch than you're at right now."

"Do you think maybe I should get a roommate?"

"Up to you. If you could find one, let me know. Obviously being the landlord I would have to know, so there is that." `

"Okay." Trina nodded and hurried out of the apartment, checking her watch in the process. Tori took a deep breath and fell back onto the couch, groaning softly. "Bye then…" She rubbed her temples, feeling a great amount of pressure in her head.

Just as she closed her eyes, the door flew open, startling her into an upright position. "Hey!" Jade walked in with a bright grin, then eyed the surroundings. "So did Trina tell you? I'm going to go grab your things in LA. There are some other things I'm going to do as well."

"Yeah she told me. What else is going to happen? I feel kind of lost because, well, I don't want to lose my best friend, but…"

"Ah you'll be all right." Jade flung herself onto the couch and looked around with arched eyebrows. "Not a bad starter place. 850 is actually pretty nice a New York apartment!"

"Yeah, I hope I can start making some more money though. It's going to be a while before I can afford prices at a college. I think there's one where classes are about 50 per class."

"Look around for scholarships, grants, etc. You can't pay for college out of your own pocket, it's not going to be possible. However a lot of things offer apprenticeships. I know doctors, lawyers, and even veterinarians have begun teaching apprentices."

"Maybe, but that doesn't seem to be a possibility right now."

"Why not?"

"Because an apprentice has to leave any job and focus on that particular trade or study. I have to work at Gold's Gym right now, I have to focus on proving to Trina that I can stay dedicated to something. That I can commit…so I can prove to her that I can commit to her family…"

"Right." Jade put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. "Well. I wish I could help you, but even after I bring your stuff up here, I'll have to go back to LA. Tell you what though, I'm going to try and build a home office here in New York, so I can make a move, a transition." Tori beamed with hope and leaned upright. She knew she could always talk to Jade on Skype or phone, but if Jade could actually move up to New York, it would be fantastic!

"How long do you think that would take?"

"I don't know." Jade glanced up to the ceiling and lifted her shoulders. "A few months maybe. It'd be a lot of work, a lot of money, but it can also be a good thing for my practice because it pays more in New York than in California. I'm just concerned about my clients…a lot of people need me."

"Well I need you too, you're my best friend, but…" Tori slowly nodded, understanding the dilemma. "The people you help-they need you a lot more than I do. If you think you can make a move, go for it, because I would love to have you here in New York with me. Someone I know that believes I have what it takes, but I'm not going to hold you back from your clients." Jade smiled and reached over, hugging Tori.

"You're going to be fine, and you're always going to be able to reach me. I'll still be here for a while, and you know that, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Right…well there is the fact that I have no idea if Trina will ever let me in or not."

"Just keep working. She's working you hard, I know, but you can do it. I think she just has to know you're willing to work for it, that you need to earn your place before she starts trusting you again."

"Right. Well I'm going to do it, Jade. I'm going to earn my place back, I'm going to prove to her that I can commit. To a job, to her, to mom, to my family, I can commit."

"Well I'm rooting for you, and I'm sure Trina is too."

"Yeah well, she's sure got a funny way of showing it."

"Eh tough love, sometimes it works. Everyone receives differently. You lost everything, and right now Trina's showing you the only way out by not handing you everything. You actually have to work to make a dent in anything. You'll do it."

"I don't know…I'll be honest that there's not much I've bothered with." She didn't want to admit that since she never had to do chores, she had difficulty with quite a few things. Using a washer and drier she knew how to handle, though the 'just press a button' was probably not going to help in the long run. She hated dishwashers, she didn't usually deal with dishes and when it came to cooking, she knew how to work a microwave. "You know mom did all the cooking, right?"

"Now's as good a time as any to learn a few tricks of the trade. Looks like you'll be learning your basic household chores then. Didn't you ever do chores at the house?"

"Er…mom and dad made Trina do all the chores…"

"Geez, and we all thought Trina was going to have the hardest time."

"Yeah well, at least she didn't have a life handed to her. Right? I mean…dear god I am so fucked…"

"You'll be fine, stop putting yourself down before you actually get out and try!"

"I know, I know, I'm just…scared…You'll be going back to LA soon and I won't even be able to get help from Trina. Aside from a few pointers, she's giving me absolutely nothing. No money, or anything..."

"Just a job and a house. With minimal furniture, of course."

"Right…"

"You are going to make it." Jade put her hands to Tori's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You will be fine. Believe in yourself and fight."

"I'll try my best…thank you Jade…I'm going to need all the luck I can get."

"Hey, I'll do what I can to help you out, but I know you can do this. If your sister can build a life out of nothing, then so can you. Hell, even your dad built his life out of nothing, right?"

"Yeah, I mean, sure…he came from a poor family and built a life with mom. I guess the wealth went to their heads and ours too, or maybe just mine. I don't even remember being poor."

"Well regardless, you've got this. It just shows that you have it in your blood to make your life better. So do it!"

"I will. I know I can."

"You got this. Take a deep breath and move forward." Jade pulled back and lifted a finger. "Also, stay away from Broadway, I don't want you getting tempted into addiction. In other words, don't go chasing a dream that's not going to happen."

"I'm kind of sick of it now. It put me in this situation…where almost literally nobody would hire me or rent to me because I couldn't deal with payments thanks to my 'dream'."

"Exactly. I'm just glad Trina decided to give you a shot."

"Even though she told two of her friends she wouldn't…" She did remember that rather well, Trina informed Emma and Kate that she would not give Tori a job. "One thing I found strange."

"Yeah well, good things happen sometimes, your sister still having compassion? Yeah, I think that's a big plus. Good luck, do your best, and I'll be back with everything that was in that apartment you were renting out."

"Thanks Jade. Don't know what I'd do without you."

"Go crazy?"

"Perhaps." Tori laughed as Jade hugged her once more, then left. Leaving her alone to an empty apartment. She looked to the bedroom door as exhaustion rose over her. She knew there was a clean bed in there, Trina stated it as one of the furniture items still there. She took a deep breath and slowly stood up. "A nap couldn't hurt…"

So Tori has some ideas on how to survive, and she has Trina's old place. There's a lot she's gonna be learning. Let me know your thoughts