Estrangement
Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious
A/N:
Chapter 31 (Camping Out)
Tori arrived at the campsite with her car loaded with camping supplies. Upon seeing Sinjin's car, she saw the man standing outside and waving his arm for her. She parked alongside him and he walked around to greet her as she got out. "Sorry if I showed up late, traffic was hell Sinjin." Sinjin chuckled in response.
"That's New York for you. Anyway, choose a spot to set up your tent. If you need help, the kids will be happy to help out. I'm trying to teach Daniel to pitch a tent. The girls have been getting him to try and help all over the campsite, but I can't have them running off."
"Oh. Where are they?" He pointed to a nearby picnic table. Megan was writing in a spiral notebook while Rachel was reading and Daniel was eating chicken nuggets. Her heart skipped a beat and she immediately started walking towards them, stopping to admire the two tents beside her. They were both identical two person tents with red and white colors. There was a nice grassy spot beside them that she could likely pitch the tent she got at the store.
Megan looked up and her eyes dazzled as she reached over to her brother and sister, "Guys. Aunt Victoria's here!" The siblings gasped excitedly and jumped from their table, rushing over to hug her.
"Auntie Tori!" Daniel chimed. "I wanted to meet you for so long!" Megan walked over, laughing at her little brother. Daniel looked back and Tori's heart started to warm up after a long day of anxiety.
"You're going to make Aunt Tori feel all weird, Danny." Megan lifted her shoulders and held out her arms. "It's good to see you." Tori hugged her niece, nearly squealing for joy. "Mom says we're to be on good behavior. I'll make sure my brother and sister don't get in to trouble, but like I told dad: No guarantees." She heard their father laugh and turned to face the man who was smirking at his little girl.
"You don't want to do disobey your mother," Sinjin reminded her. Megan flipped her hair over her shoulder with a laugh and danced over to her work on the table. Sinjin shook his head and sighed. "I swear that girl has a penchant for getting grounded." Tori started to smile and bent down to hug Rachel while looking to Sinjin.
"Aw she's just being a teenager."
"Yes, a teenager that enjoys sneaking off in the middle of the night to meet boys and spend time with friends. I swear she takes after her mother." Her rubbed the back of his head and started to laugh. Tori crossed her arms and smirked, remembering Trina's nightly romps.
"Oh yes, I remember clearly Trina sneaking off to do something with you or Lindsay in the middle of the night. Dad would have killed you."
"Ah probably. That man thought his daughters could do no wrong, and I admit, that's what all fathers think." He gazed at his daughters with a look of genuine pride. "Of course, any boys that come near our daughters usually have to worry about Trina scaring them off. Not me. Though they would, but I let Trina do that."
"You and her, pretty protective of your children."
"Always. After everything, we'd never want anything to happen to them." He watched Daniel run back to the table, then started walking towards the tent. Tori followed him and watched as he checked the stake in the ground. "You know, Daniel was premature. We almost thought we were going to lose him. Rachel's got asthma and had pneumonia when she was a baby. You know what happened with Megan, and that first pregnancy…when a parent goes through that, a day doesn't go by you don't worry about that child. Trina and I have three children we don't want anything to happen to, so you understand why she's so protective and why she doesn't want them hurting. It has nothing to do with you."
"Yeah…" She actually never realized exactly what Trina and Sinjin dealt with before. It amazed her, but saddened her too. "You don't have anyone there to help you?" Sinjin stood up with a grunt.
"Like who? My dad died when I was a kid, my mom ran off, so it was just Courtney and myself. Once Trina separated herself from you guys, we had no one." He pat his hands together and Tori watched the dirt and grass fall towards the ground. "I didn't encourage Trina to leave her family behind, tried to get her to see it wouldn't solve anything. but let her make the decision on her own. She may be strong, but she's also still very vulnerable."
"Still?" She raised an eyebrow as Sinjin stared back in silence for a second. The kids clamored with one another at the table, with Daniel teasing Rachel about something.
"Two sides to her." He walked with her to the car and helped her unload her camping supplies. "One side she's a strong, independent woman and fearsome mother who would let nobody near her children, and she's built a vast empire out of Gold's Gym. On the other side? She's terrified, easily frightened and capable of protecting herself from anybody else…even me or her best friends on occasion."
"D-Did I hurt her that badly?" Her heart began to slow as her eyebrows meshed together and a whimper fell from her lips. Sinjin shook his hand in the air.
"No, no you didn't. Neither did your friends." He unzipped the tent bag and looked up at the kids. "Megan! Would you come help your aunt with her tent?" Megan threw her head up and rushed over. Tori smiled as Megan pulled the tent out of the bag.
"Sure!"
"All right. I'm going to work the grill." Tori watched him move to one of the tables with a campfire grill resting on it. It had hot dogs and hamburgers beside it. She looked away with concern filling her.
"Where do you want it?"
"By that patch right there." She pointed to the spot she noted earlier and Megan hurried over with a grin.
"Awesome, that's mine and Rachel's tent you're next to!"
"Great, I get to have a couple cool girls as neighbors, huh?"
"Yep. Let's set up." Megan unrolled the tent on the ground and Tori rushed to the other side to help straighten it out. She was going to follow the teen's lead on this. "We'll make you a master at pitching your tent in no time."
"I look forward to it. Maybe your mom and dad will let me go on future camping trips!"
"We'll see. Don't let them scare you, though. They're not as scary as they seem." Megan smirked, causing Tori to laugh. She wasn't scared, but hopeful and even more determined to get back into her sister's life.
That night, she woke to the sound of a tent zipper opening. When she sat up in her sleeping bag, she inspected her own closed tent and looked over to see a shadow walking by her tent. It took her a couple minutes to get up and find the zipper to her own tent door. Once she did, she got out to see Megan sitting by a tree and gazing up at the stars.
Tori was a little worried about the girl, so she walked over to see what was going on. "Hey," she whispered and sat beside Megan. "How are you sleeping?"
"I'm alright. I just like looking up at the stars sometimes." Megan rolled her head to the side and pressed her lips tight together. "Can't stand how the city lights block the stars out."
"Yeah. Trina's the same way."
"Well. She is my mother, after all." Megan pulled her knees to her chest and smiled at the stars. "You know, you can see Jupiter right up there." She pointed up at a bright star, then moved her hand over slightly. "There's the north star." Tori gazed up and nodded. The sight truly was breathtaking. She never dreamed she'd have a chance to share this moment with her niece.
"It really is beautiful…"
"Yeah." Megan lowered her hand and glanced over. "So. Did you adopt that dog? Silky? Aunt Courtney said you were going to adopt Silk."
"Yeah, I brought her home just last night! She really loves it there. She sleeps on the couch whenever I'm sitting there, and then she climbs up and sleeps on top of my feet at night when I'm in bed."
"Aw. Yeah, our beagle Sandy does that too. Then Isis likes to sleep on mom's side of the bed, but stays on the floor."
"Do you think your mom would let me bring Silk over if she ever let me come over?"
"Of course. Our dogs would love to play with your new dog, they're always excited when a new animal comes around." Megan laughed lightly, then looked towards the grass. After a few seconds, the girl tucked her hair behind her ear and sighed heavily. "Aunt Tori?" Tori's eyebrows meshed together and she reached over, patting Megan on the back.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry mom and dad are being so distant to you. I want you to know, it isn't your fault." Tori felt a pull at her heartstrings and looked back to the stars, breathing out heavily. "Mom keeps her distance from just about everyone. What Dad said earlier, he was right, neither you or any of your friends ever hurt mom. Even that one guy, Beck…" Megan's eyes drifted up to Tori and her lips curved up slightly. "We're a very close knit family though. We have a pretty average family life, and soon you'll be able to see that. Mom will give you a chance. Grandma's really been helping out, and I guess so has her new therapist."
"Jade…" Megan tilted her head and Tori cleared her throat. "Dr. West."
"Right." The girl looked over her shoulder towards her father's tent, then back to Tori. Her voice lowered and Tori's eyebrows rose. "Something you are never to discuss, because Mom will never bring it up. Neither will Dad, and well…there's no reason to talk about it."
"What?" She felt a sudden rush of sorrow coming from somewhere she wasn't sure, almost like she was about to hear something she didn't want to. Megan's eyes fell and she slowly breathed in. "Dad's my one and only dad, but he's not biological to me." Tori's eyes widened and Megan closed her eyes. "Mom refuses to discuss it. We talked about it once, and I know she loves me always, as does dad. Hell, they're more protective of me than they are Rachel and Danny! They won't even let me date until I'm seventeen!"
Tori laughed and wagged a finger in the air, "That's a good thing sometimes." Megan rolled her eyes and slid her lips into a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, at least I'll wait before I get any boyfriend. I don't want mom and dad killing my boyfriend when the time comes." Tori nodded and let her mind drift to Trina. She could respect Megan's words, she didn't know the situation and wasn't about to ask. "There was a time mom and dad broke up, actually. So whatever happened was before they got back together. I don't know if I can say 'breakup' actually, because they didn't actually breakup. Mom just wasn't talking to dad for a little bit because of some fight. They resolved the issue probably thanks to their friends or something-I for one am glad they did."
"So am I." Tori put her arm around Megan's shoulders and hugged the girl. "Because they have three beautiful children together, and I'm grateful for the chance to know all three of you." Megan smiled back and quickly nodded.
"Thanks Aunt Tori…"
That morning, Sinjin stepped out of his tent early in the morning and checked his phone, seeing a missed call from Trina. He smiled and started to call her when he saw a startling sight. Tori and Megan were asleep against the tree, with Megan's head on her shoulder. At some point of time during the night, Rachel climbed out of the tent and cuddled up with her elder sister.
Chuckling softly, he dialed his wife and waited for her to answer before speaking. "Hey honey, it's a good morning out here."
"I miss you guys already," Trina laughed, "How are you?"
"I'm good."
"And the kids? Are they getting along with Tori?" He watched Daniel climb out of the tent and make his way to Tori and his siblings, collapsing beside them. Tori, still sleeping, moved her arm around the young boy. Sinjin chuckled and moved towards the table.
"Like they've known her all their lives. I told you it would be okay to give her a chance, didn't I?"
"Yeah…you know how quiet it is over here? I swear, I need to call Emma and Kate over."
"Go for it, have a girl's night out. You know you can't stand being there by yourself." If it were up to Trina, which it was, she'd be out camping with the rest of them. She chose to finish some paperwork and make sure to check finances for Gold's Gym. "Even with those dogs and your mother there."
"True. Hey, I have a suggestion."
"What's that dear?"
"How about you invite my sister to dinner. After you guys get back, of course."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. If she seems to be getting along with the children, I'd like to see."
"Hold on." Sinjin snapped a quick photo of the scene with his phone and sent the picture to Trina. It took a minute before she laughed.
"That is an adorable sight. I'll show mom and the girls…"
"They will be amazed. Hell, I'm even amazed Megan's in on this."
"You really think I made the right choice?"
"Yeah. You have nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Tori doesn't even look like she wants to hurt them, and I don't believe she will. Furthermore, I doubt she's going to tear your hopes down either. Just like everyone else has been saying, I think there's a strong chance for you two to be family again." There was a hesitation that caused Sinjin to check his phone. "You still there?"
"Yes. Invite Tori over to dinner. Have her bring her new dog."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I want to see my sister…"
So we've reached a milestone it looks like. Trina's actually inviting Tori over for dinner. Hm, we'll finally get to see the inside of that large house! Haha!