Dog Days of Summer
Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious
A/N:
Chapter 7 (Sheltered and Within Walls)
That night, Tori followed Trina to her bedroom. The first night on the farm was the most difficult night to sleep, and of course she'd slept out in the living room with Beck and Jade. She wanted to see if it would be easier in Trina's room.
As Trina started to close the door behind her, Tori let out a whimper and struck the door with her paw. This caused Trina to stop and turn around, gazing down at Tori with a smile. "Aw, you want to sleep in here tonight, Cleo?" Tori felt her tail wag and hurried into the room. Trina lifted her up and set her on the bed, and with that, she darted to one of the two pillows and curled up on top of it.
Around her the walls were decorated with floral wallpaper, and the window on the right was shielded by violet colored blinds. In front of the bed was a television stand, and a flat screen television. In front of the window was a brown desk with Trina's laptop resting in the center. There were two doors on the left, one opened into a walk-in closet while the other opened into the bathroom.
"Nice pad she's got here," Tori said with a loud yawn. She stretched her paws out and looked to the side as Trina grabbed a book from her nearby bookshelf and set it down on the end table.
"Okay Cleo, I'll be right back." Trina moved to the closet and started to disrobe. Tori looked away from her sister, not wanting to watch her change into her sleepwear.
Her eyes drifted to the end table, where behind the book and in front of the purple lamp was a picture frame of a man in military uniform. He had a wide smile and soft, compassionate eyes. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized this man as Jason, but he looked much different than when they met him at Sikowitz's home.
All things considered, she did feel grateful for the fact that her sister found somebody. Maybe she wouldn't have given it much thought if she were human, but now more than anything else she could see value in this happiness that Trina had. Though, she had to have remarkable strength to love a man in the military, and that was something Tori could admire because she wouldn't have that strength.
"Okay, all done." Tori perked her ears at Trina's voice and looked in time to see her sister wearing a long golden nightgown with lace shoulders and no sleeves. Trina walked around the bed and climbed onto the side lit by the lamp. She grabbed the book from the table and glanced at Tori. "I hope you don't mind a little late night story, I'm always reading before bed."
Tori responded the only way she knew that she could, with a quick bark. Trina reached over and ran her fingers through Tori's fur, generating a soothing sensation that swept through her body. For a reason she didn't know, she was quick to respond by licking Trina on the hand.
"Aw." Trina curled her fingers and scratched behind Tori's ear, laughing happily. "I suppose it would be wrong of me to put you in the kennel with the other rescue dogs."
"Yes. Very wrong."
"I'll have to take you three to the vet tomorrow." She whimpered and cocked her head to the right. Trina withdrew her hand and curved her lips into a slight smile. "I know you're probably not looking forward to it, but it's necessary."
Tori crawled onto Trina's lap, then focused her gaze onto the photo of Jason. Trina raised an eyebrow at her and set the book aside. Her left hand rested on Tori's back, and she reached for the photo with her right. "You're interested in the picture, Cleo? This is Jason, he and I have been together for a couple years now, he's in the Marines. I don't know that you understand what that is, or what a 'boyfriend' is, but I love this man very much."
Tori's heart lifted when she saw Trina gazing at the photograph with a serene expression. If they met at a camp and were separated for a while, she was curious how Trina found him again. Hell, she was curious how Trina was suddenly friends with Robbie and Cat-or maybe it wasn't that she was friends with them, but someone that gave them horse rides every so often.
"He was looking for me when his family moved back to California, his parents went off one weekend and he spent some time with his uncle." A tear came to Trina's eyes as she recalled the memory. She wiped it away with a content sigh and moved the photo back to the table. "Cat tried to take him out on a date. He told her about me, and so she brought him to my family's home. I was over here visiting with Grandpa, so they waited until I got back."
Tori set her head onto her paws and smiled at Trina. The story sounded romantic to her, so how could she possibly be jealous or upset like Cat thought? She closed her eyes and hummed as Trina rubbed her head. "Cleo, how am I supposed to read my book if you're sitting there?" Her lip formed a smirk and she opened her mouth into a yawn.
"You'll find a way." With that, she felt two arms rest on her body and turned her head to see Trina holding the book over her. She chuckled softly and rolled onto her side. "Told you."
She opened one eye and looked at the book with curiosity, from what she could see it was a romance novel. Never did she think Trina enjoyed romance, especially since she recalled hearing her say as such once long ago. This one seemed different, because it took place in World War two, which a woman was waiting for her husband to come back from the war.
Maybe Trina was reading to it because she could relate to having a lover overseas. It was strange that Trina didn't show much pain, but then, that was probably just an external strength she had to push through.
As Tori scanned the page, she came across a scene that was emotionally draining. The woman's lover was declared missing in battle and it was likely that he'd been killed, but his body wasn't found.
Her heart sank when the air around her grew tense. She turned her gaze up to Trina and gasped at the silent tears running along the woman's cheeks. Those tears spoke volumes to her, if only because it was the first time she saw her sister truly shed a tear for any reason.
A whimper of concern fell from her lips and Trina glanced down with a sad chuckle as she sought to wipe away her tears. "I'm alright Cleo. It's just this story, that's all." She closed the book and set it on the table, sighing heavily as her eyes drifted towards Jason's photo. "I hope he can come home for good soon, so I can quit worrying. Everything's getting crazy these days."
Tori cocked her head to the right and pat her paw on Trina's belly two times. Trina laughed lightly and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her close. "It's one thing growing up as a kid, worrying that your dad's going to get shot while making some traffic stop or apprehending a criminal. I guess that stress really gets you used to having it, but it doesn't prepare you for dating someone in the military. Then I think, what am I going to do with Grandpa? He's always puffing that pipe of his, and everyone tells him he needs to quit before it kills him."
Tori bowed her head and furrowed her brow, whining at the thought of all these issues that circulated her sister. It was good to see that Trina was pushing through, being strong and vigilant despite everything.
"I wouldn't have the strength," Tori said to herself. If she had to go through each day wondering if her lover was coming home, she'd go crazy. Yes, Clarence was her grandfather, and she had the similar worry in regards to her dad's job, but she never thought about it as much as Trina likely had. For the first few years of Trina's life, their dad was just a lower ranked officer that was in the field more. Tori could never remember their dad being in the field because by the time she could remember much, he'd been promoted into a higher rank.
That didn't mean danger was any less on the job, it just meant he wasn't going into the field unless necessary.
She felt a sudden shift and looked up to see Trina reaching for the lamp. "We'd better get some sleep, Cleo. We have a big day tomorrow." Trina paused for a minute and her lips sank into a frown as her eyes drifted to the dog. "You know, I'm glad my sister doesn't have to think about all of this stuff. I don't think she's ever had to worry about anyone besides herself-mom and dad made sure of that. A better life than I had, more security and more sheltered than I was…I'm glad about that."
As Trina switched off the light and turned onto her side, Tori hopped off and curled up against her sister's chest. At first, the sensation of Trina's beating heart frightened her, but after a while it became a soothing force against her body.
"I never thought I had a sheltered life." It made sense now that she did think about it. Her father rarely ever spoke of his job, or brought his work home with him. He used to when she was younger, but Holly told him not to talk about his work around Tori. So she never saw the dangers as much as Trina had.
Then her parents often kept her away from her grandfather's farm when she turned twelve, with Holly complaining of all the smoke. David would also screen the boyfriends that either girl brought home, but because she was the youngest, he seemed more concerned with the men Tori was around. She had to wonder what would happen if she ever dated a military man.
Her entire life was spent with her parents watching her, keeping her safe and protected. Within walls and without the ability to really roam far. Trina could roam. Tori was always envious of that when she was younger, because her sister could do so much more than she could-was allowed more.
Where Trina could cross the horizon, Tori could not get to the end of the yard without her parents calling her back. It was only with incessant begging that her parents were willing to let her go on the field trip to Italy like she wanted.
"I thought they favored Trina because she had more opportunities to roam and I didn't, that she was allowed more. I never thought it was because they became so protective of me." She turned her eyes to her sister's soft, sleeping face, and started to smile. It was a miracle that Trina didn't seem at all put off by it, though she had to be somewhat hurt. "Still, she got to live life more. Not so sure being sheltered is a good thing."
Perhaps some readers shall enjoy the "difference" in Trina's characterization, lol. Anyway on to this chapter, tis true most times a police officer's child will be sheltered. Even the child of a military person (My uncle's in the air force-like everyone else in this family-and his sons are under their parents' strict thumb. I worry for them when they get to college). So we do see a bit more into Trina and what she's got on her plate, which isn't too much it seems. Your thoughts on the things in the chapter?