A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit behind schedule, but this week had been HELL between work, home and the subzero temperatures! Right now, it's a cold I can tolerate.
Jade spent the entirety of Sunday in bed, only getting up to use the bathroom. She wasn't hungry but over time, the churning in her guts was too much to ignore so she procured a couple of bananas from the kitchen. Returning to her bedroom, the blonde just started all over again with the tears.
Every single time she saw her unmade bed, and nobody was waiting for her, it dug through her heart.
(How could she LIE to me like that?)
She thought that all of her pain, all of her unhappiness, all of her failures were in the past. Luanne felt like something real. It would've been a lot, but had they continued to be together months down the line, Jade would have seriously reconsidered moving back home. Eventually, she would send for her things and let the house go.
But it was foolish to think about that now. It was done. They were done.
Moving back home would be inevitable, but the pale woman was nervous pulling the trigger. She had made a big deal about Luanne to Greg and Camille over the phone and now she was going to return with her tail between her legs. The whole fucking point of this sabbatical was to heal, not to end up more broken!
No longer tethered by any romantic life, Jade just went headlong into work.
She tried to keep busy. And when she wasn't, Jade would have something on whether she was paying attention to it or not. The medical examiner knew too much to drink to combat her woes. Alcohol, being a depressant, would only exacerbate her mood. But Jade was keen on the health benefits of responsible recreational use of marijuana. Yes, even in medical school, college students offered her a joint from time to time.
Jade often refused, not because she was a D.A.R.E. kid or anything. She just never cared for the delivery system. Her nose would twitch when people around her smoked regular cigarettes. Those that vaped were no better. (Great. Now I'm coughing from smoke that smells like gingerbread!) Naturally, Jade was turned off smoking the stuff up. It also didn't help that it was a "communal" high in that the blunt or the bong would be passed down person to person. The presence of nameless germs didn't make toking up more appealing.
However, Jade was intrigued when she heard about edibles. She tried a special brownie from a classmate at a party and she remembered it made her feel pretty relaxed. And that's what Jade was after, she just wanted to feel good. Other vices would eventually maker her either numb or feel worse. Apparently, the technology into edibles had exploded once it became a legit business venture. She ordered some Mood Gummies online and they arrived at her door in a matter of days.
She read the packaging, which was very bright and colorful. Inside the box was a small card as she was a new customer. Jade just read the text aloud to herself:
"That's beautiful, man! You just purchased Mood Gummies. As Bill and Ted said: BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER. But let us not forget to also be excellent to ourselves."
Jade rolled her eyes at the words of wisdom.
"These THC-infused chewable morsels are not weight-dependent. Nor does it matter if you are a guy, a gal, or enby. One dab will do ya! Please keep yourself hydrated and allow 30 minutes to two hours for the effects to kick in. Enjoy!"
She put down the card with a smirk and picked up the jar, carefully tearing into the perforated plastic. Then, she unscrewed the lid, and the aroma hit her hard. Jade swore it smelled like strawberries. Thin fingers picked out one squishy piece and she studied it for a minute. She shrugged and popped the dark red gummy into her mouth.
Jade checked the time on her phone.
"Well, here goes nothing."
Tori fell asleep on her couch, her face staring at the back. Since her left side harbored all of the pain, it took a considerable amount of time and effort to roll herself. Not only that, but Tori needed to achieve verticality before the point of no return where she would slam onto the floor. And in all likelihood, it would end up that she would land on her left side.
The sudden ringing on her phone creating a sense of urgency didn't make it better.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!"
The Latina was at last sitting up, the stiffness of the previous night's rest setting in. By the time this all happened, the ringing had stopped.
Frustrated, Tori reached for her Samsung on the coffee table and checked the ID.
(Huh?)
It was her sister. Nothing like something totally unexpected to sober you up when you're half awake.
Being in a funny mood, she decided to call her back. The tan woman held the brick to her face, blowing the rogue strands of hair from her face as she waited on the series of low rings to end.
"Hello? Tori?"
"Hey, Trina" she stretched. "What's up?"
Objectively, it seemed rather anticlimactic as this is the most they've spoken to each other in eight years.
"Dad told me what happened!" her voice carried genuine worry. "Are you really okay?"
"I'm more surprised by you calling than me surviving that insanity."
Trina scoffed annoyed on the other end.
"We're sisters, Tori. There's a difference between being angry with you and not caring that some prick running you off the fucking road!"
Tori felt a small kink in her back and decided to sit back than remain hunched forward. She sighed from the relief on her spine.
"You're right. I appreciate you calling, thanks for checking..."
"WAIT!"
"What?"
The older Vega sighed.
"Look...I've been seeing someone."
Tori raised a brow.
"Aren't you married?"
"I meant seeing a THERAPIST, smartass!"
Trina cleared her throat while Tori rubbed her eyes.
"I've been extra snippy lately and even Ted noticed. It was when I started getting short with the boys that I knew I needed to figure some things out."
Not only did her big sis get married, but she had three sons. Thank the gods for Facebook because the cop didn't do gatherings to stay up to date.
"Oh, yeah the boys. Um...Jet, Turbo and Rebel."
There was a long pause.
"That isn't even close!" Trina protested.
"Yeah, I know Treen..." Tori huffed. "I was just fucking with you."
"Right."
Tori switched the phone to her healing arm and used her good one to launch herself onto her feet. She felt like a newborn giraffe finding her footing as she staggered into the kitchen. A powerful thirst was calling, and she needed to take care of that if this conversation were to continue.
She grabbed a glass from the drying rack and set it under the sink. Tori was thinking about getting one of those fancy filters for the tap but upon moving in, she had the potable water tested and it came back clean. So, she felt confident to wet her whistle now and then. The rest of the time, she's boiling said water for cooking. Tori put the phone on speaker near her, so she had hands free to fill up.
"You still there, Tori?"
"Mmm-hm," she replied while downing her cold beverage. "Ahh! Sorry, but I was parched as shit!"
"Just got up?" asked Trina. "Are you getting enough sleep?"
She set her nearly empty glass down.
"Little else I can do right now. My boss...YOUR FATHER...put me on medical leave."
Tori stood there stone-faced while her sister cackled miles away.
"Laugh it up, bitch. Go ahead!"
"I'm sorry..." Trina managed between the yucks. "I just forgot how funny you are."
(Why is she being so nice to me right now?)
"Apparently the hospital felt the same way. A sense of humor and some ibuprofen, send my ass home!"
"Seriously, Tori...can I talk for a minute?"
Tori pulled up a chair and got herself comfortable at the small wooden table.
"Okay, what did the shrink say?"
"They don't like that term," Trina admonished her.
"Oh, my apologies. Psycho-Analyst American."
Trina clicked her tongue.
"Listen...I understand how you feel about that stuff."
Ten years ago, their mother Holly Vega's depression was reaching a peak, and it was impossible to hide from her family. Trina offered to take her to therapy as she had recently been getting some troubling texts since her moving out. Holly appeared resistant in the beginning but in the interim of the sessions, started to open up. The whole time, they had kept these sessions from David and Tori.
Holly didn't want them to worry.
So, once a week they would leave under the guise of a day out, some shopping or a long lunch. But in reality, Trina accompanied Holly to therapy. She was present at first for moral support, but as Holly began to peel back the layers, she asked for her oldest daughter to sit these out from now on and wait in the lobby. There apparently were secrets that she didn't even want Trina to hear, despite being an adult at this point.
As Holly came out of sessions at this point, she seemed rather expressionless. They would follow up these therapy appointments with a cup of coffee or a way in the park to decompress. Trina got bits and pieces, but was able to deduce that her mother didn't have the happiest of childhoods and was harboring a lot of resentment carried over from her own parents.
One afternoon, Trina got the most earth-shattering surprise when her father called and said that her mother ran out and killed herself.
Tori was devastated and their father was inconsolable. The two took an extended excused leave from the academy and work respectively to attend the funeral and grieve.
At the wake, Mr. Galanter introduced himself to Holly's widower as his late wife's therapist. He expressed his deepest regrets that she didn't get the outcome that he had hoped and prayed that Holly found peace wherever she is. That was the first time David found out about all of this. Then word got back to Tori.
This was the beginning of the civil war between the sisters.
Tori blamed Trina for her mother's suicide by dragging her to those sessions. Trina shot back that their mother was already a troubled woman who was keeping everything inside for their sake. Did she want their mother to continue on this path? To live miserably? Tori questioned this line of reasoning because she's dead now. David tried to get them to stop but it was impossible. Trina was an adult and Tori was almost there.
After a year and a half of bickering, the two didn't speak or write ever since. David would mediate between his daughters, informing one of the other outside of social media. All Tori wanted to know was that her sister was alive and well and that was enough. She didn't wish to make peace anytime soon.
"I've come to find out that I've been projecting as a byproduct of trauma that I've been holding in. Dr. Weiss said that trauma can be generational, and it is up to us to break the chain. Mom..." Trina was getting heavy in her voice, fighting against sobbing. "Mom held onto her pain and it was too much. And the pain from what happened to her followed me to my own family. And I want this bad feeling to stop!"
The Latina blinked, swallowing the remainder of her water.
"Do you...think about her too?"
"More often these days," Tori admitted. "I usually keep my mind busy with work."
"Stay at home mom myself. I get enough physical activity, but nothing to distract the brain."
"Gives you a lot of time to think?"
"Pretty much," Trina sighed.
Tori coughed.
"Next time, try a podcast. Less expensive."
Trina chuckled sarcastically.
"Tori, I... I'm sorry how things ended between us. I miss you. You never met my boys. Or Ted."
"I... guess I'm sorry, too. It... wasn't fair of me to put all of the blame at your feet."
Being on the LAPD was a nice enough distraction. But that job had the tendency to make one cynical. Tori held onto her virtue, however even she wasn't spared of the specter of sarcasm infecting her. But being bitter and hateful requires too much energy. Tori would much rather spend that kind of effort into something more meaningful.
"I was young and, you know..."
"I know..." Trina assured.
Tori could sense her sister smiling on the other line.
"We should get together sometime. When you're feeling better, of course!"
The detective smiled.
"I think I'd like that," sighed Tori.
An hour into ingesting her gummy, a certain medical examiner was laying on the floor. Her golden blonde hair was spread out around her head like a halo on a saint from a Renaissance painting.
(Ahhhh... that's some good dopamine.)
She yawned by reflex, normally associating this freewheeling sensation with being sleepy or coming down from a satisfying orgasm.
"What...time is it?" Jade asked herself. "That's a funny word: time."
Her eyes widened and she crawled up to the coffee table where her yellow legal pad sat next to her laptop. Jade hungrily grabbed a pen and struggled with the click button before scrawling down the word "time."
Jade only rose as far as her knees and proceeded to crawl to the bedroom. Eventually, the doctor made it to her chambers and pulled herself onto the bed, nearly taking the covers with her. Jade yawned even bigger as she snuggled against the pillows.
"Oh, soft bed. Nice bed. Goodnight."
A/N: Things may have ended badly with their respective romantic interests (intentional or not) and it's easy to feel really lousy right now. But credit is due that Tori reached out to her sister and Jade is practicing a little self-love. A bit high but relaxed.