CHAPTER 2:
The next day, at Venice Beach, Tori, Trina, and Leah were laying out in the sun by the water. Trina had just sat up to apply a bit of sunblock when Tori opened her eyes and noticed Leah's disappointed expression.
"You okay, Leah?" Tori asked curiously, wondering what was wrong.
"Yeah, kinda," Leah began. She turned to face Tori. "Tori, should I feel bad about my parents being in jail?"
"No! They were absolutely out of line," Trina chimed in.
"Yes, what Trina said. They deserved to go to jail," Tori said. "What they did was illegal and cruel."
"I just wanted to be sure. I mean, living with you two is great – I have friends, and a roof to sleep under. So why do I feel like a piece of me is missing?" Leah asked wearily.
"Hey. Don't get worked up over this, Leah," Tori said, comforting her friend. "You have friends that love you no matter what. Now come on, let's hit the water," she added, and the three girls stood up.
"Say, Leah, I was wondering; would you be up to going camping with us?" Trina asked as they headed for the waves lapping up on the shore.
"I guess I could. Though I do worry about being scared. People like to tell ghost stories around the campfire," Leah said, uneasy.
"Why do I feel like Jade's going to have one of those prepared?" Tori thought aloud.
"If she does; can you hold my hand? I know I should be able to deal with it myself; but after everything that's happened, I'm not so sure," Leah explained.
"Hey, don't worry; you'll be fine. I promise," Tori assured her.
"Yeah; now come on, let's get in the water," Trina urged them, and the three girls did so.
The next day at Tori's house, she and Leah were on the couch sorting through some movies that they had rented hours earlier.
"I mean we could pick a comedy," Tori suggested, once she had put butter in the tub of popcorn.
"True! Or we could pick a Disney movie, you know?" Leah asked.
"I know! I would like that, but we'd have to ask the others too. Most likely Jade would want a horror movie," Tori replied as the doorbell rang. "Coming!" she called out, getting up.
When Tori answered the door, it turned out to be Jade. "Hello, Tori," she said.
"You're just in time," Tori said. She opened the door wide, beckoning Jade & Valerie to come in and join them.
"Hey, uh..by the way, I just wanted to confirm that Valerie is coming along to the camping trip tomorrow," Jade added. "You okay with that?"
"Really?" Tori asked. "Sure. I should tell you, Leah will be coming too. Even though she's worried about people telling creepy ghost stories," she added.
"Has Leah met Valerie before?" Jade asked.
"Not sure," Tori answered, stepping aside. "Leah, this is Jade's half-sister, Valerie. The one I was telling you about."
What happened next surprised everyone. Leah took one look at Valerie and her mouth fell open, agape. She swallowed hard and turned to Tori and Jade. "Tori, Jade, can you excuse Val and I for a moment?" she asked.
"Sure," Tori said, shrugging.
"Whatever you say," Jade said, and she and Tori walked into the kitchen.
