A Newfound Home - Adopted by Josh Dun

Eighteen

V I C T Ø R I A
Tuesday went by like normal.

I ended up sitting with Max and his friends during lunch and while David was pouting the entire time, Peter and their other friends were super nice.

Some of the girls were trying to recruit me for cheerleading and dance.

I sat outside and waited to be picked up when I saw Ruby out of the corner of my eye. She spotted me and wandered over.

"Hi, Tori." She took a seat next to me. I didn't know what to say to start the conversation.

"You said Lily's hiding a secret," she finally spoke and looked at me. "What's the secret?" I wasn't sure if I should tell her.

"Oh. uhh, you know how she and Ryan have been together since seventh grade?" She nodded. "She started dating him to get closer to Max because she likes him. She was using him and Tony."

She had a look on her face. I wasn't sure if it was a hateful or thoughtful look.

"That's not surprising. I remember when the three boys were friends. Once she was added to the mix, we all watched it fall apart. I wish Tony and Ryan would grow a pair and actually discuss it with Max instead of hating his guts."

I smiled and agreed.

Josh's car pulled up and I waved to Ruby as I walked to the car. I opened the door to see Jenna rather than Josh.

"Jenna? Where's Josh?" I threw my backpack in the back and buckled up.

"At home with Tyler. I figured we could have our girl's day today. Do some shopping and then get some supper." I nodded and she pulled out of the parking lot.

We went to the mall and went to Macy's.

Jenna dragged me towards the dresses and started picking out some dresses for me to try on. A lot of them were pink and purple, and while I hated girly colors, she told me they would look great with my skin tone.

"We should get matching tops to wear on tour!" Josh told me that they were going on tour in March and that I was going with them.

I was upset at first because I didn't want to leave school early, but then I got excited because I get to travel the country.

She looked through the shirts and asked what my shirt size was. We found four that we both liked and that had both of our sizes.

After a while, we went towards the dressing room and Jenna sat on the bench outside of the dressing room.

"You go in and try them on. I'll wait here," I started towards the dressing rooms and she stopped me. "Wait! You should show me each dress, like a fashion show!"

I smiled and went into the dressing room. I peeled my sweatshirt and jeans off and threw on the first dress.

It was a black dress with pink flowers on it. I loved it until I looked in the mirror and stared at my arms.

Why did I do this to myself? I look so ugly.

I started crying and after a minute, someone knocked on the dressing room door. "Tori, honey? It's been a few minutes, are you okay?"

I didn't want to go out there, so I unlocked the door and let her in. She shut the door and looked at me, gasping quietly.

"Tori, that dress is beautiful on you. What's the issue?" I moved my arms from behind me and let them fall to my side.

She pulled me into a tight hug and let me cry. "I hate that I did this to myself. I look so bad." She pulled away and looked me in the eye.

"Tori, you are a beautiful young lady. We make mistakes. You learn and you grow from them. Don't let this stop you from dressing how you want."

I smiled and she wiped my tears away.

J O S H U A
It was almost eight when the girls got back. Tori ran upstairs with a bunch of bags and yelled a, 'hello' down the stairs.

Jenna set my keys in the bowl by the door and pursed her lips. "How was shopping?" Tyler asked her, getting up to greet her with a kiss.

"It was fine. Josh, can I talk to you?" I nodded and we went into the kitchen. "Did something happen?" She nodded.

She was having a tough time trying on stuff. She, uhh, she self-harms," I felt my heart drop to my knees.

"What?" She nodded. "Her arms are covered in marks and scars. I'm guessing you didn't know?"

I shook my head and leaned against the counter. I didn't even realize she was struggling that badly.

Tyler joined us and I stood up straight, brushing my hair back. "What do I even do? Do I confront her on it?"

Jenna shrugged and Tyler asked her what happened. She told him and he pursed his lips, looking at me.

"Don't confront her on this right now. She'll know Jenna told you and be mad at both of you. You'll need to find a time when you can actually discuss it with her."

Tori came downstairs and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a soda from the fridge. "Josh, can I go to a friend's house on Friday for a movie night?"

She opened the soda and took a sip. "Sure. Is it Max?" She shook her head. "No, it's the group of kids I hang with at school." I nodded and she went back upstairs.

I can't believe this was happening under my nose and I didn't even realize it. Tyler rubbed my back and I sighed.