Endgame

chapter two

pov Tori

When I'm finally home, chilling in my couch and processing everything that had happened today, I hear a knock on my door. I growl and get up to open it. It's normally always open but Trina just came home and locked it so 'I had to get up when someone was at the door'.

I told her no one would come anyway.

Then she answered me with a "You wanna bet?"

Trina is my annoying older sister by the way.
I hate it when she's right.
I owe her 10 dollars now.

There she is, as I open the door, puffy eyes, mascara ruined, tears-stained cheeks.

But she's still gorgeous.
TORI GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!

"Are you going to let me in or what?", Jade asks impatiently.

"Yeah of course, come in.", I say, shaking my head whilst stepping aside so she can enter my house.

Why? How? HUH? She's here! In my house. Should I shout for help?
Nah she looked troubled...

"Well, that was not what I expected.", She says while looking around.

"You disappeared after lunch.", I start.

"Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious, Vega.", She snaps, but I see her eyes getting their sparkle again for a moment, the slightest moment, but it was there.

Maybe just MAYBE she doesn't hate you. She just likes to make you feel that way.
I don't know where the confidence comes from but I say something back to her when she sits down.

"So, tell me what happened then, or did you drive all the way here just to make fun of me some more?", I ask getting annoyed. Don't slip Tori, get that smile back on your face.

Jade starts crying again and takes a pillow in her lap. I sit by her and stroke her back. Weirdly enough, she lets me. Just when I open my mouth to say something she puts her face in the pillow and I hear her muffled scream.

When she pulls her head back up, I see her mascara stains on the white pillow. It doesn't matter at the moment, because I've never seen Jade like this. She's so...broken¿?

"Beck broke up with me.", She says. She stares into my eyes.

"Yeah, I know, we kind of got the impre-", I try to explain but she cuts me off.

"No Vega, you don't know. I went back like I always do. I don't want to lose him. I was too angry; I just get too damn frustrated to think straight and I say things I don't mean. I didn't mean it, I never do. I need him Tori, I really really do. He said it was over. He is sick of me. He never wants me back now.", I think, no I'm sure, she just said that all in one breath.

"Well I-", I try to speak but she cuts me off.

"Oh shut up Vega. Just be honest with me, okay?", she says.

"of course, Jade.", I reply.

"He wants to be with you, doesn't he?", she
asks. Well, I certainly didn't see that one coming.

"No, what makes you think that?", I ask confused.

"Then he's probably with this Meredith girl.", she says through gritted teeth.

"Look Jade, just give him time. You needed the rest of the day off to get yourself back together and go talk to him. Now give him time to figure things out. If it's meant to be, he'll come back around. If not, you'll meet someone else. Everyone deserves a second chance, or well...more chances.", I say.

For a moment she just stares at me. I see her glancing at my lips and then back in my eyes and there's that spark again, with a hint of confusion.

I stare back into her green blue orbs and it's like we're the only people in the world. I think we both started leaning in because our noses are almost touching.

"TORI WHERE IS YOUR CUTE PINK TOP I WANT TO WEAR IT!" Trina shouts from up the stairs. We jump apart and I nearly fall on the floor. "OH, NEVERMIND I FOUND IT."

"Okay Vega, I'm going now." Jade says blankly.

"Jade wai-" I try to get her to talk to me some more but she cuts me off again.

"NO" she says. At least old Jade is back. For now.

"Okay see you around then." I sigh and sink back in my couch.

"Heeey Toriiii.", Tina is standing behind me again, making grabby hands at me.

I roll my eyes, give her the 10 dollars and she's out the door, wherever she's headed to.

What the hell just happened? I feel so tired. 

Maybe I could just take a little nap, that wouldn't hurt.

"VICTORIA VEGA WHY ISN'T THERE ANY FOOD ON THE TABLE?!", I hear my dad scream. I'm still half asleep but I stand up right away to see him standing beside the table.

Never mind, this is going to hurt.

I start seeing black dots and have to sit down again. But I get pulled back to the ground by my hair.

"Oh don't you dare sit back down. You're useless, you know that? You're disobedient. You know what I do to disobedient kids?"

I can smell the seven pints of beer he already downed the past hour after work.

He slaps me.

"ANSWER ME."

He slaps me again. He spits on me.
When I don't get any words to come out of my mouth, he starts hitting me and kicking me in the stomach.
He barely keeps himself upright and I think he notices.

"Next time there better be food on the table girl. I don't even know why I still put up with you, you useless shit.", he slurs while struggling to get up the stairs.
After a while I hear his bedroom door close.

That's when I know I can get up from the floor. I get a sharp pain in my side though. I wince and hold that place tightly while making my way up the stairs into my bathroom.

My parents used to be the most loving parents anyone could have. My mother and I were always so close and I used to tell her everything. I still do, she just can't say anything back anymore.

She died in a car crash 10 months ago.

On the 4th of July 2009.

It feels like it happened only yesterday and I still can't talk about it without bawling my eyes out.
At first Trina, my dad and I kept each other up. Family members and our neighbours came to check in on us or cook for us regularly. After a few months, though, we had to get back into our old routines. We had to live again. I laid in bed rotting for a long time, until my aunt Sonya made me go to a therapist.
She reminded me a bit of my mom but helped me through that part nonetheless. For a while my dad seemed to be getting a bit like his old self again. Then he started staying away from home longer. He'd sometimes come home around 4 am, freshen himself up, take his coffee and get back to work at 5. Then one night about 3 months ago he came home at around 11 Pm and he was really mad. That night was the first time he ever hit me. He told me it was my fault that Holly, my mother, died and that he wished it was me instead of her.

The worst of it all though, is that he is right and I wish that, too. 

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A shorter chapter so y'all can process all this information!

Because Wow, right?!

Thank you for being here💗