Breathe In

•13•

-Tori-

Despite the truth coming out about Claire, they decided it would be best to keep me in jail for the time being, for reasons I don't know yet.

"Why were you in the garage that night?"

I stare at the interrogator, unimpressed.
"As I have told many people multiple times, I was told by an anonymous source that Lena would be there."

She leans forward. "Can you elaborate?"

I nod shortly, slightly annoyed at the whole process. "At about one pm on Thursday, I got a text from what I assume to have been a wrong number, telling me the location that Lena would be at later that night. I didn't want to seem creepy, but I needed to talk to her about something so I went down there to check it out."

"And at any point in time was Lena actually there?"

I shake my head. "No. Only Claire and the media group."

"I see." She taps her fingers on the desk. "Miss Odette, we tracked the number on your phone and found that it belonged to Gavin Short."

"The creepy, greasy guy who initiated the gun fight?"

"Yes, him." She flips through a few papers before picking out a photo and showing it to me. "Does this face ring a bell?"

"Yeah,that's my guidance counselor's... friend."

She nods grimly and places another photo by its side.

"And that's Gavin-no freaking way!"

The two photos seem to morph together after staring at them for a while. In one, a shaved Gavin with greasy black bangs and sharp green eyes. In the other is a bearded man with red locks and dull black eyes.

"Gavin is a con artist. He continually manipulates his appearance in order to get what he wants from people. You know him as his true self, Gavin Short, but also as his alias, Terrence Rivera. Now, at this time we do not know why it is that he decided to contact you Thursday, or why he has it out for Lena specifically. While we are currently holding him in our custody, we know that he has a very large network."

I stare at her blankly. "I thought Gavin was only working in media?"

She sighs, leaning back in her chair. "Yes, he works for a website that exploits public figures. However, he is also a hit man, hacker, and ex movie star."

Suddenly the name clicks. "Gavin, from Gigi and Gavin? The hit comedy series?"

She nods in affirmation.

"He was one of the most beloved actors of his time before he starting acting strangely and left for good!"

"Yes. Glad you're connecting the dots."

"What happened to him?"

Her eyes go dark. "One of his closest friends turned on him after he came out of the closet and ruined his career. After that, he disappeared for years before resurfacing as the most dangerous man in our area, Jonathan Daniels."

"Who was his best friend?" I inquire, feeling tendrils of fear crawling up my spine.

She gives me a long look before icily replying.
"Cameron Dulce. Lena's father."

•••

The trial comes and goes, with me found not guilty, of course. Except that's not what the public hears.

"As of today, Victoria Grace Odette was officially proclaimed guilty today, sentencing her to a year's worth of jail time for the stalking and sexual harassment of Lena Dulce, daughter of Cameron Dulce and Gabriella Cortes."

I stare remorsefully at the tv screen until Ms. Singh mercifully turns it off.
"I know you're still not one hundred percent on this, Tori, but trust me, it's the only way. In a few hours, we'll have Lena and her mom in here as well. We just need to follow through with the plan."

I shake my head sadly. "And what about the future? How do you expect Tori Odette, sexual predator, to get a job? A steady income? Love?"

Singh sighs. "We're working on that. As soon as we track down all of Short's compadres, we'll be in the clear to tell the public the true heroic story of Tori Odette."

"I don't want to be a hero," I frown. "I want to be a normal girl who can walk down the street feeling not only safe, but blissfully ignored. Can you guarantee that to me, Singh?"

She looks down sadly. "I can't say that you'll ever have a completely normal life again, Tori. Media is a nasty little thing. Word gets out fast, and even once we depict you as the good guy of this story, we can't assure you that your celebrity status will die down any time soon. If it's any assurance, we'll try to be as boring as we can when delivering your story."

I crack a small smile. "Promise to make it so boring that people fall asleep when seeing it and you've got yourself a deal." I stick out my hand and she shakes it firmly.

"Singh, we need you. The plan has been initiated. It's time."

She nods seriously and stands up before looking over her shoulder. "Don't blow the place up while I'm gone, kid."

I won't, but only because I get to see Lena soon.