That which we face.

Chapter 22 - Changes hopes and worries.

Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.

That which we face.

Chapter 22 – Changes, hopes and worries.

Tori's POV

Jade looked stunned. I knew she realized her parents were drifting apart but this appears to have come very unexpectedly. For a few moments she just stood there. I myself wasn't sure what to say.

"Please let me say it again, it is not you or your coming out, that caused this. Your father and I knew we had drifted apart and neither of us wanted to end up hating each other. If we stayed together, it would only get worse. So we are getting a divorce."

"Divorce?" was all that Jade said.

Mrs. West nodded her head. "We will be getting divorced, but we will be keeping you in Hollywood Arts high for your final year. We do realize how important it is to you."

I could see some of the tension and anxiety in Jade's face drain away at that mention. I felt a bit relieved as well. I would hate to have Jade change schools or even worse move away.

"What about living arrangements?"

"Your father has chosen to move into a small apartment near his office. You will continue to live here with me. We want to disrupt your life as little as possible. The house itself may eventually be sold but, we won't do that until after you leave for college next year."

"Ok, thanks for trying to keep things stable for me."

"You're welcome, Jade."

Jade nodded to the stairs for us to leave.

"Tori and I will be upstairs for a while." Jade said, before we left.

A few moments later we were in Jades room. She still looked visibly shaken as she sat on the bed. She sighed and just stared straight off into space. I just sat next to her and put my arm around her waist. At that point she just leaned her head on my shoulder and said nothing.

I took her hand and we just sat there. She was hurting and I felt so bad for her.

"What would I do without you Vega?" She said after a few minutes without saying a word.

"I should be saying that, Jade." I said in response.

"You're stronger than you look Vega. You've helped me, as much as I've helped you."

I didn't know what to say so I just continued to hold her.

2 more weeks past after that day. It was my turn to support Jade. She seemed a lot moodier and more withdrawn since the announcement of her parents' separation. Even Cat tried to help her shake her funk but couldn't succeed.

I had discussed with my therapist of my feelings of inadequacy for not being as intimate with Jade as I wanted. She seemed to really need me and I kept feeling that I was only doing half the job. I slept over a lot during those two weeks. We would watch TV or go out but at the end of the night would crawl into bed with me and just hold on to me tightly.

I felt so torn. I kept feeling that I wasn't giving my all and started to feel guilty about it. My therapist told me to talk about it with Jade but she was dealing with emotions from her parent's separation and I just couldn't.

It all came to a head one particular evening. Jade hadn't seen her father in more than a week. Her mother was around but seemed lost. She seemed to lack focus and looked down. That affected Jade who seemed to swing deeper into depression.