SIXTEEN.

Tori was surprised when he was driving towards another direction instead of their former house. She looked at Jake, waiting for him to explain whatever he was up to.

He knew alright what was going through her mind that moment, but he chose to ignore her.

"What are you up to now?" she scowled, at the same time glaring at him

"Shhh… I want to sell you out" he smirked, causing her to crease her brow.

"Come on be serious" she snapped. If not that she just left the hospital, Jake would have stepped on the brake, causing her to bang her head on the dashboard, but he kicked against it.

He wonders why Tori always forgets to fasten her seatbelt every single time.

A few minutes later, Jake pulled up in front of only God knows where, just as Tori would say.

Tori was still staring at her new environment when the sound of a dog barking attracted her, causing her to cling to Jake.

"What's it?" he chuckled, feigning ignorance.

"Nothing" she pouted straighten her clothes and picking off imaginary dirt.

"Come along" he invited. Tori was following him on his tail in case the dog barks again. She feared dogs.

Her fears were heightened when a huge German Shepard jumped from the light Vegetation nearby.

She was yet to recover from the shock when the fog began to bark at her, causing her to scream in fear.

"It's going to eat me up" she cried while tugging Jake who had his hands secured inside his pockets.

Jake ignored her pleas. When he was satisfied with the fright he had caused her, he said, "Vin, that's enough now"

The dog stopped barking that instant. He looked up at Jake with his beady eyes, then let out a little growl before nuzzling his feet.

"You don't have to be scared. Vin is friendly. You're going to love him" he smirked placing his hands round her neck which she slapped off almost immediately.

He made to walk away, sensing he was going to send the dog after her, she placed his hand round her neck. "Run along now" he patted Vin who growled before running off.

The moment he disappeared into the nearby vegetation, Tori removed his hand from across her neck.

"It's not funny. That beast would have eaten me" she scowled at smiling Jake.

"Vin don't eat little girls" Tori rolled her eyes at his statement but decided not to respond.

The more they walked in, the more the vegetation thin out. A blue mansion was actually hiding behind the lustrous vegetation.

"Welcome to our new home" he gestures with his arms.

"This is beautiful, Jake. I was scared at first you were really going to sell me off like you said" she cringed.

" I wouldn't sell my little nice for anything in the world" he chuckled, patting her head like she was a five-year-old kid.

Tori chucked then ran off to take in the beauty, the house screamed.

"Be careful, Vin's still lurking around" he yelled after her, but she was out of earshot.

Her absence was a perfect opportunity for him to put a call across to Jace who was at the hotel at that time.

When he was done, Tori was yet to return from her exploration. To while away time, he wore his AirPods, then began nodding to the beat.

On return, Tori had a large grin plastered on her face. Thinking he was asleep while standing, she tiptoed towards him.

She wanted to raise his hair, so she could see the color of his eyes, as if that was possible when he had his eyelids closed.

"What?" he smirked when her fingers were a few inches from his hair.

"Come on, I want to see your eyes" she groaned.

"There's nothing special about my eyes" he said, taking the AirPods off his ears.

"Then let me see"

After what seems like a thousand years, he raised his hair up revealing his thick brow, his eyes were still tightly shut, so she could see his long lashes.

"I've seen your brow and lashes. Let me see your eyes" she pleaded with a tiny voice.

He opened his eyes and was greeted with an almost transparent sea blue eyes and Hazel Green eyes. He had a complete heterochromia.

"Your eyes…"

"Weird right? Let's go in" he snapped, grabbing her wrist.

"Not weird but beautiful" she cooed

"trying to make me happy, huh!" he smirked

" Not at all. It's really pretty. I wish I can get lost in it. Your blue eyes is so cute. I wish I can stare at it all day" she gushed.

" Thanks, but I don't like it. I was bullied at junior high because of my eyes" he shrugged.

" Trust me. Your eyes are damn pretty"

The interior was perfect, just like Tori had visualized. Just like the former house, the walls were painted gray same with the draperies, but the furry couch were dark.

She was lost in the beauty when Jake grabbed her wrist, then began to pull her upstairs.

"What?" she scowled, trying to wriggle from his grip, but he wasn't going to let go.

"You keep staring at the decor like you intend to raid it" he smirked

"Well, it's pretty, so I can't help but stare. But… why here? What happened to our former house?" she placed the few strands of hair that had fallen on her face behind her ear.

"It's no longer safe for us. Come along, let me show you your room"

They walked in silence to her room after which she had settled, she came out to explore for the second time again.

Having had enough of the rooms on the first floor, she went downstairs. The clanging of pans made her locate the kitchen with ease.

"Must you announce to the world whenever you're in the kitchen?" she chuckled, washing her hands to help him dice the veggies on the counter.

" Nah! Nah You sit, I'll do the cooking" he winked.

While he was cooking, Tori placed her hand under her chin. She had seen a studio upstairs, this got her wanting to find out it purpose.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked at once.

"You've always been asking questions without taking permission. Why is this one different?" he smirked, setting the plates on the island table.

"Never mind" she shrugged, "I was just trying to get your attention" she added tugging the hem of her tank top.

They ate the steamy spaghetti in silence, after which, Tori washed the plate. When she was done, she went to join Jake in the living room.

He had his laptop on his thigh while scrolling through the hotel official website.

Her mind was still running wild about the studio. She didn't know why she was feeling nervous just to inquire about a mere studio.

Finally she mustered courage to ask when he looked up at her "why are you quite?" he asked

"The studio. What…" she trailed off, seeing his once smiling face turning pale.

"I'm sorry if I've given you memories but…" she couldn't complete her question when Jake walked out on her, just like he did when she asked him to sing another song for her.

"Weirdo" she muttered under her breath. As usual, she resolved to inquire from Nicole.

She binged watched different movies until Nicole returned home in the company of Jace.

They were excited to see her after spending days at the hospital, refusing to return home.

"Look who we have here" Nicole screamed, running towards Tori before engulfing her in a bear hug.

"I missed you so much" she groaned when she pulled away. Jace patted her hair with a little smile on his lips then disappeared into the kitchen.

Nicole settled on the couch beside Tori, then kicked off her shoes. She still had a smile playing on her lips.

"You won't believe what happened" Nicole said. Those were the exact lines she always used to start up her stories.

Tori, on the other hand, was already excited about the stories she was going to get.