Page 90 of Faking It

“Tori.”

“What?” She plops on the couch.

“Please tell me you weren’t with Stefan.”

Silence. She’s now picking her fingernails.

“Seriously?”

“What if I was?” she bursts out. “It’s my life. I’m allowed to live how I want, aren’t I?”

“Of course, you do, but Stefan? After how he treated you? Tori, you encouraged me to leave Logan for the same reasons.”

“Well, yeah, Logan was a freeloading asshole. At least Stefan supported me financially—”

“Is this about money? Are you broke?”

She impatiently waves my comment aside. “No, I’m not broke. I’m pointing out the difference between our exes. Logan needed to go. Stefan… he can change.”

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, Tori. You deserve better than a guy who only calls you when he wants to get off.”

“We won’t all get a knight in shining armor,” she retorts, getting up. “Some of us will have to settle for the peasants.” She marches toward the steps, then stops abruptly, turning to me with a hefty sigh. “Before you start looking at me sideways, I meant nothing by that. I’m happy you’ve found someone who cares for you that much. The truth is, we won’t all be that lucky. We’ll have no other choice than the scraps.”

“There’s always a choice, Tori,” I reply as she climbs the stairs.

“Not for me. I’m always at the bottom of the barrel.”

I don’t understand what that comment means, and she’s already entering her bedroom before I can open my mouth. Tucking it in a folder along with a reminder to talk to her later, I grab my iPad to read the short script for supporting cast audition she’d booked for me. With only three more scenes before this movie wraps, I’m going to need more work.

A sudden thumping makes my head shoot up. Tori flies down the stairs in a panic, her wild eyes sweeping the room. “My laptop!” she screeches. “Have you seen it?”

“No.” Still, I lift the couch seats to look under them, knowing Tori usually leaves her stuff everywhere. Tori dashes around the open concept space like she’s on fire, overturning furniture in the living room, tearing the kitchen apart, the entire time saying, “No,” under her breath.

“Did you retrace your steps?” I ask, in an attempt to help.

“Yes!” she shrieks. “It was on my bed before I left last night—” she pauses as if doing a mental check. “Yeah, I left it on my bed.”

“And you searched everywhere, right?” I press.

“Of course, I did. Coming downstairs was a last resort. I’m sure of where I left it.”

“Tori,” I say patiently. “Think really hard. Are you sure about not leaving the house with the laptop?”

She stares at me as if second-guessing the confidence she displayed earlier, then shakes her head vigorously. “I’m positive.”

“Well…” I shrug, not knowing what else to do. “There are no signs of a break-in, so I don’t know. You always back your info to the cloud, anyway, so why are you worried?”

“There’s information on my laptop that no one’s allowed to see. Things that could—” Her face goes red, and I instantly know why she’s panicking like this.

“Jesus Christ, Tori. Didn’t I tell you to delete that folder? If your sex videos get out, it’s over for you.”

She groans. “I deleted them, just not from the trash. Fuck my fucking life!”

With the urgency of the situation even more dire, I spring into action. “Come on, let’s turn this entire place upside down.”

Half an hour later, I find the laptop in her bed, tucked under a pile of laundry that had been resting there all week.

I give her a deadpan stare as I lift it. “Thorough search, my ass.”

---