Choose me

IV

Axel loosened his grip on the key, letting is lay in his palm.  Valerie looked out at it, tears filling her eyes.  She took it, hands shaking, and held it close to her.  It was her ticket home, the only thing letting her get to the other world.

"Just leave," Axels voice was cold as ice.

"A-Axel." she tried to reach out for his hand but he swat her away.

"Go." He snapped, hiding his face, for tears were starting to fall.

Sam took Valerie's hand and led her back to her house.  "Some friend you have." He muttered.

Valerie couldn't speak.  She had hurt Axel.  I should've never come back she scolded herself.  She held the key tighter in her hand.  Tears fell down her face, and Sam brushed one away from her cheek.

"It's okay, love," he said calmly, "you're fine."

Valerie fell into his chest, sobbing.  Sam held onto her, rubbing his hands along her back.  He whispered a few things to get but they were inaudible.

. . .

Evelina woke up under the thin, white sheets of her bed.  Rain tapped the window, sending a wave of melancholy over her.  She hurt all over, feeling awful about leaving Axel.  She covered her eyes with her hands, fighting to hold back tears.

Eventually she collected herself and called for her maid.  Grace hurried into the room with a light pink dress.  It was flowy with puffy off the shoulder sleeves. She slid into it and Grace fixed her hair into a loose braid. She walked out of her room with her head held high, a queen doesn't let her crown fall.

cloudy light filled the hallways. The rain began the hit harder on the windows, making it impossible for Evelina to hear the sound of her shoes tapping on the floor. A bolt of light filled the dark hallways in an instant, then a large crash on thunder. Evelina stifled a shriek. she covered her mouth with her hands, there was going to be a thunder storm.

She ran down the hall, trying to ignore the flashes of light and crashing thunder outside. Evelina hated thunder, her fear of it had something to do Lisa. The two of them were quite young at the time, around seven years old. It was the Forth of July and they were lighting off fireworks. Evelina, or Valerie at the time, was drawing on the ground with some chalk when Lisa placed a big firework near her, she lit it and all hell broke loose. It blew up so close to Valerie that she couldn't hear for almost a year and she ended up covered in tiny burns from the sparks. Valerie resented Lisa ever since that ordeal.

Evelina looked at the scarred arms. The wounds had begun fading a long time ago but something they were still visible. Another crash of thunder banged outside. But this time, instead of running, Evelina was stopped by someone taking her hand.  She whipped around and saw Sam, a worried expression on his face.
"It's just thunder," he said soothingly.
He pulled her close and hugged her.  Evelina sighed in his chest, relieved to be with him.  Sam wasn't afraid of thunder like she was but rain still bothered him.  He preferred warm, sunny weather so he could be outside. 
Evelina pulled away, ignoring another bang of thunder.  She slipped her hand into Sam's and the two walked to the dining hall.  Sitting on the table were many different foods like flapjacks, scones, and muffins.
"We have a lot of wedding plans today, your majesty," a maid, Viola, said quietly to Sam.
He snagged a muffin from the table, "lets begin then."
Evelina took a scone and carefully took a bite, using her hand to keep flakey pieces of the breading from falling onto the floor. The lemon and blueberry taste filled her mouth, along with the sweetness of the glaze.  She enjoyed scones a lot, every flavor could be considered her favorite.
The three of them walked down the long hallway, feet tapping on the polished floor.
"Are you doing alright?" Sam whispered.
Evelina looked down at the flakes cupped in her hands.  Guilt sank into her stomach again.  "Honestly, not really.  I shouldn't have left Axel like that.  I hurt him terribly and I didn't even apologize."
Sam stayed quiet for a few moments.  More guilt washed over Evelina. I've hurt him too, she silently dreaded.
"He probably likes you," Sam noted, "but you never told him you have a lover, so he was able to be under the assumption that you could date him."
"I never would have, even if I wasn't in love with you," she sighed, "Axel was my only friend, I never fit in with the other people in my dimension.  I never considered the possibility of dating him because it would never work."
Sam tightened his grip on her hand, "he will understand eventually, but for now, we have a wedding to plan."