sequal to "in denial"
valeria beene and drew starkey have never been happier. now it's time for bigger parts in their lives. hard conversations, engagement, family issues, and so much more is in store for their relationship.
☆ written in lowercase
— chase rude starkey maddie c mads babe jd (my bf) austin north (obx) fruit salad
chase so val are you coming orrr
valeria bro im literally omw. drew is a slow driver blame him
rude wtf he always drives fast with me
austin north (obx) same?
maddie c he's probably driving slow so he doesn't get in a wreck w his wife in the car, dumbasses.
austin north (obx) it's still so weird to hear that. the fact that val and drew are married still blows my mind.
jd (my bf) valeriaaa how far are y'all
mads babe val
chase valeria bitch this is not funny where tf are you
fruit salad valeria stop
maddie c did i jinx them
—
chase stokes' pov.
jd, rudy, madelyn, austin, madison, and i are sitting around the living room. we're all panicking at this point. drew and valeria haven't answered in quite a few minutes, which isn't normal for either of them.
"i called val, like, four times," madison says. "nothing."
"same. nothing from drew," jd adds.
"can someone call the nearest hospital? see if they know anything?" madelyn asks.
i haven't said anything yet. i can't. i physically cannot speak. my brain is rattling with hundreds of possibilities. what would i do if valeria was dead? how would i continue without my best friend?
my phone starts ringing. it's valeria.
"val? are you okay?" i ask, hyperventilating.
"is this james alexander chase stokes?" a voice asks.
fuck. fuck. fuck.
i freeze. the person on the other side of the phone is not valeria. it was to be a nurse or something.
madelyn rips the phone out of my hand.
"hello, this is madelyn cline. i'm a friend of valeria's," she says into the phone.
i can't hear the voice's response, but i can see madelyn's reaction.
"okay, so um— are they okay?"
my face falls into my hands. something bad happened. drew was driving slow, but something still happened.
"okay, yes. thank you. we'll be there soon."
she hangs up.
i pull my face out of my hands and make eye contact with her.
"they said drew sustained minor injuries. valeria is, uh, in surgery."
"who's most stable to drive?" madison asks.
"i can do it," austin replies.
even though austin and valeria tease each other almost constantly, they have a really close friendship. i'm surprised he volunteered.
"i can too," rudy adds.
— drew starkey's pov.
a doctor put stitches in my forehead, and informed me of valeria's condition. he also told me that my friends were on their way. i decided to go to the waiting room while valeria was in surgery.
i completely blame myself for this. i was driving slow. i always do when valeria is in the car. if she dies, i don't think i could continue my life. i can't do anything without her.
chase, followed by the others, bursts through the hospital doors.
"drew!" he exclaims. i stand, and run towards him. we pull each other into a hug.
i know that chase is struggling with this just as much as i am. chase and valeria are best friends.
"how is she?"
"they said she should be fine," i explain. "they have to put a metal rod in her leg."
"jesus christ," chase mumbles.
i hug my other friends, and thank them for coming.
"can someone call jonas pate and val's brother?"
austin nods. he walks away from the group with his phone to his ear.
