𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐘 → original

twenty three

Caspar was, unsurprisingly, unable to rent a car at 3 pm on New Years Eve. So, with little thought, they download an app that was pretty similar to airbnb, but with cars. People who were not currently using their cars rented them out to others, through the app, and that was how Lou, Caspar, and Nadia ended up in a beat up old chevy truck, flying down the highway towards the others.

Marc had given them so little to go off of, and no one was replying to their texts, so they were all undeniably worried. The fear had sobered Nadia and Lou up quite quickly, and now they all rode along in an uncomfortable silence that no one wanted to fill.

In comparison to the other's journey, theirs seems to both fly by and take forever. Perhaps it was because Caspar was speeding, something he never did, but he couldn't be bothered to care. He had enough sense to keep an eye out for police, slowing whenever he seen them, and for that reason alone they thankfully never got pulled over.

Once they arrived, Caspar parked quickly on the street behind the car he recognized as Amory's rental. The three of them bolted from the truck towards the house, banging on the door the second they got there.

Ophelia answered, her face soft and unreadable. They looked her over, their chests heaving as if they expected another fire, but she just moved to the side and let them stroll in.

It was a modest house, the entry way opening to a small hallway that appeared to open up to a larger room. Caspar went first, Lou close behind him, slowly making their way into the house. They didn't bother taking off their shoes or coats, still half-expecting some tragedy to be awaiting them. When they finally entered the living room, they looked around. Amory was on the couch with his head in his hands, his knee bouncing. Marc was beside him, looking like he had seen a ghost, staring off into space with a dazed look in his eyes. There was a third person in a chair across from them, sitting quietly with her hands folded in her lap. A scruffy cat sat purring by her feet.

"Oh my god." Nadia was the first to realize, drawing her hand up to her mouth as the woman looked up. The cat shot up, and scurried off when Nadia spoke.

She was blonde, and her bangs had grown out to be more face framing than straight across. Her eyes were blue, rather than brown, and she wore glasses over them. Her face looked fuller, and her hair was much longer than any of them had last seen, but she was unmistakable. At least to them.

Vallie.

Caspar felt like he had been thrown into an ice bath. He was torn between the urge to scream his lungs out and hug her. He was hurt, and confused most of all. This couldn't be real.

Lou faltered, swaying into Caspar's side and grabbing onto his arm for support. She couldn't make a sound even if she wanted to, she was effectively frozen in place.

"We've been waiting to speak until you all got here." Vallie spoke, and that did it for Nadia. It was her, there was no mistaking it. Nadia felt her eyes begin to fill with tears.

"Now that you are," Amory breathed out, raising from his seated position. He was mad. He was so mad that it was radiating off of him, so palpable that the others could feel it in their bones. He took a step towards Vallie, but still kept his distance, and pointed a finger towards her. "What the fuck?"

"That's a valid first question." Vallie sighed, looking once more at her lap.

"No, seriously Vallie, what the fuck?" Amory's voice was growing in volume, his teeth barred and his jaw clenched. "What the fuck is going on? What the fuck are you doing in middle of no where Arizona, living your best life while the rest of us fucking suffer over you?"

Vallie flinched, her eyes squeezing shut. Ophelia wanted to move to her, to squeeze her to her, but she couldn't find it in herself to move. She feared if she touched Vallie, she'd turn to dust and flitter off in the wind.