Broken Souls

Valentina Ⅰ

Jenna Ortega as Valentina Natalia D'Amato

 I couldn't get the fucking image out of my head. Her hands on his chest, his under her skirt, kissing her the way he kissed me. I pressed my hand to my eyes, and they came away wet with black smudges. I stumbled out of the dorm, only to find the last person I wanted to see right now.

Him.

My cheeks flushed with a mixture of anger and humiliation as my hands trembled and my heart raced.

"Val! There you- What happened?" Acting so concerned when he knew just exactly what he was doing. A wave of rage washed over me like molten lava in my veins. I drew my fist back and slammed it into his nose, feeling the satisfying crunch of my fist connecting with his face.

"You fucking asshole! We had it all! I loved you. I LOVED YOU! Why the hell did you have to ruin it? Why?" My voice wavered at the last word, and I tried to pull myself together. His face morphed into realization as he held his nose, red liquid dripping onto the floor.

"Babe! Baby, please, listen to me-" I cut him off by turning around and storming off to my dorm.

I curled under my quilt and cried until my tears had run dry. Why? Why wasn't I good enough? Why'd he have to ruin it? Soon the anger and sadness faded into numbness, and I just laid there as my thoughts spiraled. Questions lay heavy in my mind, taunting me. Why would he just throw away all we had and all we could have had?

I heard the door creak open and the unmistakable footsteps of my best friend, Alina enter the room. "Val? Val are you in here? Valentina?"

I felt the side of the bed dip and she pulled the cover off my face. I looked at her blearily, my eyes dry from my tears. "Oh love. What happened?" Fresh tears came to my eyes, and I hated myself for it. "I-I saw Eli and Myra m-making out today morning." Alina's eyes widened, but something was off. She didn't seem surprised. She hugged me, but I pushed her away.

"Did you know?" I asked. She looked at me guilty, "Val..." "Did. You. Know." She looked down at the floor. "Everyone did. He said he'd stop. Val, please; he didn't mean to hurt you."

I should have expected this. They might have been my friends, but they were Eli's friends first. I was introduced to them as Eli's girl, and I guess that's all I was to them.

"Get out." I said it lowly. Alina looked at me, hurt. "Did you not hear me? Get. Out. GET OUT!" When I yelled, she finally took the hint and left. I didn't have it in me to cry anymore. I just stayed under the covers, emotionless. At least tomorrow was the last day of term.

The next morning, I was happy for about five seconds before I remembered what happened. I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. Looking at myself in the mirror, I winced. There was mascara smudged all over my face, and my eyes were puffy. My lips were dry and cracked. All in all, I looked like a mess. I quickly washed my face before returning to my bed and opening my laptop. In my inbox was an email inviting me to North Seasons Duelling Academy for a summer course. I had applied months ago but was going to turn it down because Eli wanted to take me to Italy. Now, though, I had no reason to refuse. If nothing else, it would keep me busy rather than at my parents house. I sat down and began to draft an acceptance.