Through Your Eyes

Chapter 1: Valarie

A shitty soulmate can easily ruin, or even end, your life.

I always reminded myself of this after what happened to my sister...

Olivia met her soulmate really early in life, right out of college. After they happened to lock eyes on the street in passing, their souls were bound for eternity.

At first, neither of us thought this was a bad thing since he seemed super sweet and always brought her small gifts like chocolates or flowers. I even believed she'd won the soulmate lottery. But that didn't last long; as well know, all good things must come to an end.

On one of the very few nights my sister and I weren't stuck together like glue, he suddenly attacked her without warning. I never got the specifics of how or more importantly why but I got the call of what happened on the night that should've been the best night of my life. I had just passed my final exam and could start working as a police officer, but I never got the chance to celebrate with the ones I loved.

Instead, I spent the whole night alone and in tears.

And now that horrible lost feeling consumed me once again. That giant pit in my stomach reminded me just how lonely I was without her, my only true friend. I missed Olivia more than anything, and that was why I vowed to never, ever meet my soulmate.

Even with music blasting overhead and groups of people excitedly shouting at each other over the sound, I could only focus on my own sorrow. This club was the most popular in the entire city; I really should have picked someplace more quiet to mope. People even bumped into me from time to time, only adding to my misery.

Of course after a really stressful day at work all those awful memories of my sister's passing slithered back to me despite all my efforts to move on over the past few months. I did everything I could, tried every technique, just to feel normal again. But nothing ever worked.

I sighed deeply and took another sip of my margarita. I'd already racked up a pretty long bill at this club, but at this point alcohol felt like the only thing that could comfort me now. It's not like I had someone else I could turn to.

I had no one left.

Sure, I could waltz around and socialize with others at this club to make some friends or at least not feel as lonely, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with other people. There was also no shot I would risk locking eyes with someone who could easily destroy everything I spent so long working towards.

I finally had my dream job as a city cop, a nice apartment, and I even got on fairly well with my co-workers despite avoiding eye contact with them at all costs. They probably thought I was weird, but that didn't make them hate me. Sure I wasn't happy, but I had everything I could have ever wanted; so surely it would get better eventually. Plus, I only came to this club for drinks. So I would stay firmly seated at the bar until I left.

Still, I checked my surroundings for probably the millionth time to ensure my safety—cop instincts I guess. This place was packed, full to the brim with people having seemingly the best night of their lives. No one else wallowed pitifully at the bar like me. Thankfully I didn't recognize any of the faces here so I wouldn't have to worry about any potentially awkward encounters with anyone I arrested or ticketed in the past.

As hours passed, the bartender came over to check on me again but I avoided their gaze and continued staring blankly at my drink. There was no way I would risk accidentally stumbling upon my soulmate here of all places. Just one look and I'd be stuck with that person for the rest of my miserable life. And who would want to meet their soulmate at a club? That would be asking for trouble.

Even if it led to awkward situations, I refused to look anyone in the eyes.

This did affect work a bit, though. Whenever I went to hand out tickets on the road, I'd always carefully scan their cars and general appearance, but never spend too much time on any individual's face to avoid their eyes. Thankfully, this hadn't impeded my work so far, only getting me strange looks every now and then.

I zoned out while looking into my now empty glass. People probably assumed I was really socially awkward because of this. Even if they were generally nice, none of my coworkers ever invited me to events and people I passed on the streets often glanced over at me with pity. I didn't really mind any of this. It actually helped me avoid people and thus avoid running into my soulmate.

I completely lost track of time; my own thoughts distracted me. I mindlessly drank more and more until hours had passed. Maybe the stench of alcohol clouded my sense of logic. I knew my limits.

I knew exactly when I should've stopped drinking, but there were too many thoughts flooding my head and too many stressful days with only three hours of sleep for me to care. I should have been more careful, especially on a weeknight, yet I drank my heart out and only stood when my head got too hot and my vision too blurry. I struggled to stay upright as I stood and stumbled around pathetically.

While my goal was to swiftly leave the club and go back home, the club was so crowded that I got shoved further and further away from the door. I tried asking others to move out of my way so I could escape this place, but the words came out all wrong and people only laughed at me. I pathetically flailed around and got pushed around a bit more until I could no longer stand on my useless, wobbly legs. But before I crashed to the ground to be trampled on by everyone else, a dark and slender hand caught me effortlessly.