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VALENTINA DIDN'T KNOW what to make of her and Billy's newfound 'friendship.' Could it even be called a friendship? They'd only spoken a few times, and their first encounter was when he almost killed her in the school parking lot. Not a great way to introduce yourself.
But then again, Valentina met her current best friend through a different kind of life-or-death situation. Maybe that was a sign that Billy wasn't so bad? He was certainly intriguing, and if Valentina knew one thing it was that she was a nosy person.
Valentina knew what Billy was expecting of her, but a small part of her still wanted to know why. She also wanted a distraction from the thing—or the boy—that'd been plaguing her mind all day, because getting violently drunk just wasn't cutting it anymore.
After returning to the dance floor, where Valentina spent probably thirty minutes throwing her limbs around in a less than coordinated manner, about two more drinks had entered her system, curtesy of some wandering teenage boys who were hoping to score. There were only two boys on Valentina's radar that night though, and that number would be cut in half by the time she finally came to her senses.
A million thoughts were running through her mind as she closed her eyes and tried to focus on the rhythm of the music. But nothing could drown out the voice of her ex-best friend—the male one—and the sight of his concerned face was tattooed behind her eyelids.
Valentina threw her eyes open as Steve's face became hauntingly clear in her mind, and her dark eyes had to take a couple seconds to adjust to the sudden bright lighting. After her sweaty hands rubbed away the blurriness, the sight of another ex-best friend haunted Valentina's mind. But this time, it wasn't just in her mind. Tina Winslow really was walking toward a drunken, vulnerable Valentina.
Before the brunette could even push through the sea of bodies and reach her, Valentina dashed out of the living room and ran as fast as her weakened legs could carry her. The tightness in her left foot was at the back of her mind as her feet took her through the house until she ended up in the backyard. Her head spun and her leg ached, but none of it compared to the fear of facing the one girl she'd come to this party to face in the first place.
This area was the most empty place Valentina had been all night. Only a few bodies were scattered around the large lawn, some making out and the rest hoping to be. The blonde stood in the middle of them like a fish thrown into a shark tank.
She felt dizzy again but she wasn't sure if it was from the alcohol or the sight of her old friend coming toward her. It was the first advancement either of them had made to interact since that day Valentina woke up in the hospital.
Since that day the Tinas were no more.
Deep breaths echoed in her swollen eardrums, an attempt so slow her heartrate. It felt like an impossible task. Valentina's lungs were flat and her throat was raw, an effect of the burning sensations she'd been shoving down it all year.
