NOTHING WE SAID, EVERYTHING WE MEANT ✸ the naturals

one. come on over, vallerie

001. CHAPTER ONE
"COME ON OVER, VALLERIE"
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

𝕿he front of the house was taunting her. The windows were eyes staring into the darkest part of her soul; the door like a wide open mouth ready to swallow her whole just like she'd done with her words the last time she was inside.

Swallow the words, let them turn in your stomach instead of chewing them up and spitting them out to someone who needs them more than you do.

The file and laptop in her arm suddenly felt like they were made of lead, weighing heavily in her arm. Her feet felt heavy with each step she took closer to the house.

The house. Her house. Their house.

It wasn't hers anymore, she had to remember that. It was just where she spent her teen years, nothing more now.

Four years, from the age of thirteen to seventeen, stored away inside those walls. Those walls that were lined with the smiling pictures of killers like they were family, something that none of the kids in the program had ever been heavily equipped with.

But she hadn't been here in two years. Two years since she'd worked on a cold case, since she'd seen the other Naturals. She wasn't even one of them anymore, not really.

No, now she was a real agent. Manipulator wasn't a natural gift anymore that made her special, it was a personality trait that kept her alive, kept the cover concealed.

The program had been tweaked since she left, Briggs had told her. They could work on active cases with Judd's confirmation now, as long as it kept them from the line of fire. From danger.

Something bitter inside of her wondered where those rules were when she was the one in the scope of the world's gun.

There was a new girl too. Well, not necessarily new anymore, but new to her. She was Locke's niece.

Vallerie had known Locke. She'd worked with her. She'd trusted her. She hadn't even suspected that her coworker was a killer.

She was standing in front of the door now. This was a terrible idea. How had she let Briggs talk her into this again?

Right, he was her boss and she had no say in anything she worked on.

Vallerie took a deep breath as her fist rose up, clutching the items in her arm just a little more tightly. Then she knocked.

Foolishly, she hoped that luck would be on her side and Agent Sterling would answer. Veronica knew she was coming. Veronica was her friend.

Veronica wouldn't give her an aghast look the minute she saw her like she expected the rest of them inside the house to.

Of course, that's not what happened.

The doorknob twisted and got rid of her final chance to turn back and rethink this entire decision. The door opened and she was face to face with a lean girl with raven colored hair, an expression on her face saying that the last thing she wanted to do was answer the door.

That expression immediately contorted into something else the minute her eyes landed on who was on the other side of the door.

Before Vallerie could even catalogue the look, Lia had closed the door in her face.

She deserved that, she knew she did. But it didn't make it hurt any less.

The puff of air that hit her face and pushed her hair back when the door slammed hit her more like a splash of cold water than air. All subconscious hopes she'd had of them maybe being understanding, maybe taking to this situation kindly, dissipated in an instant.