Forever and A Day | one tree hill

twenty-nine.

"So," Valentina says as she looks at her dad, "How's life?"

Dan looks at her, amused, "Oh, you know, just had a heart attack."

"Better be careful," Valentina says with a small smile, "I hear those things can kill."

"Ah, you do have a sense of humor," Dan says, "I was starting to wonder."

Val smiles as she sits down on the couch. Her dad was staying at the beach house now that he was moving a little better. It was weird seeing him like this.

"So uh, you ever told anyone you love them before?" Val asks.

"I tell you all the time," Dan says.

"I mean like romantic love," Val clarifies, "Like how did you know?"

"That I was in love?" Dan asks.

"Yeah," Val says.

Dan leans back on the couch, a thoughtful look on his face. "Well, I guess my first love was Karen. She made me feel invincible. I'd do anything for her. But I was young and stupid. And I messed that up. So bad."

"With my mom?" Val asks.

"Your mom was different," Dan says, "She was...temptation. She was a good time. But not in a bad way. She was the life of the party. She made me feel alive. But it wasn't love. At least not the kind that lasts."

Val doesn't say anything, just listens.

"Then Deb came along," Dan continues, "And she was stability. She was home. She was the person I wanted to build a life with. Or so I thought."

Valentina stares at her dad, wondering. She came to him because, well, if anyone knew what it was like to be all walls and no windows, it was him. Val's never said I love you before, and it's not that she doesn't feel it; it's just that she wants to be sure. She doesn't want to make the same mistakes he did. She doesn't want to say it and then take it back or not mean it.

"I've never said I love you to anyone before," Valentina confesses.

Dan looks at her, "No?"

Val shakes her head, "I don't do...I don't do well with feelings."

"So what's going on?" Dan asks.

"Peyton told me that she loved me," Valentina says and Dan raises an eyebrow.

"Peyton? Peyton Sawyer? Your brother's ex-girlfriend?" Dan asks.

"My girlfriend," Valentina corrects him.

"I didn't mean anything," Dan says, "I just...I didn't see that one coming."

"Neither did I. I mean, we've spent our whole lives in the same town, and she dated my brother and we never really talked until her car broke down and now...now she's pretty much all I think about."

"So the problem is what?" Dan asks.

"I've never said it before," Valentina says, "I mean, what if this is all...teenage hormones and it's not real."

Dan laughs, "You've experienced teenage hormones before. This feels different, doesn't it?"

Val nods.

"That's cause it is," Dan says. "It's not some grand revelation that's supposed to hit you. It's quiet. It's in the way she's the first person you want to tell good news to. It's in the way you'd rather be doing nothing with her than doing something fun without her. It's not about the big moments. It's about the million tiny ones."

Val is quiet for a moment, her dad's words sinking in. She thinks about all the small moments with Peyton. The way she laughs at Val's stupid jokes, the way she looks at her when she thinks Val's not paying attention, the way she fits perfectly in her arms. He's right. It's not a lightning strike. It's a slow burn.