VALERIE

Thirty Two

Sprawled face down on the motel bed, Valerie had the telephone in her hand, she was wrapping her finger in the cord anxiously as she waited for the phone to be answered.

"Hello?" Answered Wesley. Valerie felt relieved at the sound of her boyfriends voice,

Nervously she cleared her throat before speaking, "Wesley?"

"Who's this?"

"It's Valerie." She revealed with a giggle.

Wesley stayed silent, only his eradicated breathing could be heard.

"Where are you?" He asked suddenly startling Valerie, she traced the stitching of the covers with her index finger.

"Far, but I'll be home soon."

Wesley sighed, "Your family," He paused, "Well Grace and your father are really worried."

Valerie smacked her lips, "They have nothing to worry about I'm fine. But hey listen, I've missed you."

He cleared his throat, "We have to talk." He stated clearly.

"About?"

"Us."

"What about us?" She snorted,

"I'm seeing someone else." Wesley responded blatantly, Valerie's tight grasp on the telephone became loose.

Slowly her heart felt like it stopped beating, she couldn't cry instead her lips pulled back into a coy grin and her vision wanted to blur from anger.

"Someone else? Even after everything my family has done for you?" She asked with no emotion in her voice, sounding more like a robot than anything.

"Valer-"

"Bullshit, my father convinced your family not to move to Montana and he got you accepted into UCLA, but on top of that he already paid your 4 years of tuition there. What the fuck Wesley, you can't leave me."

"And you can't obligate me to love you when I don't, at least not in the way you deserve." He shot back.

The words shot into her. But it felt like nothing, only a numb feeling.

"Goodbye Wesley." She murmured before hanging the phone up on the receiver. She looked down at her pants that were strewn on the floor where the small package of cocaine Jesse had given her earlier was waiting.

Stepping out of the shower, Nick tussled his dripping wet hair with one of the complimentary towels, steam gathered up in the small room.

He wiped the mirror free of the fog with his hand, and looked at himself.

Puffy dark circles formed under his eyes from all the sleep deprivation, sleeping was the last thing on his list.

He looked thinner too which was bad because he was already lanky. Since his little mission to Florida he stopped working out and stopped eating regularly so that added to why he looked and felt so awful.

It wasn't healthy, he felt tired and disgusting, he had never felt this emotionally and physically exhausted.

He pulled on a pair of clean briefs followed by a pair of black joggers that sagged lowly unintentionally.

He flinched when he heard something being thrown against the wall. Something heavy that fell with a thud, followed by the sound of glass shattering.

"Valerie?" He questioned opening the door to the restroom.

The room was completely upside down trashed with a shattered lamp, broken television set, flipped over furniture and there she was on her knees, her hands cupped in front of her, she murmured under her breath quickly.

"What the fuck happened here?" He asked looking around, his eyes landed on the half empty bag of cocaine spilled on the floor. He stared down at her, she was looking up at the ceiling, still murmuring things with her hands clasped together.

She was praying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He squatted beside her, putting his hand over her shoulders as she continued to mumble. No tears. Just red cheeks and quivering lips.

"Valerie, you pray?"

She stopped mumbling to look at him.

"All the time," She sniffled, "I pray, I pray to God, I pray to the gods, to people I don't even know," She paused, "I pray to anyone who will fucking listen to me."

Nick swallowed the lump in his throat.

He pulled her into his chest where he finally felt her warm tears gushing out, he patted her back soothingly stroking her hair. She wasn't crying violently or softly. Tears just came out like nothing.

"He broke up with me." She whispered into his chest, Nick rested his chin on her head cradling her slowly in his arms like he loved to do.

"Fuck him." Was all he could manage to say.

"I'm not crying because of him. I'm crying because I realized I didn't love him like I thought I did."

He let her go and stood up, staring down at her. He'd seen her cry one too many times and it always broke his heart.

"I may seem happy and upbeat all the fucking time to the point where I can't hide my joy," She stood up rapidly on her feet tumbling a bit, she pointed at herself with both her hands, "I don't want to take this anger out on you, but I'm a fucking human too."

Nick stayed quiet.

He had too many things to say but he couldn't vocalize them.

"I have good intentions." She continued to exasperate, her chest kept puffing in and out quickly and then slowly. She chuckled wiping her now runny nose with her arm, it wasn't mucus but blood.

Nick looked at the dark red liquid seeping out of her nostrils like a faucet then with her own hand she cleared it, smudging it on her face.

"Come on let's just get you cleaned up." Nick said realizing she was high.

"Please, don't let me be misunderstood." She cried wiping more blood away from her face.