VALERIE

Eighty Two

Valerie smeared the Crimson shade of her own blood onto her face.

The warm sensation from the blood eventually turned cold and hardened quickly with the chilly breeze.

Valerie persistently continued to claw at her upper right arm with her jagged nails, stripping her smooth and silky textured flesh away.

She stopped mutilating herself to shut her eyes and lay back onto the grass and flowers.

She covered her eyes with her blood stained hands and just laughed, laughed until it turned into tears and then back into laughter.

Staring up at the moon that was covered in the the thick fog surrounding the area she stopped laughing and let it subside and just laid there, staring at the soft pale moonlight through her shimmering eyes.

But all though everything seemed finally at peace, in her mind she could hear them, all of them, she felt as if she was in the midst of a busy restaurant where nothing could be heard correctly, just a collection of different voices clamoring loudly with one another.

Only to have a selection of them become more distinct as the seconds passed, then finally Valerie could make out the words.

"Stupid."

Valerie shook her head, the dirt underneath her head mixing in with her tawny colored hair.

"Crazy."

Valerie drew in a deep inhalation and through quivering lips breathed out the words, "Leave me alone." Into the pure obsidian colored night.

But another voice in her head just chuckled in response.

"Worthless."

"Stop it!" Valerie cried out springing up from the ground, she paced around, holding onto her head with both hands, gripping onto her hair from the roots, "I'm not worthless!"

"I'm not worthless!" She continued to wail, now cracking her fingers repeatedly against one another for her own comfort.

Her hands were cold.

And the voices wouldn't leave her alone.

Sitting down, she pulled her knees into her chin, resting her head on them delicately.

"I'm not worthless." She continued to mumble to herself quietly and underneath her labored breath.

Shutting her eyes once more she smiled.

She was alone, really alone.

They were gone again.

And now she could think properly.

Valerie had grown up dealing with neglect and sorrow.

This wasn't anything new.

She had been lost on the highway for about a few hours now.

Shedding a single tear she furrowed her brows, "You're worthless Valerie." She said softly.

The words triggering the whispers and murmurs in her head again.

Feeling sick she decided to just rest and let them talk.

Feeling her chest getting heavier the girl let out a piercing wail when she was embraced.

She heard her name now.

But she didn't stop screaming, she couldn't she was terrified of the touch.

"Hey shut up." Nick barked out gripping her shoulders a bit tighter.

"Leave me alone!" She called out trying to push Nick away from her, Nick forcefully held her tighter so she wouldn't move, but she kept squirming around until Nick brought her into his chest and she clung onto him.