VALERIE

Eighty Six

Nick had this annoying habit of watching Valerie sleep when he couldn't.

He loved to watch his psychotic mess sleeping so calmly after another tortuous day of being continuously abused by her own mind.

She was his deadly nightshade.
Filled with poison, but blessed with beauty and rage.

He delicately touched her bottom lip with his thumb and flicked it, she smacked her lips and turned around in bed which caused a smile to tug at his lips.

Small rays of sunshine were drawn in through the dark curtains. Nick felt his body tense up suddenly.

The 20 year old grabbed onto the white duvet and flung them off of his body, he sat up and slowly reached for his iPhone on the nightstand beside him. The bright light from the phone adjusted itself as he read Marco's message.

Nick clenched his jaw tightly as he set it back down. He ran both of his hands through his dark hair and let out an exasperated sigh full of his fatigue.

He was tired of being tired, tired of having so much weight on his shoulders and all of the baggage that continued to pull him down.

He contemplated his next move that involved Marco, Jesse, Valerie, and himself whilst he began to dress himself in the semi-lit room. He pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans, a black V-neck underneath a blue checkered flannel and his worn out combat boots.

He looked back at Valerie who was still sound asleep with Meeko sleeping at the foot of the bed.

He walked across the room to leave and do what he had to do when he heard her shuffling in bed.

"Hey." She called out, rubbing her eye with a balled fist. Nick didn't say a word back to her. She just smiled at him and went back to bed.

And for a split second he realized how fucked everything was yet she still managed to look perfect.

He liked it when she slept, for she was so beautiful yet unaware of it.

//

Valerie took a deep breath in as she paced around her living room, a complete nervous wreck while her heart pounded repeatedly in her chest.

She looked down at her phone again for a reply but still nothing when she heard the doorbell ring.

Being all alone in her house since it was Sunday and the workers were all at home, it being their day off all. Emily was at an event. Grace had disappeared. And Meeko was with the dog walker at the groomers.

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before quickly making her way towards the door.

She stared at the golden knob and took a deep breath in before she opened it.

"I missed you." Johnny had stated right when he saw her, Valerie managed a very meek smile but before she even had time to reply she had already been picked up into the air wrapped in his muscular arms.

"Johnny." Valerie managed to blurt out with a nervous chuckle at the end.

"What?" He asked as he put her back down, his hands rested on her waist.

She slowly backed out from his grasp and held the door knob again, "Let's go to the living room." She said while she shut the front door behind him.