My name is... Valerie

Chapter 3: Friendship

~AJ~

Valerie hadn't said much yesterday after our talk. She pretty much ran upstairs after she told me she didn't want me to let go of my potential custody rights. I had worked out holding onto her until Monday's meeting but if I didn't think of something within the next 24 hours I would be losing her too. All our grandparents were either deceased or incapable of caring for her. Our only grandparent alive was in a residents home due to alzheimer's. Dad was an only child and well mom had a sister and a brother. Aunt Elizabeth was out of the picture because she was struggling on her own she had been trying for the past two years to quit the addiction on drugs. Our uncle he was not even an option I would ever allow. He was a grade A asshole who deserved to be behind bars. I couldn't live with myself if she had to live with him knowing he might hurt her the way he did to me. I never told anyone what he had done not even mom and dad. I had to swallow my anger and pride when he would come around. When he showed up the day of the funeral I had to fight back the urge to pounce on him for being a hypocrite. He showed up like he cared, paying his respects to dead corpses when he hurt me their son while they were alive. He never cared years ago and now he pretends nothing happened, the nerve he has in showing up.

"If your glass were a neck attached to a human they would have been dead minutes ago from you strangling them to death." her lips formed into a small teasing smile. I hadn't realized she had walked into the kitchen. I also disregarded the fact I had been clutching onto my glass extremely tight to focused on my thoughts and anger at the memory from Friday before and during the funeral.

"Yea..." I loosened my grasp on my glass.

"What are you thinking of that clearly makes you so tense." she narrowed her eyes furrowing her eyebrows in the process. I couldn't tell her about him, what he had done.

"Just Monday's meeting, you know your custody thing. The whole requirements with the scholarship to stay on school campus." I wasn't lying it was about her custody and other things I just decided to leave out.

"Don't worry about it and if it is that troubling to you the state can always give me to foster-"

I cut her off again. "NO" she flinched a little when I raised my voice making me regret it instantly. I let out my previous anger on her when she had nothing to do with it. I rubbed my face in defeat. "Sorry Val it's just... I don't want them to take you away and you are Not a trouble to me your my sister. I know we will figure something out." I made emphasis on the 'Not', she nodded her head and I walked over embracing her.

"I can't... breath" I smiled down at her.

"Good, that shows how much I care for you." she rolled her piercing grey eyes at me making me smile as I pulled away. "So tomorrow you'll wait outside the office where the meeting is being held while I'm inside. The lawyer said to dress nice to give of a good impression well that was mostly directed to me." she nodded.

"So I get to skip school." I looked at her.

"You have school?"

"Yea, please don't make me go we are not all as lucky as you who gets two weeks off I only get 3 days. Plus i'm not ready to face a school of people sending me pity filled looks because of ... our parents." I knew it would be hard for her news of our parents spread quickly even if we lived in the city because the accident was bad it came out in local new and everything. I lot of people had shown up to the funeral as well because of it.

"I won't force you to go, you can go when your ready." I smiled to her reassuringly. "Have you talked to your friends?" she began twirling her fingers.

"They called Wednesday but I didn't pick up. I guess they understood I wanted to be alone so they didn't insist. On Friday they were at the funeral we didn't talk much but they were supportive. I told them I needed some space and time to think they understood. We agreed when I was ready to return I would turn to them for you know, support." A smile formed on my lips knowing she had someone in school who could help her because that was the only place I couldn't be with her. Julie has been Valerie's friend since sixth grade while they met Lauren in the beginning of freshman year. Now the three were inseparable well except for now. Julie was more like Valerie in that she preferred to keep a smaller number of friends but she still  got along with everyone. She was friendly so everyone in school knew her. Lauren was well known in school and had multiple friends but was closest with Julie and Val. She could be considered part of the popular crowd, if there even was one to single out, not just known like Julie. And well Val she preferred to be at the side lines and pass by unnoticed. Their friendship was truly an amazing thing.