Bittersweet

iv.

No amount of makeup was going to cover the bruise taking over half of Val's cheek bone. She stared at herself in the mirror; it almost looked like a hickey, tine red dots covering it. It wasn't large, nor was it small. It was noticeable, and there was no hiding it.

Once the sound of the front door shutting echoed throughout the house, Val easily opened the bathroom door, poking her head out from around the corners. The hall was empty, so she made her way downstairs to the rest of the house.

Charlie lay asleep on the couch, the tv going static every few seconds in front of him. The kitchen door shut and memories from the day before clouded her memories, instantly giving her anxiety about walking in. But she did so anyway, slowly pushing the door open and shutting it behind her.

Two pairs of eyes shot up at her as she entered the room. Glenn sat on top of the counter, his legs dangling over the washing machine. In front of him was Lucas who instantly turned and rushed towards Val at the sight of her, engulfing her in to a bone crushing hug.

With her head against his chest she could hear his heart beat slowly begin to speed up as she scrunched his shirt up within her fists.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice muffled with his lips against her hair. He took a step back, holding her shoulders before swiping his thumb against the bruise left on her cheek. Ever so slightly she flinched, but it was as if he didn't notice.

"Are you hungry?" Glenn asked, piping up to interrupt the moment. "There's pop tarts?"

"Uh, no." Val's voice was quiet, feeling intimidated under both of the boys' stare. "I'm just gonna go study, I think."

Neither of the boy's said anything more as they watched Val leave the kitchen, listening to the front door slam behind her.

Rain poured down in front of her as she stood on the porch, sighing before pulling her hood over her head. She kicked a stone in front of her and watched it bounce off the porch before finally making her way out of her garden, walking quickly down the street and towards the town not ten minutes away.

She reached the area quicker than she thought. The dull place was empty, little people roaming the streets, everyone seeming to be inside hiding from the rain. Val stopped outside a small cafe and pushed the big door open, taking a step inside.

Quickly, she pushed her hood back off her head and shook her hair out, letting the droplets left on the ends of her hair hit the floor.

The cafe was empty apart from an old woman sat around a shelf of books, sipping tea and looking through an old newspaper. Val walked to the counter, ordered a drink and took a seat, finally taking her soaking jacket off and leaving it hang over the chair next to her to drip-dry as much as it could.

She sipped her coffee slowly, enjoying the warmth of it between her cold hands. Before she could get too caught up in it she reached over and in to her bag, taking out a folder filled with pages she was prepared to study.

She took her time with both her drink and her work, hoping to be able to stay out of the house for as long as possible. As she neared the end of her drink the door to the cafe popped open and a man walked in, his large rain coat hiding his appearance. Val only glanced at him, ignoring his mumbling to the man at the counter as she continued her studying.

She sighed, realizing she didn't understand the work in front of her whatsoever and decided on the idea of shutting her folder and reading instead. She did so, closing her folder and reaching for her bag to pull out her book when she was interrupted by the sound of someone calling her name.