Bittersweet

ix.

Val woke up to the sun shining in her eyes, streaks of light peaking through the blinds. She squinted, rolling over to face the wall. Her head ached; she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it would give her some kind of relief.

Once she opened them again she noticed what sat on the bed side table. It was two painkillers and a glass of water. Grateful, she took them, chugging the water down with them.

The sound of light classical music caught her attention from somewhere else in the house. Carefully, she pushed herself up, her body aching within. The warmth of the house enveloped her as she kicked off the duvet and stood, shaking -- almost falling. She caught eye of her bag sat in the corner and reached for it, grabbing it with only her index finger and dragging it closer before taking her cigarettes and lighter from her front pocket and stashing them in her pocket, then left the bedroom.

The bathroom was her first stop of the morning. She used the toilet, flushed and then washed her hands. She didn't realize how long she had left the tap running as she stared at herself in the mirror.

Her lip was cut open along with her eyebrow, dry blood surrounding both scars. Her bruised cheek and eye made her feel sick to look at. She wanted to leave the house and runaway so Todd and nobody else would have to see how disgusting she looks.

But that wasn't going to happen. Realistically, Val didn't see herself even leaving the house happening, not for a while.

A crashing sound coming from the kitchen made her jump. She finally realized the tap was running and turned it off before taking one last look at herself and turning on her heels, deciding to find Todd.

From the top of he stairs she could see him sweeping broken glass in the kitchen. Val carefully made her way down the stairs, trying not to hurt herself before quietly entering the kitchen. Todd didn't see her yet, so she cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Oh, Val, don't come in. There's broken glass," Todd warned as he finally looked at her. He rushed to finish sweeping the glass and once he did he nodded for Val to come in.

Slowly, Val walked in to the kitchen and towards the counter, watching as Todd emptied the glass in to the bin. With whatever strength she had in her she jumped and lifted herself on to the counter, sighing and letting out a breath as she did so.

Todd moved towards the table, leaning on it and crossing his arms as he awkwardly looked around the room before making eye contact with Val at last.

"So," he coughed, clearing his throat, "how do you feel?"

Val looked at her toes; the pink nail polish was chipping away. She watched her legs swing back and forth, lightly hitting her heels off the washing machine each time she did so -- not enough to hurt, not enough to even make a sound.

"How did you find me?"

Val looked up at Todd. He looked a little shocked, and very confused at the question she asked.

"Well, uh, I was leaving school late yesterday." Todd stood up right, crossing his arms and beginning to pace. "Richie pulled in to the parking lot when I was heading to my car, and he stopped me. He was all frantic, he looked so scared. He asked me if I knew where you were and told me everyone was looking for you, nobody could find you." Todd stopped pacing and turned, staring wide eyed out the window. "I went to the cafe we met at. It was closed, but the barista -- the young guy, not the weird guy -- he was still there. He opened the door when I knocked, told me you got all dressed up and headed up town, so I headed up town."

Todd had a particular look on his face that Val couldn't make out, no matter how hard she stared.

"Once I got up town I had no idea how I was going to find you. I asked some people, and some bouncers, until I got to Shoreman. The bouncer said he saw you, and you tried to get in but he didn't let you, thank God. He said he saw you... he saw you going in to an alley way with three guys."