"Friends"

"Friends" Chapter 25

VALERIE'S POV

"I love you." I pulled the sheets up to my chest and rolled over to look at Jimmy. He had messy bed head and his smile was so bright. The room smelt like coffee. French press.

I could hear Jimmy's voice fading in and out. This all felt like deja vous.

His brown eyes pierced into my vulnerable soul but I couldn't look at him for more than a few seconds without him disappearing.

"I love you too..." The sunlight from behind him made it hard for me to focus on his face. I reached my hand out to his blurry hair but before I could reach him, he was gone.

"Val,"

My mind was slowly seeping back into reality.

"VAL!" I opened my eyes and I was looking over at Tina. Everything I saw felt so real and I didn't know what to do. "V, look at me... DAN!"

I heard more footsteps come closer to me but I felt like I wasn't fully there.

"Hey Sis?" I felt his strong hands grab onto my shoulders but I couldn't respond to him.

Jimmy's jaw line.

Jimmy's mole right below his neck.

The way his hair felt on the back of his neck.

The taste of his breath.

The smell of his skin.

"VALERIE!" I felt Dan shake me and suddenly, I could see my brother's figure clearly.

I blinked a few times and looked into his dark eyes.

"Are you alright?"

I saw Tina looking at me from behind him and I just nodded.

"Yes... I'm fine. Can we please just do this."

I pushed him out of the way and walked over to the church doors. I looked back over to Tina who was talking to Dan. I waited for them to stop talking but at this point I was getting impatient.

"Am I going to have to walk myself down the isle or are you going to do this?" I threw my hands up and Dan ran over to me.

I wrapped my arm around his muscular bicep and he looked down at me.

"Are you sure about this?"

I took a deep breath and tried to get my heart to stop racing.

"Yeah. It's time."

JIMMY'S POV

"What was that about?"

Nancy brought me out of my daze and I looked down at my pancakes. "Hello...?" She waved her fork in my face and I looked up to her.

"Yeah... Sorry." I shook my head and began to cut my cold pancakes.

"Are you going to explain to me what's going on?"

"Ummm. Just a little confused, shocked..." I bit into my food and took a sip of my water.

"About what?" She set her silverware down and kept her eyes glued on me.

"Just..." I couldn't think of the words to say. "It's a long story."

"I have time."

She reached her hand over to mine and held it from across the table.

By the time I was finished telling her everything about Valerie, I had tears in my eyes. People around us were starting to stare at the grown man crying next to them but at this point, I didn't even care.