The Art of a Monster

Ch 7.April/13/2009

Valeria got undressed and put her normal clothes back on. She decided to wait for Stela and Beth to come in. She stared at her face in the mirror before she started to wash her face and put fresh makeup on.

"You didn't deserve to be chosen for the poster." A voice said as Valeria finished up. She looked over to see Hannah sitting on a bench. Valeria sighed.

"Think and say whatever you want Hannah. I don't care." She replied before she started to walk away.

"I was supposed to play as Odette or as a main character. I wasn't supposed to be in the back." Hannah said furiously as she stood up. Valeria stopped and looked at her.

"You do remember what happened last year when you were the main character in The Nutcracker, right?" Valeria said as calmly as possible.

"Ok, so I was drunk. What does it matter." Hannah said as she started to walk up to Valeria.

"It mattered to Rachel. Everyone was rather embarrassed. Stela had to play the main character. She managed to save the performance. You're lucky that you didn't get fired. You should have been years ago in my opinion." Valeria said as she struggled to stay calm. Hannah looked at her before hitting Valeria's face. Valeria pushed her back and started to grab her things and leave before Hannah pushed her down onto the floor making the side of her forehead hit the corner of a locker leaving a cut. Hannah immediately kicked her side before pinning her down. Valeria then heard the door open and felt someone pull Hannah off of her.

"What the hell is wrong with you Hannah?!" Rachel said furiously.

"Why did she get picked and not me?!" Hannah shot back.

"Grab your shit and meet me in my office Hannah. You three, finish up in here and go home. Valeria, get that cut taken care of." Rachel said before she walked out followed by Hannah.

"Valeria, are you alright?" Beth said clearly worried.

"Ya. I'm fine." Valeria replied as she sat down on a bench while holding her side.

"No you're not. Hannah hurt you pretty bad. You need to put something on that cut to kill the bacteria. This room isn't exactly the cleanest." Stela said as she sat down next to Valeria to wipe away some of the blood.

"I hope Hannah leaves. I'm tired of dealing with her." Beth said as Stela finished wiping the blood falling down Valeria's face.

"Thanks Stela. I'll go home and take care of it." Valeria said as they stood up and she grabbed her things.

"Don't go alone. The killer is still out there." Stela said. Valeria smiled and nodded her head before she walked out.

"Valeria, what happened?" Stefano said when he saw Valeria walk out.

"Hannah got really jealous. She would have done more if Rachel, Stela, and Beth didn't come and stop her. I'll need to take care of it when I get home.

"Would you like me to walk you back?" Stefano asked calmly. Valeria smiled and nodded her head before they left the opera house. They talked a little before they arrived at Valeria's house. Stefano looked at her a little concerned.

"What's wrong?" Valeria asked.

"That cut looks worse than what you think. You'll need more than just running water." Stefano said as he carefully moved a strand of her hair away from the cut.

"I can take care of it. If you want." Stefano said before Valeria nodded her head. They walked into her house and Stefano grabbed a few first aid materials before returning to Valeria on the couch. He carefully rinsed the cut with a little water before drying the area around it. He then put a little alcohol on a cloth before he carefully put the cloth on the cut. Valeria flinched and pulled her head away slightly from the suden pain.

"Sorry mia cara." Stefano said after he made his hand and cloth retreat slightly.

"It's ok." Valeria replied before Stefano went back to cleaning the cut. Valeria looked down as if she was ashamed of herself.

"What's troubling you mia cara?" Stefano asked. Valeria sighed.

"My ex, Jack. He wants me to give him another chance. He should know more than anyone that it is hard to earn my trust and keep it. He was constantly drunk and aggressive. Whenever he would come home drunk, I would hide, afraid of what he would do to me. When I caught him cheating, I had enough of being helpless. So, I packed my things and left. To fend for myself. For the first time in a long time, I felt free. Free to live my own life. Life has been good for me since then." Valeria explained. Stefano thought about her words. How she felt free in life instead of death. Life wasn't giving her diseet. It was giving her talents that many would desire but never have. He was starting to doubt his view on life and death.

"But Jack, he thinks I need someone to take care of me, because I'm weak. Right now, I feel like he is right." Valeria finished. Stefano finished tending to Valeria's wound before placing a bandaid over the cut. Once he was done, he gently tilted her head back up to face him.

"People might think that you are weak, but they are wrong. The fools refuse to know you. Just like they refuse to know chaos. You Valeria, are like a red diamond. They are rare. You are beautiful inside and out, as well as strong. Stronger that what you think." Stefano said. Valeria looked into his eye. She felt a knot in her throat as a few tears fell down her face. She immediately wrapped her arms around him with the side of her face against his chest. Stefano was shocked at first, but he felt a wave of pity. He gently wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her.

"You will be ok Valeria. You have come a long way since then. And you will go even farther and do great things." Stefano said as they looked into each other's eyes. Stefano felt something happening in his heart. He couldn't tell what it was but it was telling him to make people pay for hurting Valeria. He didn't know why, but he wasn't going to ask questions.

"Valeria, there is a place in the art center where people can paint. Would you like to go there sometime?" Stefano asked as Valeria lead him to the door. Valeria smiled.

"I'd like that." She replied before Stefano started to go down the steps.

"Stefano?" Valeria said making him stop and look back at her.

"Thanks. For everything." She finished before Stefano smiled at her and nodded his head before leaving and walking down the street. He then saw the person he was looking for.