Val

Val: Only The Beginning

Ever since my sister, Valorie, died no one in the family has been the same. I wish she had died a death of a natural cause but leave it to her to leave the world the way she did. She seemed happy aside from the raging anger that was left in her from when her long-time boyfriend and baby daddy Lee died in a car accident. The accident happened when no one was expecting it. The boys from her class, and they were all seniors, always drag raced on Friday nights down the country road where the police never cared to patrol. It had been raining that day, and I feel like they knew the roads were a little wet, but you know how teenagers are.

Anyway, they were racing, and he lost control of his car which then collided into a massive tree. They say he died on impact and probably didn't feel any pain. My sister claimed all the pain he didn't feel was left with her to live with. Oh, I forgot to mention... She was pregnant with his kid. Crazy right? So, by now it's safe to assume that my nephew, Liam, has neither his mom nor his dad because they both died in freak accidents.

It probably seems like I'm mad at my sister for dying, but I'm not. I know she was fighting with herself on a daily basis, and she coped in the best way possible. I miss her a bunch, and we try to keep the image of both Valorie and Lee alive for Liam. He is two now, and he can recognize both of them in a picture, but I always wonder how long it will be before we forget to remind him about them.

I bet you're wondering how Valorie died, and trust me, I'm going to get there. I think it's crucial to have all of the important facts first or else you will be mad at her for dying like you assume of me. Valorie was popular in high school, she didn't have any of the problems most of us do. She wasn't necessarily the prettiest, but she just had one of those personalities that I feel like everyone loves. I don't ever remember a time when my sister was a mood other than happy until the accident with Lee.

Valorie was also one of the smartest people ever. Not the kind of annoying smart, but the smart where you get a little shocked that someone like her would know the things she did. I think she aspired to be a marine biologist, but her goals and dreams were thrown out of the window when she got pregnant. I am almost certain that Val was seven months pregnant when Lee passed away. They were both so excited, and even though Lee's parents weren't happy, mine were. Val had a huge support system, so she was always still encouraged to go to college, but I think she just wanted to be with Lee.

Lee wasn't so popular, and he wasn't a jock which was normally the type of guy that drooled over Val. He was kind of angsty and had a sharp look to him that sent the message "tough guy". He protected Val, and my parents liked him, they were together for six years. If it weren't for Lee's accident, I know they would be married or something by now.

After Lee died Val still had a couple months to go until Liam arrived. The rest of the pregnancy was depressing. She didn't care to feel Liam kick, and whenever she had her ultrasound appointments, she never wanted to look at the screen, and left the printed images behind. I felt bad for her, but I questioned why she would dismiss something she created with the guy she loved the most. All the depression around the baby ended when he was born.

When Liam was born Val seemed happy, and she flaunted him to the world. There were so many people around all the time for the first month. I suppose this is because Liam looked EXACTLY like Lee. Val use to say she could feel Lee's presence, and that she knew he was around. I was pretty sure she was referring to in spirit, but something made me think otherwise. It all happened so fast, from the time she met Lee, to when she got pregnant, then Lee died, and Liam was born.

When Liam turned one Val went into major depression. She never wanted to be around the family, her friends, or Liam. We all tried our best to help her come out of the rut she was in, but it never seemed to get better. She was taking prescription medications to help with her anxiety and depression. Although, the medications seemed to help with the anxiety, the depression never went away. It was almost like she was a completely different person, and she would cry all the time. Even when she was the slightest bit happy the moment was stolen away by her depression. It was almost like her depression became her, and the Val we all knew before was gone.