the boarders

Valentina

Of course Valentina had seen from time to time just how ugly Aurelia's behaviour could be, but what Octavia said to her, made her feel nauseous. She slapped the back of the cab driver's seat, "Can you fucking hurry up?" She groaned, looking at her watch, in less than half an hour the station would be closed, and Aurelia would be lurking around the streets with Drew by her side.

Just the thought of those two together turned Valentina's stomach. It wouldn't be unlike Aurelia to start messing with Valentina's boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend, Valentina remembered. Since they weren't together anymore.

She glanced at Octavia, who was huddled into the corner of the taxi, nearest the door, her eyes fixed on the rapidly falling raindrops that sprinted down the cab window. Valentina didn't even have to wonder about what her friend might be thinking; as both of their minds were set on Drew and Aurelia.

The taxi journey seemed to go on forever, and when they finally reached the police station, Valentina shoved some randomly assorted notes into the cab drivers' hand, grabbed Octavia's hand and ran into the station.

The rain was falling fast as the girls sat in the waiting area, huddled together due to the cold. It was supposed to be May, for God's sake, why on earth was it raining?

Valentina remembered something she'd learnt in English when she was eleven, pathetic fallacy, when the weather reflects ones' mood; which seemed fitting for her today. She used to be quite clever, always unashamedly top of the class, whilst maintaining perfect eyebrows. But after Aurelia disappeared, all that had gone downhill, like her grades, which were far from where she wanted them to be.

The clacking of high heels against the hard, cold metal floor, jolted Valentina out of her thoughts, and both herself and Octavia looked up to see Ellen Cody, the detective, standing above them, coating them in a cloud of Chanel No5.

"What a surprise to see you two here!" Smiled Ellen, beckoning them to her office, to which they both followed.

When they reached the office, Miss Cody sat opposite them, with her desk in front of her, and the two girls positioned in her sightline. She poured out three cups of tea, and passed them around. Valentina hated tea, but due to how she was brought up, she drank it anyway.

"So, what do you have to report?" She said, taking a sip of her tea and looking at them. Octavia took a deep breath and began to tell her all about how they'd seen Drew and Aurelia (Miss Cody looked extremely shaken when they told her this) and that Aurelia had a gun.

"Good lord," Sighed Miss Cody, putting a hand to her brown haired head and placing her cup on her desk in front of her. "You're quite sure?"

To this, both girls nodded and prayed that Miss Cody would do something about it all.

"Girls," She paused, glancing out of the window for a moment, "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do, you have no evidence-"

Valentina cut her off halfway through and glared at her.

"She's roaming the streets and she's dangerous, and so is Drew!" She cried, leaning on Octavia's shoulder. Valentina wasn't an emotional person, but this was wearing her down.