Double Trouble

Don't Let Me Go

Valerie's POV

"Valerie, what's going on?" Mr. Simpson asked in concern. "You not doing any of this very well." Way to let a girl down gently, Simo, good job. I just stared him and shrugged. I really wasn't in the mood to actually try to do anything. All I wanted was to curl up in a ball under the blankets of my warm bed and stay there forever or at least until the pizza I will order arrives.

Most times I looked over to Cal she would be whispering something either to Gary or Flynn and that only angered me more because I automatically assumed that they were talking about me. It had been a week since the library incident and I had only talked to them, or anyone, in two syllable sentences.

"Valerie, can I please talk to you?" Mr. Simpson requested and I walked over to me. Everyone wants to talk to me, yay. "I don't think that it is a good idea for you to play Sandy any longer. You haven't been turning up to rehearsals and when you are here you don't seem every into it, so I'm relieving you of your duties in this production." I just nodded and walked away sulkily, though that was nothing different to the way I was acting before the news.

Mr. Simpson eyed my suspiciously as I left the auditorium. Flynn ran after me. "Val." He said but I just kept walking, I wasn't in the mood. "Val, talk to me." He grabbed my arm and span me around so I was facing him. I just looked at him and didn't speak. Concern was etched deep into his facial features and that only made me sadder.

"I'll talk to you later, okay? I have somewhere I have to be." I said and began to walk off but Flynn still held my arm.

"Promise?" He said so I nodded. He held out his pinky. I rolled my eyes and raised my eyebrows as if to say 'seriously?', Flynn nodded and kept it there. I hooked my pinky around his and he let me walk off, I wish he hadn't.

-

He said he could explain and he called me to set up a time so I went. He's my dad after all, I love him and I was sure he had a good reason.

"Valerie, I'm so glad you came." My dad stood up to greet me has I approached the table. I just nodded to him out of politeness and took a seat on the opposite side of the table to him. I didn't smile, I just looked at him without any emotion on my face and my arms folded across my chest.

"You said you could explain." I said and silenced, waiting. I began to get nervous when he didn't talk for a while.

My dad gulped, licked his lips, coughed, licked his lips again and took a deep shaky breath before talking. "I'm Matilda's dad." I raised my eyebrows and huffed.

"I already knew that!" Rage was bubbling inside of me and it was about to boil over.

"Eight years ago you needed to go to a school and I knew this school would look after you and help you grow into a mature, beautiful young woman just like your mother," He played the mother card, that made me even angrier. "But we couldn't afford, Valerie. I didn't have money. Nadine was there and we both needed something so we helped each other out."

"Who's Nadine?" I asked and felt embarrassed after dad gave his answer.

"Mrs. Fernwick. Anyway, that's beside the point. You got to go to this amazing school and I fell in love again, Val, your old man got to find love again." I looked at him in disgust.

"I can't believe you! You're not even here enough to fall in love!" He sucked in a short breath and looked at me cautiously, as if he were scared. "Or are you?" I said quietly, worried for his answer. He said silent but the fear in his eyes was clear at that point. "How often do you come?" I yelled. The rage had boilled over, there is no where he could hide.

"Once a week." He whimpered quietly.

"Once a fucking week?!" His eyes widened in shock, he had never heard me swear. "It's October, and the last time I saw you was Christmas. But you come here, to the school I go to, once a week to visit your love and your other daughter." Tears started pouring down my cheeks. I had always looked so highly of my father. He was the greatest person in my life but that was all for nothing. He is nothing but a coward and a lying bitch.

"Valerie..." Dad said but I didn't stop.

"No!" I screamed angrily. "Last Christmas when I got home and you weren't home you said you were at the shop, picking up the last of the dinner ingredients. I sat on the doorstep waiting excitedly to spend Christmas with my favourite person because I didn't get to the year before but you were here, weren't you?" Dad stared at me. He was crying now too. "Weren't you?!" He nodded automatically out of fear. I got up from my seat and walked off, bursting out into full tears.

"Valerie, wait!" Dad called after me and began to walk to catch up to me.

"Please never talk to me again, Jack."

"I am your dad, not Jack to you!" He screamed at me, he was angry now, really angry.

"You're my father, Jack, but you aren't my dad anymore." I said sadly. "You can be Matilda's dad now." I said and bolted off in the direction of the dormitories.

I went to my room first and packed a suitcase of my most important things and made a quick and urgent phone. Then I went across the hall and weakly knocked on Cal's door. When she saw the tears running down my cheeks she told Antoinette that she had something to do and she guided me back to my room.

"Call the boys." I told her quietly and she did as she was asked. We sat in silence until the boys came bursting through the door.

I told them everything, from the library to getting kicked out of production and then the whole conversation with my dad. Cal started crying halfway though and Flynn pulled me into a hug when I finished, I cried into his shoulder as he rubbed my back.

"What a... Dickhead! He's such a fucking dickhead!" I lifted my head from Flynn's shoulder and for the first time in a week I smiled and laughed. I leaped into Cal's arms.

"I'm so proud of you." Both of us were still crying but we laughed anyway. This was a strange day. We sat in silence, except for Cal and myself sobbing, until I announced the biggest news of the day. "I'm leaving." They all gasped simultaneously. "I don't want to stay here anymore. I already called my aunty, my mum's sister, and explained everything to her. She said I could come and stay with her in the city so I took her up on her offer."

"I think that's a good idea." Cal said first but she didn't say it happily, I knew she was sad but I also knew that she thought it was the right thing to do.

"Maybe." Flynn said miserably. Gary just nodded sadly. Both of the boys were crying now. That's when I realised this was real and it wasn't just affecting me anymore, I had brought other people into my mess and I instantly regretted it but I knew that I couldn't just leave my three best friends without a proper goodbye first.

The walked me to the front gate, the four of us hand in hand. Flynn on the end, dragging my suitcase behind him, then me and Cal and then Gary on the other end carrying my bag of clothes. We all stayed silent and caught the bus to the train station. Cal, Flynn and Gary all waited on the platform with me. When the intercom announced that the train was arriving in three minutes we all started crying again. I hugged Gary goodbye first.

"See you later, you sex god." I laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye, Val." Gary said and pulled me in for another tighter hug.

"Bye, Flynn." I didn't know what to say to him. He pulled me in for a hug and then put his hand under my chin and tilted it upwards he smiled sadly at me and gently pressed his lips to mine, our salty tears mingling.

"Goodbye." He whispered in my ear.

"Bye." Cal said and roughly grasped me and pulled me into a hug tighter than any other. "Thank you so much for everything. You're the best friend a girl could ever ask for." I wiped my tears with my hands.

"I love you, Cal." I said as I held her hand. "I love all of you." I said and look each of them in the eye individually.

The train arrived on the platform and I mentally begged them to not let me go. Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go, please don't let me go. I step on and took a seat next to the window. I waved to them and they all waved back. The boys had tears running down the cheeks and Cal was tucked under Gary's arm, visibly shaking.

The train started to depart and everything started to become reality. I was going to a place I had never been before and leave the only place I had ever known. I would have to find new friends because I was leaving mine.

But they let me go.

Written by Rainbow