Paul Lahote's entire life shifts at the sight at Valentina Thurston. Her warmth and kindness effectively forces him to reconsider his bad boy persona he'd put on for so long. Though, she does have her own small, ever-growing, obstacles to overcome...
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Small, patched up houses surrounded Valentina as she stopped running, her foot beginning to cramp. Maybe that's why I don't play sports, she thought. A woman with shiny black hair exited one of the houses, quickly running over to Valentina, who was cradling her injured ankle
"Are you alright?" The stranger asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I hurt it running away from...something," Val explained, wincing.
"Come in, let me make sure you're really okay." She seemed motherly, but Valentina wasn't born yesterday. She had listened to her parents countless times when they told her not to go with strangers. Though, it hadn't been applicable until now.
"See, I would, really, but I don't know you," Valentina said, turning to walk away. Only she was stopped by a strong wave of pain in her foot, which caused an involuntary yelp.
"I'm Emily and you're in pain." Emily tried to help the teen to her house before she yelled, "Sam! Jared! Somebody! Come help!" Two large men rushed out of the house, urgently asking what the problem was.
"She can't walk and I can't lift her. She really needs her ankle checked out so can you help?" The larger of the two began to reach for Valentina before she began to pull away. Emily laughed, "Oh, I'm sorry, this is Sam, my fiance. Now let us help you."
Valentina couldn't help but notice how warm Sam was. She could feel his body heat radiating through his shirt. Looking at the other boy, Jared, she assumed his name was, she wondered if he, too, was that warm. When they reached the house, which smelled of baked goods, similar to the diner, Sam set her down on a white wooden chair in the kitchen.
Emily began to look at her ankle, poking and prodding which caused Val to hiss in pain and beg her to stop. The conclusion that was arrived at was that her ankle was sprained.
Sam let out a deep chuckle, scaring Valentina, "I thought your friend was supposed to be the clumsy one?"
Caught by surprise, Valentina choked out, "Bella?"
"Yeah, Chief Swan's girl. Found her in the woods the night Cullen left her. Is she doing any better?" Sam stood in front of Val and she thought he had to be at least 6'5.
She shook her head, catching her lip in between her teeth, "She was. Jacob hurt her pretty bad."
"Trust me, it's for the best," Sam said, placing a large, burning hand on Val's shoulder.
When he was called outside by the other boy, Jared, the teen turned to Emily, "He's really warm, is he, like, sick or something?"
Emily let out a gentle laugh, "No, it's a, uh, Quillette thing." Accepting this as a valid answer, Valentina asked about her wedding, to which Emily divulged every detail of. There were undoubtedly stars in her eyes as she talked, and Valentina loved seeing someone that happy about getting to spend the rest of their lives with their true love.
"I have a question, and I truly hope it's not too personal," Emily posed and Valentina nodded in response. "How far along are you?"
Val choked on the muffin Emily had offered her and quickly felt urgent pats on her back. "Sorry," she said once she got her bearings, "it just surprised me that you knew."
"I helped my sister with both of her pregnancies, I know all the signs," Emily mused.
Valentina looked away and nodded, "Oh. Well, I'm a little over 15 weeks, but underneath this sweater I look like the book says I should look at 18 weeks!"
Emily smiled at Valentina, "That just means you'll have an even cuddlier baby!" The girls giggled together and Valentina found herself genuinely enjoying Emily's company; she understood what the pregnancy terms meant and was probably the only other person besides Val's mom who she could talk to about the baby.
At that moment, Sam and Jared made their way into the kitchen, their laughs preceding them by about a mile. Sam made it a point to sweep Emily into his arms and gently kiss her. Valentina looked down at the muffin she had been picking apart, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment.
"Don't worry, princess, nothing's private around here," Jared laughed. Valentina blushed, desperately hoping that didn't mean what she thought.
"N-nothing?" Her breathing staggered and Jared sheepishly bowed his head. "So you guys all heard-"
"Small rez," Jared interrupted. Val wasn't sure if he was assuring her or humiliating her, even if it wasn't purposeful. The teen began to feel bile rising in her throat and heat licked hungrily at her face.
"Your nose is bleeding," Jared observed, even though Valentina was sure she hadn't felt anything. Then a drop fell onto her hand and she cursed, throwing her head back.
"It's normal," Emily comforted her, holding a washcloth to Val's face.
"Yeah, so I've heard." Her voice was distorted by the thick material but understandable. A copper hand went to brush Valentina's sandy brown hair away from her eyes.
Once the blood had stopped falling and Val's face had been wiped clean of the thick liquid, Emily proposed a walk on the beach. The pair walked slowly to the shore, mainly on account of the badges wrapped around Val's ankle. Neither seemed to care that the ground was soft from the day's rainstorm or that the wind blew their hair like the leaves. They never seemed to run out of topics to talk about, from Val's hatred of her chemistry class to Emily's baking business.
"If you need, I'm always looking for some extra help around the shop," Emily proposed, her arms wrapped around her chest to protect her from the wind chill.
"Really? I might take you up on that, it sounds nice." Valentina smiled at her, just now taking the time to study the scars that marred Emily's otherwise perfect face. They dragged the corner of her eye down and extended down her jaw. Val contemplated to herself what could have possible caused the three pink jagged lines.
"It'd be great to have a fresh face around, the boys around here eat like animals," Emily said, laughing at a joke that Val must not have understood.
