𝙄𝙁 𝙄 𝘾𝘼𝙉'𝙏 𝙃𝘼𝙑𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐 ◇ 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥

𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗜𝗗𝗦 ▪ TWO

"You're not being smart about this."

"You said to not be hostile."

"Because he's dangerous."

"I'm not scared of him."

Constantine fell silent. Valerie rolled her eyes and walked downstairs. Her mom had left two hours ago and the house was completely dark. Not bothering to turn on any lights, she served herself some cereal.

The girl thought she was alone until she heard footsteps descending down the stairs. She grabbed the flashlight that sat on the counter, shining it directly at her dad and the woman he hid from his wife.

He covered his eyes, she yelped in surprise.

Her dad quickly flipped on the lights, meeting the eyes of a smug Valerie. The woman immediately looked nervous, her face redder than her hair.

"Valerie, why the hell are the lights off!?" Her dad demanded, sounding annoyed at being caught. She clicked the flashlight off and put it down. "I'll be asking the questions here, Philip," She said with a smile.

"What's your name?" Valerie asked the woman.

"Uh, Shannon." She replied nervously.

"How old are you?"

"I-" Shannon glanced at the man.

"Don't look at him, look at me."

"I'm twenty-six." She was older than Valerie thought.

"So what's on the big wish list?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Well that's the only reason you're screwing my dad right?" The girl asked through a mouthful of Rice Krispies. "You saw the nice clothes, the shiny watch, the BMW."

"Uh, thats not-"

"C'mon Shan, dont be shy. You can tell me."

"Shannon, I think you should go." Valerie's dad said with a grim expression.

"You don't have to go on my account, just let me know if you're coming over for dinner on Sunday so Mom can set an extra plate. We're having," She gave Shannon a once over. "Fish."

"I should go." The redhead said.

"Yeah." Phil started ushering her out.

"See ya, Shan." Valerie gave the woman a wave. When it was just her and her dad, he looked down at his shoes.

"She's nice Dad."

"I only have a twenty. I can go to the bank in the morning and get more." He started bargaining.

"Don't worry, I won't tell her," His daughter reassured him. "Not unless you really piss me off. You're smarter than that though, because you know what'll happen if she finds out."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Her dad said sharply.

"The prenup Phil!" She reminded him with a gleeful tone. "I'm talking about the prenup! She told you to sign it and you did 'cause she terrifies you. And if you leave, you got shit." Valerie said this right in his face, the venom dripping from her voice. She announced she was going to her room, walking up the stairs a bit before stopping. "Oh and light a candle or something, I can still smell Salmon."

Her dad looked up at her with an angry expression.

"I mean, Shannon."

At school, Valerie rummaged through the mess of papers in her locker, looking for her copy of The Catcher in the Rye. Right as she found it, she felt someone approach her and turned to see Patrick leaning against the locker next to her. "There she is," He said his first words to her. "What do you want?" She asked.