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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It was Val's second week working with Emily when she had met almost all of Sam's friends. They all mentioned a 'Paul' with a grumble in their throats and a roll of their eyes. When she asked if he was really that bad, there was no hesitation from the boys when they answered "yes". Their eagerness to chastise their supposed friend's attitude made Val glad she had yet to meet him.
Meanwhile, Bella and Val had not spoken for eleven days - a new record. Each was angry at the other for their careless thoughts or actions, though neither were adult enough to settle it. It's not like they never saw each other, on the contrary, they saw each other every day! Of course, they passed by each other at school, but with Bella's attention fully on Jake - seeing as Valentina had deduced that Bella did not do well alone - they caught each other at the rez most of the time too. It was only when Jacob, who had seemingly gotten over his aversion to Bella (but not to Val), strolled into Emily's bakery, Bella in tow, that Val had become overwhelmed.
She forced herself to ask for a break, which Emily gladly granted, seeing as she was first to hear of the tension between the teenage friends. With the bakery so close to the gravel path that led down to First Beach, that's exactly where Val headed. Not many people were still at the beach, seeing as it was beginning to get dark, only a few kids, a jogger, and a woman reading remained. The violent crashing of waves provided enough to ground Valentina as she searched for the true emotions she was feeling.
Crash. Hurt. Crash. Betrayed. Crash. Guilty. "Hey, are you okay?" Valentina opened her eyes (she hadn't meant to close them) to see a beautiful woman with high cheekbones and long black hair. She realised the similarity to Emily and saw this as the cousin that had been mentioned - Lily? Leila? Leah!
With that way Leah was staring, Val remembered that she hadn't spoken yet. "Oh, uh, yeah, sorry," Val said, almost physically cringing.
"Good, I just wanted to make sure, you just kind of...slumped." Leah laughed and Val joined in, standing up and wiping away the sand from where she had sat.
After having a proper introduction, Leah asked about Bella, then tried to backpedal when she realised it was a sore spot. "No, you're fine," Val sighed, "we haven't talked at all, then she just shows up at Emily's with Jake - who still hasn't talked to me, by the way - as if she doesn't know I work there when her new best friend has his friends in there all the time!" She hadn't meant to rant, but then two weeks of built up anger exploded.
Never wiser words had been spoken than when Leah Clearwater said, "That sounds like it sucks." Val laughed and agreed, it did suck.
"So you're Emily's cousin?" Val asked as they walked along the sandy shore, the sun almost completely hidden by the night.
"Yeah I guess." Leah rolled her eyes, "Seth - my brother - and I are in Sam's...work group?" Her words sounded like a hesitant question but Val ignored it, not wanting to get into semantics.
"So you guys are friends?"
"If that's what you wanna call being dicks to the only girl in the group, then yeah, we're besties!" Leah laughed bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest in an angry manner.
"Oh, that's really shitty," Val empathized, before realizing that she had probably been gone way too long. She apologized to Leah, promising to see her again before running back to the bakery, glad to see that Bella and Jacob had finally left.
While she was putting her apron back on, Emily asked if she was okay, to which Valentina assured her she was, that the break really allowed a breath of fresh air. Emily was glad to hear it, then assigned her to start cleaning off tables as it was almost closing time. Neither of them had stayed more than ten minutes past close due to more than adequate pre-closing procedures. Whilst Val cleaned off tables and swept the floors, Emily would turn off the machines, take out the garbage and begin counting the money in the register.
Typically, no one came in past 7:30, thirty minutes before closing. Which is the exact reason that Val held back the urge to groan when she heard a ding at 7:47, signaling someone had opened the door. She turned to greet the customer, and upon seeing it was Leah, her mood brightened.
"Hey Leah, what's up? Here for a dessert muffin?" Val joked, setting the broom against the wall.
"Ha, no. I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out with me on Saturday?" Leah's hands dug deep into her jean pockets, her shoulders awkwardly high with tension.
"Absolutely! I get off at 3:30, wanna go to the beach then?" Val assumed that Leah didn't have many real friends, especially with the mistreatment from Sam and his friends. She wondered if Seth treated her any differently.
"Great - that sounds great, I mean. I'll see you then, bye!" Leah left in a hurry, the door barely closed when Emily rounded the corner, asking about the customer. Val informed her that it was just a friend, smiling as she picked the broom back up.
As Val entered through the doors of her home, the interior now almost completely white and black, Daniela asked about her day.
"Exhausting!" Val answered as she plopped onto the couch beside her father, who enveloped his daughter in a tight hug. Daniela sat on the coffee table in front of them, asking her to elaborate, rubbing her arm soothingly.
"I just...I want to stop all this fighting with Bella, I'm so sick of it! And my back hurts, my stomach won't stop gurgling, and I just feel like my life is over," Val finished, her words only slightly muffled by her father's chest, tears spilling onto Chris' red henley.
"Ma cherie, your life isn't over, it's just begun! And that 'gurgling' is your baby, mi amore!" Daniela assured her daughter, kissing her nose lightly.
"Perhaps you and Bella just need some time to grow your own roots before you start the garden, Vallie. Having a friend is great, but not when she's your only one, go out with other people, have fun!" Chris said, his arms wrapped around Val.
"By the way, Adelina's coming from New York, said she wanted to hear whatever news you had in person!" Valentina groaned at her mother's words.
Pregnancy came with weird dreams, Val's doctor had warned her, but the abnormally large silver wolf that appeared in hers that night was way past weird, it was frightening.
