I'm a Costello

(15) Texas

Comment and vote! 

[Valentina's POV]

It took me a second to register those words and then just like that I was wide awake sitting up on the floor of my bedroom.

"What?", I whisper, not as a confirmation but as a reflex.

"She suffered a heart attack, Val. They immediately brought her to a hospital but it didn't look good I hear because by the time I arrived she was gone", Ryan explained, sniffing once in the end.

It was like I'd lost the ability to speak.

Mrs Perry. She was Stacy's mum but you'd never feel like that. That wonderful lady never treated me and Ryan any different. Even as kids she'd host better slumber parties than her daughter. Heck Ryan would torment Stacy saying we were friends with her only because of her mum.

"Val? You there?", Ryan's voice snapped me out of my trance.

"Y-Yeah", I managed to stutter.

"I'm worried about Stace. She's... not okay. And that's expected since it's the mourning period. But this is different, Val. Believe me. I've never seen her this...disconnected. It's like she's pulling away. I-I'm frankly too scared right now", Ryan said.

"She needs you more than ever now", He said after a pause.

Hearing that my mind made a decision within a second. I just knew what I'm going to do next and that was going to Texas.

After letting him know I'll be there on the next flight out and him assuring me he won't leave Stacy's side until I'm there we ended the call.

Though even then I still sat there too shocked to move for several more seconds. Ryan's voice giving me the dreadful news kept playing like a broken record in my brain.

I don't exactly remember when I gathered the strength to stand up, unlock my bedroom door, and step outside in the hallway. But before I knew I was standing outside my father's room. I looked up at the closed door only to be hit with flashbacks of the night.

My eyes closed as I took a deep breath. I was upset with all of them and it wasn't going away anytime soon. But I still needed to talk to my father about going to Texas.

It was not the time to let my ego or self-respect keep me from knocking on that door.

When the door opened, my eyes did too. And I push my head to look up at my father. He stood there in his casual outfit, a pair of glasses sitting on his nose, making clear to me that he was either working on his laptop or reading a book.

"I need to talk to you", I broke the silence between us.

He stared at me for a second refraining from commenting on my dishevelled hair or the fact that I'm still wearing the same clothes as this morning. I was slightly grateful when he pushed the door further open and stepped aside for me to walk in.

It was not the air conditioning of his room that made me insert my hands in the warmth of my pocket, but he felt that I guess because he turned off the air conditioning and opened the windows. I tried not to dwell on his thoughtful consideration because I wasn't done being mad at him.

Then he sat down on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knee and waited patiently.

"I... uh, do you remember I told you about my friends back home? Ryan and Stacy?", I said.

He nodded wordlessly.

"Well..Ry called. Stacy's mother died a couple hours ago", I informed.

I watched as his expressions changed from calm to surprise. He was definitely not expecting to hear me say that. Nevertheless he stands up, coming closer to me.