LcaptureN Love

Last Part - Chapter 5 : 
          
          Val followed her timidly, wondering what kind of work she was referring to but assuming it had something to do with fashion design. Glancing at the clock on the living room wall, she saw it was after midnight. "This late?" she questioned, watching Diana slip into her room and come back out a few moments later with a black computer bag in hand. "You should probably get some sleep."
          
          Slinging the bag onto her shoulder, Diana stepped onto the grass, her eyes staying locked on the girl with an unreadable expression. Val noticed a smirk rise to Diana’s lips before she spoke in a silvery tone. "Ain't no rest for the wicked."
          
          Her cheeks flushing, Val fidgeted with her hands and watched as the brunette turned and began walking toward the shore. "On the contrary, there should be rest for 36-year-olds."
          
          Suddenly remembering that she had teasingly withheld her age the night before, Diana stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned around, her eyebrows furrowed, and looked at the girl who wore a complacent smirk. "How did you..."
          
          "You told me you had Keith when you were 15. Keith is 21 now. I did the math." With that, the girl turned on her heels and sauntered to her bedroom, closing the door behind her and leaving Diana standing there, dumbfounded.
          
          Smirking to herself, Diana realized she still didn’t know the girl's full name, which had been part of their teasing last night. Turning to continue walking toward the beach, Diana found her mind oddly fixated on the image of freckles scattered across tan skin.

Part 19  - chapter 5 : 
          
          "Good," Val squeaked, trying to contain her excitement. Diana was a magical person, very different from her son, and Val knew that if she and Keith ended up together in the long run, she might not see much of her mother-in-law, so she wanted to savor it while it lasted.
          
          Diana gave a small smile, suddenly horrified by how loudly her heart was beating at Val's smile. God, I must be really drunk, she thought to herself.
          
          "Well, I'm going to do some work on the beach," the woman said as she entered the living room and headed for the walkway to get her work bag.

Part 18 - chapter 5 :
          
          "Today was bad, but maybe tomorrow will be better." The girl chewed her lip, trying to find words to persuade the woman to stay. She wasn’t sure if it was for Keith’s sake or her own. Diana had a magnetic personality that drew people in, and Val had already been completely captivated. Her cheeks flushing, she pleaded, "Just stay at least for tonight. If something else bad happens, you can leave with no trouble."
          
          The woman ran a hand through her thick hair, her soft lips parting to breathe in the salty ocean air. She then exhaled, slipping her hand back into her pocket. Val was right—today had been bad, but tomorrow might be better. She had spent her whole life keeping Keith at a distance; the least she could do was not leave him abruptly.
          
          Too many internal battles had been weighing on her mind over the past few days. She had gone from agreeing to Keith's request for a getaway out of pity, to abruptly planning to leave, only to be persuaded to stay again. She was growing exhausted, and the only thing that could soothe her was to be productive and work on some fashion sketches.
          
          As they neared the villa, she clenched her jaw before saying, "Okay. I'll stay—for now."
          
          The look on the girl's face, as it brightened, melted the solidified anger inside her. It softened her stone-cold demeanor, which both scared and intrigued her.

Part 17 - chapter 5 : 
          
          
          "And I got pregnant. My parents were big businesspeople in New York, and they were terrified of the scandal that would come from their teenage daughter being pregnant. So, after an unbearable nine months, I gave birth and gave up custody, agreeing to pay child support for 18 years of my life," she hissed, clenching her fist in her pocket. "He took advantage of me. He was two years older and not as drunk as I was. That stupid decision of mine has haunted me my whole life."
          
          The raven-haired girl looked at her with wide eyes, never having heard this side of the story. Keith always said that his mom got pregnant when she was young and was too irresponsible to raise a child. "Would you have kept Keith if it wasn’t for your parents?"
          
          "God, no," Diana snapped, her green eyes flashing down at the timid girl. "I was fifteen. I was still a kid myself. His father took custody, but he was mostly raised by his father's parents until he was older." She turned back to the stars, a lump forming in her throat. She was done being vulnerable in front of the girl who chose to stay with her unpleasant son. "So I can't be around him. He’s just a reminder of my ignorance and regret. I never wanted to be a mother, and I’ve never considered myself one. And he acts just like his dad—a complete prick."
          
          Val was taken aback by the venom in Diana’s tone, the way her usually smooth voice turned cold and merciless. She understood Diana’s troubles—she would feel the same way if something like that had happened to her at such a young age. Even though Diana didn’t act like a mother and had been incredibly distant during Keith’s childhood, she had carried that burden all her life. At least when she wasn’t around him, she could be distracted, but in his presence, it was unavoidable.
          
          "I understand," Val said softly. "But you shouldn't just leave abruptly. Believe me, I know Keith can be unbearable, but he has been so excited about this trip."

Part 16 - Chapter 5 : 
          
          
          Val imagined Diana as a rebellious teenager, full of angst and resentment. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Diana hadn't changed much since then.
          
          "My best guy friend showed up, and we got drunk together. I had known him my entire childhood, and our parents were good friends." She paused, her chest seeming to collapse as she forced out the rest of the story. "He wanted to have sex with me. I was young, drunk, had never done it before, didn’t know yet that I was only attracted to women, and most importantly, I wanted to secretly get back at my parents for being such assholes. So I did."
          
          The girl's eyes widened slightly at the revelation that Diana was attracted to women. Her eyebrows raised, realizing that this was why Diana had a striking mix of masculinity and femininity. She continued to listen, her lips parted.

Part 15 - Chapter 5 : 
          
          "It's alright," Diana softly said, glancing down at the shorter girl beside her and caught off-guard when she was already looking at her. The moon cast its light across her skin, her freckles, now a darker shade, finally getting a rest from the sun which had naturally multiplied them. Her eyes were pools of swirling coffee, so inviting and tempting that they seemed to urge anyone who observed them to take a warm swim. How could she be closed off to someone as kind as Val, even if Val was the girlfriend of the very person who made her so sullen?
          
          Val watched as Diana licked her lips and sighed, her high cheekbones attracting all the moon's attention in stark contrast to the more shadowed, sunken part of her cheek. Diana's brunette eyebrows furrowed as she tried to find the right words. Her heart seemed to palpitate in her chest, the loud waves drowned out by her focus on the woman before her, whose green eyes sparkled even in the night.
          
          "I had Keith when I was young, very young," Diana began, her chest aching as she started to tell a story she had avoided sharing with anyone; even her closest friends didn’t know she had a son. "I had just turned fifteen, and my parents were both away on work trips for my birthday. I was angry." She bit her lip and looked up at the stars, finding solace in their light. "I felt neglected and angry, so I decided to throw a party with my older friend who could drive. I invited all my friends, and she invited all her older friends who brought alcohol, lots and lots of alcohol."

Part 14 - Chapter 5 : 
          
          "What do you mean?" Val gently questioned, staring up at the tall woman whose dark lashes fanned across her cheeks as her eyelids fluttered closed, her lips moving to mumble a curse. The girl felt her cheeks heat at the realization that she was annoying Diana, so she quickly whispered, "Sorry." Her stare lowered to the sand. "I don't mean to invade your privacy."
          
          The girl's prying nature was not purposeful, and Diana knew that. She was a naturally inquisitive girl, made obvious by the way her wide eyes always looked about her as if there were things of such intrigue and wonderment that no one else could see but her. It was like she wore invisible goggles that allowed her access to some alternate universe, to some filter of the world much prettier than the one Diana saw through.

Part 13 - Chapter 5 : 
          
          Sighing, Diana shifted her eyes up to the top of the island's tallest mountain, which stood among the stars like a rising warrior. "I am," she confirmed, her voice clipped.
          
          Val's gaze averted to the sand, and she began to imagine how upset Keith would be when he found out. She also felt how upset she was, for even though she hardly knew Diana, she felt as though they had clicked. They had gotten along much smoother than she had expected, and now she was just leaving? "But why?"
          
          Diana stared out at the stars, causing Val to curiously follow her gaze. "I can't be here anymore with Keith." She bit her tongue, her supreme fear of intimacy making her want to zip her lips closed and not spill personal information to someone who was basically a stranger.
          
          It didn't take spending much time around Keith to understand why one wouldn't want to be around him. But Diana was his mother. "I know he's a lot," Val began, pushing a soft curl behind her ear. "But he really does make an effort with you."
          
          The woman chortled, shaking her head and pursing her lips as she walked slowly beside the girl who matched her pace. "Effort to constantly remind me of my past," she mumbled quietly, instantly piercing her teeth through her lower lip as harsh discipline for speaking more about personal things. Maybe she was just drunk, or maybe Val had some superpower that drew her out of her shell. Either way, Diana was finding it really hard to keep herself contained inside her broody cocoon.

Part 12 - Chapter 5 : 
          
          As the woman still stared after them, unsure why her heart was beating hard in her chest with seething anger, Val stood up and chuckled, the sound of it drawing Diana's attention away from mentally throwing balls of fire at the two scumbags. "Were you trying to race me or something?"
          
          Diana looked down at the girl as her almond eyes peered up at her, soothing her internal fire that she was questioning the eruption of. "No," she said, clearing her throat and turning to resume a much slower walk. "I just need to hurry back so I can pack."
          
          She had forgotten the gravity of her words until they slipped from her beer-imbued lips, her chest seeming to sink within itself at the realization. She wanted a quick and easy escape, to leave early that morning before everyone else woke up and to no one's discretion.
          
          "Pack?" Val questioned, signifying the failure of Diana's plan for a quick and easy escape. The girl's dark eyebrows threaded as she looked at the side of the woman's stoic face. "Are you leaving?" A pang of emotion hit her chest, bringing her both confusion and swirling anxiety.

Part 11 - Chapter 5 : 
          
          
          Val thought that it always felt more peaceful with Diana. She had this sort of calming presence, even though she made the girl nervous at the same time. She was intimidating and formidable, yet everyone around her seemed to feel safe. Her composure was infectious.
          
          "Why are you walking so fast, woman?!" Val breathlessly exclaimed as she stopped, bending over and placing her palms on her knees to catch her breath. She had practically been jogging for the last fifteen minutes to keep up with her.
          
          Diana halted and turned toward the girl, seeing the way she leaned over slightly, causing the back of her short dress to lift. Diana then noticed a couple of men walking by, their eyes casting toward the oblivious girl lecherously. Something inside her grew hot.
          
          Walking over toward the girl, she eyed the two men carefully, her jaw set tight and her eyes stabbing into them so hard they physically felt her glare. Their lustful expressions dropped, and they quickly snapped their heads away and kept on walking.