Valerie

18 - Thomas

Ever since I hugged Valerie two weeks ago, I haven't been able to get her out of my mind. I mean, before I thought about Valerie, her soft brown eyes and her softer hair a lot but now it just seemed to be a constant state of being.

I don't know what came over me when I chose to hug her. I never hug anyone. Ever.

The last person I hugged was my sister seven years ago. 

And yet, it just felt right. Better than what I had imagined. I'll admit, I had thought about what she'd feel like in my arms but the reality was even better.

She was soft and her hair smelled like roses. 

I was fully and utterly obsessed with Valerie Fawkes. 

While I thought about what she felt like in my arms practically all the time, I also thought about that worried look she had on her face after receiving that phone call. 

It occurred to me that maybe her family problems are even more fucked up than mine. Which is saying something.

Ever since that phone call, she had been off. Quieter. When I teased her, instead of coming up with some clever quip, she just nodded or gave me a tentative smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

I was grateful for any smile she sent my way but I did not like the fake ones at all.

Which was why I was standing outside of Mable's Mathematics classroom, determined to find out what was wrong with Valerie so I could fix it.

Once I saw brown hair and a freckled face, I said, "Mable."

"Jesus!" She yelped, jumping. "Thomas?! What- You scared me!"

"We need to talk." I said, ignoring her reaction.

"About what?" She asked, recovering by brushing her hair out of her eyes as if she didn't just jump out of her skin.

"Valerie." I said at the same time she mouthed the name while rolling her eyes.

"Should've guessed." She said. I narrowed my eyes at the response. 

"Something's wrong with her."

Mable gave me a funny look. "And what makes you think that?"

"She's... deflated. I don't know. Different. She isn't as happy as she was before."

Mable stared at me. "Someone's a bit obsessed."

"I'm not." I was.

"You are."

"Doesn't matter. The point is something's off and I want to know what."

"What are you going to do about it?" She said it as if insinuating I would do absolutely nothing. 

"I'll fix it." I said simply.

"You can't just fix other people's problems." She said, raising her eyebrows.

"Valerie isn't other people."

"No she's not." Mable sighed. "Look, I'm only telling you this because I'm pretty sure you won't leave me alone until I do."  This was correct. "I'm not entirely sure what's wrong but a couple of weeks ago she was really happy about seeing her brother for the first time in like four or five months but then she got a phone call-"

"The one two weeks ago." I clarified. 

Mable shook her head. "I mean, yes, she got that one but there was another one last week. Ever since then, she's been weird."