Valerie

19 - Val

TW: Mentions of ED, mentions of abuse

"Do you want some hot chocolate?" Thomas asked from the kitchen.

Not knowing if I could stomach anything at the moment, I declined. 

I could hear the frown in his voice as he said, "What have you eaten today?"

Nothing. 

"I had a sandwich for lunch." I lied. 

It's not that I didn't want to eat. I just couldn't. My stomach chucked pretty much anything I had consumed back up again as my anxious vomiting had started again. At the moment, it was manageable as I was able to keep about enough down to stop me from passing out but it still wasn't healthy. I wasn't an idiot. I knew it wasn't healthy. But I just couldn't face food. I didn't know how much longer I could go before I would pass out. I dreaded the thought.

"You can have a hot chocolate then." It wasn't a request.

"Really, it's fine. I don't want to be a bother." I said, chewing on my bottom lip.

Thomas sighed. "Valerie, you're never a bother. Never to me." And he started making me a hot chocolate.

As I heard the frothy mixture being made, my mind wandered to a certain phone call that I had received not too long after Michael had called me.

"Val, your phone's ringing." Mable said, coming into my room.

I pulled out my earbud and thanked her, making my way to the phone, thinking that it was Will coming to explain whatever the fuck Michael was on about. 

I grabbed the phone putting it to my ear. I was right. It was Will.

Even though I knew it would be, I still released a sigh of relief at it not being him.

"Hey, Val."

"Hi, Will." I said tentatively.

"So listen, I haven't got long but I needed to talk to you, do you have a sec?"

I hesitated. I had nothing to do but something was telling me to put this phone down.

I ignored the feeling and decided to say, "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

I heard him sigh on the other end.

"Look, there's no nice way of putting this. I'm sure Michael spoke to you and was being all foreboding?"

"Something like that." I smiled slightly, not sure where this conversation was going. 

He paused and I felt my heart thundering in my chest. A feeling I hadn't felt in five months. "Dad's coming to New York with me."

I stopped breathing, I stopped thinking. All I felt was the intense surge of fear making it's way through me and the sour taste of betrayal from my brother. Sure, he didn't know everything our father did to me, but he wasn't blind or deaf. He heard the things he said to me. Saw the words he threw my way. I knew everything was my fault but I knew I didn't deserve all of that. He had to know it too... didn't he?

"Before you say anything, or say no, I just want you to know that I- no we're doing this for the family. We've been so broken, Val. I want to see you, he wants to see you. Please."

I sighed, preparing to let my brother down. "Will-"

"We've already bought the plane tickets. Please for once, don't be selfish and make me return them. I'm busy enough as it is. He's coming, okay?"