Life After Death

Chapter 16

Soliel Museum was a place of greatness, Val told us. She said that once upon a time Soliel was this immaculate place that had the most beautiful history. Val lived in the slum-area of Pennsylvania with her mother who had lupus; she worked at Soliel for minimum wage-even at the age of thirteen-cleaning and packing inventory, and that's how she met Nanette. She helped Val pack inventory in the basement.

The guys split up with us, saying they wanted to talk; so the two of us went on our own as well. Roman and Topher looked really engrossed with their conversation; I wondered when they became so close.

Val and I wandered up a staircase that split in two different hallways-we went right. Val said that she wanted to show me something. The walls were dirty and bare, and the red carpet was filled was covered in unknown stains. I walked cautiously as I could, hoping and praying that it wasn't blood or something gross or equally gruesome. Val, on the other hand, wasn't cautious at all. She wandered down the hallway, trailing her hand against the wall, humming a tuneless tune.

"I was raped," Val said, and it caused me to stop dead in my tracks.

"What?"

"I was raped by your mother's douchebag." Hearing those words come from her mouth made me feel like someone hit me in he gut with a boulder. Rape was something I had heard of on TV shows and the news; not from a friend. It sounded so surreal, like something so vile shouldn't happen in real life... or death, whatever.

"Valerie..."

Val groaned, turning around and throwing up her hands dramatically. "Ugh, it happened thirty years ago, Meredith, I'm over it. I just... I never spoke to anyone but-but Nanette about it and... I just need to talk about it. I need to get it out. I need someone to believe me."

"I'm sorry," I said. "Please continue."

We walked first. Val led me to an empty room, an office maybe. The floors and walls were covered in dirt and grime and god knows what. We sat on the floor opposite one another despite the disease covered ground.

"It happened one night. I was working overtime," she said. "A day before my mother was sent to hospital and the bills were skyrocketing so, being the naive little girl I was, I thought that if I worked overtime more often I would, somehow, be able to pay." She shook her head letting out a heavy sigh. "I was cleaning the office out because Mr. Wheeler the owner of this office, asked me to. I entered the office to find Elliot aka the douchebag sitting at the chair. I told him I'd clean it later but he insisted I do it now. So I did." She shrugged sadly.

"If it's too hard for you..." I trailed off when Val gave me a deadpan look.

"I want to," Val insisted. But she looked so broken behind those dark brown irises of hers. "He touched me, Merri. He touched my butt, and then my foof. I told him to stop," Val began to heave, "but he wouldn't let go off me." She was shaking. I tried to hold her but she shook me off. "He wrapped his arms around me, bent me over and pulled down... he-he pulled down my pants and panties. I heard the... the sound of his belt unbuckling; and everything went in slow motion. Every painful thrust... I just-I felt so dirty, Merri.

"When he was done with me. He told me to clean myself up and the blood on the floor. I did. As soon as I got out of there I called Nanette begging her to come pick me up, I even explained what happened but she wouldn't believe me-I think Elliot was with her at that time-I gave up hope and decided to run to the hospital, but I was stopped by Mr. Wheeler-he was on the way to the museum." She sniffled. "He told me to get in the car so he could take me home. He asked me what happened, I told him, and then he killed me-choked me and dumped my body."

Val stopped crying. She was staring blankly at the space behind me. I took her hand in my own and gave it a gentle squeeze. "My mother died the next day of the lupus," Val said. "It was that bad. I was glad she died before the news got to her. I didn't want that news to kill her. I guess everything happens for a reason, huh? I died, so my mother wouldn't have to die hearing that her daughter was missing. She would have died on the spot. Or even if I didn't die and she died. How would I live with myself? Where would I go? I would have been on the streets, no doubt." Val had recovered, she sighed. "I'm glad I told you and I'm glad I came here." Val smiled, "I needed the closure."

I hugged Val, and she squirmed under my embrace. "I'm glad you told me," I told her. Holding her at arms-length. "I believe you. And... and I wish I could get my hands on that bastard who..."

"I'm over it. I got over it a long time ago," Val said. She jumped up. "Wanna go wander around? I want to show you my favorite place of this museum."

I smiled and said, "Sounds good to me."

For a couple of hours the anger dissipated like smoke. Val and I ran around the museum and she painted this beautiful picture on how Soliel used to look. We even found a statue in the main part of Soliel of the Frenchman the museum was named after. We tramped around the museum, into the basement, into any and every available door that would open; and Val would go on and on about the wonders Soliel held once upon a time-the artifacts, the people, mainly Nanette, the night janitor and Eleanor, the woman who sat at the front desk and who gave tours around Soliel; according to Val, Eleanor knew more about Soliel than she could ever imagine. The thing Val held most dear to her thought was the basement. Val said that the basement held the best artifacts-the ones they never showcased. She said she felt honored to clean them, and dust them off. I smiled and laughed as she spoke about all the fun things she and the night janitor would do: listen to "classic eighties rock," and "dance like maniacs."

Soon we ran into the guys who were both laughing hysterically. When we questioned them on the loud laughter they gave a curt "nothing" and brushed it off as if they hadn't just been curling over, clutching their bellies in laughter. Val and I huffed in annoyance.

"We should get out of here," Roman said, turning all serious, peaking out the broken window.

"Why?" Val pouted. She didn't want to leave. Sure, Soliel held some horrible, disgusting memories to her but it also held some of her best.

"Because I can hear them," Roman said.

"Trolls?" Topher questioned, sending Val an amused glance. Val stuck her tongue out at Topher.

Roman still had that serious look on his face. It scared me. And by the looks of Topher and Val: it scared them, too. Roman nodded and spoke in that same thunder-like voice, "Yes. And there's a lot of 'em."