Valeria Torres and the Midas Vault

Chapter 18: The Tyrells

The next morning passed in a blur. Next thing she knew, Valeria sat with Sai and his friends at lunch. She perked up when Erin approached their table with a sheepish grin.

"I talked to my dad," she said, her cheeks flushing red. "He said I can come tonight."

Sai looked over at Valeria and asked, "You invited her to your house too?"

"Yeah," she replied, exchanging glances between Erin and Sai. "You guys are my favorite people."

"Really?" Erin asked, her eyes beaming. "That means a lot to me."

James looked up at Erin, his eyes scanning her like a machine. "So wait, is she playing too? If so, we could use another healer."

Erin blinked at him, the color draining from her face. "Excuse me?"

Roberta groaned while combing her long red hair. "Forget it, James. If she's coming - we should do something else."

"Sorry, Erin," Jon said. "Forget what he said. I can bring board games and cards. I have Apples to Apples, Uno and –"

"Come on guys," James protested. "We're never going to finish our campaign."

Erin exhaled, her pallor returned to normal. Looking at Valeria, she said, "Oh, if you guys are already playing some kind of game - I can just sit and watch. Or I could just come another time and –"

"No, Erin," Valeria said, shaking her head. "I want you to come. And you could play our game. It's not that hard really."

James pointed at her. "See? Even Valeria wants to play. She's already kicked ass as our rogue."

"Excuse me?" Erin asked, her eyes widening. "What did you just call her?"

Roberta shook her head. "See, you're going to scare her away, James. Let's just play some Uno or something."

James pointed at Valeria. "It's her house. She should decide."

"Okay, James," Valeria said with a laugh, "We can play your game for a little bit. We can always do something else if we get bored. How does that sound, Erin?"

Erin looked uneasy, but when their eyes met - she smiled. "Umm...okay."

"You gonna walk to my house with us?" Valeria asked.

Erin shook her head. "The security guard will drive me. He has to remain parked outside - part of my dad's conditions."

"Security guard?" Roberta asked with a hint of concern. "Why is that necessary?"

"Her father is an important government official," Valeria replied. "It's okay, Erin, I'll text you my address." She took a moment to look around each of her friends and said, "I'm really looking forward to having you guys over." She turned to Erin and added, "All of you. You guys should know –"

"Hey there," Sheri interrupted, brushing away a strand of her long blonde hair as she appeared behind Erin.

A powerful wave of perfume invaded Valeria's nostrils, causing her to gag. "How long were you standing there?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face as Sheri replied.

"Long enough. I heard you guys making plans? I'm having a party at my house tonight. You and Erin can even bring your little friends if you like."

"Of course," James said, staring at her with a dreamy grin. "We would love to go."

"Umm," Jon said, frowning at his friend, "we can't because Valeria is grounded, right?"

Groaning, Sheri turned to Erin. "And you?"