The Heart Can't Make It Alone (Completed)

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

***

After sharing a dance through the end of the song, Val and Joe settled at the table.

"I hope this is OK," he said, opening the bottle of grape juice and pouring them each a glass. "I figured after 'Adventures with Kai,' you wouldn't want any alcohol."

"Oh God," Val said, palming her face, "don't even remind me. I'm still low-key recuperating, so there'll be no more of that."

"Yeah, I told him you're not much of a drinker, and with that being said," he began after taking his seat, "what's bothering you?"

Val stared at him in silence for a short moment. Nobody she'd ever dated before him knew her like he did. It was as if she was an open book without trying to be. Tonight, however, she'd be transparent with him and let everything out.

"I, um ... I'm having a hard time forgiving myself for not being honest with you about everything."

"Hmm," Joe simply responded, sipping his grape juice.

He set the glass on the table and leaned back in his seat while Val uncomfortably shifted in hers. Unlike her, Joe was a master at hiding his feelings when he wanted to do so. Luckily for her, he never did and was always open with his emotions. It was just these initial moments of silence that left her momentarily guessing about what he was thinking.

"Well, even though I don't agree with the way you handled things, I understand," he finally said. "But I think I'd understand more if you opened up to me a little more about what happened with you and Mark. I'm not saying we have to talk about it today, but I'd like to know some day."

Val nodded, pulling a cheese cube from the small silver platter in front of her. She chewed and swallowed before responding.

"It was, um, a really difficult thing to go through, Joe. I just wanted to have something real with him. I was so in love with him that I put up with a lotta shit from him," she replied, thinking back to the day she found out about Mark's affair with his ex-girlfriend.

***

Little Rock, February

2014

Val awakened at the sound of the notification alerting her of a newly received text message. She sat up in bed, absent-mindedly rubbing her stomach. After having suffered a miscarriage a few days earlier, she hadn't fully digested the fact that her womb no longer held the life she'd created with her long-time boyfriend, Mark. On top of that, he'd disappeared soon after her discharge from the hospital. She assumed he was dealing with the loss in his own way. That is, until she picked up her phone and read the message she had just received from an unknown number.

Did you miss him bitch?

She texted the number back.

Who is this??? I think you have the wrong number.

The next message she got angered her, but more than that, it broke her heart. She immediately recognized the sleeping male and the woman in the pic as Mark and his ex-girlfriend.

"Oh God, no," she whispered to herself, unable to stop staring at the photo. "This can't be real."

Her attention averted from the picture at the sound of the security chimes alerting her to Mark's arrival home from work.

"Son-of-a-bitch," she said as she stood from the bed.

She walked to the living room to confront him, her heart rate increasing with every step she took. When she had him in her line of sight, she picked up a glass vase and threw it at him, barely missing his head by inches.