Valerie ran out the door, sprinting as fast as she could, tears streaming down her face. She kept playing the horrible scene in her mind over and over again. She had walked into the house, saddened about an audition that had gone wrong. Everything in her life seemed to be going downhill. What she saw next utterly shattered any existing hopeful thought. Nick Carter, her boyfriend of three years, on the living room floor, with another woman. It was in plain sight, he hadn’t even bothered to have any decency in his cheating behavior. There wasn’t even a word spoken, he just glared at her as if she had interrupted something terribly important. That’s when she ran.
And she ran and ran, until she could barely breathe anymore, tears blurring her vision. She had arrived at her best friend Justin’s house, looking for some condolences through someone to talk to. She almost walked up to the door when she noticed his girlfriend’s car in the driveway. She bit her lip and walked away, not wanting to become a burden on anyone. She felt hopeless and dejected, seeing the sight that she saw, and now not having anyone to talk to. Tears streamed forth from her bright green eyes, not taking one moment to relax. The depression was too much to handle. She clutched her head and collapsed in the middle of the road, not caring that she had scratched her head on the way down, and sobbed relentlessly.
That’s when she saw the headlights coming at her, and she moved slowly, realizing how odd she must look sitting on the side of the road. The headlights slowed to a stop, and Valerie wondered what was going to happen next, perhaps a murderer would come and take her life, giving her release from what she thought was a horrible existence. She welcomed death with open arms, and seriously prayed that this unknown person would just jump out of the car and kill her already.
“Valerie?” It was JC, one of Justin’s friends. “Are you ok?” She just gazed at him from her spot on the road, and nodded her head silently, trying to bite back her tears. He could see that she had been crying, and the sympathy in his blue eyes started to show. Her clothes were mussed and tattered, and her thin, tan frame peeked out from beneath them. She looked down, embarrassed at this encounter. She didn’t know JC that well, but she had always pushed back feelings of attraction from the first day she met him, not wanting to be untrue to her boyfriend. It saddened Valerie for JC to see her like this.
“I’m fine.” Her voice came out barely a whisper. He knew she wasn’t fine, and wished he could comfort her, he wished he could hold her in his arms tightly, and ease whatever pain she was feeling. He had always liked Valerie, but he knew that she had a boyfriend, and he did not want to show his feelings for her, thinking it would complicate her relationship. He never wanted to see her unhappy. He fought the urge to touch her, to reach out and embrace her, and to hold her tightly.
“Do you need a ride home?” He said, and she let out a silent sob, not able to hold back the tears anymore.
“I-I can’t go home…” She looked up at him, and his heart sank. He did not ask any questions, but reached out to wipe a stray tear off of her face, but then thought better of it, not wanting to get too close, for fear of more heartbreak.