Until It Breaks – Chapter 5

Not Ready

Valerie stood in the door frame, dumbfounded and unable to move. Fortunately, the two lovers were too wrapped in their… business to notice her at all. After a few seconds, her mind snapped out of its stasis and she quietly closed the door.

She felt shock and betrayal, just like in her dream last night. Jenny might have changed over the years but the two of them had been best friends before. She didn’t deserve to be treated like this. Anger at Ethan welled up inside Valerie. Jenny had looked at him so lovingly and here he was, disregarding her feelings like they meant nothing to him. And maybe they didn’t.

Even though her head was filled with confusion and anger, a small part of her mind reminded her of the scary resemblance to her dream. How was this possible?

Valerie shook her head. She couldn’t deal with this now, she had to get out, clear her head. She wasn’t ready to think about what the dream had meant. She wasn’t ready to decide whether to tell Jenny or not. A thousand scenarios of Jenny’s reaction raced through her mind. Would she believe her? Would she blame her? Would this destroy their new-found, fragile friendship? Valerie couldn’t bare the thought of having to see Jenny’s face when her life was being turned upside down and she was the one to do it.

Valerie practically raced down the steps – and ran right into Jenny’s arms.

“There you are! There’s someone here I wanted to you to meet, I think you might get along well”, Jenny winked at her but Valerie was too stressed out to notice.
“Sorry, Jen, I… I’m not feeling so good. I have to go”, she avoided Jenny’s questioning gaze and left her standing. Cheating might not be illegal, but she still felt like she was fleeing a crime scene. This night had been a lot more than she had bargained for.

Next: Chapter 6