She's With the Band

What's Gonna Kill You is the Second Part

"We're Hiring! Be a part of a colourful team!"

Valerie looked at the sign suspiciously, her anxiety was already kicking in. The words seemed to grow bigger in her eyes, until all she saw was the ironic truth. She mentally went over the details of her hasty departure; focusing on every minute aspect.

She had two weeks, at the most, before her contract with the hotel is broken. This gave her two weeks to contemplate the possibility of London.

Also, Xavier was accused of sexual harassment and may lose his job. Xavier might not be at the hotel.

This really only left her with two choices; Cork or London.

Valerie hastily walked away from the cruel reality check the sign presented, lost in thought. Worry was pronounced on her face; her eyebrows were knit together in a frown, the corners of her lips in a drooping line, and her hands balled inside her pockets. Did this classify her as an unemployed twenty-something, for the time being? She thought to herself anxiously as sweat beaded on the nape of her neck.

She couldn't believe her current situation. A thousand What If's danced around her thoughts, infusing them with doubt. What if she had stayed?

Valerie immediately expelled the notion, but she couldn't dismiss the sudden burn in her chest. She loved Xavier, no doubt, but she couldn't believe how blind she was to his infidelity. Which lead her to think of the dreadful question she tried hard to avoid; what if she wasn't good enough?

Valerie couldn't quiet her raging mind from tapping the reservoir of beautiful memories with Xavier. As the street she was walking on slowly opened onto Nassau street, which embraced Trinity College tightly, she took a right turn and aimlessly walked into Grafton street.

With stinging eyes, she realized how getting over Xavier exceeded a mere broken heart. To her, it was a broken heart, broken soul, and broken memories of what they used to be. Despite being 300 kilometres away, Xavier found a way to kill her slowly. And she wasn't even resisting.

She collected her breath, focusing on the inward rush of the cold air particles through her chest. With the focus at hand, Valerie could feel her sanity returning, the ache subsiding, and her own tears drying on her cheek. She now needed to contemplate each choice with careful analysis.

Cork. This was, by far, her least favourite option. She hated the possibility of seeing Xavier in the city where they built their lives. Although the hotel meant everything to her, she knew she aspired for more—which spoke in favour of the other option: London.

London was where her dream was failing its arms in the air, waiting to be seized. Even in her mind, the title suited her. Junior V.P. However, Valerie knew she was pushing her luck by even thinking that the London offer was still available. She knew that, given her recent erratic behaviour—one that she herself condemns, the London Fairfox are probably rethinking that offer.

She sighed exasperatedly, her brain filled with all the noises in the world. She looked up, with conscious eyes, at her surroundings. She found herself back at her sister's street, where the café still hung its blackboard. A third choice materialized in the back of her mind.

Dublin...?  Valerie tried to imagine herself as a barista in the local café; apron and all. This scenario was immediately met with mental frustration; she had worked too hard for the promotion to become Junior VP. She couldn't let Xavier be the reason behind this drastic demotion.

Her phone's ringtone interrupted her warring mind. Reading Dana's name off the screen, she answered automatically.

"Don't kill me," Dana began, "but Mum and Dad want us to come for Dinner."

Valerie's eyes widened in disbelief and her nostrils flared. "Are you serious?!"

"Yeah, Mum just called," Dana sounded apologetic, "I know this is the last thing you want right now."

Valerie couldn't help her flaring anger, "Yes, Dana, it really is! I don't want to sit through a rundown of all the shit that happened followed by a criticizing commentary."

Dana's discontent was palpable on the other line, "Can you really blame them for being worried about you?"

"Whatever, Dana." Valerie rolled her eyes at the nothingness surrounding her, "You shouldn't have told Mum, anyways."

With an icy tone, Valerie hung up on her sister and made her way towards the apartment angrily. She climbed the stairs with storming feet and slammed the door behind her. Her prayers, at the moment, were for a miracle to happen that wouldn't allow her to go tonight.

****

"Is that what you're really going to wear?" Dana eyed her sister's outfit with a meaningful look as if silently communicating You're not going to see our parents dressed like this.

"What's the problem with it?" Valerie challenged. She knew perfectly well what Dana meant, for she was wearing her old ripped jeans from her teenage years and paired it with one of Dana's vintage U2 t-shirt. All Valerie needed to complete the façade of teenage angst was a lip-piercing and headphones blaring punk music in her ears.

Still, she liked the outfit. "There's nothing wrong with it," She shrug her shoulder nonchalantly as she walked past Dana to the door. "We'll be late."

Dana sighed exasperatedly, knowing exactly what game Valerie was playing. It was the Who Can Get Under the Other's Skin First game, which both of them perfected growing up together. She grabbed her car keys from the coffee table and followed her pretend-teenage sister out the door.

The car ride was a silent two hour ride from downtown Dublin to the outskirts of the city where their parents lived quietly in their suburban home. The thought of returning to her childhood home made Valerie fidget; she didn't want to be slapped by reality in the face, yet again. Somehow, hearing that she is 'unemployed' or 'throwing her life away' from the two most important people in her life made it all too real. She wanted to dwell in this carefully constructed bubble that promised her answers as she went through life.

Dana decidedly turned on the radio, wishing to break the tension electrifying the car. The weight of the world hung on her shoulders; mostly because she didn't tell Valerie who was the mastermind behind the plan: Herself. The minute Dana received the phone call from Cork at three in the morning, she immediately called her Mum. Together, they decided that Valerie needed some familiar ground to stand on until she can come to terms with what Xavier had done. In their eyes, this could only be achieved through a family gathering; only Dana wished that Valerie could see this.

To be fair, Dana marvelled at her sister's ability at handling the affair with such dignity. Her mind took her to her first college sweetheart, who apparently was using her to get to her roommate. She remembered how, after she became aware of the truth, she snuck into his dorm and trashed the place—making sure to leave a personal message over the wall with lipstick profanity. She silently praised her sister's strength.

What she didn't appreciate, however, was Valerie's apparent decline into an early mid-life crisis. She could feel the teenage rebellion in the air, looming overhead and waiting to burst.

A/N: Hope you guys like it, so far! I promise the action will start soon... ;)

Comment/Vote/Do-anything!

Much love :)