Angels Don't Cry

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nicolas

"You're sure...you're absolutely sure, Tom?" Valeria's pained voice spoke into the phone.

"I'm positive, Ms. Patterson...I'm sorry." Tom's voice blasted through the speakers.

"Okay.. thank you." She hung up and dropped the phone onto the table, her eyes were vacant and she said absolutely nothing; she sat down and just stared....stared into nothing.

I watch her do this for a complete hour; her Aunt was crying softly in the living room sharing the news with the extended family letting everyone know the unfortunate news.

"Angelo?" I walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She said nothing.

"Valeria?" I called once more.

Again she said nothing.

In fact, she got up and headed towards the stairs; I tried to follow behind her but she stopped me. Her voice sounded cold, distant, tired, and....sad.

"Please, Nicolas...I just want to be alone...just for a little bit." She then continued up the stairs in a slow and unrushed manner.

I decided it was best to give Valeria her space since I didn't want her to feel like I was bombarding her or anything like that. 

I back into the living room to check on Ivy to see if she was okay; she was a lot more emotional than Valeria in terms of expressing emotion. Valeria was more of the type to keep her feelings bottled up and stored away until it filled and could not be filled anymore.

Ivy was sitting on the couch, she was done making phone calls and her eyes seemed a little vacant looking into the television screen. I sat down beside her and for a moment I didn't say anything, luckily for me she was the one that spoke up.

"You never expect these kinds of things to happen to you...once they happen once, you think you're exempt from any other harm coming to you and your family." She shook her head and sighed deeply.

"Every time you lose a family member it's a stab to the heart. It's like I'm living my own kind of nightmare over again." She sobbed.

I patted her back, "You are a strong woman, Ivy...I believe you will get through this." I encouraged her.

She sniffed, "I will...it just needs time, and oh that poor baby...who's going to tell her the news?" She asked herself than she did me. 

I bit my lip pensively, "One step at a time." I replied.

She nodded her head in agreement, "You're right...we still need to get the technicalities straight. We need to figure out who Mila's going to be living with now." She sniffled and brushed some curls away from her face.

It was just crazy to think how everything was fine and calm, just a couple of hours before and now this disaster has come upon Valeria's family. I enjoyed the time I spent with Valeria and Mila; it was something I had never experienced before with people...I had a sense of "family" with them. Even though I hadn't known Díon and Audrey personally, they seemed like great people, passionate about what they did, and lastly very caring of Valeria.

You never want to see someone you love and care about gone from your life.

I stayed with Ivy for about an hour or so before she decided to check on Mila and see if she needed anything. I then took it upon myself to go check on Valeria as well, just to see if she was okay. I knocked on the door lightly, and she opened a moment later wearing a pair of shorts and a light tank top; her hair was up in a messy ponytail and her face overall looked exhausted.