Business And Hopelessness

CHAPTER TWENTY: Upset

Valentina cried her eyes out, ignoring the incoming messages and calls on her phone for hours before she felt like she had enough and attempted to calm herself down. Drying her eyes with a couple of tissues, she took out her mirror from her desk to see how horrible she looked. Her eyes were red and puffy along with the tip of her nose, the sight making her want to cry again. She fanned her eyes, then got up to put her hair up into a ponytail. She let her curtain bangs be and went to find her phone she threw somewhere in her room.

There were tons of messages and missed calls, but she ignored them as she dialed Luca's number, taking big, calming breaths as she got ready to talk. She wanted to know what happened to him, and whether he knew what happened to her. She couldn't be mad that he wasn't there with her, she just sincerely hoped he didn't get caught and punished. Because if he did, and she didn't, she didn't know what she would do.

But again, all she could think about was how Ray would never look her way again, and how she threw a friendship out the window because of her dumb actions. She blinked toward the ceiling, her heart breaking for the thousandth time as she replayed the afternoon's events in her mind.

"Val!" He said loudly, his voice seemingly panicked. It was breathy. "What happened? Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm at home, where are you?" She questioned instead, her voice a bit raspy as she talked. He probably noticed, but it was hard not to.

"When Ray and the principal came back, he took me by my shoulders and dragged me away to talk about my financial situation and my behavior, so I couldn't stay there to guard, but I thought that at least I got him away from the area," He sighed, explaining himself as well as he could. "I hoped Ray would go back to his own office since only the principal was authorized to enter his own."

"Well...Ray came into the room," Valentina admitted shamefully, wiping away a few escaping tears. "He found me."

"What did he do?" He interrogated, his voice sharper than he probably meant it to be.

"Nothing. Took me away to talk, but he didn't report me."

"Thank god," Luca breathed a sigh of relief, and she could imagine him running a hand through his hair as he talked.

"He hates me now," Valentina's voice shook as she talked quietly. "He never wants to be with me again..."

"No, don't say that!" He said quickly, his voice firm.

"But it's the truth! He thinks I'm only his friend because of this," She cried, unable to keep her tears at bay anymore.

"Okay," He sighed, processing everything. For a few seconds, he was quiet. "Come down, I'll be there in a minute."

The call ended before she could tell him not to come, so she was forced out of her room. Shrugging on a big coat, she pulled her boots on and told her father she would take a quick walk to clear her head as she wanted to take a break from studying. He took a look at his exhausted daughter and didn't say anything, just nodded. It was obvious she had been crying, but he didn't comment on it. She didn't know whether she was thankful for that, or sad that he didn't make any effort to calm her down and listen to her problems. Maybe he just simply ignored her red eyes.

So, Valentina unlocked the front door and walked out, down the stairs, and out in front of the building. It was cold outside now that it was December, but the first snow still didn't come yet. She saw Luca's car immediately, and she wondered how he could be there so fast as she went up to it and climbed into the passenger seat. He hugged her without hesitation and held her for a while, wrapped in his arms. She tried to keep back her crying as she buried her head in the crook of his neck, welcoming his warmth.