Valerie

10 - Thomas

Tyler didn't have time to reply because I was already out of my chair and standing beside her.

She turned to me in shock, "Thomas?"

Tyler looked from me to her and then back to me. He started chuckling to himself, I shifted closer to Valerie, a couple centimetres in front of her, putting space between her and Tyler.

"Oh, shit! Thomas is this your bitch?" He said like it was the funniest thing ever.

I ignored his insinuation. "What the fuck did you just call her?" I said, my voice deathly calm. 

"Thomas, it's fine." Valerie said, looking around the room nervously. "Just go and sit back down."

"Valerie, he just-"

"Please don't cause a scene." She said, looking around the room again. I did the same and noticed a couple of people turned our way. She looked at me, her eyes pleading with me but there was also confusion in them, probably at my reaction. I almost considered it, for her. But then I looked at my cousin and all notions of sitting back down vanished. 

Tyler was all-out laughing now, his greasy hair shaking. It only made me more angry.

"Shit, if I knew she was your bitch, I wouldn't have touched her. It's your birthday, you can have her, man." 

Red. All I saw was red. 

Before I could think about what I was doing, I swung my right fist around, landing a punch on Tyler's face, causing him to fall to the ground and skid across the floor. 

I lunged for him because I was no where near done but small fingers pulled me back.

"Thomas, don't!" Valerie cried.

Several men had now gotten up from their chairs, probably to intervene. 

I looked between her and Tyler and then back at her and said, "Did he touch you?" My voice was eerily calm, trying to provide some sort of comfort for her sake but my mind was anything but calm. 

"It really doesn't matter-"

"It matters." I cut her off. He fucking touched her. He touched Valerie. "Did you consent to it?" I asked, holding her elbows to me to provide support for her as much as she was providing support for me. 

She hesitated and that was all the confirmation I needed before I was lunging for Tyler again. 

He was groaning, clutching his face and muttering, "What the fuck, man?" Before I landed another punch to his face. 

"That's enough!" I heard John shout from somewhere to my right but I was too busy beating the shit out of Tyler to care.

One set of hands tried to pull me off but it was no use, then two, then three but only when four pairs of hands were grabbing me did they manage to get me off of the pervert. 

"My baby!" I heard my aunt cry as she ran to my cousin. 

"I'm fine." I said, shrugging the hands off.

As soon as they let go of me, I went to Valerie except she was staring off into space, a glassy look in her eyes as if she was stuck in a memory. 

"This is your fault you fucking bitch!" My aunt screamed into Valerie's face and was about to slap Valerie but never made it as I caught her hand before it could reach her. 

"Do not touch her." I said calmly. 

"How could you do that to your own cousin, Thomas?!" My aunt screamed at me, Tyler hunched under her arm.