My brothers best friend

Chapter 44: We Can see others

Chapter 44

Valerie's P.O.V.

Okay hold on. Did I just have a nightmare or did that actually happen. My hands automatically touch my face and hardly it wasn't a nightmare it happened. He actually lied to me.

I hate Josephine. How could she do that to him though? That's really bitchy behavior, I'm just saying.

But we both know it's not about Josephine, this is about Jake. Why didn't he just tell me? Why did he wait so long to do it? He knows I hate liars, especially since Mason lied to me.

Mason had just found out that Jonathan and I were no longer together, and when Mom explained why, he freaked out. I told him that he should stop getting upset about it and that I'm fine and he promised me he wouldn't touch him. Not so much as approaching him and his dirty face. Mason's words, not mine. But the next day he broke his promise, came home and then, when I saw his fists which were covered in his and Jonathan's blood, I also knew that he had done what he promised he wouldn't.

I confronted him. I was pissed off. But he kept saying that he hadn't done anything to him and I know it's a bit dramatic but I just got really mad at him, didn't bother to talk to him for several weeks. How could he break that promise just like that? And when the police came, my anger faded just a little and was replaced by guilt. He hit Jonathan for my sake, not because he himself had thought: I'm just hitting Jonathan for fun. But because he was mad that he had hit me. But at least he had a good reason.

What was Jake's reason? That he didn't dare? It's fucking absurd. Jake Graham doesn't get scared. At least not as far as I know or have heard.

How could he do that to me? I may be overreacting a little bit, but I'm shocked. It's not every day you wake up to your boyfriend admitting something so big on top of the hangover you've had.

I want to shout, scream, just hit something, but it's probably not a very good idea when it's almost three in the morning. Instead, I take my headphones and put on Turn Back Time by Daniel Schulz.

If i could turn back time and make it all alright.

Only a piece of you and me will keep me warm all night

If I could turn back time and rewrite every line

If only I could, but baby, I can't

So I'ma scream, shout, let it all out

And scream and shout and let it all out for you, you

So I'ma scream, shout, let it all out

And scream and shout and let it all out for you, you...

I wake up quietly and realize that my Air pods are gone. At least they don't sit in my ear anymore, and then I see that someone has put them into its little square thing. The memories from yesterday and today come screaming back and I start to get tears in my eyes.

Shit, Valerie, how many times do you have to cry because of these assholes until you understand that boys are shit?

In fact, I'm pretty proud of myself for continuing to believe in boys. I haven't really met the nicest boys in my life, but I still believe in them. I get up and see that I'm still wearing the dress from yesterday. I go into the bathroom, take it off and my bra - I hadn't put on any g-string because I thought me and Jake would still be dating, but no, we're not. We're taking a break.

As the water flows down my hair and body, I feel so much better, I love taking a shower. It is something I can do for several hours, which is not very good, but I always stay in the bath for three quarters of an hour and the minimum is half an hour. I simply cannot take less baths. My body won't let me, nor my hair. Or the heat, I love the heat from the water that just lands on my skin.

By the time I finish, half an hour has passed. It was one of my fast boats. I wrap a towel around me and go out to the kitchen.

And shit. Honestly just shit. I could smash Viktoria with my bare fists if I wasn't frozen to ice. Because there Mason and Jake are standing with Viktoria. All three of them see me, so I can't just turn around and go into my room to hide.

Me and Jake make eye contact and I can clearly see him swallowing. Shit. I'm suddenly reminded of the day he... Omg, Valerie, don't think about it.

I walk past them to the kitchen and tighten the towel tighter. I take a glass and fill it up and down it all for shit. What do I do now? Should I say hello? No, I simply can't. Not to Jake, but Mason.

I walk back in the direction of my room. "Hey, Mason," I say quickly and rush on.

"Wait, Valerie," says Viktoria. I freeze right in front of my room, but turn around with a smile plastered on my face. She has frowned and looks over at Jake.

"Yes?" I ask her.

"Why don't you say hello to Jake. You've seen him too, haven't you?"

I quickly look at Jake and see the guilt plastered on his face, we make eye contact and neither of us break it. "Yeah."

"Then why don't you say hello to him? Seriously, Valerie, we need to teach you manners, especially since he's your boyfriend..."

I tear my gaze away from his. "We are not a couple." Oh, how wrong it feels to say. Viktoria and Mason's shocked faces are laughable, but I'm actually not in the mood to laugh right now.

Jake frowns. "Wait what? You break up with me? I just thought it was a break, it's not because we can see others."

Okay, now I'm frowning because he's going to decide how the break I've set should work just isn't going to happen. "We can see others, and right now you should try to imagine that we aren't together."

His eyebrows rise quickly. "Butterfly, you don't mean that. We can not see others..."

"We can see others," I snarl and cut him off.

He tightens his mouth. "I can agree to a break, but seeing others, I can't, baby. I'm going to smash every single one of them that comes near you."

It's only now that I realize I'm crying. "Jake..."

"Can we talk about the fact that you're not together anymore?" Mason interrupts me. "Because it makes no damn sense."

I look at Mason and then think of what he said to me when he had just found me and Jake in bed: "Val, you don't understand, he's fucked..." And then it hits me. He knew it. My older brother knew, but chose not to say anything.

"You knew that, didn't you?" I ask him.

He widens his eyes as he knows what I mean. "Valerie, it's not what you think, okay? Did you break up with him because of that?"

"Okay, what the hell does that mean if I may ask?" Victoria asks.

Ignoring Viktoria, I tell both Mason and Jake to get out of here right now. And they do. As I close the door behind them, I collapse. Viktoria comes up next to me and pulls me to her. "So, so, honey. It will be OK." A sob escapes me.

It takes some time for it to stop. And I snort.

Viktoria definitely looks at me. "Okay, Valerie. Now I'm going to get ice cream from the freezer and then you tell me everything that delicious man known as Jake has done, okay?"

I laugh and nod.