Rock and Roll

Chapter Nineteen: Better

When Valentine woke up Hero was gone. She left a note on the coffee maker saying she had work early that morning and that she left some breakfast in the fridge for them and that coffee was ready. Valentine just needed to press start.

She checked on her dad in the living room. He was still asleep on the couch. She thought briefly about waking him up before deciding that he needed rest. His boss had given him time off work because of the fire anywhere, so he had nowhere to be.

She sat at the kitchen table and ate her breakfast, which was a fruit salad and some almond milk. She was grateful for her sister making food, but she found herself wishing that there was bacon.

She had work today. They were getting restocked today and she had to be here at seven. She groaned internally at the thought.

She would just wear the same clothes as yesterday. She didn't have time to go to her place and grab new ones. She didn't really care about it anyway it's not like they were super dirty.

After getting dressed, she splashed some water on her face. She brushed her teeth with the extra toothbrush. She decided to leave her dad her own note before leaving. She thought for around ten minutes before deciding what she would tell him.

Hey dad. I just wanted you to know that everything is going to be fine. I love you, but I've got work. Sleep well.

~Val

She hoped he would feel better when he got up. His outburst last hadn't been forgotten, she just put it on hold. She would need to talk to him again about what he said. It still stung like needles, but she was sure he was in a worse state.

She sighed when checking up on him again, and then left. She made sure she locked the door behind her and walked slowly down the hall. Man was she not excited.

She still needed to choose whether or not to go to that fight. Her dad seemed pretty adamant about her not going. Would it really be unsafe?

Hey mind was shrouded in a heavy fog while she walked to work. She had never been so unsure of anything in her whole life. It was like her parents were tugging her two different ways, slowly ripping at her seams. She was sure of what her mom would say if she were here.

"Be there for people, love everyone, do the right thing." she would say. That's always what she said.

"Well what is the right thing?" Valentine would ask in return.

"You need to figure that out."

Her mom was really unhelpful right now.

There was a tug in her stomach. Like a rope being pulled taught, as if a person was going to walk across it and it needs to be strong. She was taking a detour.

It wasn't far out of her way. For once, as she rounded the corner and saw the small building she didn't want to throw up or cry. The bakery wasn't there anymore, but all the supplies were. The ovens and the display cases and the tools. It was in there. If only she could reach through the window and unlock the door. Nobody has been in there since they cleared almost everything out. She could imagine how the scent was persevered, the warm vanilla soaking into the carpets.

She pressed her face to the glass. They walls looked almost the same as before. Bright yellow, except all the posters her mom loved were taken down. They had probably been moved into her dads attic, where he thought they would be safe.

The smile, which she hadn't noticed creeping up on her, faded off her face. She didn't want to think about him right now. He was still here. Her mom wasn't.

She sat down on the pavement outside the building. It was a little dirty and the remnants of cigarettes surrounded her. Maybe she should've been sad right then. Maybe. She wasn't, not really. She had spent a long time being sad and avoiding her mom. She didn't want to avoid her anymore. She didn't want to hate vanilla. She didn't want to avoid the now vacant bakery on her way to work.