As the sun rose, Val finally realised she'd done enough waiting.
She walked away from the doors and away from the hospital, trying to get to where she lived without being mistaken for a cheery morning jogger.
She was on the verge of tears and was in no state to reply to morning 'greetings'. She'd sound like she was choking.
But somewhere on the way, she saw a bright yellow car with pink flowers speeding towards her on the streets. Therapists.
Val groaned and rolled her eyes, switching to a different street. She thus ended up at a more familiar environment.
The dingy scent of cigarettes filled her lungs and mind with destruction and she laughed aloud, looking at all the houses with stripped off paint and crumbling walls.
She laughed, chuckled and cackled until she couldn't anymore. The cracks on the walls around her home- her heart- crumbled like they were made of weak sand.
She dropped down on her knees and cried aloud, wailing like a dying cat.
The feeling of wanting to drown, it came back.
The sound of breaking glass could be heard as Val's demons became physical. She picked up a jagged piece and smirked.
The piece was cracked, but not broken. And she hated it.
She threw the piece on the ground and was about to tread on it on her knees, but a firm hold stopped her.
She looked up, ready to proceed to be abnormal, but the sight her eyes beheld stopped her. She could see beautiful stars and the whole galaxy within the ink-black eyes. Her beanie slipped off her head, revealing her tangled, brown hair.
The man holding her hand gasped, recognising the beanie.
"You..." he started.
"Can you please leave me alone?" Valerie whispered, still stuck in his gaze. She was completely oblivious to what was going on and just wanted to either drown in her thoughts or drown in those beautiful eyes.
He smirked as he continued to attempt to lift her up.
"You need help, don't you?" he said.
The loud ringing sound a siren filled the chaotic mind of Valerie and she shuddered. "Ambulance?" she asked.
The man quickly looked away from her and in the direction of the siren.
"No, worse. Mind control police is here," he hissed, not showing the slightest hint of panic.
"You mean psychiatrists, right?" she laughed.
"Whatever, let's get out of here. They probably saw you on the cameras."
Valerie opened her mouth to decline the not-so-polite offer, but found herself being dragged away, irrespective of her answer.
"Okay then," she muttered, trying to keep up with the man.
After walking for over twenty minutes in silence, they arrived at an apartment complex. The man quickly entered a code at the front door and pulled her into the small, yet cozy, lobby.
A young couple lounging there greeted him, but the man ignored them. Valerie recognised Smiley, and took note of the smiley girl next to him.
"Hey don't ignore your cousin, brat!" she called out, and Valerie couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows.
Once herself and the man were in the safety of the elevator, she asked him, "Your family talks to you?"
"Of course they do. It's their duty," he frowned. Valerie sighed.
"Are you..." she started, but cut herself off. She didn't want to come off as intrusive.
He smiled, realising what she meant. "Why don't you figure that out?"
She took a quick inspection of his face and general appearance. There seemed nothing dysfunctional about him or his black button-up.
"You definitely don't look like your life's falling apart," she mused. He hummed softly in response.
The song he was humming- Mad World by Tears for Fears- caught Val's attention.
"Can you look at me? For just a second?" she asked.
He turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised in a questioning manner. She tried to look at his eyes, hoping to be able to see past the illusion they put her in.
"You're... normal?" she asked in conclusion, sounding unsure of herself.
His eyelids dropped slightly in disappointment and she felt sad once again.
"Sure," he said, causing Valerie to suddenly feel some physical pain near her chest.
She didn't say anything the whole way up and merely gazed at the elevator's doors all the way up to the thirteenth floor.
"They'll probably catch you for vandalism, you know?" he said, leading the way out of the classy elevator and onto an empty hallway.
Valerie said nothing. She was too busy replaying the image of those eyes.
The eyes of someone she knew.
"You have beautiful eyes," she said unconsciously, her voice sounding like it used to before.
The man stiffened and slowly started turning around on his heel.
