Valerie was breathing heavily.
All she could hear was the sound of the fast flowing wind and her own heart beats.
She could see Sebastian getting ahead of her through the woods. But she was not going to make this easy for them. She had already left Julian behind, so obviously Sebastian was no exception.
She increased her horse's speed. God why was Sebastian so hard to beat today?
After trying for a good amount of time and almost jumping out of her horse, she was successful in surpassing him. As she crossed him, she threw back a smirk and almost whispered, "I was not going to make this easier for you, you know."
And she went ahead, searching for a flash of a clearing.
Finally, she noticed it. A huge clear stream near a bunch of trees. The water flowed by thick and fast, yet the place looked calm, almost unreal.
She stopped short and climbed off her horse. Minutes later, the boys followed.
Valerie sat down near the edge of the water and took off her shoes and socks, the pair did the same.
Dipping her feet inside the fresh and cool water, she breathed in the fresh air. Julian sat next to her and kissed the back of her palm.
"That so too much fun." Valerie remarked, still smiling.
"For you of course." Sebastian retorted.
"I am not one to blame for your lack of skills Seb."
Julian laughed slightly at this. Sebastian drew closer to Valerie, she laid her head on his shoulder and held onto Julian's hand.
It was a lovely moment, she realised, and nothing could ever ruin it.
They sat in silence for a while, the evening light warming their skin, the water, although piercing their feet with its coldness, danced about the stream rhythmically.
Julian suddenly spoke up, "How do you two feel about coffee?"
"I need coffee" Sebastian answered first. Valerie too agreed and they prepared themselves for the ride back home.
After they had safely placed the horses inside the stable, they left for a café.
Sebastian parked at a small place nearby. Valerie squinted at the name - Delilah's.
They stepped inside the café and sat down at a table. The place smelled of freshly baked pastries and breads. She looked at her boyfriend - Julian appeared rather cheery than usual and his unusually dark blonde hair gleamed in the sunlight entering through the open window.
Next to him, Sebastian looked like a man from the 1800's with dark hair and thick lashes.
She was beginning to have conflicted feelings towards them now.
Sebastian caught her gaze. Just when he was beginning to say something, a waiter arrived. Valerie felt grateful for the obstruction.
They placed their order after which, Julian began a rather silly conversation.
The time passed by smoothly and soon, it was six'o clock.
Just when they left the café, Sebastian's phone rang. He groaned looking at the caller ID and was going to abruptly reject when Valerie took the phone from him and accepted the call.
"Hey Felix" She started.
"Hey, guess my brother is too busy to pick up my calls. Anyway, mum wants all of home right now, its getting late." Felix swiftly replied from the other side.
"We just left the café, we will be back any minute now. So, we will chat later, bye."
"Bye" then Felix hung up.
Valerie turned to Sebastian.
"You know, you should give him a chance to explain himself atleast. I am sure he had his reasons." She began.
"Please Valerie, I do not want to fret over problems from the past. And the last thing I want right now is you lecturing me in the middle of the road about something you neither know nor understand. Just get in the car." Sebastian replied, his eyes suddenly filled with fury and vexation.
Valerie's mouth popped open slightly at this remark, nevertheless she maintained her countenance. Julian on the other hand was staring blankly at them.
Valerie got in the car, the two of them followed shortly.
When they parked near Woodshire, Valerie got out of the car and looked up at Sebastian,"Maybe I have no idea about your past, but now I know that it's better to just shut up and ignore a hurting friend than to atleast try and provide solutions for them.
Before Sebastian could say anything, she threw open the unlocked front door and got inside. The marble floor carried the sound of her footsteps upstairs.
☆♤◇♡◇♧☆
Sebastian started back at the raging Valerie.
When he had said those words to her back at the café, he had no control over himself. Infact, he was planning on apologizing when they got back home. But he realised with a jerk that it was too late now.
Julian came up beside him.
"You okay, mate?"
"Yeah"
"Get inside, I will go check on her real quick. Call me when it's time for dinner." Then Julian entered the house, leaving Sebastian to stare at the empty floor.
Finally gathering himself, he got inside and shut the door. The humid climate inside, grasping him.
He sat down on the sofa, exhausted. They had spent a wonderful day, yes. But in the end, Felix just had to ruin everything. Wonderful.
He could never digest the idea of him being just an innocent man with a made up reason for his shit personality.
And now, just because of him, Sebastian was doubting his actions.
And then there was Julian. He did not hate him, but something spiked his cardiac cells, whenever he was closer to Valerie.
What was this, a messed up horror movie?
He groaned and massaged his temples.
He then heard footsteps approaching from upstairs, Ivory Smith Osborne entered the room.
"Are you ever going to have dinner or what?"
"I will have it, I'm just not in the mood"
"Felix is upstairs, he wants to talk to you." She suddenly said and added, "Now."
Oh no, not this again, he had to avoi-
"You can't avoid it this time, it's my order. Go and talk to your brother now." So Sebastian followed her orders.
As soon as, he was upstairs, he heard whispering from the room Valerie was provided with. It sounded like someone was saying calming words to the other. He imagined it to be Julian, and his pulse kicked in again.
But before he could get away from the place, he saw Julian's voice calling him from behind.
"Hey, I have been searching for you downstairs. Listen Valerie said, she needs time."
Just then, Valerie opened the door and came out. Clearly shocked to see both outside her room. Then another figure emerged from the doorway. Felix.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"What is he doing here?" Sebastian asked back.
"Relax brother, I was just chatting with her. I expected to find you two inside too." Felix replied.
"I do not think I am talking to you" Sebastian shot.
"Please just can you two shut up?" Julian asked in a rather loud voice.
They fell silent for a while, then Julian guided Valerie downstairs.
Sebastian was left with his brother facing him. His expression unreadable.
"Mum said, you wanted to talk to me. Whatever it is, make it fast." Sebastian said, breaking the silence.
"I never avoided you all, just so you know, I was just too much caught up in a situation. You can call it what you want, but at the end of it all, it doesn't change the fact that you, my dear brother, misunderstood me."
"I would love to hear your stories, but I doubt I have time for these stuff. So save it Felix Osborne."
"I really want to tell you everything, but I just do not want to disturb the guests." Felix said with an almost apologizing tone and added, "Valerie just wants to look out for you, you see, so do not try to drag her in our commotion."
He then patted his shoulder and left. Surprisingly, Sebastian did not feel opposed to the action, it was almost just as welcoming as it used to be.
Sebastian was instead left to battle with his own feelings. It was all too much - his brother's past, his thoughts on Julian's newly developed character and most importantly - Valerie.
Hell, this year was not going to be easy. And he had to deal with it anyway.
A/N
Hello! I really wanted to share this part.
The next one is going to be a bit interesting, so stay tuned!
Bye!