Thin Line- Charlie Dalton Love Story

Chapter 7: Unfamiliar Territory

{Charlie's POV}

I waited and waited watching her door like a predator watching their prey. Finally, I saw the door open and out came Valerie's roommate, Rebecca. I called after her, "Hey, Rebecca! Wait!"

She had her geometry book in her hand. What is she trying to study for? It's a Sunday morning for God's sake. "Have you seen Valerie?" I asked.

" Val's sleeping in. She says she's not feeling well." She said simply and looked me up and down suspiciously then voiced her thoughts, "Why do you care?"

"I don't." I said a bit too defensively. "Good day to you." I said and left to catch up with Knox.

Knox looked at me smiling with deviant eyes, "hmm, Valerie. Why are you looking for her? I thought you said we need to keep our distance from that She-Devil."

"Because, She still has my cleats. Remember the freak stole them from my locker." I said which was partly true.

The actual truth was I was worried about her. So would any other person with a working heart. Another reason is that I haven't stopped thinking about that moment we had before Keating picked us up. I hated these moments of weakness, when I would constantly think about something like I have nothing better to do. This was just all too weird. Am I supposed to be nice to her now that I know she has a crazy father? But that's pity not friendliness, I know I would hate it if people treated me differently over something I couldn't control. Do I keep treating her like always? Do I ask her if she's alright? We were currently in unfamiliar territory.

{Valerie's POV}

This thing is just way too weird. I feel embarrassed and humiliated that I showed such weakness in front of Charlie Dalton of all people. I couldn't even think about the $300 bet right now. Should I pretend that I couldn't remember anything that happened last night because I was drunk? Are we supposed to talk about it? I have absolutely nothing to say. God! What if he thinks of himself as my hero or he feels the need to protect me? GROSS! Or what if he thinks I'm this weak and fragile little girl with daddy issues? YUCK! Funny, this whole thing wouldn't have happened if I just had a normal father. This was definitely an unmarked territory.

There weren't any visible bruises on my body. The bruises resided in hidden spaces like my ribs, back, knees, and elbows. The cut on my lip could be hidden with some dark lipstick that matched the scab. I spent the entire day in my room. Becky was kind enough to grab me some tea and a banana muffin. Being in such a small room with someone else makes you confess things you haven't even done, so naturally, I told Becky everything. She was pretty nice about it, and didn't freak out which I appreciated. I asked her to help me take pictures of the bruises on my back. While she was doing so, she told me how she, too, gets an occasional slap from her mother whenever her grades go down. Strangely, our disturbing history of abuse brought us closer together.

Night time came around and I had the same nightmare. Where I'm running in red liquid, and I see the clock spinning fast and the raven come flying knocking me off my feet, making me drown slowly. I stood up instantaneously, causing severe pain in my ribs. I put on a coat and tip toed outside for some fresh air. There he was, sitting under the 'crying' tree that I had unofficially marked as mine. Charlie Dalton, smoking. I sat down next to him and said nothing.

We stayed like that for a while, just staring at the bright moon ahead when, finally, he broke the ice. "Are you feeling alright?" He said awkwardly.

"Yes." I said, cringing a bit. "And don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Ask how I'm feeling. It's honestly disturbing." I said. Moments later I asked him a question I was wondering about for hours, "You didn't tell anyone about what happened to me, right?"