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“That was different. Even you knew.”
“No, it isn’t. This is just in another form. A less threatening one,” she points out to me. After a minute, I push back to look at her. The trip. I announce the trip on Wednesday. This Wednesday.
“Ma, he’s one of the winners. I’m taking him with me on a trip for three weeks,” I tell her. Three weeks with Elias. I don’t even know if I can see him anymore. If I can even look at him the same way. I ran away from him.
She presses her lips together. “Great. You’ll have more time to clear things up,” she tells me. I tilt my head to the side, widening my eyes. “You can’t run away, Val. I mean, you can, but you should talk. You need to figure things out.”
A weight drops onto my shoulders. Confront him. Talk to him. All of it seems impossible.
“Running away seems easier.”
She smiles at my words, almost laughing, and resumes stroking my hair softly.
Three weeks. Three whole weeks. It’s too late to cancel and says he’s not a winner as he’s already in the system. And I wouldn’t be able to find another winner so fast, or even change everything. So, I’m stuck with this. With him, for three weeks. He doesn’t know I’m Val yet. What will he do when he does? How am I even going to look at him after this? Talk to him?
How am I going to do this?
Chapter 58 – Ventisette
Elias
I sit on the couch, the TV lit up in front of me, the sound of the video blasting through the speakers. Today Val announces the winners of her competition, and Aurora told me I have to watch it. She tells me I have to watch everything, and I normally don’t, but today I turn the TV on and watch the streaming. I want to see who she chooses, considering I’m sure Aurora is one of the winners. She was always with her at school, so Aurora had to be one of the considerations. She deserves to be, at least.
I haven’t seen her. Violet. Not since Friday. No texts or calls. Nothing. She has completely ghosted me, and it feels like hell. Who knew something so good could lead to feeling like hell? I still don’t know what happened. What went wrong for her to react like that. It still has my mind going crazy.
It feels wrong to have felt so much. To have liked it, after her reaction. I should’ve been more careful. I shouldn’t have kissed her. I know that I did something wrong the minute she ran off. Yet I wish I could do it again a thousand times. It felt like everything, like heaven. I guess I’m the only one who feels that way.
“Since when did you watch Val’s shows?” My mom asks, springing me out of my thoughts. I look back at her, standing behind the couch. Her wavy hair, in an extremely light shade of brown, is tied into a low bun. She’s wearing formal clothes, which probably means she’s going out to something work related. Like always.
“She’s announcing the winners of the event, Aurora wants me to watch it,” I explain before turning around to look back at the screen.
“You’re actually watching?” she questions, placing an arm on my left shoulder.
“Yes. It seems important to Aurora, and I have nothing else to do,” I answer.
“Did you take your meds?” she asks. I nod my head, the back of my head still facing her.
My arm still needs caution and care. It hurts less, and bothers me less, but it’s still broken. Until it heals completely, I need to try and numb the pain, as well as take care of it. It makes a lot of things in my life harder, but I’ve gotten more used to being one handed.
The camera is now directed at Val, who’s holding a microphone. Her golden curls are shining against her choice of clothes. A black dress, which isn’t as tight as the one I saw her in previously. It’s more flowy, and reaches her knees. Even through the screen, at a distance, I can see her soft green eyes. My lips twitch upward at the sight. She’s beautiful. She always is. No matter what she’s wearing, even in disguise, she is stunning in every way.
I should’ve started listening to Aurora a long time ago.
Her smile flashes on her face, before the crowds go silent and she starts speaking.
“I see everyone is dying to hear the long-awaited announcement, so I will not make you wait any longer,” she says, and everyone starts shouting and cheering again.
She moves the microphone away for a second, waiting for the fans to have their rush of excitement. She brings it back to her lips, a wide grin still vivid on her face. She’s almost laughing in happiness. “Before I make the announcement, I would like to ask the winners to come to this hall after they have been revealed so they can get further details, if they aren’t here already, that is.”
“She has a big audience. To think she’s only still seventeen,” my mom comments from behind. It’s crazy she was able to achieve so much at a young age. I mean, young artists get recognition, but they don’t get this type of fame until later on. Val did, and still does. She connects with fans, she knows what to give them, she’s understanding. She understands them. She understood me.
“Okay, now for the winners of the event. I want to start by saying that I wish that I could take all of you, and I would if that was even possible. If you aren’t one of the winners, it doesn’t mean you won’t get an opportunity later, trust me, this isn’t my last event. I just hope everyone accepts and resonates with my picks like I do.”
The crowds start cheering again.
“For the first winner, I want to say this girl has one of the sweetest and kindest hearts I have ever seen, and I have no doubt she fully deserves this.” Everything goes silent then, waiting for Val to continue. “The first winner is . . . Aurora Williams!” she says.
I knew it. I knew she’d be a winner. I am mentally ready to receive thousands of messages from her, and physically ready to hear her scream in my ear. I’ll let her this time.
