Chapter 29 ORGANIZED CHAOS
CHAOS.
“You gotta be kidding me, man,” Valtor dropped onto the couch next to me just as I finished dealing the cards.
He glanced at the setup, then at me, and raised an eyebrow. "Why go through all the trouble?”
I leaned back with my glass, letting the cards settle between us. “I’ve got my reasons,” I replied, keeping it vague on purpose.
But I knew Valtor well enough to guess he wouldn’t drop it.
“Reasons like what?” he pressed, giving me a curious look.
“Why are you being so nosy?” I shot back, hoping he’d take the hint and let it go.
Instead, he put on an exaggerated look of offense. “Excuse me,” he said, leaning back and crossing his arms, “but you’re asking me to do something I absolutely do not want to do, and now you’re giving me grief about wanting to know why?”
I just shrugged and looked over at the TV, watching a soccer game that I wasn’t actually interested in. Valtor sighed in frustration when he saw I wasn’t taking him seriously.
“Fine,” he said, dropping his hands. “You don’t want to tell me why you’re making me do this. Okay. But at least give me something else.”
I turned my attention back to him, raising an eyebrow. “Something like what?”
He leaned in, his eyes narrowing. “You’ve been avoiding talking about her.”
My whole body tensed, and I tried to keep my face calm.
Earlier, we’d been talking about Juniper. But I knew he wasn’t talking about her now. I looked back at the game on TV, keeping my voice steady. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
Valtor’s voice cut through the silence. “Yeah? Does your dad know she’s here?”
The question hit like a punch.
I whipped my head around to glare at him, feeling my control slip for just a second.
He held up his hands in surrender, eyes wide.
“What?” he said, smirking. “It’s not like I have him on speed dial. You think I’m going to leave him a message like, ‘Hey, old man, just dropping by with a greeting. Oh, and by the way, Merrielynn Fortner showed up at our school a few weeks ago. Thought you’d want to know’?”
I clenched my jaw, muttering, “It’s Forbes.”
Valtor let out a long sigh, rolling his eyes. “Merrielynn Forbes, then,” he said, settling back in his seat. “Let’s talk about her.”
“No,” I replied, the word coming out harsh and final.
Valtor’s demeanor changed then. He leaned forward, his face serious, and I could see the tension in his shoulders. “You’re avoiding it,” he said. “Two years isn’t long enough for you to act like you’re over it. To act like it doesn’t matter that she’s attending Pinnthorpe now. You might fool everyone else, but not me.”
I leaned in too, meeting his stare with one of my own. “I could say the same about you.”
We locked eyes, both of us silent, letting the weight of our words hang between us. Finally, Valtor broke eye contact, stood up, and shook his head. “I’ll send you a text when we’re ready,” he said, heading out of the house without another word.
I watched him go, tracking his movements out of the corner of my eye until I heard the door close behind him. Only then did I let myself slump back, my head falling into my hands. Valtor was right. And I knew he was right. Merrielynn’s reappearance was going to affect me, and it was only a matter of time before I couldn’t hide it.
After a moment, I got up and walked to the kitchen, grabbing a pack of cigarettes before heading out onto the balcony.
The night air was cool, and I lit one up, letting the smoke settle in my lungs. Smoking was a bad habit I'd picked up after Lorelai.
Thought I'd successfully weaned myself off it, till a certain blonde made herself known about a month ago.
I leaned against the railing, burning through three cigarettes in a row as I tried to quiet my mind.
Then my phone pinged in my pocket. I took it out and saw a message from Valtor.
A single word that read;
'Show'.
I crushed out the cigarette on the balcony rail and thought to myself, let's get this over with.
I headed out to my car, feeling the weight of everything settling over me. I turned up the music, hoping it would keep me grounded, keep me from overthinking.
When I pulled up to Valtor’s place, I cut the engine and sat there for a moment.
I wasn’t one for this kind of thing, going this kind of route.
But here I was, doing exactly that because I was trying to keep a certain girl safe.
At least, as safe as she could be in a world like ours.
After a second, I got out, making my way to Valtor’s front door.
I didn’t bother knocking. I walked right in, heading down familiar hallways to his room. How he'd manage to get her here, ring her in in such a small amount of time, I'll never know.
But the only reason I'd decided to follow through with his plan, was because I knew without a doubt that Juniper would be the exact type of girl that would fall for it.
I reached for the doorknob, unsurprised to find it unlocked.
Inside, I saw Valtor with the woman in question. His hands were on her face, both of them close, their foreheads almost touching. Juniper’s back was to me, but Valtor saw me as I walked in.
His eyes locked on mine, before he leaned down and captured her mouth with his.
I watched them for a second, a smirk slipping onto my face before I quickly hid it.
Showtime.
Then I cleared my throat and made my presence known loudly, with a drawled, “Well, well, well.”