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January 6, 2004 (Casa Walsh/Sanders)
After spending the night before up until two o'clock in the morning, driving around Beverly Hills with Steve, Valerie was more than annoyed when her cellphone began to ring around ten-thirty the next morning. Something tells me that I already know who this is going to be.
"Hello?"
"Well, good morning, sleepyhead....I didn't wake you, did I?"
Knowing from the playful tone in his voice that Steve knew he had indeed done so, Valerie sarcastically retorted: "Of course not...! I was just lying here studying the cracks on your ceiling. Did you know that you have over a thousand of them...? You might want to go and get that checked out."
"Thanks for the tip." The older man joked, before clearing his throat slightly and moving onto what he had called her for: "I didn't mean to wake you, I just wanted to call and give you a heads up on the fact that David will be at the After Dark around twelve if you wanted to go and talk to him again."
As thoughts of what her ex-boyfriend had said to her the night before came tumbling back into her head, Valerie found herself reluctantly sitting up on her bed as she outwardly replied: "Thanks, but I don't think that's a really good idea...I don't think David really wants to talk to me right now."
Without even bothering to pause for a second, Steve pointed out, in a matter of fact tone, that David didn't really want to talk to any of them right now. "But he's going to, whether he likes it or not."
After slightly smirking at this comment, Valerie found herself outwardly wondering why Steve kept trying to push David into opening up to everyone when he clearly didn't want to. "I mean, if he wants to be left alone, why can't we just leave him alone?"
As if it was an obvious answer, Steve didn't even wait a second before quickly responding back with: "Because we're his friends, Val. And like Dionne Warwick says: we're supposed to stick by one another through the good times and the bad times--just like David has always stuck by us."
Sensing the familiar feeling of guilt starting to kick in, Valerie slightly rolled her eyes in annoyance--even though she knew the man couldn't see her--before saying: "You know, one day I'm not going to be around to fall for your guilt trips anymore."
"Maybe...! But by then, I'll probably be dead."
After sarcastically laughing at that comment, Valerie had to put a hand up to her chest as a deep cough vibrated through her lungs.
"Uh-Oh. Sounds like someone came to California and got sick...should I have Madeline spend the night over her grandmothers again?"
Even though part of her throat and chest still hurt from that dry cough, Valerie--not wanting to make a big deal about what just happened--quickly replied: "No, I'm fine....that was just my usual morning cough. I think I got it from all those years of smoking when I was a kid."
Believing the lie, Steve outwardly replied that cigarettes will do that to a person before reluctantly continuing on with: "But hey, I have to get going...my boss just came in and it looks like she's about two seconds away from getting on my case, once again, for being on the phone while I'm supposed to be on duty."
After playfully commenting that she didn't want to get him into any trouble with Janet, Valerie quickly replied that she'd see him and his wife later when they got back home from work.
A comment which caused Steve to jokingly retort: "That is if she doesn't kill me first."
One-thirty PM (The After Dark)
After pulling the Sanders' mini-van into the nearest available parking space, Valerie had to quickly make a run for the club as huge drops of rain started falling down from the clouds above.
My umbrella would be the one thing that I forget to pack when traveling to a place where it always seems to rain.
With that thought in mind, she quickly opened the door to the small nightclub and smiled slightly to herself when she was surrounded by the feeling of warmth. "Thank God for heaters."
While making her way further into the club, Valerie couldn't hide the impressed look that seemed to spread across her face as she got her first good look at the many things that had been added to the After Dark since she had last been there, over two years ago. "I can't believe this is even the same place...it looks completely different."
Just as the words had slipped past her tongue, a voice, from behind her, replied: "That's because it is different."
Startled by the comment, Valerie quickly turned around, dropping her purse in the process, and let out a sigh of relief as she realized that it was only David. "Jesus David, you scared the living hell out of me."
"Sorry." The younger man replied, in an insincere tone of voice, before looking over Valerie's shoulder and nonchalantly continuing with: "If you're looking for Dylan, he's in his office."
Even though part of her wanted to say Thanks, and just turn around and pretend that she had came to the club to see the older man, Steve's words from before came back to her causing Valerie to reluctantly reply: "Actually, I came by to see you...I figured we could talk."
Here it comes..
It only took a second before the annoyed expression, from the night before, was back on David's face. But interestingly enough, instead of the younger man laying into Valerie, he instead just turned around and walked back to the entrance door of the After Dark; throwing over his shoulder, as an afterthought: "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
While watching David walk out of the club, Valerie was surprised to find herself being pulled into two completely different directions.
All right Val, you have two choices to make: you can either go and try to talk some sense into a very angry David; getting possibly your entire head chewed off in the process. Or you can go back to Steve's and tell him that even though you tried your best, David still doesn't want to talk to anyone, including yourself; getting nothing but probably two more days of guilt-trips from the older man, in return.
Knowing which one was the worst of both evils, Valerie let out a small sigh before quickly making her way back outside the club; catching up to a soaking wet David just as he was about to make a move to put his key into his car's door.
"David, wait...just hear me out."
Feeling as if he had already heard enough from her and everyone else around him, the younger man quickly turned around and angrily replied: "Look, you haven't been around for the last couple of months so maybe you didn't get the memo. But I want you and everyone else just to leave me the hell alone...! That means: I don't want you to call me. I don't want you to email me and I especially don't want you to stop by here to come see me......I just want to be left the hell alone right now! Why can't you people just understand that?"
You people..?
As the rain started to sink into her clothes, Valerie found herself becoming slightly angry. "David, I'm just trying to help."
"Well, who says I need your help...who says I need anyone's help?"
Even though she knew that a part of her next statement could be considered a low blow, the fact that she was outside in the rain--with someone she once swore she loved--hearing him tell her that he didn't need her or any of his other friends right now caused Valerie to angrily respond back with: "Everyone has said it: Steve. Kelly. Dylan. Your parents...even Donna."
Knowing that she had struck a chord with that last name, Valerie wasn't that surprised when less than a second later David screamed: "None of you know what I need!"
A comment which caused her to open her mouth to sarcastically reply, "Well, maybe if you'd let us in, we would." But instead of saying that, she instead just retorted: "Yes, we do. We're your friends."
Valerie was hoping that comment would knock some sense into David. But she soon realized that it hadn't as David quickly stated, in a matter of fact tone: "I have no friends."
What the..?
Figuring that she probably had nothing to say to that comment, David quickly let a hint of a smirk show across his face before turning around to hop back into his car. But before he could even touch the handle of the front seat's door, Valerie replied back: "You know what? Maybe your right...I mean, I thought that if I came here and told you that there was no reason to drown your sorrows in depression that maybe you'd miraculously see what was right in front of you. That your friends truly did care for you and that you were just hurting them by pushing them away."
"But instead, I came here to find out that the man, I once called my best friend, is just a jerk using the man I once loved's body...so, maybe you're right! Maybe you don't have any friends...maybe the only thing any of us have ever been to you has just been acquaintances. And you know what? Maybe the reason for that is because at the end of the day: who really wants to be friends with an asshole..? I know I don't."
With that being said, without even waiting to see if David would say anything to that comment or not, Valerie quickly turned around and made her way back to Steve's van; hoping that if anything had come out of her conversation with David, the fact that he might have just lost one of his best friends had.
(Casa Walsh/Sanders)
By the time Valerie got back to Steve's place a half-n-hour later, most of her anger had gone away; unfortunately being replaced by the feeling of stupidity.
I can't believe I allowed myself to get in an argument with David, standing out in the pouring rain....knowing the condition that I' m in, I wouldn't be surprised if I went home with a cold after this.
With that thought in mind, Valerie quickly made her way to the guest-room; stripping out of her wet clothes and stepping into a pair of old sweats. And then aftewards, she made her way towards the guest-bed in the middle of the room; hoping that if she took a quick nap, she'd wake up in a few hours greatly energized and ready to go on with the rest of her day.
Unfortunately though, just as that thought had entered Valerie's mind, her cellphone went off; displaying a familiar Buffalo area-code. Figures she'd choose this exact time to call me.
"Hello?"
"So, I'm guessing from the sound of your voice that you are indeed still alive?"
While turning the blankets back on her bed, Valerie couldn't help but slightly smirk to herself before outwardly replying: "I am...but I guess I forgot how to use a phone since I haven't called to check in with you since I stepped off my flight yesterday evening. I hope you can forgive me."
"Don't I always?" The other woman sarcastically asked, before continuing on with: "So, what interesting things have you and your old Beverly Hills gang been up to that would cause you to do such a bad thing as not call me...? Let me guess: you and some of your old girl friends went T.P'ing again?"
Before Valerie could outwardly retort: "Not exactly," a coughing fit--that was worst than the one heard earlier on the phone with Steve--took over her; causing Valerie to not only wince at the pain it brought her but also at the statement she'd knew she'd be hearing from Angie in a couple of seconds.
"Okay, you have two seconds to convince me that that came from your friend's wife before I hang up and get you a plane ticket out of there by tonight."
Knowing that her friend would indeed do that, Valerie waited until her heartbeat had slowed downed a little before quickly saying: "You don't have to do that, Ang, I'm fine...I just didn't get much sleep last night and then got caught in the rain this morning, so I've got a small cough."
Without even bothering to pause for a second, Valerie's live in roommate quickly replied: "First of all, if you call that a small cough, what do you call a huge cough...? And secondly, what the hell were you doing out in the rain...? You know what your doctor said. You--"
"Have to be careful in all types of weather...! Believe me, Ang, you don't have to tell me. I have the whole speech down pat." Valerie replied in semi-annoyance; having gotten this lecture time and time again from her blonde-haired friend.
"Well then, if you knew it: what could have possibly possessed you to be there, outside, playing in the rain?"
Valerie wanted to tell her friend that what she had been doing wasn't exactly what she'd called playing outside in the rain. But as another cough threatened to come out of her mouth, she quickly replied: "It's a long story....one that I'm going to have to share with you another time because I really need to get some sleep....then hopefully by the time I wake up, I'll be fine and you'll have been worrying over nothing."
Their was a small pause on the other end--one which Valerie knew Angie was trying to calm down in--before the other woman replied: "I better be...but if I'm not, call me as soon as you can and I'll get you a ticket back here....I'm serious, Val. I'm worried about you."
Knowing that her friend was indeed worried about her--and probably had every right to be--caused Valerie to wait until she had tucked herself all the way underneath the covers of her bed, before genuinely throwing back: "I know you are, Ang...and if I haven't told you before, thank you for everything you've done for me these last couple of months....I don't think I could've made it without you."
After waiting a second to let that comment sink in, Angie softly replied: "That's what friends are for."
"And you're the best." Valerie softly replied, before reluctantly saying her good-byes and quickly hanging up the phone; inwardly telling herself that as long as she got some shuteye, she'd be as good as new in a couple hours.
Or atleast, she hoped she would be.
After what seemed like only an hour of being asleep, Valerie was awaken by the sound of the doorbell going off.
Has that thing always been that loud?
While reluctantly getting out of the bed, the somewhat sweat-drenched woman had to quickly reach for the night-stand beside her as a dizzy spell took over her. "Maybe I should've let Angie book me that ticket back home...I don't feel so good."
And my throat hurts like hell.
With that thought in mind, after waiting until the small spell had somewhat passed, Valerie slowly made her way towards the front door where--whomever was outside--continued to ring the doorbell.
If they have one shred of decency left in them, they'll stop ringing that damn thing before I stab them with a knife and bury their body in Steve's backyard.
As if having read her mind, the person on the other side of the door stopped ringing the doorbell long enough for Valerie to make it to the front hall without screaming bloody murder in pain.
"Thank you." Valerie outwardly mumbled, before opening the door in front of her and inwardly groaning at who she saw behind it. He better not be here to start another fight with me...I'm in no mood for it right now.
"What are you doing here, David?"
After taking a second to study the woman in front of him in confusion, David quickly brought his right hand up to waist level, saying: "You left this back at the club...I figured you'd be needing it."
Without even bothering to meet his eye, Valerie thanked the younger man in front of her before taking her purse from him and turning back around; hoping that somewhere in the bag she could find a bottle of Tylenol.
And maybe some NyQuil to go with it.
While making her way into the kitchen, where she knew Janet and Steve stored a bottle of Advil above the refrigerator--out of Maddy's reach--Valerie could still feel David's eyes on her from the main door's door frame, but she really didn't care.
The only thing I care about right now is getting my chest to UN-tighten, my head to stop pounding, and this dizziness to go away.
Interestingly enough, as soon as those words had entered her head, the dizziness--that had left a couple of minutes ago--came back in full throttle; this time causing Valerie to not only fall towards the ground--since there was nothing around for her to grab onto. But also, black out, as well, with only one word on her lips before everything went dark:
"David!"
*** Next Part