Thin Line- Charlie Dalton Love Story

Chapter 31: Speechless

{Charlie's POV}

"She needs you."

Rebecca started crying hysterically.

"What? What? What is it? Is she okay?" I asked her, shaking her shoulders.

I ushered her out of the suffocating dorm room and into the empty hallway so she could tell me.

She was panting heavily, "She called," she sniffled, "Sounded almost dead like. Like sick. she said," she sniffled again, "she just said, your name. She said Charlie and ended the line."

"Do you know where she is?"

"I think so."

I ran down the stairs, which startled some of the supervisors. They yelled after about how it was past curfew, but I didn't listen. I got out the foyer, took one of the unlocked bikes, and peddled as fast as I could towards Valerie's house. I thought that she would have a damn good reason why she stood me up last Friday night.

When I finally made it to her house, I was having a difficult time breathing. There was a black car backed into the garage. The door was open, but the lights were all out. I ran to the front of the house, then walked slowly inside. At the foot of the main door there was a small suitcase tumbled over.

"Valerie?" I shouted.

I peered into the living room but there was no one there. I walked up to where her room might be and found two empty neat bedrooms. And one bedroom that looked completely cluttered and disarranged. Almost all the furniture was flipped or torn out. I knew that this was Valerie's room. The state of it made me feel uneasy.

I walked back down the stairs and down the hall, and saw picture frames shattered on the ground and a hole in the wall. On the right was the kitchen. Empty. I saw a room with its door wide open. I walked closer to it and looked down and my jaw dropped.

There was blood puddled at the door. My eyes examined the ground, the blood, the bullet filled body. Three gunshot to the chest. There was blood streaming down the mouth, and through the blood soaked shirt. When I realized who it was, I let out a gasp. Mr.Chase.

I heard a cough coming from somewhere and immediately turned around.

"Charlie, what's up?"

It was Valerie. She was smiling widely, but tears were running down her face. She was smoking a cigar and sitting on a big leather chair, with her feet up on the desk in front of her. Her attitude did not match her current state. There was blood streaming down the center of her head, blood coming out of her lips, her face looked so swollen I could barely recognize her, her right eye was a shade of black and purple. The hand holding the cigar was bruised black and purple. My heart sank as I looked at her. I was speechless.

"Sit down. Have a cigar." She said.

I ran to her side and sat on my knees to match her level. I grabbed her softly, not knowing what part of her body was aching, and said, "are you okay? Are you okay?" I kept repeating myself, not knowing what else to say, "I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry he got you. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you. I'm sorry this happened to you."

She put her cast-worn arm on me and said, "Don't apologize. This is a good thing. The fuck is dead. Let's celebrate."

As soon as she said that, she broke down in tears. She cried in my arms for a couple minutes. I didn't say anything, just kept patting her and simply being there.

I called 911 shortly after and we just sat there waiting in a room with a dead body for the ambulance and police.

I held her in my arms until they came and she was taken to the hospital. She was completely passed out by the time the ambulance arrived. I rode with with her, and my heart was beating so fucking fast. I couldn't imagine how she must be feeling. I held on to her arm the whole way until the doctors had to peel my arm off her.