Victoria froze solid on the bridge. Cliff walked a few feet ahead, looked back at her, and followed her gaze to her door.
"Who the hell is he?" Cliff asked in a demanding tone, pointing a finger at the guy banging on her door.
Victoria walked up beside Cliff and slipped her hand into his slowly, then quickly pulled him over behind the chicken barn with her. Cliff opened his mouth about to speak but Victoria covered it with her finger and looked him in the eyes.
In a hurried whisper, "the guy you see at my door is a person of my past that I never wanted to see again." She uncovered his mouth.
"What happened?" Cliff asked in a whisper.
Victoria looked at him with hurt in her eyes, and slid to the ground. "He… did something… that hurt me and I… I ran from it thinking it would take away the pain…. but it….it followed me here…. that is why I have been so pinned up the last two years." Her eyes filled with water as she tried to explain.
Cliff kneeled beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Victoria looked up and Cliff kissed her forehead.
"I will take care of this if you want. I can get rid of him till you are ready to speak with him or I can get rid of him permanently if you really want." Cliff smiled and cocked his head to the side.
Victoria breathed slowly, "I need to know why he is here. Though, I really don't want to see him at all, but I don't know if I could talk to him any other time. I know this is sudden, but I don't want do this alone. I also don't want to drag you into this either."
Victoria looked off at the glittering stream and a tear slid down her face. She felt a warm hand wipe away the tear and she looked back at Cliff, "I am here if you need me. I will stay as long as or as short as you want me to or I can even go get Karen or Ellie." Victoria looked at him shyly. "I know it is somewhat soon, but I like you Victoria and something inside of me that makes me want to protect you." He grinned and Victoria bounded into his arms almost knocking him backwards.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She whispered, "I would love it if you stayed." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek softly. "And you would possibly find out later…" She trailed off feeling lost, yet found.
He hugged her close and slowly let her loose. He lifted her chin softly and looked her deep in the eyes. He kissed her the softest kiss she had ever felt and she went weak in his arms. When they let go slowly and she stared into the warmest brown eyes she had ever seen.
Butterflies went through her stomach as they rose from the ground. Cliff looked at her never letting go of her hand. "Are you ready?" He asked tentatively giving it a light squeeze.
She spoke softly, "I am if you are." He nodded and they started heading toward the house with their hands still attached.
30 minutes later....
The duo said nothing to the black haired boy when they finally met him person to person. The boy had eyed Cliff with a look of disgust. When Victoria opened the door and led the two men inside, she flicked on a few of the lights, and put on a pot of coffee.
Now, Victoria sat facing him on the other side of her kitchen table with Cliff sitting on the bed behind her listening attentively.
"Why did you come?" She said with hurt and hardship in her voice. Cliff shifted on the couch sitting more on the edge.
The boy eyed Cliff and looked back into her crystal blue eyes, "What's with the guard dog?" He asked with a look of annoyance.
"He is here because I asked him to be." Her eyes hardened responded with a sting of venom. "Unlike you."
He sighed, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. "Victoria.. Victoria.. Victoria.." He slowly replaced his glasses.
"Yes I know that is my name. How about you answer my question?" Victoria asked with sarcasm in her voice. "Or do I need to repeat it again?"
He looked at Cliff and back at Victoria. "I want you back." She stiffened and Cliff stilled on the bed looking at him with jealousy and setting his eyes on Victoria.
Closing her eyes slowly, she breathed, "You had five years, Louise. Five!" She flashed them open and stood up slamming her hands on the table using a tone full of venom she bit at him "I gave you everything you ever wanted and what did you do? You went behind my back with that little pink haired tramp, Lyla!" She almost screamed the last sentence.
"She is not a tramp, Vicia!" Louise shouted standing up. Victoria flinched at the mention of her pet name he used to use.
"Really now? I saw you and her!! You were both basically making babies behind her store if I remember right." Victoria said with pained sarcasm. She shook her head and dropped her tone to one of pained remembrance "Five years of love and devotion. Nevertheless, what did I think year after year when you didn't propose? 'Oh, he just needs to get the money together... he loves me that is all that matters... another year won't hurt...' Like hell it didn't!!" She screamed at his unmoving frame, "And then you go after the newest little addition to town like she is a dog in heat!! What was I to you? A piece of used meat?!"
Louise took a deep breath, "If I remember right. You weren't the perfect little sweetheart either!" He roared back, "You always flirted with other guys! Giving them hugs and kisses on the cheek. How is that supposed to make me feel?"
"Whose hand would I hold? Who would I kiss on the lips right in front of all of them? Who would I brag about to all my girlfriends saying 'He is the best! Who would I dream about?" Victoria's arms shook with anger and with ever sentence her lean closer and closer and her voice got slower and more pained.
Almost crying, "You Louise!! You! I went home with you! I kissed you! I would brag about you! I never once cheated on you with anyone! I loved you and I wanted to be with you! I could have had a relationship with Dan, with Kurt, with Joe or Blue, but I chose you. You, this shaggy haired glasses wearing geek who worked hard and who I thought loved me. But what did I truly get? A cheater, a low life who couldn't even come to me after the fact, I got a broken heart."
Louise stared at Victoria helplessly and slumped in his chair. "I'm sorry, Vicia."
"No!" she paused and breathed deep, "No. You're not sorry. It shouldn't take someone two years to say I'm sorry, Louise. What happened? Did your little tramp break your heart and find another man? I hope she did! I hope she broke your heart into a million pieces, that way you will know what you did to me!" Her eyes began to water with tears and anger poured out of every inch of her body. "Because that is what you deserve."
"Vicia..." Louise said sorrowfully reaching out to her. She closed her eyes.
"Get!" She said as if she were talking to a dog.
"What?" Louise said with anxiety in his voice.
"Get out of my house!" Victoria said slower but with the same tone, still keeping her eyes closed. Louise didn't move.
"Now!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and pointed to the door. Cliff jumped off the bed about to throw him out himself.
Louise scrambled out of the house as fast as he could and Cliff followed him to the door almost as if to chase him. When he turned back around, he saw she had never opened her eyes and was still standing where she was before with her hand by her side. Her body was trembling with anger, fear, and torment.
Tears flowed freely as she tried to choke them back. She felt Cliff's arms wrap around her and him whisper "everything is alright" and she just let everything go. She turned into his embrace crying so hard she was shaking. They stood there for many minutes, when her cries began to settle Cliff picked her up and laid her on the bed. All she heard was him telling her "everything was alright" and his hand stroking her hair. She slowly slipped into sleep and did not wake until late the next morning to rain on her window.
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