Sorry it has taken so long to update, I have been sooooo busy with school and work. More to come soon, but here is a tidbit for now!

Chapter 3:

Valerie pulled into her apartment complex's parking lot at quarter after twelve. She was grateful to be home, and a little nervous about what was ahead of her today. She unlocked her front door a found herself remembered that Baily, her dog, was still with her friend Sara who lived down the street. She walked to her blinking answering machine and pushed the play button. The first message was from the hospital. Her boss said he knew that she was just getting back today, but he wanted to know of she could work the eleven to seven shift tonight. She knew she was going to have to think about that, and the next was Sara saying that she had to work until eight so she could pick up Baily anytime after eight thirty.

She took out her cell phone and looked to see if Adam had called and she had just missed it, but there was only a text message from the Weather Channel. She rolled her suitcase into her bedroom and flung it on top of her mattress. By the time she was finished putting all of her clothes away she saw that the clock next to her bed read ten to one. Her head was becoming a little deflated. She didn't want to think that Adam was just going to skip out, but she had experienced worse things in her life. Her mind flashed with an image of Tyler, she cringed and hugged herself shaking the thought of him out of there. She wished she could just forget him, but there were just some things that people cannot forget.

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She ripped it out and put it to her ear without even looking at the screen. "Hello!" she breathed out.

"Hey there baby sister, how's it hanging?" Jeff said over the line.

"Hi Jeff, not much. What can I do for you?"

"We're going out to the County Line tonight, you in?"

"What time tonight?"

"Like nine or ten. You gotta come."

"I can't, I have to work at eleven."

"Call in."

"I can't, they asked me to come in. Maybe another time, sorry Bruva."

"Okay, I'll be sure to party double for ya!"

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

She called work after she disconnected from Jeff. The clock now hit 1:10 and her heart was beginning to sink. She walked towards the kitchen and poured herself a glass of orange juice. She sipped it as she looked out the window above her sink. She watched and waited for something that wasn't coming. She so desperately wanted him to call, but she was trying to deny that she was getting disappointed every minute he didn't talk to her. She went to her couch and bounced onto the couch and turned on the television. She tucked her chin down and within minutes she was asleep.

Adam was getting impatient. The plane had already been delayed in Virginia by an hour and a half, but now that they had landed, nearly two hours late already, they said that there might be a security threat on the plane and so they were to stay seated until the threat was cleared. This meant they couldn't make any kinds of phones calls, lest anyone call in the news tidbit to the press, which meant that he was completely unable to let Valerie know why he was late. She probably thought that he was the scum of the universe right now. He just hoped that this stupid flight would end soon. He just prayed that she wasn't so angry that she never wanted to see him again.

About a quarter after five Valerie woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. Her heart raced as she erratically went digging in her pants pocket for her phone. When she finally got a hold of it the phone had just sent the caller to voicemail as the phone read 'one missed call – Adam Copeland'. She couldn't push the call button any faster if she had tried.

Adam couldn't leave a message; he didn't know what to say, so he just flipped his phone shut. He felt terrible, and at the same time he hated himself because he could've prevented this. He could've just driven a rental, he should've just driven a rental, but no he chose a half hour flight that lasted almost seven hours. His heart sank as he slumped in the seat of his rental. He threw the phone into the passenger seat in anger, and when it hit the seat it began to vibrate and sing. He threw the phone open so fats he almost broke it in two. "Hello?"

"Adam?" rushed Valerie's melodious voice over the speaker. "Sorry, I was sleeping and I couldn't get to the phone fast enough. I was getting worried about you, are you okay?" She didn't sound mad, or upset, just worried because he hadn't called.

"Val, I am so sorry, there were so many delays and I couldn't make any phone calls. I hope you aren't mad."

"I'm fine, just needed a nap. It was a long drive. Are you in Raleigh?"

"Yeah. Do you think that you could find it in your heart to still go somewhere with me tonight?"

Valerie knew she had to work tonight at eleven, but she really wanted to see Adam. She knew what she should do, "Definitely. What would you like to do?"
_______________________________________________________________________

Adam and Valerie walked down by the creek in the local park eating ice cream cones and holding hands as they went. The sun was setting and it was eight thirty. She should be just getting up and got ready for work, but here she was with this man that she had so wrongly misjudged all of these years. For so long she had thought of him as a player, a man-whore even. She felt so terrible for the things that she had thought about him for so long without even knowing the man. She hadn't been going along for the ride to shows for very long, she had always been so busy with school, maybe if she had she might not have needed to feel the way that she had, and at the same time she wouldn't have been alone for so long.

"So I had a great time tonight," Adam said throwing the wrappers from there now finished cones into a trash can.

"Me, too."

"We should do this again some time, what do you think?" Adam smiled welcoming her to sit on the bench.

"We should," she replied brushing a piece of hair behind her ear and sitting down. "This night was definitely worth skipping work for." He sat down and put his arm around her shoulders.

"You skipped work? What could you do that doesn't start until the afternoon?"

"Actually it doesn't start until eleven at night, but I would've had to sleep all afternoon to be ready for it."

"And," he paused, "it is what?"

"I'm a nurse. I work at Raleigh General Hospital. Normally I work day shift, but if they need an extra hand I help them at night."

"Very cool. Any kind of specialty, or just general nursing stuff?"

"Actually, I specialize in the rehabilitation unit for patients recovering from surgery. Like people who need to learn how to walk again, or people who have lost limbs and need to get used to their prosthetics, but for the most part I work with people suffering from sports injuries."

"Good to know, so if I ever get hurt you could take care of me?" he joked.

"Oh definitely."

"Comforting," he responded sarcastically. He looked out as the sun started to slowly finish going down. The pink and orange sky, she bent her neck and rested her head on his shoulder. It felt so right, like they had been made to sit like this together.

"Are you coming to the next show?"

"I don't know yet. I think I have to work, so probably not."

"So I'd better enjoy this while it lasts?"

"You know, you can always come back when you're done."

"Are you saying I'm welcome anytime?"
She sat up and looked at him, "Of course."

"Good."

They spent another ten minutes sitting on the bench before making the trek back to their cars. Adam opened the door to her car as she used the key fob to open it.

"Can I call you tomorrow?"

"You can text me if you like, but I work from six to six."

"Ooooooo, texting. Not quite my cup of tea, but I think that I can handle it." He gave her one more grin before he shut her door and walked back to her car. She loved that cheesy, toothy grin that he had, it made her insides squirm, and her knees weak.