Blank.
That's all she felt as she watched the rain beat furiously against the window panes. Pouring herself a hot mug of cocoa, Valeria allowed herself to sink into the plush cushions in Julianne's living room, her friends cuddling her on either side.
"I've booked the tickets. Are you sure about this?" Luke asked as he entered the room.
Her lashes fluttered when she looked into the steaming mug. She raised it to her lips and took a sip. "I'll have my things packed by tomorrow"
"Val" Sara was barely holding her tears. Valeria placed her hand on Sara's shoulder and pulled her in for a side hug.
"I won't be gone for long. I'll come back sooner than you can imagine" she pressed a kiss to both of her best friends' foreheads and went to the room Julie had given her to stay in whenever she slept over.
She took another sip of the hot cocoa and started rearranging and organizing her job offers from the most paid to the least, and the one with best working environment to the least.
Once she was done, she pressed the mug to her lips and tilted it, only to realize that it was empty. She went to the kitchen to wash it.
As soon as she left the room, a figure dressed to the toes in black with a spy mask, crept stealthily in through the window, took pictures of everything in the room including the well arranged job offers and Valeria's student ID which hung from a nail on the wall, then inserted a chip in Valeria's phone that was on the table. Once they were done, the figure crept out as quietly as it first entered.
"Hey"
Valeria turned to see Julianne standing by the kitchen door. "Hi". She had stayed longer in the kitchen to do the dishes and clean up.
Julianne walked closer to Valeria and put her hands on the latter's waist. " I know things seem bleak right now and everything's going haywire with the bloodlinks," she paused when Valeria chuckled at what she called her family, "but I want you to know that Sara and I will always be your family, we will always stand by you, respect your decisions, support you and most importantly, we will always love you. It doesn't matter what your parents or sister do or say, you'll always have a home with us"
Tears welled in Valeria's eyes as she hugged Julianne. "You make my tough woman act seem like child's play. But thank you, Jules" she said as she held her best friend tight. "I love you too"
Julianne's head slowly dipped as her eyes were focused on Valeria's lips, before suddenly changing her mind and kissing her cheek.
Valeria held her breath as she looked at her best friend. She had always known that Julianne has held affections for her, and while her sexual orientation tittered towards men, she wouldn't deny that she felt a pull to the brown skin beauty in front of her.
"Good night" she said when she had cleaned up, and went to her room.
Julianne nodded with a smile. When she heard Valeria close the door, she pulled out her phone and dialled a number.
"I need you to do something for me"
«———»
Meanwhile on a king-sized bed in a luxuriously furnished room, lay a handsome man. He was tossing and turning in the bed. After what seemed to be a struggle he pulled himself from to a sitting position on the bed.
His eyelids quivered as they tore themselves open. Beautiful red eyes looked around in annoyance.
As the noise which woke him from his sleep grew louder, he walked outside with a very angry expression. He drew closer to the source of the noise which seemed to be coming from his sister's room.
Standing in front of the door, he knocked once. "Lucianna Medina, if you do not tone down this very second, you'll join the guards to keep watch outside" after that warning, there was pin drop silence.
He sighed and went to the kitchen to heat himself some milk. When he had just turned the warm milk into a glass, small hands grabbed the glass.
He looked at the thief and smirked. "If you were hungry, you should've just said so instead of throwing a tantrum". He poured himself another glass.
"It's not my fault that nobody knows me the way you do. They find it very hard to keep up, we should fire them and rehire a new set of staff" Lucianna said.
She was a beauty to look at. Slender frame, with luscious black hair and the signature red eyes she and her brother had inherited from their father. While her brother was somewhat level-headed, she was always causing a scene because according to her, she was going to maximize her "rebellious years" to the fullest.
"When you start paying for stuff, I'll consider it" came the reply. "I know that you're extremely intelligent, but giving people a hard time just because you can is wrong, Lulu, and you know it"
Lucianna pouted and mouthed "I'm sorry" to the staff that were standing there. They bowed before giving the siblings privacy.
"Roddy told me you're interested in a chica?" She asked her brother, eyes teasing.
"Stop poking your nose in my business, Lucianna" he replied drawling out her name, as he put he glasses in the sink and walked out.
"Too late, mi hermano. I took the liberty of going through the file that he sent. She has a lot of family drama, you might want to steer clear of her. But then again, you've always lived for the drama, haven't you, Renzo?"
"Your point?"
"Just be careful" she looked at him, her eyes conveying what her lips couldn't.
As he started to walk away, she suddenly grabbed his sleeves. "I booked a ticket for you to Quinn's town"
"I have work to do, I can't go on a vacation right now"
"It's not for me, she's going there" making Lorenzo pause in his strides.
"And just what would I be doing in Quinn's town?"
Cackling like a vixen, Lucianna skipped on the steps of the staircase. "She favors coffee, and guess who has a cafe that's new and booming?"
"I'm not working for you, get that thought out of your head" Lorenzo flicked her forehead and continued to his room.
"Suite yourself, hermano. Don't blame me for planning a meet-cute for my beloved big brother", saying that she went straight to her room without so much as a glance at her brother.
Entering his room, Lorenzo quickly called his personal assistant, advisor and friend. Rodriguez picked on the second ring. "What's the emergency, boss?"
"What the hell's a meet-cute?"
Rodriguez. "…"