Read My Sweet Valentine Online

Authors: Dairenna VonRavenstone

Tags: #horror, #death, #valentines day, #valentine

My Sweet Valentine (2 page)

BOOK: My Sweet Valentine
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Uh,
thanks but that’s okay I really don’t have anywhere to put it
anyway,” she muttered lamely.

He stared at
her for a long moment and Amber realized she did not even know his
name. Amber knew that even if she was acquainted with him, his
appearances wherever she went in the immense high school would
still disturb her.


But I
got it especially for you,” he informed her.


Uh,
thanks, really, but, um,” she tried and knew she sounded
unintelligent.


I know
it’s kind of wilted and stuff but I don’t really have a lot of
money. I still wanted to get you something though because I really
like you,” he went on to explain with his arm still extended to
offer her the floppy rose.


That’s
really sweet and everything but I don’t even know you and it’s kind
of weird,” Amber finally admitted.

She tried to
shrink back away from him but her locker prevented an escape.
Students crowded the hallway but were uninterested in the scene as
class would be starting in a few minutes. Class trumped a
conversation between two strangers, especially since tardiness was
met with detention and no one wanted detention on a Friday.


Well my
name is Russell and I really like you,” Russell admitted with a
scuffling of his shoes.


Um, well
that’s nice but I’m not interested in boys right now,” Amber vainly
attempted to make him leave.


Oh, but
I still want you to have the rose. Maybe you’ll change your mind in
a few months or something and we can hang out,” Russell
insisted.

He thrust the
rose towards her again, his grip tight on the stem. Amber would
have felt sorry for him if he had not been hiding around her for
the past few months. It seemed that whenever she turned around he
was there. Even if she was in the library when her teacher had
booked it specifically for a class, he was sitting there a few feet
away just staring at her. It was nightmarish.


That’s
okay, really. Besides class is about to start and I don’t think it
would survive in my bag or locker or anything,” Amber quickly
uttered and looked for an escape route.

There was none.
She was pressed against the lockers as he took up all the room in
front of her. Unless she was willing to push him out of the way,
she was trapped. Besides, pushing him out of the way would be rude
and she figured that despite his scrawny frame, he might try to
grab her or something.


Hey man,
the girl doesn’t want the rose, just leave her alone,” another
voice entered the conversation.

Amber turned
swiftly to the sound of the new voice and stared at the other boy
who was suddenly at her side. He was a bit taller that Russell and
had thick dark hair with deep brown eyes.


Who the
heck are you?” Russell asked with vehemence in his
voice.

Amber hoped
they would not break out into a yelling match or worse some kind of
physical altercation. She had always wished for two boys to fight
over her when she was younger but now that it could become a
reality, she wondered at her sanity.


I’ve got
the locker beside her. For one, you’re blocking it and class is
going to start. For two, I’ve seen you creeping around behind her
and it’s not cool,” the new boy said as he crossed his arms over
his chest.

Amber
recognized him and wondered how she had been so blind as to not
notice him before. Between school work, socializing with new and
old friends alike and Russell (as she now knew he was called)
stalking her, she figured she did not have the mental capability to
notice a new face right beside her.


I’m not
creeping around behind her,” Russell denied with a
scowl.

Amber wondered
if she could slide along the lockers and escape that way. She
glanced to the open space on her right and deemed the idea a
failure. Her backpack would likely get caught on the locks hanging
from the lockers and she would be stuck.


Even if
you’re not stalking her, she doesn’t want the rose and you’re going
to make us all late for class. Just go away,” Amber’s locker
neighbour commanded and even made the shooing motions with his
hand.

Russell glared
at him the grumbled something under his breath. He gave Amber a
final fleeting look before turning on his heel and stomping away.
Amber let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding
and turned to look at her locker neighbour.


Thanks
for that, he wouldn’t leave,” Amber uttered with a
smile.

His face lost
the angry edge it had before and Amber noticed he had a chiselled
jaw with a smidgen of black stubble across his cheeks and chin. His
nose was a bit narrow for his sculpted cheeks but he was cute.


No
problem. I wasn’t lying when I said I noticed him creeping around
you. He might be weird but he has good taste. I mean, not that it’s
a good thing that he has good taste. Let’s start over and forget I
said all that. My name’s Greg, what’s yours?”

 

Part 2:
February 11th

 

Back in
grade nine, I tried to give Amber a rose for Valentine’s Day. She
rejected it and some other guy told me to go away. I don’t know who
he was but over the next few years he started hanging out with her
more and more. Because of
him
,
I couldn’t get close to Amber. He was the whole reason she kept
rejecting me. Over and over I’d ask her out: to dances, to the
movies, to dinner, to go ice skating but she said no every time. It
wasn’t fair.

She dated other
guys, why couldn’t she give me a chance just once? Then she started
dating him. Gregory Michelson, the guy who told me to go away, the
straight-A student who just happened to be on the soccer team in
the spring and the hockey team in the winter. I hated him then and
I hate him now. He took her from me and I’ll get him back this
year.

 

***

 

Amber huffed
and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. It was past 11PM
and she was technically supposed to be on her way home but
paperwork had her sitting at the nurses’ station still filling
things in. She heard the bell signalling someone needed assistance
and waited a moment before another nurse went to answer the
call.

Besides the
quick steps of the other nurse and the whispering chatter of the
two nurses behind her it was silent. A cough broke through the
still air and Amber knew it was from an older gentleman who had
terminal cancer. They could only make him comfortable until he
finally passed. Amber only hoped it was not on the 14th, his ailing
wife would never survive the implications of that.

Another cough
broke through her thoughts and she rubbed her temples in slight
aggravation. She thought back to Greg’s surprise gift of roses and
allowed herself a small smile as she continued on her paperwork.
The coughing stopped and Amber looked up for a moment, listening
for the signal that the cougher was failing.

No insistent
beeping came through the dead air and she nodded to herself. She
peered down at her watch and noted it to be 11:30PM. She let out a
little puff of air before going back to her paperwork.

She usually was
not so behind on it but the afternoon had been full of demands and
she could not do her work in between as she normally did. She was
not complaining too much, there was no one waiting at home for her
at the moment. This made her both sorrowful and content. Sorrowful
because Greg wasn’t home and content because he would not be trying
to stay up late even if he had to work early in the morning.

Finally Amber
finished her paperwork, placed all the files in their appropriate
places and waved her good-byes at the other two nurses. The
brunette that had replied to the bell had not come back yet but
Amber was not worried. The older woman in that room had problems
understanding what they said. Her memory was failing and everything
had to be re-explained to her multiple times before she understood.
It was in vain since the woman would forget again a few hours later
then demanded to know why she was in the hospital.

Amber left via
the creaky elevator and was soon striding quickly towards her
silver sedan. It was coated in a fresh but thin layer of snow. She
started the engine to warm it before brushing off the whiteness
covering her car.

The air was
chilly and the night was silent. Nary a car passed on the street
and the slowly cascading snow combined with the dull glow of street
lights made her think she was in a dream. She took a moment to
appreciate the scenery around her before locking herself into the
car and pulling out of the parking lot.

Home was not
far away and she walked most days. But Greg worried for her safety
at night and insisted she take the car when she would be working
late. Even with his absence, she obliged his suggestion. She pulled
into the drive-way a few moments later and dragged her weary body
from the car.

She noted that
there was snow gathering in the driveway and on the sidewalk. Amber
knew she would be shovelling it away the next day if it kept up.
She did not expect the neighbours to do it every day since they
were well past retirement age after all. Amber stepped through the
snow wondering when she should get up to shovel and almost stepped
on the package sitting on her front porch before she saw it.

She stared at
the bright red box that had miraculously remained clear of snow and
blinked a few times in wonder. It was her favorite brand of
chocolate, a brand that she did not buy for herself because it was
too expensive to indulge in every day. A folded white card sat
tapped to the box, the same kind of card that had come with the
roses from the day before.

Amber crouched
down and gently lifted the box into her arms before opening the
small card and seeing the same message of “To my sweet Valentine”
written in the same flowing golden script. Amber smiled broadly and
looked around for footprints besides her own. The snow had covered
them and she wondered how Greg was getting her gifts delivered from
1,500 miles away.

She thought
about this conundrum as she unlocked the front door and strode
inside her warm home. She placed the box of chocolates on the table
in the front entrance that was normally used for mail. The door was
closed and locked and she was hanging up her coat when she realized
that Greg must have arranged the deliveries with a friend before he
left.

She chuckled
lightly at the thought and pulled off her shoes. They were placed
on the shoe rack by the door to dry while she untied her mid-back
length curls. Amber lifted the box of chocolates into her arms
before starting to make her way upstairs.

A sense of
being watched came over her and Amber half-turned to look at the
closed and locked front door. She half-expected to see that someone
had snuck in behind her and was ready to grab her on the stairs. No
one was there and Amber shuddered before hurrying up the
stairs.

After changing
the alarm was set to 8AM and she cuddled in bed. The feeling of
being watched had left for the most part and she sighed, berating
herself for being so easily frightened. The outer wrapping was
peeled off the chocolates and she indulged in one before turning
out her bedside lamp and going to sleep.

 

Valentine’s
Day, 10 Years Prior:

 

Amber flicked a
loose strand of hair behind her ear, happy that her hair had grown
back swiftly. Unfortunately it had become curly rather than
straight as it was prior to the major cut four years ago. She still
had some resentment towards her friends over that since her hair
had always been her biggest concern.

It was
Wednesday, an awkward time to celebrate the day of love and Amber
felt slightly frustrated. She had separated from her most recent
boyfriend two months ago and would be alone for the fourth year in
a row. She always seemed to fall out of love with whatever boy she
was dating around winter time. She assured herself that four boys
in four years was not a big deal. Other girls were all ready deep
into the double digits now.

Amber shook her
head to force the thoughts out and continued on her walk to the bus
that would take her home. Disappointment ran through her veins like
it was on some crazy marathon when she saw Greg’s rusted blue sedan
sitting in the student parking lot.

He had been
avoiding her all day and not being able to talk to her best guy
friend about her problems was frustrating. Tina and Susan were
great to rant to about relationships but as the only single one in
the trio she could only go so far before they started talking about
their Valentine’s Day plans with their beaus. Amber was happy for
them but it got tedious when they mentioned that they would be
going to dinner and getting gifts from their boyfriends. It was
especially tiresome when all she could do was rant and rave about
being single.

Amber looked
away from the rusted blue sedan to find her bus. She did not notice
that the owner of the sedan was trotting up behind her, trying to
catch up to her lengthy, quick stride. As her bus came into view,
Amber sighed and made her way towards the open maw of the yellow
monstrosity.


Amber,
wait up,” came a shout from behind her.

She turned to
see Greg bounding up to her. His shaggy dark hair was half-hidden
under a backwards blue cap and his blue windbreaker was still open
despite the snow blowing around him. She paused with a sense of
relief. Maybe he would offer to drive her home so Russell would not
try to stalk her again. He still had not taken the obvious hints
that she was not interested and still bombarded her with gifts
every Valentine’s Day since the rose-incident in grade nine.

BOOK: My Sweet Valentine
10.59Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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