February 14th of 2018. The room smelt of roses, roses lay on the bed along with petals trailing along the wooden floor of my apartment. I'm not so much of a romantic but for Val i was. Val loved roses and chocolate chip cookies, as well as adrenaline and excitement. Her long dark hair flowed down her back, dark red matte lipstick was her signature. “See you soon :)” I texted her, expecting a response of “Be there soon xoxo” with the kissing emoji that she used to often.
Val never made it to my apartment that night. The actual response I gathered was “so sorry bun, i won't make it.. Emergency with my dad. Can we do this tomorrow?'' I threw my phone on the bed, angered but slightly concerned. Although recently it has come to my attention that she has been quite distant let alone dealing with her fathers cancer. Then came the bright idea to go decorate her apartment for when she got back.
I drove a little longer than usual, giving me some time to think of her reactions. Maybe a kiss or a really long needed hug. Finally I pulled into the driveway. My eyes glared at her car, wondering if my heart should drop or if my stomach should fill with butterflies. I parked a little further to make sure she left or maybe had taken an uber before I went in. Her car never moved. Assuming she took an uber, I got out of my car and grabbed everything out of my trunk. I dropped my buckets of rose petals and chocolates to the sight of a man pulling into her driveway. MY spot. He walked with a happy pace, skipping steps up to the door and opened it without invitation.
My heart pounded with disbelief and doubt. I snuck my way up to Vals front door. Of Course the stupid man didn’t lock her door. Was he trying to get them caught? I creeped up the stairs, a creak following me each step. I heard a movie, was she here or was she being robbed? I started to panic and grabbed the closest thing next to me to be considered a weapon. I Grabbed the candle holder standing on the shelf beside me. It was a tainted bronze, quite sharp incase i needed to protect myself or Val. I heard a deviant giggle. Vals giggle. I tightened my grip on the candle holder and walked up to her cracked door. Red light beamed out from it. Then I started to believe my doubts. After these last 4 years to find MY Val in bed with another man, one who smelled of Polo Red.
I stormed in with a broken heart, eyes filled with tears. My throat started to feel tense and words would not come out. Val looked at me, I could tell she was embarrassed. The guy was too. I Didn't think before I made my next decision. I started to scream at Val. My screams filled the room with her quiet tears. How could she lie about something so serious to cheat on me with this guy!? “The hell are you doing with this guy?!”
“I.. Mike…” her words were shaky.
“You've been lying to me! To my face with this father having cancer bullshit!” i felt my face go hot. I knew i was turning bright red and I must have had a vein popping by the way Val was staring at me.
I looked back at the strange man. His beard was scruffy, messy and untrimmed. Although the Polo red was strong he still reeked of alcohol. Out of anger I threw the candle holder not even meaning to hit the man directly in his head.
Val sat next to me outside as we waited for the cops and the emergency trucks. I stared at the rose petals that flooded the street from my basket. I saw her glancing at me often and I could hear her holding back her words. It wasn't until the blaring sirens of the trucks she decided to speak. “I'm really sorry Mike.” The words slipped out of her mouth with maybe a bit of remorse. Her words were drowned out by the fact that I hurt this man by accident. He may very well be screwed for life.
I was charged for second degree assault(8 years) . Under these circumstances I chose to plead guilty because although it wasn't on purpose I still caused this man severe injuries along with brain damage and I'm sure no one would have believed me anyway considering I had caught my girlfriend of 4 years cheating. I didn't hear from Val again after that night, no letter, no visit. Why did I have to throw that candle holder? Or Why did he have to be standing in the way? Better yet, why did Val.. My Val, cheat on me?
Prison is difficult, it's been about 4 years and the guys aren't nice. I really miss my friends and my family but they visit me frequently. They are the only people that understand. My little sister isn't able to visit as often considering she is a fulltime cheerleader in highschool, im very proud of her. Passing all your classes and being home 8 hours a day is not easy. Her name is Alice, she's a sophomore in highschool, living with my dad now. Our parents split when she was 8 and I was 16. I stayed with mom and she went with our father. Both of them are good people. It wasn't too messy but it wasn't pretty either.
April 6th 2022 I was released early due to signs of remorse.I left with the stories of others and promises to visit. That same day my sister took me out to dinner. The dinner I'd been waiting for for years. We laughed about her high school life and I told her about the things I learned while I was gone. She mentioned Val got caught up with some bad guys and left the state. It's nice to see that I have the upper hand in this situation and I used my time to get better. It is now June of 2034. I am married to a beautiful woman named Fiona and we have a baby on the way and a nice starting home, 2 bedroom 1 bathroom. A carpeted cozy living room that has a REAL fireplace. A kitchen with slate counters and a retro fridge. On the fridge hangs the letter that Alice gave me 12 years ago. She's my lucky four leaf clover.