Chapter Three

When Valerie got down from the stranger's car, she realized she hadn't gotten his name. The ride from the lonely highway had been a quiet one. He told her it was the lonely highway and no one ever went that way. She had wondered what she was doing on the lonely highway or not very far away from it in the first place. She turned around and peered down again. "I never got your name." She bit her lip. She knew she'd been rude before but there she was, he'd let her off right in front of Nate's. "You never asked. I'm Edmund, Edmund Fane." The sides of his eyes crinkled slightly with a small smile. "I'm Valerie, and thank you for the ride." With a a sight nod, he started the car again and Valerie had only just turned around the second time when she realized, she had never given him Nate's address. Or maybe she did and forgot. Valerie was feeling overwhelmed and only wanted so much to get some sleep. She was even too tired to think about the night before and whatever possible reason there was or might've been for her waking up completely naked in the middle of the forest miles away from where she lived. She felt it would've been more understandable if she had still been staying at her old place but not while she was at Nate's. It was way farther from the lonely highway. Valerie walked down to Nate's giant gate and pressed the intercom. Soon after the security confirmation process, Valerie walked into the massive property, the many yards to the actual building, wanting to go into her room and fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. It was one of the many houses Valerie had had to live in. Moving from the orphanage to multiple foster homes, to her home had made her flexible to various living conditions. It was only two months before that she'd had to move from her house to stay at her friend Nate's. She was on the run from the police. She knew it was an accident and yet a part of her felt guilty enough for her to run. Sometimes she wondered if, on some level, she'd wanted to kill him. When Valerie got into the house, Nate was pacing around, surrounded by 75% of his home staff. His eyes lit up when he saw her and almost immediately a frown formed on his face. "Where were you?" He asked, the anger visible on his face. Valerie did not know how to reply. She had never seen Nate like that. He was fuming. He walked closer to her and she was a bit scared. She took a step back for each one he took forward and he realized after three steps. He stopped in his tracks and calmed himself down. Putting his hands on his temple, he took a breath of relief then walked to a soda and sat down. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed everyone else in the room aside from Valerie.

"Val…" he began. "...where were you?" His voice was calm, quiet, and almost a whisper. He looked at her and beckoned her to the seat next to him. She sat on the one farthest from him.

"The Lonely Highway."

"What?" Nate's voice took a huskier tone.

"I was on the lonely highway." Valerie's voice was shaky, her eyes were getting clouded and Nate's softened when he saw them.

"What were you doing on the lonely highway?" His voice was firm but softer than before. Valerie mumbled an answer.

"What?" Nate asked.

"I don't know!!" She screamed and burst into tears. Only then did the weight and shock of waking up in the woods hit her with full force.

"I woke up in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees, my phone was gone, my clothes were gone and I couldn't reach anyone. Tears rolled down her eyes as she spoke and Nate walked to her. He sat down next to her and put his arms around her. "Get some rest, tell me all about it later." Valerie had never been more grateful for a chance to not speak. She walked to and up the stairs to her room. Well, at least one of the many guestrooms that was assigned to her when she went to Nate for his help.

It was the day after the incident. The first thing she'd done was call Nate. As usual, he calmed her down. He always seemed to have that effect on people, her specifically. He told her about the manor that was given to him by his grandfather. It wasn't his permanent residence but then again he was never at a place. He told her she could stay. When she got there, with nothing but an overnight bag, he was nowhere to be seen. He had a meeting outside the country so the Butler showed her to her room, the guest room. She was starting to get used to it after only months and that bothered her. That she was starting to see it as hers. She knew Nate was sweet and wouldn't mind no matter how long she decided to stay but it still bothered her because she knew regardless of how much it seemed like hers, it wasn't. It was Nate's and she wasn't planning on staying for long, just until she cleared her name. That night, Valerie slept like a baby, as if oblivious to the fact that her life was in shreds. The room called to her, the bed too, and just like the night of the incident, immediately she climbed up, she felt safe as if in a warm blanket and drifted off as soon as her head hit the pillow.