Chapter Text
The day hadn’t started that weird for Patton. At exactly seven am he was woken up by the neighbor’s rooster, had stretched, showered and baked an egg for himself. He greeted the mailman, Nate, who was as normal late again, and he was now sitting in his chair, reading the newspaper and thinking about the new freelance job he had gotten. What wasn’t according to plan however, is that at ten am his phone went off. He didn’t expect any calls, nobody called him anyway besides from his sister Angela on his birthday. And seeing that it wasn’t his birthday, he was extra surprised that it was actually his sister that was calling him. He took up the phone but didn’t even get to say hello because Angela immediately started talking.
“Patton, thank god. Say you still live in that small town in Canada right? Carston?” she rambled, gasping for air at the end of the sentence
“Carstairs yes, but why...” Patton tried to ask more, but immediately his sister started talking again
“Okay, good. You remember Valerie, right?”
“Your daughter? Yes, you told me about her a few times, sounded like a lovely child”
“Well she is not so lovely anymore” the disgust is clear in her voice. “She will be put on a plane tonight, and will arrive at your home tomorrow,”
“Wait, Angela, what is this all abou…”
“She will stay with you until she can act normal again. Hopefully that town of yours can slap some sense into her. It did it to you,”
“Angela…”
But it was to late, the line went dead, and all that could be heard now was the beeping of a line cut off. Patton was confused, but nothing to be done about it now. Tomorrow his niece would arrive, so he should start making the guest room.
~~~
At 3 pm, the next day, a cab turned up in Patton’s driveway. Patton just finished baking a chocolate cake for his guest, because he thought it must be scary for her too to suddenly have to stay with an uncle she had never met and probably only heard about on a handful of occasions, if ever at all. He quickly threw his now very flour stained apron in a washing basket before walking to the door. But when he opened the door, it was not really what he was expecting. Instead of the girl in a sundress, there was standing a child with short, purple dyed hair wearing an oversized patched jacket and ripped jeans, together with some obviously worn out Vans. She looked, like a boy…
Patton quickly pulled himself together. It is not his place to judge the fashion of adolescents, he thought. He has probably been living so long in the middle of nowhere that everything has probably changed. Then he noticed that Valerie was looking extremely nervous.
“Owh, I’m sorry kiddo. I was probably staring. It is just… I have never seen you,” Great Patton, he thought. Way to make it awkward.
Valerie shook up, clearly startled by Patton suddenly talking.
“No, ehm, I’m sorry” she says, fiddling more with the sleeves of her jacket.
“No, no need to be sorry. I guess it is just a pretty nervous situation for both of us. Besides it is not good to make the present tense,” Patton said with a cheeky smile.
Valerie first looked up in confusion, before letting out a small chuckle and after that immediately slapping her hand before her mouth. Patton noticed it but decided to not say anything about it but instead giving her a reassuring smile.
“Now, Valerie, I made chocolate cake you want some?”
All the joy that was first in Valerie’s eyes immediately disappeared and she went back to fidgeting with her sleeves while muttering something, tears clearly forming in her eyes. Patton immediately stopped walking towards the kitchen and knelt next to her.
“Hey, kiddo, what’s wrong?”
Valerie said nothing, the fidgeting only increasing.
“Is it something I said? Please tell me, then I can change it in the future,”
“Can’t. Bad. ‘m being annoying,” she muttered, just loud enough for Patton to hear.
“You’re not being annoying Valerie, please tell me what’s wrong? I want to help you,”
Valerie flinched again.
“Can’t. Mom angry. Don’t deserve,” Her breathing was getting heavier, more irregular. Patton knew this was not good and having seen his friend Logan once getting a panic attack, he now knew the signs of one.
“Valerie, look at me,” Patton said, but to no prevail. The sobbing only increases. The name, he thinks then. Every time he has said her name, it got worse. Okay, new tactic.
“Kiddo, can I touch you?” No words come out, but Patton sees her head slightly shaking so he doesn’t do it.
“Okay, no touching. Can you listen to my voice?”
Nod
“Good. Now, we are going to breathe in for four seconds, can you do it with me?”
Valerie gets in a shaky breath, but after two seconds she starts coughing.
“No worries, we can just try it again. One, two, three, four. Good job. Now we are gonna hold that breath for seven seconds. Yes? Good. Now we are going to breathe out for eight. Yes, there you go,”
Valerie does everything he askes of her, and after a few times her breathing gets more evened out and the sobs start to become softer.
“Can I touch you now kiddo? You want a hug?” Patton asked. Valerie nodded in return. Patton enveloped her in a hug, slowly stroking her hair while she sighed against his chest. They sit there for about ten minutes, Valerie noticeably becoming calmer. After a few minutes of silence, she suddenly said something, but it is muffled by Patton’s shirt. Patton slowly looked down, still stroking her hair.
“Sorry, what did you say? I couldn’t really understand you,”
Valerie looked up for a moment, eyes red from crying, before she starts talking again.
“My… my name is Virgil,”