The Day My Slow Brain Finally Felt Heartbreak Chapter 06
The woman at the dorm desk couldn’t stop him, and passing girls gasped as he stormed past.
He kicked the dorm door open with a violent thud.
The room was completely spotless.
Valerie’s bed was neatly made, and all of her luggage and clothes were entirely gone.
It was as if she had evaporated from the face of the earth.
Nathan collapsed into her desk chair, his strength completely spent.
He pulled open the drawer.
Inside lay a thick, heavy journal, resting quietly in the dark.
It was Valerie’s diary.
With trembling hands, Nathan flipped it open.
The first half of the journal was filled entirely with the happiest moments of the three of them.
“It rained today. Nathan ran across three city blocks just to buy me chestnut cake, and Joy saved a seat for
me at the library.”
“When people mocked me for being slow, Nathan beat the guy up. He swore he would marry me and protect me for the rest of his life. Joy promised she would be my maid of honor forever.” Staring at the words,
Nathan recalled their happy memories together.
He couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.
Yes, those times had been so perfect.
He had genuinely loved the slow, innocent Valerie who used to have eyes only for him.
But as the pages turned, the handwriting in the second half became frantic and messy.
Several pages were warped and stained with dried tears.
“Today, I came back to campus early. I saw Nathan pinning Joy against the wall, kissing her.”
“Joy was crying, and Nathan held her in a death grip, begging her not to get an abortion.”
“That’s how I found out they’re having a baby together.”
“I do have a developmental delay.”
“But that just means my pain is delayed. It doesn’t mean I don’t bleed.”
She had known everything all along.
He thought he had hidden it perfectly, assuming Valerie’s slow reactions would never figure it out.
He had self-righteously played both women.
His complete lack of restraint had been entirely built on Valerie quietly suffocating under the weight of her
own agony.
What kind of despair had she been drowning in, forcing a smile for them while enduring that agonizing, delayed torment?
“Valerie… I’m so sorry… I’m sorry!”
Nathan clutched the journal to his chest, dropping to his knees and wailing hysterically.
His heart felt like it was being hacked to pieces.
He finally realized that the only person he had ever truly loved, from beginning to end, was Valerie.
He loved the way she used to look at him blankly during their very first meeting.
He loved her delayed but slow but sincere responses.
And he had destroyed it all with his own hands.
Just then, the phone in his pocket began vibrating frantically.
The screen was flooded with missed calls from Joy.
He answered it numbly.
From the other end, Joy’s frantic, fragile voice came through the line.
“Nathan! Where are you? Please come back, okay?”
“You’re not here, and the baby and I are so terrified…”
Nathan listened to the voice that used to make his heart melt.
Right now, it only made his stomach churn with absolute revulsion.
He closed his eyes, his tears splashing onto the open diary.
“Joy.”
“Get rid of the baby.”
