Walking To The Target

CHAPTER 01

Instagram notification beep on her cell phone, it was a Friday night, she just looked that even though it was early, her friends were in a bar drinking, she decided to open the post, seeing that they all seemed to be fine, on all faces the smile was stamped , none of them looked unhappy, tired and stressed as Valeria felt, "Ah" she thought "and unloved" remembering that her husband had not praised her for months and whenever he looked for her instead of loving each other they were always offended which always generated great fights, she couldn't take that situation anymore, but she pushed with her belly the lost ones, the fights, the emotional tiredness and the psychiatric treatments to which she was submitted.

Enduring all this not for her, but for the children, a sixteen-year-old teenager named Julia, a beautiful and angry girl who was closing herself off from everything every day, and eight-year-old Julio, a beautiful, short, chubby, lively and loving boy , being his best friend and greatest company, as he was the person he spent most of his time with when he was at home and they had a lot of fun.

Valeria thought it incredible how the two were such different people, she believed that she and João, her husband, were to blame for the isolated behavior of their daughter, who understood and witnessed her parents' fights and offenses for years. Also accompanying even without wanting to the treatments that Valeria had to do to contain her anger, being considered a dangerous person by society, since she had discovered her husband's first betrayal.

Valeria felt that every day she fought with all her might not to drown to death, her children and medication being her lifeboat.

Again, she heard the sound of a notification on her cell phone and looking at it, she saw that the night wouldn't end so soon for her friends, while she would have to stay at home finishing dinner for the children not knowing if that Friday her husband would arrive early or not, Valeria fidgeted rice while looking at their stories , the way they drank it would soon go bad, Valeria couldn't even remember when the last time she consumed alcohol was, because the medicines she took were strong and sometimes she even felt drugged, but she thought that I didn't need to drink either, I never liked it, being the one who always got her drunk friend home safely in her teens. What she really wanted was to go out and have a good laugh, receive a whistle or a catcall, be served by someone instead of serving as she did every day, but she knew that wouldn't happen.

Valeria finished dinner and went up to her room on the top floor to take a shower, she and her husband came from an upper middle income, they had a large and luxurious house, they lived in a condominium, but she felt that she was more loved when she had than sharing a room with her sisters in adolescence,

She felt like doing something different that night, she thought about taking the medicine to contain her anxiety and end that feeling in her chest with the accelerated beating causing her discomfort, sadness and shortness of breath, but if she took it she knew it wouldn't take long to end up sleeping and doing nothing, but it couldn't be like that.

Valeria looked at herself in the mirror, felt that that day she was beautiful with her straight black hair and Chanel, shiny, remembering that at school she was called snow white, because of her white skin color and the short black hair she wore, a A small white girl, five feet tall, she had thick legs and wide hips, a small waist and small breasts. Valeria observed that her body had barely changed since that time, she was still cute even at her forty-four years old, but her face was marked with black and deep dark circles, at the corners of her eyes that revealed a little more of her age. "Nothing that a good make-up" thought "can't solve".

Valeria stopped looking at herself in the mirror, not all encounters with her were as good as that one, most of them didn't see her as a pretty or attractive woman. Then she took a long shower, when she left the bathroom she checked her makeup, but there was almost nothing on it, she thought about borrowing her daughter's before she and Julio got home from school, she also saw that the nail polish was peeling and leaving her little hands of scary crumbled nails.

She ran to her daughter's room still in her bathrobe, she went in thinking about being quick and just touching her makeup, it had been a long time since she had entered that room, since her daughter decided to adopt a rock style she never allowed her mother to enter, who cleaned there was the maid who came once a week and as all the main rooms had a bathroom the girl only went out to eat. Valeria watched the posters on the wall, they were all from rock bands, some older than Valeria herself, on the computer table she found a lighter and several silk papers scattered around the room, she didn't want to believe it, but her sixteen-year-old daughter smoked marijuana, Valeria didn't know what to do, she thought about exposing her daughter to her father, making him come in and see all that arsenal of drug addicts, but it would probably kill her relationship with her daughter for life, thinking that her husband would force her daughter giving treatments like the mother's and also bringing her joy, I had to know what to do, I had to maintain control, I couldn't even freak out or have an anxiety attack in the girl's room, because it wouldn't be long before the children arrived from school. Valeria was leaving when she remembered that her intention was to put makeup on her face, she didn't know if she still wanted to do it, that lot of things happening had messed with her mind, she thought it was better to take the medicine and stay on her own until sleep knocked her out, she was stopped thinking and decided to go to her daughter's bathroom, at least everything was ok there, there was just a necklace of skulls hanging, nothing that she hadn't seen on her daughter, she saw her makeup was open and spread out, Julia was never an organized girl and not very careful, probably wouldn't notice if Valeria put on her makeup and she did, looking in the mirror feeling beautiful, the daughter also had perfume that she borrowed a little and decided to leave quickly before she arrived.

Valeria felt that she was not well, as soon as the children arrived it was the usual thing, Julia went into the room and locked herself in while Júlio ran non-stop and told his mother how the day was, no one noticed that she was tidy and sober on her meds, she sent a message to her daughter who was in the same house and asked her to go to the movies but Julia refused, so Valeria, tired of that sadness and routine, painted her bitten nails, put on a black dress, with the hem a little above the knees in front and long ago, he put on heels that he hadn't worn in years and threw an overcoat over it, with the intention of hiding the children's clothes, he went to Julia's room and knocked on the door, but she didn't answer, so she knocked harder and even so there was no answer, so he opened the door, startling the girl with his presence and said:

"Take care of your brother for me".

"Not me, you take care of him".

"I'm not asking Julia, I'm telling you, take care of your brother, I'm going to run some errands, dinner is ready, just serve him and you, I'll be back later".

"And if I don't take it?".

"So honey go say goodbye to your allowance, the internet and everything that doesn't involve basic care for the children, I'm leaving when I get back I'll want to know if you took care of him or if you're going to be locked in the room and leave the boy abandoned".

"Mom, where are you going?" Asked Júlio while hugging her "Why can't I go?".

"I'm going to solve something at your great aunt's house" She replied lying "Maybe I'll take a while and maybe not, but obey your sister and remember that I love you".

Valeria kissed her son and went to the garage, she had a car, but her husband used it to carry the supposed lovers, the children did not find it strange that their mother left, because in the past she always had to help an aunt from a psychotic break , because her aunts didn't have children and everything was left to her, Valeria was forbidden to drive because of the medication so João checked between one car and another; as it was night Valeria knew she would get to her destination faster if she drove, her license was expired, but she still decided to take the risk, that car had been an achievement that she had loved for a long time, but it seemed that adult life was taking away all her conquests, the joys she knew were fading away, but that wasn't the time to dwell on anything, but to think about where she was driving, while she was stopped in traffic, she looked again at her friend's story, who seemed to be the poster girl for the little bar where they were , then looked for the address and put it on the gps , heading there.

They weren't far away and she went happily to the place, parking the car a little ahead, she saw how full the place was, she hadn't seen her friends in person in years, she hadn't been in an environment like that for years, she didn't know what was going to happen. tell them, finding it strange to speak the truth that accompanied their posts on the internet with envy of their perfect lives and decided to drop everything to follow them that night.

Valeria started to feel the weight of having left home and alone, she started to question herself about what she was doing there and if that was really what she wanted, because she was afraid, she put her head on the steering wheel, she couldn't say that, she didn't have how to introduce himself, he felt his heart begin to beat faster while a pain took the chest region, recognizing that sensation, it was anxiety and he knew he was about to have a crisis, his hands were sweating cold and the pain squeezed still leaving the sensation that her chest was being crushed, she started to shake and wanted to cry, she took her bag to see if she had any medication, but she didn't find anything, she had forgotten to take it, becoming even more terrified because she knew that the crises were long and not she wanted to spend the night there locked in the car, she was afraid, she could call someone to pick her up, but she was tired of hearing sermons about things she had no control over, having the impression that the same people who took her to the doctor thought that what he felt nothing but a freshness and that's why he gradually began to sever the bond, just that immense pain and the confusion of thoughts that crowded his mind, not to mention the voices that started as a simple thought and were now getting louder and clearer. , she didn't need voices and pointing fingers, so she was trapped in the car feeling unwell, trying to focus her thoughts on just one thing because at that moment a lot of things were coming to her mind and her concentration was dispersing because of the pain in her chest, she started to beat with her head on the steering wheel, keeping her concentration on the pain in her head to forget about the one in her chest when it was interrupted by a big crash in the passenger side car, it was a couple making out who found themselves with everything in the car not even seeing that she was inside , when he calmly looked at what they were doing, he noticed that they were kissing and one was passing his hand over the other's body, he looked at the guy sticking his tongue in his mouth with everything in the girl's mouth while she pushed him slowly and the tongue hit the cheek, at first he thought it was disgusting, but then it was funny the girl trying to escape at any cost from the guy's mouth, the two seemed to be very drunk and Valeria laughed at that situation not realizing that the illness was gone; she decided to show that she was in the car with the intention of helping the girl to get loose and activated the alarm seeing that the two started laughing leaving there and going back to the bar she walking fast in front while the guy called her but she ignored it.

Valeria looked in the mirror, a red spot was left on her forehead from the beating, she looked a little strange but didn't want to waste the makeup she had put on, she took off her coat, feeling cold and laughing, because when she was young, the cold never bothered her, so she took a deep breath opening the car door, noting that some men watched her leave and made naughty comments, "maybe they think I'm a little nymphet" she thought walking feeling her self-esteem at a maximum while laughing to herself, with each step she took the sound became louder, she heard the beats of the dance floor recognizing one of her friends in it, but going to look for the rest, the place was big and it was full, but Valeria didn't find it difficult to find them because of the photos, they were in the same place, only one danced on the dance floor, they were drunk, but they recognized her right away, running towards her, hugging her and saying a lot of things that Valeria could not understand because of the loud music, but she noticed their joy in finding them, seeing them in person they weren't as pretty as they were in the pictures, she thought they should use the filter that everyone used to change their appearance, she sat between two of them who asked her questions about how life was going, the family, but especially her husband, because they themselves knew that in that environment not many married women went.

"I took a break" He said happily "Today is my day, but how are you?".

Valeria was listening excitedly to how her friends were doing, they seemed to be there because one of them had separated and they had taken her away to have fun, that was the one who was lost on the dance floor, dancing in a crazy way completely drunk, they still lived in the same house. neighborhood that's why they always saw each other, of the other two who were at the table, one had been married, but she also couldn't stand the relationship ending ten years later, saying she couldn't deal with someone in charge, but in fact she couldn't stand to change the phase of life, I had to wake up early and work and then work again at home, in the beginning everything was fine, until her husband's ex- wife won the right to shared custody of the children in court and she finds herself working non-stop and still having to putting up with crying and being poorly raised by other people's children, she thought that her self-respect was greater than the love for her husband and their poorly educated children and even though she liked him a lot and was treated well by him, she preferred to stay with herself, that way she was free from so much noise and mess, she worked and paid someone to clean her house once a week, she had two meals at work and the third either bought or eaten out, she liked the life she was leading and would not change it for a new one marriage, when she felt alone and depressed she contacted another friend to vent and everything was fine. At least that's how it worked in the first days apart, until then she hadn't felt the need to add anything to her life, she was content with what she had and secure about it.

Valeria felt her heart warm to be there talking to them and knowing about their adult lives, she realized that she was not the only one who had problems to solve, but that even though she was in control of herself, she was the only one with a sick mind and I feared that her husband would return to the house and not find her, I wonder if being there would be a reason to commit her.

CHAPTER 02

Valeria's other friend never wanted to get married and didn't last long in a relationship, she was an insecure woman and always got along badly with men, getting attached and doing crazy things to fill an extreme lack and even when humiliated she persisted in maintaining the failed relationships she managed to have , being an obsessive and possessive woman, oppressed men so much that they always got scared and left. She wanted to get married and get pregnant as soon as possible because of her advancing age, but that wasn't what she managed to do, no relationship lasted more than two months and she always ended up frustrated and depressing. She also lived alone, not because she wanted to, but because her elderly mother couldn't bear to see how easily she changed men and always giving her life to them, every breakup seemed like the end of her life and with so many endings she was getting worse more and more, the depression got worse, but nobody talked about a treatment, her mother just wanted to end her days in peace, in the hope that her daughter would one day mature and realize that the fault of any relationship lasting was hers and not men's who you go out with.

"My God" said Carla, staggering from the dance floor "It's not Valeria, the other screwed up, I mean married, hug me friend, you also freed yourself" she said without waiting for Valeria to answer, sitting down and continuing to talk "Look at that bastard of mine husband ended my life, we lived all these years with him saying he loved me, giving me everything and suddenly after twenty years he comes to say that he is gay, that he always was and that he was afraid to come out, that he married me to see if he changed his taste she started crying "The guy made four kids on me, I never worked to take care of the kids and he says he's gay? There are four children Valeria, how does a gay man do all this with children? Look at me he's wrecked me, I'm horrible and I'm done with stress, I don't know if I'm fit to work after so long dedicating myself only to the home. He wants an amicable breakup, that bastard broke up with me, it's not going to be amicable at all."

She wobbled in the chair when she went to get her glass of drink, but Valeria held her so she wouldn't fall, Carla's husband was always different from the rest, too careful to be a man, he treated her and the children so well that it was sad to see the end of a wedding like that, she couldn't believe that in the dream wedding the prince had become a princess, she felt sorry to see her in that situation and thought about how she would be if she ended up with João, thinking that instead of crying she would be there having fun for having rid of him. But Carla really had reason to be devastated, she had a happy and healthy marriage, unimaginable the end, he took good care of his family, not only financially but also emotionally, his children were impeccable as well as Carla's house and things that had everything of the good and the best, since he was very successful and so was she, she would never suspect that she would be exchanged for another man, since she had an active sex life and that was what hurt her the most, she had really been caught off guard, never considered betrayal nor a revelation like that and received the news from both of them at once, she even asked them to form a love trio, but they refused, Valeria never felt loved like her, she would never understand all that sadness, pain and drunkenness that her friend was getting into .

But what mattered at that moment for Valeria was knowing that every life hid a reality behind its smiles and that she wasn't the only one who didn't live in complete happiness. And being with her friends at that moment made her forget her own reality and made her heart happy, reminding her that she had life in it.

"And Vilma?" asked Valerie.

"Didn't you know? She became a believer, changed completely, stopped being that usual drug addict, at first we thought it was just a phase, but that phase hasn't passed for years, she's calm, even the tone of her voice has changed. In fact, we talk to her more than to you, young lady, if this doesn't work out for Carla, Vilma is the backup plan. But what about you because you never came to us again, we miss you?"

"Life was a bit hectic, but now I'm here" she replied dully and remembering that she didn't look for them because she was always sleeping due to the medications she was continuously using, the little time she stayed awake or was taking care of someone, or freaking out with someone, her life boiled down to this, she had to quit face-to-face work due to the outbreaks and stayed with remote work, but she didn't want to tell her friends about her illnesses and difficulties, she wanted to enjoy it.

Soon Carla staggered up and returned to the dance floor, but she was dizzy that I could barely stand up without bumping into someone, which made everyone go to the floor to catch her before she got into some kind of confusion, the floor was full and her friends stayed as a shield beside Carla so that she wouldn't bump, taking small steps, watching the young crowd that was in the place. Valeria also started to dance a little shyly, waiting for her friends to leave, but soon they began to enjoy the music mixing and dancing among all those young people, finding the idea of being the crown of the place even more amusing. They jumped and screamed, then lined up and tried to get down to the ground, without succeeding and laughing with that, Valeria felt that she was really happy, that smile was real and even made her face stretch, more than usual, noticing that it was a little rusty, when they lined up again to go down to the ground they left Carla in front, so that the one behind could balance her by the waist, but she lost her balance falling and knocking all the others to the ground, drawing all the attention from the hall, making people howl because of them who got up with difficulties because of Carla who was still on the floor, they just laughed and pulled her, but it was heavy and didn't help to get up so they pulled her until they left the track laughing a lot while they went towards their table pulling her and seeing that she was filthy, the state of Carla's clothes so dirty was the sign that they needed to leave, they had to find a way to get her up and leave while there was still a little dignity left in the middle of the loud laughs they gave while trying to adjust it.

" If she doesn't die because of the betrayal" said Debora laughing "She'll die because she'll have to throw those designer clothes away, you can be sure.

"If she dies, that's fine" said Bruna "The worst thing is if she wants to kill us for carrying her like a bag of rice and leaving her lying on the ground" She said, laughing at the situation "What are we going to do now, we throw her in the uber and do we deliver it at home or do we give her something to wake her up?" .

"Do you think she's in a coma?" asked Valeria worriedly.

"Absolutely" said Bruna.

"Isn't it better to take glucose to the hospital?"

"No need" replied Debora "we can give her glucose ourselves as we did at school, we just need a way to get her out of here first, because she is much heavier than she was at school".

"Let's do the following, I'll hold one arm, you the other and Valeria holds the chair, let's get up and sit down first.

The three got together to execute the plan and with great cost and lifted Carla sitting in the chair. The two continued drinking and laughing at the situation while Valeria only drank water.

"Now where are we going to buy juice to give her huh, we have to decide the place before ordering the uber ".

"Come on, aren't you in a car?" asked Valeria in surprise.

"My husband belonged to my car" said Bruna "As he had children I thought it was best to stay with him .

"I don't have".

"I understand so let's go in my car, but it's impossible to stop here in front to pick her up, we'll have to take her to the car".

The two lifted her by the arms like the last time and with difficulty carrying her, Valeria couldn't help carrying her, she was so short that there was no way to hold her, but she went ahead, opening the way to the car, where they had to scare away a couple kissing leaning against the car, they opened the car door and with difficulty threw her into the backseat and proceeded to a round-the-clock market.

They left her in the car with the window open and went into the market to buy that juice to cure Carla's alcoholic coma.

Valeria didn't think that was a good idea, they did it when they were teenagers so they wouldn't get home stuck because they lived with their parents, but now they were adults, they didn't have that need, besides, who would the doctor call to complain about her coma, since didn't even have a husband anymore? Anyway, she continued to follow her two friends down the corridor, feeling irresponsible because she was the only one sober and did nothing to stop them, just like in adolescence, always the responsible and annoying one who always wondered what she was doing there following their crazy things, but one was missing, Vilma was missing, when they got together Valeria always expected a problem, because all the rolls that existed they were in the middle, they teased, they cursed and there was always one in a coma, going out with them was stressful when she was younger, but now after adult and experienced, she was finding it interesting, she hadn't left the house for a long time and being living in a familiar situation made her a little more comfortable

"Do you see each other often?" asked Valerie.

"At least once every three months or when something big like this happens, as soon as we heard that they had broken up we got together and today we decided to go out to see if she gets better. Carla didn't even suspect anything that her husband wasn't into her, we're afraid she'll get the worst of it because he really made her very happy and suddenly out of nowhere he says he doesn't like the fruit anymore, it's very strange even for us who thought that at least she had gotten along well, with a man, but she and Vilma are always together ".

"But you also got along well, Bruna" said Debora As, then dismissed the boy and he did everything for her".

"There, shut up your nosy mouth."

"You are the snoozer, the truth hurts".

"Guys" said Valeria, interrupting because she knew what was coming next "You are over forty years old, it doesn't feel good to fight like that".

"Girls, I'm sorry for not attending your meetings, I'm sorry about that."

"Speaking at a meeting, how did you end up in that club with us? I didn't say where we were, did you make an appointment with Carla?"

"No, I wanted to go out and I was taking a walk when I saw a notification on Instagram that you were close and I decided to go to the meeting and here we are".

They saw an uproar in the opposite direction, people went and laughed and when they went to see it was Carla who took two steps and staggered, they ran to meet her, grabbed some juice and ran away. Bruna paid him and Valeria and Debora took Carla outside, she was in a state of disarray, she didn't say anything that made sense, she continued to stagger and her hair was on spikes; she drank the juice thinking it was an alcoholic shake.

They went to the car and Valeria almost swore when she saw that she had vomited all over the back, as always she left impaired in some way by the drunkenness of her friends, now it would be difficult to go unnoticed by her husband who had left, as he was not in his plans to tell her family what she had been up to all night, because if it was her husband's business he would be at home with his family and not out on the street like he did every Friday.

They let Carla drink all the juice and then put her in the car, seeing that she was sleeping, almost on top of her vomit, while Debora, who was behind, complained nonstop about the smell and tried not to vomit either.

Valeria drove first to Carla's house, they rang the bell, put her out of the car and left screeching when they saw a light come on, leaving her sitting in front of her house. Then she left Debora and Bruna, the two still lived in the same neighborhood where they grew up, making Valeria remember the time when she just had to be happy and nothing else, but that time had passed, she went around the block passing in front of old house, which her mother had sold to move to one closer to her father's service, she missed that place, that time, that life had passed in the blink of an eye, it seemed that a second ago she was a fearless, dreamy teenager and even with all the difficulties she faced with her mother, she was a happy young woman; but now she was nothing more than a drug addict and depressing, who lived so high on drugs that she could barely stay awake for eight consecutive hours of her day, that place generated pain.

Then she went home thinking about how she would deal with that vomit before João used the car, she parked calmly, opened the door seeing that the lights were on, the children had slept in the living room on single mattresses, it had been a while since she saw together, they seemed to be watching a movie and they fell asleep, she kissed them on the cheek, then covered them and went up to her room, she didn't want to wake them up to take them to bed, being happy that Julia had taken care of her brother.

She went into the bedroom, was happy that João wasn't there, took a shower, put on a nightgown and slept happily.

The cell phone woke up and Valeria couldn't believe that another day was starting so fast, she always got up at seven on Saturdays, but she had gone to sleep at five, so she was falling asleep, even being something usual due to the medications she thought she wouldn't need take it because she was already sleepy and tired from the night she had lived with her friends.

Valeria went down to the kitchen, passed by the children without waking them up, she was excited and inspired, prepared sweet and savory tapioca for breakfast and orange juice to cheer her up, after she had had it she decided to eat, which was something she barely did , but he was replenishing his energy from the spent night with a sweet tapioca and going to the car before the children woke up, taking his gloves and a bucket full of cleaning products and accessories with him, dying of disgust looking at the vomit that seemed to be stinkier than ever. that in the early morning making her feel like vomiting, but holding back so as not to get even more dirty and make herself more work, she removed the excess with a shovel and then proceeded to wash the affected part of the carpet and seat, throwing a lot of water and thinking in the excuse she would give to João if he found the car all wet, thinking of saying anything, because he really thought she was crazy.

As soon as she finished there, she was laughing about last night and the state they left Carla at home, she must have been passed out at one of those hours, even considering the state she arrived in, not just her, but the other two too, "they're crazy" she thought laughing while pouring more disinfectant on the car to get the smell out and walking into the house.

Valeria was excited cleaning up the mess in the kitchen singing a chorus of a song she had heard last night, feeling a slap and a squeeze on her ass making her jump more with fright than pain.

"Are you crazy João, do you want to kill me from the heart?"

"Wow" He exclaimed sarcastically "What got into you huh that you're excited today" he took her hand looking at her "Painted even the nails.

"What do you want?".

" Nothing" he said approaching and looking at her free breast in the nightgown "I'm just praising my wife."

"What are you doing this for, when you spent the whole night with someone else, she couldn't handle it ?" .

"You are an insufferable woman" he said angrily pulling away from her.

"Who sees you is the most pleasant person in the world, isn't it, João, the nice gentleman."

"I understand you're unbearable" he said leaving her and going up to the bedroom, seeing that the children were sleeping in the living room, thinking that something nice must have happened in the house that night for them to be together, which was what never happened to that family, for even if they lived in the same house, they were distant and isolated from each other.

João noticed that Valeria was fine, he found it strange to know that this did not happen, as she was sleepy and in a bad mood because of the treatments she underwent and the medication she took, which is why she did not like to stay at home. He went up to the bedroom, separated his clothes to wear after the shower, when he entered the bathroom he saw Valeria's black dress in the laundry basket and the high-heeled sandal leaning on the side, "would they have gone out" he thought, "but a movie theater wouldn't make her that excited". He took a shower thoughtfully, he had spent the night awake at a friend's house where they played cards all night, he found the atmosphere lighter and more relaxed there than next to the crazy wife he had, but the crazy woman was pretty that morning, maybe something really happened and he intended to find out what it was.

CHAPTER 03

Valeria was sweaty and tired, she intended to take a shower and after lunch lie down to sleep a little, she wanted to rest from the night and that way no one would notice that she was without medication, as she feared being discovered and taken by force to the hospital by her husband, thinking that she had risked too much to leave without warning him.

She took a shower and put on a flowery dress, which she hadn't worn in a long time, after lunch she put the dishes in the washing machine and went to her room to sleep. João just observed that something different was happening, noticing that he was light and even attractive, as he usually didn't choose clothes, didn't get ready and put on the first one he found, whether it was hers or his. But now he was choosing clothes and painting nails, "maybe she got a crush somewhere" he thought "no, isn't she that kind of woman who goes around flirting?".

João preferred to believe that he knew the woman he had, Valeria had always been a very calm and detached person for relationships, he didn't think that she would betray him, even if she had a bigger outbreak than she was used to having, or listen with more power to the The voice she said she heard, still thought she wouldn't betray him, even though they hadn't touched each other in a long time, she thought that if someone showed up she would reject it.

Valeria went up to her room, looked at her cell phone, but didn't pick it up, she was exhausted and decided to lie down on the bed while her son Julio played with his father, so he wouldn't wake up and fell asleep lying on his stomach.

Bruna called Valeria several times, but the cell phone was on silent, Debora and Carla who were with them against their will and Vilma who was not present last night decided to go to her house, to find out if she was okay with the repercussions of the night past, on social media, where they had gone a few times in the beginning of their marriage, but he had never forgotten the path.

Her friends had planned to take an uber there, but they remembered that Vilma was calm at that time and they went after her ride, they had difficulties to enter the condominium by surprise so as not to run the risk of not being attended to, arguing with each other without stop making the biggest noise where they passed; they pressed the bell and were answered on the intercom by Júlio who did not believe that his mother had friends and ignored them, so they pressed the bell even harder and more times until João looked at them through the camera, not believing what he saw , that was them, they were different and older, but they still looked like a problem, he met them at the gate trying to understand what they were doing there so suddenly to try to lessen the impact of what they would say to Valeria not to freak out, but none of them said anything to he then went to wake her up; Valeria was sleeping lying on her stomach, a part of her dress had gone up showing her buttocks, he called her by name and then he ran his hand up her leg slowly, seeing that she had shivered and lifted her ass a little, but it was just waking up that he turned quickly forward asked if he was crazy.

"Not me" he said looking at her sadly for not being able to touch her "There are people waiting for you in the living room, your childhood friends are..."

Valeria didn't let him finish talking and jumped out of bed, fixing her hair and picking up her cell phone, seeing that they had called several times and sent a message, wondering how they drank all that they were up at such an hour while she who didn't drink anything I was so knocked down. Valeria didn't thank him, she put on her slipper and ran to meet them so they wouldn't comment on some things from the night before around the children or João, she greeted them with a kiss and gave Vilma a hug that she hadn't seen yet and called them to the backyard, taking them to the barbecue area, as there were tables and chairs there, so they could talk freely without anyone hearing them, as he wanted to hide as much as possible of last night, not knowing if he would have the courage to repeat the dose again.

"It was her idea" Debora said pointing to Carla "Coming here all of a sudden, I said I didn't have to, but you know how they are".

"We are like?" Asked Carla angrily "You left me in front of the house like I was a garbage bag and ran away, imagine the nanny and the children's faces when they caught me in that state, I just hate you and look at that" He said looking at Valeria "See you where I remember you were only drinking water, so can you explain to me why you didn't stop them from doing everything they did?" .

"Look" said Valeria, starting to laugh at the situation "I wasn't with you, I found you there and when I saw you you were very bad, there was nothing else to do, but tell the truth, what is making you so angry".

"What do you mean angry you haven't seen it yet?" .

"See what?".

"She hasn't seen it yet, hasn't anyone shown it to her?" .

"She didn't answer her cell phone, we called and sent messages, we even sent her the link, we let her know".

"Warned what?" Asked Valeria, getting worried while looking at her cell phone and opening the video link on tiktok ".

It was them pulling Carla across the hall, the video had millions of views and there were more links available like them in the market and Carla walking across the parking lot by herself walking and screaming that she had been kidnapped, she was disheveled, with only one shoe on and covered in puke, the scenes were even funny, but the fact that they exploded on the internet was not good at all, none of them wanted to be recognized for that and those who had children were dying of shame, that video would soon reach them, as they had several footage from various angles .

Valeria leaned against the table and stayed quiet, she had done everything so that no one would notice that she was without medication, but after those videos everyone would know, in the videos she always appeared either behind or helping with something, but there was no way to explain it to the children and the husbands what he was doing in a bar like that, he felt his heart racing while trying to think of an excuse to give his family quo was interrupted by Vilma who said:

"I told you not to go" she said laughing "Now it's gone, accept the fame".

None wanted that fame, but on Carla and Valeria the impact was greater because of the children who were sure they would die of their mothers' shame.

"After one of these" Valeria said feeling that she was starting to shake "Julia will never talk to me again".

"Who is Julia" Asked Bruna "The bat?".

"Yes, my eldest daughter, I bet that when she sees it, she will be angry and ashamed".

"Girl, she's just a teenager, she'll forget as soon as something happens, you were a teenager remember? They don't have much time to be angry."

"I think it's confusing" Said Debora "These are the children, the teenagers are wells of revolt".

"You are not helping Deborah."

João watched from afar the conversations of those women in the leisure area, that was strange, Valeria had not said anything about them for years, nor mentioned their names and suddenly they were in his house talking about something as if it were a secret, he thought it was strange that that movement, but it could have been good for Valeria, who was increasingly locking herself in and only left the house to go to the appointments, she didn't even go to the market anymore, everything that was bought was online and delivered, she also didn't participate in school meetings , she was only at home, she had been developing more tics like cleanliness and the way of cooking, it seemed that every day she was getting worse, he didn't know to what extent what she was experiencing was real or not, because more and more she was moving away from him and they barely kept in touch, any attempt to talk to her was futile because she was always cursing him and he didn't understand why.

João admitted that he was not perfect and that he had been finding fun in the games, because they rarely went out with his family and he barely drank, his escape to endure that life was the game, but the look on her face when he said that his friends were at the house cheered him up, maybe they could help with her treatment, maybe one day Valeria could look at him and want him again and they could go back to being happy as they once were, because life was difficult for him, he had to work and supervise her treatment and the children because the drugs doped him up and he was tired, his family said that they should separate because he was still young, because they believed that he would have no difficulty taking care of the children without her and that he would soon find someone to help him, others they told him to hospitalize her and that way he could at least be more relieved, because the weight he had been carrying made him very tired and he didn't have much joy, he just lived one day after another, thinking about what it would be like when the children grew up and left although, certainly that was not the life he imagined having, but it was the one he lived.

Valeria's family was all like that, all the women were undergoing psychiatric treatment, all were dependent on medication, some to a high degree and others to a lesser degree, but he never imagined that Valeria would develop this disease, as she was a woman, beautiful, healthy and good-natured woman who got sick when her father died and was never the same again, he didn't think it was fair to leave her alone, because her mother had killed herself when she was little and without her father, there was no one to take care of her, he knew that I would get custody of the children in court, but how would I leave it?

"I don't know why you are making so much drama people" Said Bruna "soon this will pass, in a week the news will be different and we will be old news, but it was really worth it to see you again, actually talking about seeing " She said looking to Valeria who was turning pale "I don't remember if you said you work or not Valeria".

"Home office" She said "About two or three hours a day, why ?" .

"So we need someone who can accompany Carla on some things, we also don't want to leave her alone, you know? It's not good for now, she could go around screaming that she was kidnapped and that won't go down well, Vilma will supervise you when she has time, right Vilma".

"Yes," she said, noting that Valeria was shaking.

"Seeing that Carla has already shown her hatred for us and it's the weekend and I'm hungover I want to leave, so let's say goodbye because we disturbed Valeria's nap."

"Look" Vilma said "You can go ahead because I want to talk a little with Valeria".

"It is now" Debora said, hugging Valeria and saying goodbye "She will pray for you dear, look, we are not going to leave you anymore, if you don't answer us, we will come to you because we love you".

Valeria said goodbye to them apprehensively, she couldn't think of anything to say to Joao as soon as he saw the footage, she was holding back, but she knew that as soon as they left she would have an anxiety attack with the prayer taken by fear, not either she wanted her children to see her in a bar at one of those times with her friend in an alcoholic coma, she thought that if they saw her like that they wouldn't respect her anymore, she put both hands behind her back pinching her arm hidden so that Vilma wouldn't see what she was doing , but I couldn't wait for her to get out of there soon, because she couldn't contain herself anymore.

" It was a pleasure to see you again, I was surprised when I saw you were with them, but I can't go without praying for you first, okay ?" .

"Yes, yes," Valeria replied, meaning that she didn't want any prayers, what she really wanted was for her to leave her house as soon as possible so that she could be alone with the crisis that was coming.

Vilma placed her hand on Valeria's head and began to pray, at first she thought it was a little weird, but then she started to feel calm through prayer and when Vilma finished she felt good and light, the anxiety crisis had passed and the illness humor too. She was impressed with the way she felt, wanting to know more about what had happened in that place, but deciding to remain silent, so that she would not suspect that she was undergoing psychiatric treatment, as she was afraid that her friends would not want to walk with her if they knew she was crazy and that's why she let go of her curiosity about prayer.

João spied Vilma talking to Valeria and praying to her, he found that a little strange, not understanding not only that act, but the unexpected visit, seeing that only Vilma was coming, ran towards her and gave her a written paper:

"I need to talk to you about Valeria call me xxxx-xxxx ." She read it and put it in her pocket, she would certainly call, because she was used to dealing with all kinds of communication because of the work she did in the homes she visited, that wasn't the first time she received a message, it always happened and she thought normal, then he ran towards the girls who were established women, but none had a car, since Vilma who was the simplest financially had an old Chevet that took them everywhere, sometimes she thought she was their private driver, but she liked being with her friends, even though she professed a different faith and went crazy with the things they did, she was always there in times of pain, it seemed like she was born ready, always with a word of consolation or a wake-up call, depending on which one. that was the situation, she was used to wiping their tears, to being the help and listening to their complaints, she dreamed of the day when they would convert and attributed the things they did together to the work of God, because with them she was always sowing, being happy to see Valeria, but feeling something very bad about her, the house, the children in everything, something was wrong in that home.

Valeria came back happy, she had been without medication for a day and she felt great, she saw that the crisis that was coming had receded with Vilma's prayer and when she looked at João sitting on the sofa next to Júlio who was putting together a lego, she saw him looking handsome, a little tired , but attractive, he didn't even seem like the same João she'd seen that morning, she felt a different feeling for him, she was used to hating him, looking at him made her angry that she didn't even like his voice, she hadn't seen him in a long time couldn't stand, nor did he understand that desire that he felt in his heart to talk to him, or to sit next to him and watch something together like they used to, it seemed like something easy to do, it was just sitting next to him on the couch and watching, but she didn't know why she couldn't, it was as if a force majeure was holding her back, she was walking towards him, fighting against that force and seeking the courage to simply sit down, even if it was for five minutes, João had his head down, playing on his cell phone. it made the situation easier. She sat next to Júlio to hide the fact that she wanted to get close to João and stayed there watching what they saw on television.