R O S E - R E D

(via frostborn)

i know life is hard, i think everyone knows that in their hearts, but why does it have to be cruel, as well? why does it have to bite?

{ THE BASICS ━━ }

( name ) Valerie Whittaker

( age ) thirty four

( place of origin ) New York, then California

( group ) Whispering Chase Retirement Home

( occupation ) Carer

( faceclaim ) Alison Brie

{ PERSONALITY ━━ }

( positive ) maternal ; resilient

( negative ) haughty ; demanding

{ THE STORY ━━ }

( life before the outbreak )

Valerie Whittaker was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Given everything she needed and wanted from a very young age. Born as the only daughter of an upper class family in the most elite of Manhattan, NY, Valerie wanted for nothing. Whatever she wanted, her parents gave her. The most expensive toys, dance classes at 5 when all she cared about were tutus and ballets. An undisputed spot on the cheer-leading squad of the preppy middle school they spent thousands of dollars to send her. Anything Valerie wanted, her parents gave her, without strings or stipulations. And a life like that had a particular effect on a girl. It made her believe that anything she wanted in life, she could have. It gave her the impression that if she wanted something, she could get it with little effort and even less push back. And throughout much of her life, there was nothing to disprove that way of thinking.

When she got to high-school, it was no surprise that she was a queen bee there. Beautiful, demanding, clever enough to get by in her grades, she was well liked by everyone, students and teachers alike. Particularly her teachers. By the time she’d become a junior, Valerie had decided what she wanted out of life, decided on what she was meant to become. A supermodel. Seduced by the glitz and glamor that life promised, and head-drunk with a life’s worth of being told how beautiful she was, she just knew this was the life she was meant to have. And did everything she could to make sure she got it. Making sure her parents paid for the best head shots and classes, booking small amatuer shoots left and right [regardless of whether or not they clashed with her school work.]. 

Valerie, after all, had never felt the need to work all that hard in her classes or her studies, only doing enough to get by, and when necessary, all it took was a bit of harmless flirting. A bat of her lashes, a flash of a pretty smile, and more often than not her teachers would overlook any lapses in work. Offering her an abundance of extra-credit, or some not too specific assignment to keep her B-average. And usually, that was enough. For her own interest and that of her professors. Until it came to her senior year. Until she met her chemistry teacher, Mr. Hall. To a young, starry eyed, and spoiled girl, he was perfect. Prolific, thoughtful, intelligent and sensual, and interested in her of all people. Valerie didn’t stand a chance

It was never lost on Valerie that Mr. Hall was a well known womanizer. But then again, she didn’t exactly care, either. She was young, entitled and impulsive, and for every girl that warned her about Sidney Hall’s infamous reputation, her mind decided that his interest was only for her. That she was special to him. The out of every girl, and woman he’d been with before, she was special, she was the best he’d ever had. And everything Mr. Hall said and did only furthered that fantasy for her. She was in a warm, happy, unbreakable bubble. Right up until she decided to surprise him at home for his birthday, only to walk in on him with a fellow classmate of hers. And they weren’t doing schoolwork.

After a particularly ugly scene, where she threw the bag of takeout at the two of them, screamed and stomped and slammed the door behind her, Valerie didn’t show up in Mr. Halls class for nearly a week. She barely showed up at school, and when she did, seemed to ignore the rumors of what happened that were flying around the school like wildfire. Until one day, about 6 days later, she showed up in class. All smiles, friendly and amenable, as if nothing had happened. After class, Sidney approached her, asking if she was upset, if they were ‘cool’, and her response was strangely calm and friendly. Laughing, shaking her head and telling him of course she was okay. Only to explain seconds later that she would be leaving two weeks before graduation. Not only leaving the school, but the state. In the week that had passed, she’d gone out of her way to get herself locked into a modelling contract with an agency that operated from California. And with her talent, her beauty, and a tidy sum of her parent’s money, she got exactly that. Along with the schools permission to graduate early. She walked out of the classroom, having every intention of Sidney Hall’s stunned expression to be the last look on his face she ever saw. But it didn’t work out that way. After two weeks of strained interactions with Mr. Hall, and a hellish time at school amidst the rumors, Valerie was finally free. All packed up with one more night to go until her move to California, and nothing to do but wait for it. Until, of course, Sidney came over. Contrite, drunk, and as charming as ever. As furious as Valerie was with him, and with herself, she couldn’t help but to spend one more night with him. She couldn’t help but to say goodbye, knowing this was the last she would ever have to see, or know of, or speak to the man she spent the last two years of her life loving.

When Valerie got to California, it was amazing. It was better than she ever could have hoped. She was excelling as a model in the agency, branching out and making a name for herself, and for the first three months her career, and her life, was so promising. Then it all got turned on it’s axis. She suddenly began gaining weight, her body, her sleep schedule, everything was fluctuating. It was hurting her career, the friendships she made, and at first, she thought it was stress. Until she went to the doctor and was told that she was pregnant. Three months pregnant to be exact. Now, Sidney Hall may have been her first, but he wasn’t the only man in her life since coming to California. But she knew. The timing, their drunken.. unprotected tryst. There was no way it was anyone’s but his. So finally, after three months of avoiding it, that night same night after hours of working up her courage, Valerie decided to call him. He answered after the fourth call, but before she could say much, much less tell him about the pregnancy, he blew her off. Making it very clear that he didn’t have time for her, and sure as hell didn’t want to talk to her. Casually commenting that he was busy with someone and hanging up, leaving her shocked and wounded. Her next call was to her parents, who for the first time in her life.. were not accommodating. Appalled, and offended that not only was she pregnant out of wedlock, but that she wouldn’t tell them who the father is, they told her under no uncertain terms that in order to get their help, she needed to come home and get the pregnancy ‘taken care of.’

It was that exact moment that Valerie realized that for the first time in her life, she had nobody. No one was willing to just give her what she wanted, no one was willing to overlook her mistakes, she had no real friends from back home. Only regrets, and people that were either sick of her, or ashamed of her. And she decided right then and there that she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She wasn’t going to chase after Sidney, she wasn’t going to ‘take care’ of her pregnancy so her parents would invite her back with open arms. She would prove them wrong, be a mother and a model, and get everything she ever wanted.

Only.. that wasn’t how it worked out. Not long after having her son, Adam, Valerie realized that she couldn’t be a high fashion model and raise a boy all on her own. She could barely raise Adam. She had no degrees, no real education to fall back on. No money from her parents, and her beauty only took her so far. So she gave up her dream of being a model, taking in several jobs over the years to pay for their home, for his school. Eventually becoming the lead hostess of a resort on the beach, and waitressing on weekend nights to earn enough to get Adam what he needed. Becoming a mother, raising Adam the way she was never raised, it made Valerie grow up very quickly. Crushing the fantasies she’d once had about life and despite her easy going smile and seeming optimism, leaving her with a well of resentment. Even though she couldn’t afford to give Adam the things she was given, she worked and scrimped and saved so that once he turned 14, she got him into the best boarding school she could find. Adam was the light of her life, and though at times he reminded her so much of his father it hurt, she wanted the world for him. Valerie knew she would miss him, she knew it would kill her for him to be away, but she couldn’t deny Adam the education or opportunities that the Kent Boarding School in Colorado would give him. So despite how much she would miss him, and despite Adam’s complaints and anger about being sent away, Valerie scrimped and saved every last bit until she got him into the school.

It was more difficult for Valerie to adjust to Adam’s absence than it was for Adam to adjust to being there. She quickly began getting reports of him doing well, making friends and excelling there, and soon she began to realize that without her son, her life was incredibly empty. After weeks of sulking, spending her newly found alone time binge-eating in front of the tv, Valerie realized she now had time to do things she didn’t in the last 15 years. On the weekends, after finishing up at both of her jobs, Valerie began doing modelling again. Only light commercial jobs, occasional events, but she began to realize that passion she once had for it. That she’d missed it, and before long, she’d had enough momentum to not only model part time, but to quit her job waitressing as well.

But before any of that could come to any good. The world ended. With a bang.

( life during the outbreak )

She’d been in the middle of a shoot when all hell had broken loose. Despite the murmurings of unrest before the initial outbreak, everyone had more or less gone about their jobs. Ignoring the chaos on the news, and Valerie was no different. She’d been in the middle of a nine hour long shoot, when the doors to the studio came slamming open. Three of the undead monsters shambling in, launching themselves at the closest interns, and the shoot devolved into screaming and gore and blood. Valerie just barely made it out of there with her hand intact, having had to struggle away from one of the stinking, wretched monsters before it could sink it’s teeth into her leg. Leaving her running, and screaming into the parking lot in nothing but heels and an intricate little lingerie number. The sight of chaos and zombies and fire greeted her. Though it was nearly midnight, the streets were lit with flames, and for a second she was stuck watching in horror as mobs of the undead took down people that were screaming, trying to flee. Jolting out of her shock, she first made her way to her car, before realizing that it was blocked off with people being eaten. People she probably could have saved.. but she was too afraid. Too scared. She needed to get away, needed to survive. She needed to get to Adam. Instead, she got as close to the screaming victims as she could, terrified she’d distract the zombies that were devouring them, and ripped the keys from one of the man’s hands. Shaking, half naked and covered in blood, Valerie ran, repeatedly pressing the unlock button on the keys until a shiny Lamborghini beeped in the distance, and she took of toward it. Leaving the owners of the car screaming and begging to be saved.. or killed.

Valerie didn’t even think to go home, she couldn’t think past the grotesque images surrounding her as she sped as far away as she could get. The only thing she could think of was Adam, and how it if was this bad here.. what was it like there? As if she were on autopilot, her shaking and bloodied hands turned the wheel. Taking the route she’d only took once before, the one she’d taken when she drove Adam to his boarding school. She needed to get to him, she needed to get to him as quickly as possible.

Only, that wasn’t how it worked out. For months.. nearly a year, she was held back. The car had broken down only hours after she’d taken it.. and she knew nothing of cars. She knew nothing of surviving. She could only walk along the highway that she thought might be the one she’d used. Without GPS, without her cellphone, Valerie was nearly helpless. Walking in the day where she could see, desperately clinging to a baseball bat she’d found and managed to defend herself with. Hiding when she saw survivors in fear they might hurt her. Sleeping when she could on the second floors or roofs of buildings. Taking shelter from the weather when she had to. By the time Valerie arrived in Cheyenne, she was exhausted. She was emaciated, nearly delirious, and freezing. It was only a day before the eclipse, and she’d spent the last 13 hours running from the newly aggressive, nearly feral zombies. Only stopping because she’d literally lost consciousness not 30 feet from Whispering Chase. She came to days later in a bed there, told that one of the survivors there had found her and carried her to the camp and since then she’d been unconscious and feverish. She was told she couldn’t go anywhere any time soon, that she was too exhausted, too weak. So Valerie decided that.. for the mean time.. she would stay. She’d pay back their kind treatment and become a carer for them, cooking and sewing up clothing that needed mending, doing anything she could for the people there.

( life after the outbreak )