Valerie and Reina kept walking towards the shore of the lake and it was as gorgeous as she remembered it. The water was a clear blue green color and you could see the rocks and sand beneath. She bent down to touch the water and found that it was cool to the touch despite it being the start of summer. 

“Do you remember swimming here when we were little?” Reina asked Valerie. 

“Sort of. I remember one time where I didn’t want to get out and got really bad sunburn because I wouldn't leave the water to put sunscreen on,” she replied with a laugh. 

“I remember that time. You were so red and then upset from how painful the sunburn was that you didn’t want to go to the lake anymore,” Reina chuckled. “Are you able to swim? Because of your heart…”

“No, I don’t think it would be a good idea,” Valerie replied with a sad smile. “It’s okay though, I can enjoy the water from here.”

Reina held out her hand and Valerie took it to stand back up. Valerie got up too quickly and became dizzy. She slipped from Reina’s grip and fell down on her knees in the soft sand. 

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Reina exclaimed. 

Valerie couldn’t respond because of her lightheadedness and just kneeled there quietly. Meanwhile, Reina called Josh over and he checked Valerie’s eyes. He found that her eyes weren’t aligned, but otherwise she was okay. 

“She’s experiencing vertigo, but she’s fine. We just need to let her rest for a bit and she’ll come out of it. I’ll carry her to the boat house,” John directed firmly.

John carefully repositioned Valerie so as to not aggravate her vertigo and lifted her in his arms leaning against his chest. Despite knowing she was rather slim, he was surprised by how light she was. In the boat house, John found a room that didn’t let in any sunlight and tasked Reina with finding a chair that he could set Valerie down in. As he waited for Reina to return, Valerie who had closed her eyes from beginning to feel nauseous, opened them in the dark room and felt immediately better. 

“Sorry about this,” Valerie apologized to John’s chest, as that was where her face was positioned.

“It’s fine. Are you okay? Do you feel bad at all?” 

“No, I’m okay, much better actually. Thanks for taking care of me and calming Reina down.”

“Do you get dizzy often?”

“No, not really. It happens when I stand up too fast, but only if I've been crouching for a while.” 

Reina had returned with the chair and placed it in the room allowing John to putValerie down. 

“John, when you move in with Valerie you have to take care of her okay? And make sure she isn’t left alone for too long,” Reina requested. 

“Reina, he’s not my caretaker. John you really don’t have to monitor me like that,” Valerie turned to him trying to set clear boundaries with these people.

“Well what can I do? She doesn’t want my help,” John teased. 

“Just keep an eye on her! I’ll be checking in with you regularly!” Reina warned. 

John sort of agreed and went back to his friends after letting Reina know it was safe for Valerie to move around now. 

“Reina, I know I said it would be good for me to live with John because he’s practically a doctor, but I didn’t think you’d have him watch me 24/7. I just meant he would be good for emergencies, things that happen on occasion you know,” Valerie lamented on the way back to Reina’s car. 

“I know, but that back there scared me. I didn’t know that could happen to you. You didn’t mention that you get dizzy as a symptom of your heart condition. And I just think what if that happened somewhere John couldn’t get to you because he wasn’t looking out for you,” Reina sighed in the car before turning it on. 

“I know what you’re saying, but despite my heart, I have a life to live and John has his. Yes, we’ll see each other a lot and checking on me within that time is more than reasonable. Anything extra would be too restrictive for both our lives,” Valerie explained hoping Reina would follow her line of reasoning. 

“Well, we’ll see how it goes. Dad and I are just worried about you, that's all,” Reina confessed. 

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault! We’re just not used to you… like… this?” Reina said, unbelieving of the words coming out of her mouth. But she didn’t know how to say it. 

“I know what you’re trying to say. It took me a long time to adjust to this body too. You’ll learn to trust my decisions and understand that I am doing what I can to stay safe with my symptoms in mind,” Valerie calmly said acknowledging Reina’s statement. 

“Alright, I’ll trust you. You’re an adult now. Just promise me you will ask John for help if he’s available and you need it,” Reina compromised.

“Yes, I promise. I can do that much,” Valerie smiled, happy to have persuaded her sister. 

Only an hour had passed since the sisters had left the house, but both of them were exhausted, suffering differing levels of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. Valerie went to her room to lie down, setting an alarm for her medicine, while Reina decided to prepare dinner to take her mind off things.