667: Issue #2 "Activation"

Violet Eve

“I think this one is me.” I tapped on the window of the cab. The house looked like the one in the pictures that Missy sent me, even in the dark.

The cab pulled up to the curb and Adam got out to get the door for me.

“Thank you,” I responded meekly and climbed out of the cab, holding my bag closely against me.

“I’ll wait here while you get inside. Make sure to call Nate so I can get my things back.” Adam smirked at me and handed me a piece of paper with a phone number on it.

“Okay.” I agreed, not making eye contact with the man. He seemed nice enough, but I was still so apprehensive and I had been holding in ugly sobs for the past hour.

I turned to walk up the stairs to the house when Adam called out to me.

“Can I see you again?”

I thought about it for a moment. I don’t know what interest he had in me or why he’d even want to keep in touch with me after he killed a man in my defense. That would just draw unwanted attention…but he was so sweet to me. He saved my life and didn’t even know me from—Adam. It was funny now.

“I don’t know. You go up to the bar often?” I glanced over my shoulder. I could only give him a solid maybe right now.

“Almost every night. I DJ up there on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” He replied, removing a stray lock of hair that had fallen over his eyes. His hair was just gorgeous.

“Then maybe we will meet again.” That was the only answer I could give him. I hurried up the stairs and fumbled with the key in the lock before finally opening the door.

“Night Violet.” I heard him say as the door to the cab closed and sped away down the street.

“Violet! Where the hell have you been?” Missy greeted me as soon as I opened the door. She was sitting on a huge sectional couch, flanked by the Three C’s and a few other women that were all pretty much dressed the same.

“I got lost. It’s a long story and I just don’t have the strength tonight, Miss.” I tried to make myself look as tired and sickly as possible. I clenched the top of my shirt closed so she couldn’t see the blood that had dried on my chest. I wanted a hot bath and a cup of tea and then to sleep as long as I possibly could.

“Get some sleep, Vi. Your bedroom is in the back and your bags arrived while we were still out. You even have your own bathroom. I’ll see you in the morning, yeah?” Missy got up and came over to give me a hug. The other women didn’t even really seem to notice me as one lit up what smelled like a joint and began passing it around.

“Night, Missy.” I trudged off to the back bedroom and locked the door behind me.

Then the dam broke.

I tore off my flannel shirt and held it in front of my mouth as I cried. My whole body shook with equal parts fear and rage. Since I had been here I felt like the only person that really gave a damn about me had been this Adam guy and I had just met him!

Missy hadn’t even called to check on me!

I tried to suck the tears back, but that only made the crying worse. My sobs were almost silent as I blindly rifled through my messenger bag for my phone, but I couldn’t seem to find it. I angrily dumped out the contents and spread them out on the floor: my journal, keys, cigarettes, the new lighter I bought when I got off the plane, my lip balm, tons of pens, and a bag of sour jellies…no fucking phone.

There was no way I was without it; I knew I had it the whole time because I used the GPS on it.

I had finally stopped crying and wiped the tears from my rosy face, fixed my hair in the mirror and then poked my head out the door.

“Miss, do you have a house line?” I called out into the living room.

“Jeremy has one at the end of the hall!” She called back and I stepped out of the room with the slip of paper Adam had handed me.

I picked up the receiver and dialed the number, waiting as it rang on the other end.

“O’Neil’s Bar and Night Club, this is Nate speaking.” Nate picked up the phone after the fourth ring.

“Hi.” I hesitated nervously, “This is Violet; I was just with Adam up at the bar.”

“Oh, hey Violet. Adam got you home safely?” He asked. I could hear him cleaning glasses on the other end.

“He did; you can give him his wallet and phone back. I have a question though…” Maybe my phone was at the bar or Adam had seen it and Nate could ask him since I clearly didn’t have his number.

“Shoot.” He responded. I could hear him set down a glass and pick up another with a clink.

“I lost my phone somehow and I was wondering if maybe you’ve seen it?” I hoped he’d say that he already had it behind the bar.

“No one has brought anything up here and I already bussed the tables and didn’t see anything. When Adam gets back I can ask him though.” That was kind of him to offer.

“That’d be great. Kind of hard to function nowadays without a phone.” I joked.

“Don’t I know it. Can you be reached at this number?” Nate asked as I heard him switch the handset from one ear to the other.

“Yeah, it’s my roommate’s house line. Thanks, Nate.” Two good people in this city so far.

“No problem. Have a good night, Violet.” He hung up and I set the phone back down.

I aimlessly sauntered back to my room and immediately drew the hottest bath I could stand.

The cut on my neck seemed pretty superficial and wouldn’t need stitches; which was good since I couldn’t afford them.

I cleaned myself up in the sink before climbing into the tub and fully immersing myself. I let my hair down and felt it ripple around me in the steaming water.

I started to cry again; I knew that I would.

Stuff was just way too much for me at that moment and I surfaced, hanging myself off the lip of the claw foot tub to get my bearings.

“Mum—what the hell am I doing?” I asked to no one. I was miserable without her. And to top it off, I was still convinced that she was murdered. My mother wasn’t a drunk and there was no way that she should have lost control and collided with that oak tree. Someone set her up somehow, but no one would listen to me. Maybe the brake line had been cut or something—but it was no accident. I could feel it in my gut.

She had been having issues with a certain medical facility whose name she wasn’t even allowed to mention because it didn’t exist, at least not as far as her department went.

It had to have been them—I knew it.

“Vi! There’s a phone call for you!” I could hear Missy standing outside the bathroom door.

“It’s open.” I hollered and she cracked the door, bringing me the wireless phone from the hallway.

Maybe Nate had found my phone after all.

“Hello?” I took the phone and slunk back into the water after Missy closed the door.

“Hey, Violet.” It wasn’t Nate—it was Adam.

“Hey, did you find my phone?” I really hoped he had.

“Yeah, do you want me to come bring it to you?” Adam asked. He sure was eager to see me again.

“Not tonight. Maybe we can meet up somewhere tomorrow and I can get it from you then.” I suggested instead. I just wanted to finish scrubbing the city’s bad first impression off of my skin before getting some sleep.

“Sure. Want to meet back at Nate’s bar?” He wasn’t pushy; that’s good.

“That works. What time?” I yawned. I needed to get out of the bath and into bed before I fell asleep and drowned.

“Nate opens the bar at eleven, so then? That way there isn’t a bunch of noise and distraction going on.” Adam suggested a mid-morning meetup. What would he not want us to be distracted from? I was just coming to pick up my phone…

“That sounds good. I’m going to go finish my bath and drag myself to bed before I drown.” I yawned again.

“Yeah. You go do that.” There was a strange tone in Adam’s voice.

“Night, Adam.” I bid him goodnight.

“Night, Violet.” He hung up and I sank back into the water to finish my bathing.

(*)

It was so goddamn hot. The room was sweltering and I thought I was going to pass out. I felt like my hands were on fire as they gripped the sheets. Waves of intense heat were washing over my body, undulating hot air into my face so that I choked.

I couldn’t decide if I was asleep or not, but I assumed it was just another nightmare.

“No more. Wake up, Violet. Wake up!” I tried to make my lips work to form the words aloud—but I was already awake.

“No more. No more fire!” I heard myself blurt as I writhed in the bed from the excruciating pain; I felt like I was being incinerated from the inside out.

“No more!” I belted and instantly I felt a wash of cold fill my body up till I was almost shaking from the chill.

I pulled my blankets around me and drug myself out of bed over to the window. I wrenched the curtains open to find that it was already morning and it was incredibly overcast outside.

I wiped the sweat from my body with the sheet and went into the bathroom to freshen up before digging through my bag of clothes for something to wear.

When I was satisfied that I didn’t look like something the cat dragged in, I left the room to find at least seven girls asleep all over the living room and Missy in the kitchen cooking breakfast with a strange man.

“Morning, Violet. Jeremy made us bacon and eggs.” Missy brought over a cast iron skillet full of scrambled eggs and fat slices of bacon.

“Thank you,” I responded, but Jeremy made me anxious. He was already dressed to impress this morning with a three piece suit, slicked hair, and fancy tie. His skin was deeply tanned and his hair was dark, but they were a stark contrast to the light grey of his eyes. He could have easily been Missy’s father with his age, but who was I to judge?

“You are most welcome. I’m so glad that Missy is going to have someone here around the clock when I’m gone.” He gestured for me to take a seat right next to him.

“Oh, do you travel?” I asked, taking a bite of my bacon.

“Yes. I am a manager and promoter as well as an investor. I travel all over the world and I can’t always take Missy with me.” Jeremy sipped at his black coffee. It was nice of him to open his home to me, but something about him still made me uneasy.

“I’m glad to be here. I needed to get away.” I had just put a forkful of eggs in my mouth when Jeremy’s response made me choke.

“Missy told me about your mother’s accident; I’m so terribly sorry.” Jeremy lamented, but something about his response was disingenuous. I also hadn’t wanted Missy to go telling everyone about it. I didn’t want the pity and I didn’t want to talk about it.

“Yeah, well—I have to go meet a man about a phone that I lost last night. So if you both will excuse me…thanks again for breakfast.” I grabbed a bottle of water off the counter and rudely exited the kitchen and straight out the front door.

I hadn’t meant to be so curt, but just talking about the accident made me want to fucking scream because it wasn’t an accident.

There wasn’t really any money on my debit card and I had very little cash, so I guess I was walking to O’Neil’s.

At least it would give me time to cool the anger that had started to pool in my fists. Didn’t want to knock anyone out now.