Playing With Fire (slow updates!)

Chapter 23

When I woke up the next morning I walked down stairs to find a note on the kitchen table.

"Dear Violet. Me and your mother will be gone for a couple of days. I think it would be best for you to have some time away from each other. We will be at the lake house if you need anything. Please remember that I love and cherish you. Tell your brother not to worry. There's money on the counter. -Love Dad"

I rolled my eyes at the piece of paper. Hopefully he'd return without her. Maybe she'd have a tragic accident at the lake and drown... a girl can only dream. I heard the sound of the front door swinging open followed by the loud booming footsteps of a herd of teenage boys. At least I wouldn't be alone all day. "Morning Vi" Belch called, his words still sounding a bit slurred probably do to the overbearing hangover that I assumed he had. "Morning. Dad left money. He'll be back in a couple of days" I called back, the irritation in my voice apparent.

There was a pause before anyone said anything. "Where the hell did he go?" He questioned sounding confused. I didn't answer him, just grabbed the note off the counter and stuck my arm out towards him, not wanting to discuss the idiocy of the situation in front of my brothers friends. He looked at me skeptically before reading the paper and nodding. "Alright" was the last thing he said before quickly changing the subject. "Why'd you leave last night? We couldn't find you when we woke up" Victor asked, leaning against the kitchen counter as I made my way into the kitchen, grabbing a glass out of the cabinet and filling it with water. I shrugged in response not really having a solid answer. "I got bored."

Victor rolled his eyes and made his way to the fridge, examining the shelf's to see if he could find himself something to eat for breakfast. He cringed, I assumed due to his hangover stomach and closed it. He turned and looked side to side. "Super Mario bros?" He questioned, a smirk on his face as he already knew the answer. Before anyone said a word henry and belch there shoving each other on the way to the stairs, clearly wanting to be the first one up to get the good controller. The sound of there shuffling continued until it disappeared into Belchs rat hole of a room.

I gasped as I felt hands against my waist, my heart fluttering out of fear before I turned to see the face of Patrick staring down at me. "Should have woken me up. I would have walked you home" he said yanking me closer to him with every word. I avoided his gaze and focused on the floor, shaking my head. He furrowed his eyebrows, an unreadable look on his face. It wasn't like me to stay silent in front of him but I didn't know what to say, and if I started to talk, I would start to cry. I just shook my head again. I was already embarrassed enough I didn't really want to discuss the situation anymore, especially with him.

"What's wrong?" He questioned, his first finger and thumb taking ahold of my chin to force my gaze up to meet his own. I turned to the side to get out of his grip, not wanting to lie to him while I looked him in the eyes. "I didn't sleep good" I replied, anxiously rubbing my palm against my face. He didn't reply, just looked at me intensely. "Did something happen?" He asked, trying once again to get me to look at him, I didn't fight back this time but stayed quiet, shaking my head once again. At this point he rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed with the lack of information that I was giving out, but what did he want me to say?

"Your crying" he pointed out, his thumb running its way across my cheek to catch a tear that I hadn't noticed had escaped. I quickly wiped my face, clearing my throat as I tried to force myself to stop being such a stupid baby. "I'm fine, really." I said, resting my four head against his chest so I could stare at the ground. He was silent for a moment, as if contemplating whether an argument that would surely end in me crying was worth it. Without a word he leaned down and kissed the top of my head, his hand resting on my back, just holding me. Comforting me. The movement took me by surprise, Patrick wasn't the most gentle person but in that moment he seemed to understand that that's what I needed.

My shoulders tensed as I began to silently sob. I could hold back any longer, I was so exhausted from trying to keep it in. "I hate her" I whispered, more to myself then to him, but I knew he heard me. "It's ok flower, i got you."