Violet

Chapter 19: It's Been a While

Part 3: Mr. Harmon's POV

Mr. Harmon patted Jasper and Coraline on the back while Jasper cried in his arms. "I haven't seen her in weeks!" Jasper cried.

Mr. Harmon stood up and walked to the front door. He rubbed his chin, before looking back at the children. "I'm sure she'll come up, and your grandmother, too. In the meantime, just stay here. I'll bring food and anything you guys need. Do not leave the house. Am I clear, Jasper?" he asked.

Jasper hugged his sister and nodded his head. "Okay," Jasper knew something was wrong. He would have called someone, but somehow the phone was disconnected. He didn't know who else to go to and every time he attempted to seek Mrs. Harmon's help, Mr. Harmon would stop him. Jasper didn't know who to turn to, or where to go. He could only hold his sister and hope for his mother's return.

***

Back inside the mansion, Mr. Harmon worked on a new painting. This painting consisted of a pitch black creature with two legs, two arms, a large body, and one head. The creature was all black with distorted bones. He painted Rosemary's facial features on the creature. Beautiful, he thought.

Mr. Harmon smiled as he heard his wife singing from behind his door. He stopped painting and examined his masterpiece. Something about his painting seemed to be missing. A huge creature with only one head? Why not two heads? he thought. As Mrs. Harmon's voice aired through the house, he couldn't help but smile more and more.

He set his paint brush down and cleaned dry paint from his hands. His room smelled like paint mixed with a musty smell that came from extra parts he kept in a giant white hamper. This hamper consisted of animal parts and even some dry human parts. Mr. Harmon sprayed some air freshener, just in case Mrs. Harmon would think to clean it,  before exiting his art room.

He shut his door and looked down the hallway. Violet stood across from him, watering a dead Coral Catus. Mr. Harmon smiled and greeted her. "Hey Hun," he said, walking in her direction. "It's 10 PM, how come you're not getting ready for bed?"

Violet shrugged. "I fell asleep around nine," she said. "But I keep having sleep paralysis."

Mr. Harmon leaned on the wall. "Really?"

Violet laughed. "Things just weirder and weirder. Bad dreams, spiders, now this." She raised her hand in the air, then let it fall back down.

"Yeah?" He smiled.

Violet looked at him and found it hard to smile back. She loved her father, but at the same time, she disliked him. She disliked him because of the lack of attention he gave her and the lack of care he showed for her. Never did he ask if she felt better. Mr. Harmon did, indeed, avoid her more to focus on his art, but lately, she came to his mind a lot, mostly because of Abby.

"Did you and Abby have a good time today?" he asked her.

Violet nodded. "Yeah, she's coming over tomorrow to teach me a new game."

"What game?" he asked.

"She calls it murder," Violet said. "It's like Hide and Seek, but in the dark."

Mr. Harmon smiled. "Sounds interesting."

Mrs. Harmon walked behind Mr. Harmon and kissed him on the cheek. She was happy to see her husband out of his art room. "Wow, what's happening here?" she asked.

"Violet's was just telling me about her day," Mr. Harmon replied. "Abby's coming over to play tomorrow."

"Great!" Mrs. Harmon said with a smile. "Will Claire come, too?"

Violet shook her head. "Abby says her mom hasn't been feeling well lately."

"Aww, what's wrong with her?" Mrs. Harmon asked.

"Stomach problems," Violet replied. "She can't even walk at the moment."

"Wow, maybe I'll stop by and see her tomorrow."

Mr. Harmon shook his head at the thought. "She needs to heal. Leave the woman be." He looked at his watch before looking at his wife and daughter. "Let's watch a family movie into the den, shall we?"

Violet shook her head. "No thanks. I'm going to read Anne Frank. You two have fun," she said. She walked into her room and shut the door.

Mrs. Harmon smiled and took Mr. Harmon's hand. "I'll take you up on that offer," she whispered seductively. Her smooth talk made Mr. Harmon smile ear to ear.

"It's been a while," Mr. Harmon said, eyeing his wife from head to toe. It's been a very long time since the two had been intimate with each other and Mr. Harmon got goosebumps just thinking about her body. The two of them forgot about the movie and headed to their bedroom.