Bleeding Violet [Rewriting]

11

"Alright, alright, I hear you." Enrique relents with a dramatic sigh, his hands raising at his sides with defeat. His words are followed by a chorus of joyful laughter, a breeze carrying the lighthearted sound through the warm afternoon air. Violet looks over the small circle of familiar faces with a contemplative expression, her hands fiddling with the beads of an old bracelet wrapped around her left wrist. The woman had skipped out on her shift at the store all together, not that she had not been doing that for the past few days.

The group in the front yard talk easily amongst themselves, the few kids that had tagged along playing on a dated trampoline situated near the front of the house. Standing in front of the large barbecue pit near the center of the yard are JJ and Lautaro, the pair laughing at a joke the older had made as they watch over the meat. The sound of the metal spatula scraping against the grill travels loudly through the air, sending goosebumps up Violet's arms, the sizzling of the meat quickly following. The woman releases a soft sigh before bringing a dark brown beer bottle up to her lips, taking a steady sip. The cool substance provides a short relief to the heat of the afternoon and the ever turning cogs of her mind, but Violet gives herself the moment to relax.

"Violet, come play with me!" The woman is pulled from her calm state at the shout of a young voice. She slowly looks over the yard and finds Enrique's daughter, Santana, waving at her. The child is seated at a light blue play table by the chain link fence, her dark brown hair in a tight bun and sparkly blue princess dress glowing under the sunlight.

Violet gives her a soft smile before raising from her seat and setting down her beer, not wanting it to be around the child. She slowly crosses the backyard and sits in a purple chair across from the five year old. Six or seven dolls lay in front of Santana, along with two stuffed animals and two toy cars. Violet picks up a small stuffed giraffe and eyes it speculatively. It is dressed in a green tutu, but the tan fur of the animal is sloppily colored in a mix of blue and green marker.

"Maddie colored him." Santana says grumpily when she notices the older looking over the offending toy. Violet glances at Santana with a raised brow as the little girl glares at one of her friends at the other side of the yard. The woman turns in time to see a young girl in a white floral dress squeal as she chases the other kids around the backyard.

"I can clean him if you want." Violet suggests as she faces the child again, but the little girl responds with a distracted wave of her small hand, a gesture Violet knows she picked up from her father. Santana instead reaches for a doll that is dressed in a fluffy white coat, a slim red dress underneath, with its blonde hair styled in large curls. Violet quickly looks away from the toy, reminded of one she had seen often in her childhood.

"No, daddy is making her mommy buy me a new one." The little girl says happily, and Violet can not help but chuckle, successfully pulled from her gloomy memories. "Papá says it's going to be a big one!" She adds excitedly before picking up the stuffed horse and placing the doll on top. Violet is sure Enrique made a big deal about it and scared the other girl's parents.

"Okay, everyone, the burgers are ready!" JJ's voice yells over the yard, catching everyone's attention. Santana instantly shoots up from her chair, squealing as she runs towards her dad. Violet turns and watches the man's eyes widen as his daughter barrels into his awaiting arms, their laughter filling the air.

Violet's small smile pulls faintly into a frown at the scene as she puts the giraffe on the table, turning to stare outside the chain fence with a lost look to her eyes. All sorts of cars zoom by on the highway, not too far from the house, creating a static white noise. The woman closes her eyes with a quiet sigh and soaks in the heat from the sun, hoping to warm the aged chill of her bones. Violet's short tranquility is immediately disrupted as a cold substance touches her cheek. She jerks away from the source and opens her eyes to find her beer bottle being handed to her, the silver eagle emblem reflecting in the sunlight.