Starting Over

Chloe & Violet's Trip (Part 1)

"Bro, snap out of it," Violet said as a semi-truck blasted his horn at me for cutting him off. "If you wreck this rental, we're gonna get like a billion licks with the cane."

Nervously fidgeting in my seat, I said, "Don't worry, we're fine... I'm fine." We both knew I wasn't, but she didn't realize that Gabe's budget demands were the least of my worries, seeing as we were headed to my ex-partner in crime's house. "If you're so concerned, maybe you should drive?"

She took a bite of her breakfast sandwich and laughed, biscuit crumbs flying everywhere. "Ha! Then we'd never make it to see Sage Sawyer."

I shivered when she said the name aloud, pestered again by the question that'd been weighing on me since learning I'd misunderstood our destination:

What will happen when she figures me out?

My heart hammered against my ribcage, fingers tight around the steering wheel as I braced myself to finally hear answers to what I'd been too paralyzed to ask. "What's the case even about?"

"Someone leaked a clinical trial to the media that shows Winters Corp knew this pill killed a lot of people and put it on the market anyway, with fake results." Her iced coffee rattled as she spoke. "He claims he was framed, though."

"What do you think?"

"I dunno. Winters is a greedy bastard, so I wouldn't be surprised if the leaked stuff were true. But allegedly Pattie threatened him right before shit was taken to the media. And Sage's crime is similar – hotshot scumbag corporate head robbed and blackmailed, then taken down." She took a sip of her drink, then stuffed the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth.

"So you think Sage is Pattie?"

"No." My body froze as I realized I'd deluded myself into believing she might say yes. "Sage is clearly the brains behind the operation. Pattie's the face. Which is ironic, seeing as I can't find her face anywhere."

I swallowed, hyper-aware to make sure I didn't give any indication of fishing for info. "So what happens if you find her?"

Violet shrugged. "She was a minor when shit went down, so Gabe probably has to cut some kinda deal or something. But I can't worry about that. I just gotta find proof." Before I could ask more questions, she launched into a rant about our fucked up criminal justice system, so I zoned out, distracted by my thoughts.

How do I throw her off track?

An image from a recent nightmare flickered to mind: Violet's iPad had two windows open: one holding a picture of me with Winters, and the other an image of my doppelganger, cut out to be photoshopped.

That's it! I need an image to photoshop, someone to put the blame on, and a way to steer Violet towards finding the "evidence."

Sage must still have the blackmail pictures. While she's talking to Violet, I can sneak away to the "bathroom" and look for them. Everything's probably in the basement... that's where she used to keep all our stuff. Man... those were the days...

Violet still yammered away and I was silently reminiscing about the good ol' days when I pulled into Sage's driveway. Excited to see my bestie again, I parked the car and grabbed the door handle, causing Violet to pause her monologue and shake her head at me. "You stay here," she ordered. "I'll text if I need back-up."

My face fell and throat tightened, making my disappointment obvious. "C'mon, let me go with you. It'll be more realistic with two people. Didn't Molly say they never send social workers alone on home visits?"

Violet glared, not appreciating that I questioned her authority. "You finish your breakfast, I'll be back in an hour." Then practically slammed the door in my face.