Hey peoples, this chapter is relatively short, so I do apologize. I would double post, but I've been super busy with course work, so I haven't been able to write as much. But do expect an update on Monday 10/23.
There will be about 8 more chapters for the rest of this book. Which means more drama, some fluffy stuff, and some pretty intense shit.
Hope y'all are ready for it. Cause you're probably gonna hate me by the end of it 🤷🏻♀️
Much love, Sam
Summary: The one with the truth and the test
NINETEEN
It was the Tuesday after the storm, the only signs of the storm having actually happened were the broken tree limbs that littered streets and yards. Other than that, it was almost like the night I spent trapped at work with Violet had never happened. To further that notion, I hadn't seen Violet since she left me that day. She hadn't shown up at The Lost Book Shop, work, or school to my knowledge. She had thoroughly dropped off the radar. I was beginning to think this was a pattern of hers. Encounter something real and emotional and run. Every time we got closer she avoided me. Sure, she would appear a few days later, but it was approaching the time in which she should pop back into my life and there was no sign of her. Violet wasn't here, and I was afraid she wasn't going to come back.
Carmilla wanted to go to Sunrise Diner after school for milkshakes and fries to talk some more about my "revelation" as she had been calling it. She invited Aurora, who invited Sophie, and, wanting him to know, I invited Grayson. After the final bell, I got in Grayson's truck, and the other three got into Aurora's car and headed to the diner. When we got there, we snagged a corner booth in the back and placed our orders the moment the waiter appeared. Two baskets of fries, and five milkshakes - two vanilla, two chocolate, and one strawberry.
"First Hawaiian pizza and now a strawberry milkshake?" I questioned Grayson.
"Hey!" He gave me a playful shove. "Don't be a dick."
"It's gross," I said to him. He stuck his tongue out childishly. "Just being honest." I shrugged.
"So, why were we called upon for this crew meeting?" He said tapping his fingers on the table to an unknown beat.
Carmilla smirked and gave me a look, "our little Emery has something to share with the group." Four pairs of eyes locked onto me causing me to blush under their curious gazes
"Oh, yeah, um," I stuttered feeling embarrassed and overwhelmed by the amount of attention on me at the moment. My mind was struggling back and forth with what to say and how to say it. They were all my friends, they won't judge me, I tried to reason with my mind, panic rising up in my chest. I felt like wild animal that was cornered; I had no escape route. If I didn't say it, I knew Carmilla would, but that's no way to do it. Don't be a coward, Emery. "I...like Violet McKinnon." Everyone's eyes widened, well, except for Carmilla's. She just continued to grin happily.
"Violet?" Aurora said first. "Really? Isn't she kind of...rude to you? You wouldn't stop talking about how infuriating she was a few weeks ago."
"Things changed, Rory," I said to her. "I don't know how it happened, but it just did."
"I don't know, Emmie. I see how upset she makes you sometimes, I'm just worried about you, that's all. I don't want you to get hurt."
"She's actually not that bad," Sophie spoke up. "Sure, she's kind of rough on the outside, but she's incredibly dedicated and hard working, especially on the field. Sometimes she can be standoff-ish, but she cares a lot about the team. I've even heard her crack a few jokes. She's not all that she pretends to be."
"I guess," Aurora responded, and then said to me, "I'm just looking out for you. I saw what happened with Sawyer, and you don't deserve to go through something that painful again. Not this soon." Aurora reached her hand across the table and grabbed mine. "But I will support you if she makes you happy."
"Thank you," I whispered and squeezed her hand. Sophie smiled at me.
"She's a great girl, once you peel back all those layers. But, if there's a person to do that, it would be you, Emery."
"Just please be careful," Aurora added again. Carmilla shot her an exasperated look.
"If she hurts you," Carmilla spoke up from her spot next to me, "I believe we all reserve the right to egg her house or something equally as childish and vengeful." The three girls nodded in agreement.
"Grayson?" I said realizing he hadn't said anything yet.
"So," He said after his long bout of silence, "that's why you rejected me."
"Um, well, not entirely--"
"No, no, I get it. It's because I don't have long flowing red hair, right? Ugh, I knew I should've dyed it, something about you screamed 'I love redheads,'" He said a small grin peeking through his facade.
"I think it's because you don't have the right...plumbing," Carmilla said chuckling at his antics.
"I don't love redheads," I grumbled. "I just like Violet." Everyone laughed and Carmilla slung her around my shoulder giving me a half-hug.
"We know, hun, and we all support you, right people?" A chorus of agreements and affirmations surrounded me making a smile break across my face. I felt my anxiety wash away with the happy grins they were all sending my way.
Just then our waiter came back with our french fries and milkshakes. He set them down on the table and disappeared with a half-hearted, "enjoy."
"I, personally, am just happy you were able to get over Sawyer," Aurora admitted after the waiter was gone. "To see you this happy again, it's relieving."
"Agreed," Carmilla said.
"Here, here!" Grayson shouted, lifting his strawberry milkshake up. We all clinked glasses enthusiastically before delving into the treats in front of us. I picked up a french fry and dipped it into my vanilla shake.
"And I'm the one with gross taste in food," Grayson mumbled before sipping eagerly at his strawberry shake.
"Everyone knows salty and sweet is the best combination," I answered back.
"She's right," Aurora agreed, dipping a fry in her vanilla shake.
"It's even better when you're on your period," Carmilla added.
"They're not wrong," Sophie said. Both her and Carmilla dipped fries into their chocolate shakes. Us four girls all let our simultaneous moans of delight.
"I hate you all," Grayson grumbled pouting dramatically. We all laughed at him while he sulked and drank his milkshake. I was glad all my friends got along, not that I doubted they would. Grayson and Carmilla are so much alike with their sassy attitude and carefree nature. It was nice to just sit and enjoy their company without much drama. Aurora and I were talking across the table about our college level European History test tomorrow. She seemed confident, but I, on the other hand, was panicking. I had been so wrapped up in my feelings for Violet that I hadn't even studied yet. To say the least, I was royally screwed.
We all went our separate ways not long after we finished off the fries and another round of milkshakes. I hugged Aurora, Carmilla, and Sophie before letting Grayson drive me home - my car was in the shop, the problem was more than he could handle himself. When he dropped me off, he leaned over the console and gave me a tight hug.
"I may joke, but I'm glad we're friends, Emery," He said releasing me from our hug. "And, as your friend, I want to tell you that you shouldn't give up on Violet. There's something in the way that she looks at you that tells me she might be feeling it too."
"I hope you're right," I mumbled, but gave him an appreciative smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Grayson." He matched my smile as I got out of his truck and waved. I stayed in my driveway as he backed out and waited until the familiar rumble of his truck faded. A few more minutes passed before I reluctantly went inside to cram for my test. And even though I had was content with the time I spent with my friends there was an uneasy feeling settling itself in the pit of my stomach.
***
At school the next day, I spent a majority of the morning searching for Violet. I checked everywhere, from the library to the cafeteria to the locker room. She was nowhere to be found. This would be her third day absent from school, and I was beginning to worry incessantly. I knew it was her pattern to avoid me after our conversations got to heavy or we got too close, that was clear now, but it wasn't like her to disappear for this long.
I was rushing through the hallway of the school with my head down trying to get to class on time. I was too deep in thought that I didn't see anyone until my body collided with theirs.
"Oof," My breath flew out of my mouth and landed on the floor with a thud. A hand came down offering me assistance and for a moment I thought it was Violet. She really was always knocking me off my feet. Or at least helping me back on them. When I looked up to find out who it was, I was greeted by the cheeky smile of Sophie. I accepted her help and was pulled up onto my feet. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
"I could tell," She answered, "Thinking about Violet again?" I blushed under her gaze.
"Kind of. Have you seen her? I've looked everywhere."
"Nope, even the girls on the team in her grade haven't seen her at all this week," Sophie shrugged. "Maybe she's sick, but Coach Rose doesn't know anything either, so who knows."
"Wait, in her grade? She's not a senior like us?"
"She's a junior," She told me. "Anyway, I gotta get to class, I'll see you around. Good luck finding your girl." Sophie sent me a wink before she walked off down the hallway.
I called after her.
"She's not my girl!"
"Yet," She shouted back. I groaned and rushed my way to my European History class to take my test. I scrambled my way into my seat in the classroom right before the bell rang. Aurora shot me a curious look, but just as she was about to speak our teacher, Mr. Morgan, walked in with a thick stack of tests. My stomach dropped. I was so not prepared whatsoever.
"Alright, class, you have the period to finish this test, no more than that," He handed out the tests to each row. "As soon as you get the test put your name on it and begin. Eyes on your own papers. You know the spiel." As soon as I got the test I started to work on it, answering the ones I knew immediately, marking the others.
Half way through the period I was nowhere near close to finishing, and I didn't understand or know the answers to the rest. My gaze shifted from the test in front of me to the clock that sat on the wall over Mr. Morgan's. As the second hand continued its slow movement around the clock, I felt my attention fall away from the test in front of me.
Instead of thinking about European History, I thought about Sawyer for the first in what felt like weeks. I didn't want to credit my ability to get through schoolwork to her, but she was one of the main reasons I got my work done. Or actually studied. She was so determined and intelligent that I felt pressure to do my work when she did hers. Sawyer was never rude about it, either, when I had to ask her for help to understand something, and I knew that I wouldn't even be struggling on this test if we were still together. But, that was so wrong. I shouldn't have relied so much on her to succeed, because without her I feel like I'm failing.
Maybe I would have studied more if I hadn't been so preoccupied with the thoughts of Violet. Ever since the moment she bolted from Barks N' Recreation's my mind had been swimming with her. Each turn my thoughts took, I somehow managed to bump into her. I backtracked through my memories of Violet, wondering if there was any hint as to when I started to feel more than a platonic feeling toward her. I had felt a pull toward her since I saw her at work when Misty knocked her down. I wanted to get to know her, understand her, but that wasn't anything, was it? She had been impolite and a pain in my butt from the start, never saying more than a few words. But, then, we had coffee together, and I told her about Sawyer, and something changed between us.
I cherished the time I saw her at The Lost Book Shop, even if we never spoke. I had felt a sense of calm whenever she was around. Sure, she annoyed me sometimes, left me confused more often than not, but she also made me happy. She made me feel understood. Even when she didn't know anything about why I was upset, she still stayed, she still listened. And, to me, that counted for a whole lot more than anytime she annoyed me. I had a strong feeling that there was a reasoning behind why she kept running and I was going to find out. That was, if I could find her.
Where are you Violet? I thought with a heavy heart.
"Time's up," Mr. Morgan said just as the bell rang. "Hand in your work on your way out." My eyes widened in horror. I didn't finish my test. I left a majority of it blank thinking I had time to go back. "Ms. Davis, class is over." I looked up at him and slowly handed my test over morosely. I left the classroom with my head hung low ashamed and disappointed in myself for allowing such trivial problems take my focus away from my education. There was no way that test grade was going to be good, and I knew somehow my mother would find out. And she would not be pleased.