Troubled with Tattoos
Chapter Sixteen
Carnival Chaos
"I made you come with one finger, imagine what I could do with my whole hand." Camden winked opening the front door. He had called me over from Austins kitchen window.
All day Cam had been bugging me about this stupid carnival. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to go just to push him off the Ferris wheel. It was a big event for this town.
I sighed walking behind him, we were walking into Austin's home almost ready for the carnival. I followed him into the living room meeting up with the guys who were on the couch.
"I got Violet." Camden said excitedly before wandering off leaving me with Ducky, Luke, and Austin.
"Hey Violet," Luke responded switching the channel on the television.
"Hey," I replied sitting in an empty chair. Austin was dressed casually, dark jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt with his father's shops logo on the front corner. His hair was barely touched, probably hasn't touched it all day. Declan, on the other hand, kept a comb in his pocket. I asked him once what for and he claimed it was for emergencies.
"Guys quick! I made food!" Camden yelled from the kitchen. The boys eyes widened quickly as they bolted into the kitchen stumbling over each other. I have learned that the thought of Camden near sharp objects or dangerous objects is scary and also when he cooks.
I followed behind them curiously hearing Camden's coughs, he pulled out a huge stack of... was that pizza?
The smoke detector started 'cheering' him on as Cam would say. Camden put down the pizza using his glove to swat away the cloud of smoke.
"What is that?" Luke asked swatting at the smoke. It was layers upon layers of pizza stacked. This kid had the brain of a two-year-old except I wasn't going to lie it was a pretty good idea.
"Its a pizza cake!" He said proudly holding up his pizza cake. Austin laughed disguising it with a cough. Luke opened up a few windows to air out the smoke.
"Cam, I'm not going to lie that actually looks really good. Give me a piece," Declan smiled grabbing plates. Luke gave him a look and Declan shrugged as Cam slapped a piece on the plate.
"Declan, can you not encourage him to cook unsupervised?" Luke sighed taking a piece anyway. Camden handed me and Austin one. He was really quiet.
We walked out into the living room sitting on the couch. Camden was next to me, too close, and Austin was on the other side. Cam reached for the remote turning on the TV wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"Soda anyone?" Luke asked getting up from the couch.
"I'll take a fanta," I said, the boys agreed. One thing I learned about Luke was that he was the most responsible. He was the leader of the pact, not that their wolves but if they were Luke would definitely be the leader.
"The women still has not been recognized and police have released the footage from the video camera." The news girl spoke as the screen switched to a tape, I watched as the women hurried down the hallway. It was horrible quality but I knew it was her. Just by her blonde hair and the way she looked around carefully. That was my mother.
I gulped grabbing the remote quickly switching the channel. The boys gave me a weird look as Luke handed me a fanta.
"The news is stupid." I fake laughed trying to act casual. I cracked open my soda sipping it hoping they'd just let it slide. But Declan's eyes were digging into me and I could feel it.
He was the one I had to watch out for, he knew more about people than they knew about themselves. He wasn't a stalker, he could just see right through anyone. I chewed on my lip awkwardly feeling everyone's eyes on me.
"Shall we get ready now?" Declan broke the silence getting up stretching his arms over his head.
"We don't have to dress up to go to a carnival," Austin said drinking his soda. Declan glared at him, his hair was very important to him.
"Well...I was just saying, Violet probably wants to change or do her hair or something." He rambled on shyly.
"Actually, I'm all set." I laughed, Declan shot me a look.
"I have to pee," Declan mumbled leaving the room.
"In other words, he's going to sit in front of the mirror and fix his hair." Austin laughed.
"Shut up!" Declan yelled from down the hall. He gets so sensitive over his hair, it's kind of funny. I smiled meeting eyes with Austin once again. He turned his gaze away and I couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind. I went into the kitchen finding Camden eating another slice of his pizza cake with Luke.
"Everyone ready?" Luke asked. Camden looked up with cheese splattered on his chin hanging off.
"We're just waiting for Declan." Austin chirped up from behind me. He was standing pretty close to me, I could feel his breath on my neck. Camden soon ruined the moment.
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder pulling me into him.
"Ya know if there's nowhere to sit you can always sit on my lap." He whispered huskily into my ear. I rolled my eyes getting used to his perverted comments.
"Thanks but I'm pretty sure the car we're taking has five seats," I said.
"Austin's fat, he takes up two." He grinned sheepishly.
"I am not, says the one who's on his fifth slice of pizza cake." Austin chuckled.
"Okay, I'm ready," Declan said strolling into the kitchen with his hair newly combed.
"Great, let's go," Luke said grabbing his keys.
I sat in the middle, between Cam and Declan. Austin sat up front next to Luke, who always felt the need he should drive.
Camden stayed remotely quiet the whole ride, he had his arm wrapped around my shoulders still but at least he was quiet. That is until a certain song came on the radio. Cam was quietly singing along and it was actually kind of cute.
The carnival parking lot was packed, the whole town had to have been here. We had parked all the way in the back and had to walk quite a few ways just to get to the entrance. We were nearing the ticket booth when Cam finally broke the silence.
"Will you hold my hand, I'm scared of clowns," Camden said interlocking his fingers with mine.
"You must hate mirrors then," I said holding his hand anyway. The boys laughed walking next to us.
The lady inside the booth put one of those paper bracelets around my wrist.
"Let's go to the funhouse first," Declan said leading us towards the building with mirrors. I remember going through these with Ash all the time. He would always forget to hold his hands out and walk right into the mirror.
I wondered why everyone assumed the boys were delinquents. I mean to me they seemed innocent, nothing more than your typical teenagers. Where was everyone getting this bad boy perspective from? We showed the guy our bracelets and he let us in. I held out my hands smiling as I lead the way.
"I think it's this way," I said reaching my hand out to see.
"Where to next?" Luke asked meeting us outside the mirror house.
"Man, that house was attractive," Declan said combing through his hair.
"Let's go on that ride." I pointed at the big roller coaster in front of us.
"Yeah no thanks, fear of heights." Declan stepped back.
"I need more food. I think I'm going to go get a corn dog, anyone want one?" Camden asked stepping away from me for the first time today. The boys responded with a no.
Declan joined Camden to get food while Austin, Luke and I stood in line for the rollercoaster. I was shocked seeing a familiar brunette in front of me.
"Liz?" I poked her small shoulder. She turned around smiling at me. She glanced at the boys then back at me, but her smile didn't leave. That was when I saw the boy next to her. It was the kid who was at the basketball game. That must be Cash.
She was holding his hand. I was glad she worked everything out with him.
"Cash?" Austin asked obviously as shocked as I was to see them here. He shared a glance with Luke, who pulled out his phone.
"You guys know each other?" I asked looking between Cash and the boys.
"Yeah, long time friends." Cash smiled putting a twist on the word friends. I nodded curiously going along with it anyway. There were so many things I wanted to know but whenever I asked I got no answers.
The line moved up, Liz and Cash were the last ones being let in.
"See ya around." Cash said. My body shook with goosebumps, not because he was dating Liz but because he stared right at me when he said that.
The roller coaster sped off with Liz and Cash in the last seat. We were first in line which means we get the first seats.
Their ride ended and next thing I knew we were in the first cart, Austin and I in the first seat.
"He creeps me out," I mumbled awkwardly. Austin let out a breath looking at me. His blue eyes were filled with some emotion I couldn't determine.
"Don't let him bother you." He assured just as the roller coaster sped forward. His long fingers slightly touching my boney ones. Just when I thought he was going to hold my hand, the coaster had begun to drop.
My cheeks were behind me as we sped around the tracks. We went upside down a few times but it happened so fast I couldn't even tell. Screams had filled my ears and I was tempted to let out one myself. I glanced over at Austin who had a smile spread across his face.
We laughed walking away from the ride meeting with Cam and Ducky at a table. They had French fries, onion rings and corn dogs for everyone.
There was a lot of people here but we didn't have to wait in line too long because the rides were so short the lines went by quick. I had recognized quite a few people from school. Rose and Max were supposed to come as well.
"I'm going to win you a teddy bear Violet," Camden said confidently. He put some quarters in the claw machine and failed. He put more quarters in failing again. Five dollars later, he gave up.
"The things rigged." He said matter of factly. Austin shrugged putting two quarters in, the claw grabbed the pink teddy bear on the first try.
I smiled brightly as Austin handed me the teddy bear. It was light pink with black eyes and had a red heart nose.
"Rigged right?" Austin chuckled. Cam scoffed, kicking the dirt beneath him.
"Let's go on the Ferris wheel," I said gazing up at the brightly lit wheel as we walked closer to it. I clung onto my fluffy pink teddy bear I was going to keep forever because Austin won me it.
"Again, with the heights." Declan sighed sitting on the bench in front of it. Camden sat down with him, I was beginning to think he was scared of heights too but didn't want to admit it.
We stood in a reasonably short line, for some reason people don't like Ferris wheels as much anymore. I remember how Ash would love to see the whole carnival from that high up. He'd always point out Mom and Dad who would watch from below. He would always say they looked like ants.
Next thing I knew it was our turn to step in the circular cart, Austin and I sat on one side while Luke sat on the other. Both the boys were going to sit on one side but there was too much of a weight difference.
"What would you do if we got stuck at the top?" Austin asked curiously. He and Luke smiled at each other.
"Don't say that. We aren't going to get stuck." I assured them but his words had made me wonder what I would've done. Surely you cant climb back down.
We went up to the top and when we looked down for Declan and Cam, they weren't there. I held onto my bear tightly so I wouldn't drop it.
"Where'd they go?" I asked looking at the empty bench.
"I'm not sure," Luke said stiffly. He checked his phone looking up at Austin. I hated how they shared secret glances, something was going on here and they were hiding it from me.
"That was fun," I smiled looking around for Cam and Declan again. I didn't hear any footsteps behind me so I turned around curiously.
"Guys?" I called out spinning around. No one was there, just a bunch of strangers. They left me. Austin left, Camden left. I held onto my teddy bear wandering around like a lost kid. I sat at the same table we ate corn dogs at.
I checked my phone seeing no new messages, no missed calls. They just vanished. Surely they'll come back, right? Right?
My thoughts were interrupted by a taunting voice.
"What happened to your friends?" Cash asked his eyes burning into mine, he sat next to me and I moved farther away.
"What happened to Lizzie?" I asked back glaring at him. Austin's words replayed in my head, 'don't let him bother you'. He was much nicer at the basketball game.
"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here, I didn't leave you all alone." He hissed sliding closer. I slid farther away the closer he got. A sudden chill erupted throughout my body sending goosebumps down my arms.
"I'll take you home," He said. The boys had always asked me I needed a ride, Cash just insisted I go with him. Something was off.
"No, I'm good." I lied. I needed a ride but definitely not from him.
"Seriously, lets go." He said making a move to grab my arm. I swiftly moved out of his grasp.
"Violet!" I recognized his voice and turned to see him running towards me. I couldn't be any happier watching Austin run towards me. Of course, that smile faded when I saw the cuts on his arms.
"Violet, good I found you, what is he doing here?" He caught up to me, trying to catch his breath. He glared at Cash who glared back. I was glad he showed up but I'm still mad at him and I want answers.
"I'm taking her home." Cash said. They were about the same height, Cash didn't intimidate Austin at all and Austin didn't intimidate him either.
"Want to bet? She's taken care of, come on Violet," Austin growled. I didn't notice the cut on his lip until his tongue ran over it. Are the others bruised and cut up too?
What if they got in a fight and I was sitting here moping around? Guilt rose up in my stomach and I shot up out of my seat following him to his car.
"Are you okay?" I asked concerned. He opened the door for me and I slid in the front seat.
"I'm fine, are you?" He said getting behind the wheel. He sped out of the parking lot, it was only 8 o'clock, we'd been there for 3 hours.
"Where is everyone?" I asked strapping on my seatbelt.
"They...went home." He hesitated. Well, that's a lie. It was obvious the boys were lying every time they hesitated to answer a single question. I nodded not believing his words.
He sped all the way home pulling into his garage. He jumped out of his car and I followed behind him. He didn't walk towards his house instead he walked towards mine.
We walked closely, side by side to my house. My heart melted when I realized he was walking me to my door. He didn't say anything, he seemed to be really deep in thought.
He walked me up the porch to the door. I gulped down my nerves when I realized just how close our proximity was. That's when I saw his cut again. I took his hand dragging him inside. His hand was huge but it fits perfectly with mine. It was warm but it was rough.
"What are you doing?" He asked letting me drag him into my new house. I didn't see Cherry around which was surprising but I did smell some amazing food cooking.
"You have to clean those up," I said as I tried to recall exactly what Aunt Cherry had done to my cut. Right now I had to help Austin like he seems to help me a lot.
"I have my own first aid kit." He laughed. I brought him to the bathroom almost frowning when I had to let go of his hand.
"Your hands are really soft." He simply stated as he released my hand. A tint of pink brushed upon my cheeks.
I told him to sit on the toilet seat and he did. I took out the same cream Cherry used to clean my cut, I wet a few paper towels dabbing his cuts with it. He didn't flinch or wince. He just watched.
"You had this long cut on your arm, where'd you get it from?" He asked his blue eyes looking into mine. My eyes widened at the mention of the cut, I was hoping he had forgotten about it. I continued wiping his cuts putting a small amount of the white cream onto them.
"I fell, needed stitches and everything." I lied glancing into his eyes. Before he could say anything I changed the topic.
"I'm out of paper towels," I said looking around the bathroom for more, I cleaned all his cuts except for his lip one.
"Check down there." He pointed at the cabinet below the sink. He stood up to check the cabinet above the sink. A tube of lotion fell out of the top cabinet knocking the cream on the floor. The lotion had made a mess of my shirt and the floor.
I wiped the hair out of my face turning my body. My face was in level with Austins...manhood and my face went beat red.
"You have cream on your cheek." Austin laughed glancing down.
"Vi is that you? Oh, my." Aunt Cherry gasped. She stood in the doorway looking completely horrified.
That's when I realized how bad this looked. I had white cream on my face and shirt. Austin's manhood was in front of my face. My face was a bright red and my hair was messy. Oh, my god, my aunt thinks the worst.
"No, Cherry it's not what it looks like," I stood up quickly, "I was just helping him clean up his cuts and we were looking for more paper towels when some lotion fell on my shirt." I spat out, my heart was racing a mile a minute. My face was burning with embarrassment.
"Oh and this is Austin, he fixes your car." I introduced Austin who was even slightly embarrassed himself. Cherry gave me a knowing look. She had known he was the boy I was talking about during our girls day.
"Nice to meet you, Austin, would you like to stay for dinner, I've got prime rib cooking." She smiled. She kept sneaking glances between us.
"Oh no thanks, I shouldn't-" He said politely but Cherry cut him off.
"I insist, finish up cleaning up, dinners just about done." She smiled leaving the room. I should've warned him of her stubbornness. Austin and I were left alone once again. I was almost too embarrassed to speak but he beat me to it.
"I found them." Austin laughed throwing the paper towels in the sink. He sat back down on the toilet. We laughed before I got back to work with cleaning.
"So I guess you are staying for dinner," I said searching his face for his thoughts on that subject. If he had completely hated the thught then I would know he doesn't want to be with me.
"You know she really didn't give me much of a choice." He chuckled. I soaked another paper towel in the water moving closer to him.
"Yeah, that's Aunt Cherry for you," I smiled. I hesitated on whether I should clean his lip or if he should. He puckered out his bottom lip watching me. I held my breath dabbing his lip with the paper towel. They looked so soft and pink. I suddenly got the urge to kiss him. Surely that would tell me if he was interested or not.
Lizzie's words suddenly appeared in my head, 'are you sure its not just lust'. I shoved the thought away quickly, she didn't know anything about our relationship.
His head moved closer to mine, my heart racing. My face was still hot, probably pink. His face was mere inches from mine, his lips so close.
"Dinners ready!" Aunt Cherry yelled making us both jump back to our normal position. I looked away throwing away the bloody paper towel.
I led him out to the dining room where Cherry had three plates set. She sat on one side while the other two plates were on the other side. I sat next to Austin trying to determine if he was actually going to kiss me just a few seconds ago.
We ate in silence until Cherry finished, then she decided to bombard Austin with a bunch of questions.
"So Austin, do you go to school with Violet?" Cherry asked wiping her mouth with her napkin. Austin complimented her cooking.
"No, actually I graduated last year." He charmed taking another bite of his food. I stared in awe.
"I see, and you work at the car garage?" She asked glancing at me. She seemed like she liked him.
"Yeah, my dad owns it." He smiled. He finished his plate pushing it slightly forward.
"Wow that's great, and you live in Bristol?" She asked smiling. Oh no. I tried to bring up how great the food was but it was ignored. I had to stop him.
"Wow this food is delic-" i began but my voice was a hush compared to Austins volume.
"Actually, I live right next door, the light brown house, right there actually," Austin said matter of factly pointing towards his house. No no no, this couldn't have gone any worse. I watched Cherry's face go from pleased to pissed within seconds.
"Oh really?" She said sending me a cold hard stare. And there goes my good night.