DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with fear the walking dead, just Violet and her own dysfunctional family.
Thanks to the person who reviewed the last chapter. I very much appreciate it even if you are the only one reading it.
Violet didn't sleep well that night. Her mind was plagued with memories of Gloria and the way she looked and was acting. It was like it was something out of a horror show. It was 5AM when she gave up on trying to sleep and got out of bed.
She went into the kitchen and started scrubbing everything she could clean. It was an old habit the nineteen year old had picked up at a young age when she had a lot on her mind. She was so focused on cleaning she didn't hear her older brother come into the kitchen two hours after she started cleaning.
"Wow, I don't think I've seen this kitchen sparkle so brightly since I left for boot camp." He said making her almost jump out of her skin.
She turned around glaring at him. "God, you can't keep sneaking up on people, Justin!"
Justin Johnson was 10 years older than Violet making him the oldest of the three siblings. He was discharged from the military five years ago after having to have his right leg amputated from just below the knee. While on tour a piece of shrapnel from a bomb had sliced through his leg so badly there was no chance of saving the limb.
After recovering he'd come home to find out his sister was now living with their neighbors, Rebecca had died, and their father was being charged for child abuse and neglect. When their father was thrown in prison, Justin put all his focus into helping his youngest sister heal. He redecorated their family home which he inherited from his mother since it was hers to give to whom ever she pleased after her death. She had died when Violet was nine. He gave Violet the option of continuing to live with the Clark's as long as she would stay with him on the weekends which they agreed to. Now that she was at college, she was living with Justin full time. She didn't feel right staying with the Clark's since Nick had mostly pushed her away.
Violet was only eight when her brother left to go train for the military, fourteen when he was injured and discharged and sixteen when he felt ready to go home. She always kept in contact with him until his injury. She wrote to him every day but he never replied. He wasn't in the right frame of mind back then having to heal mentally as well as physically.
"I'm sorry," he apologized kissing the top of her head as he moved past her. "What's going on? You only turn all OCD when somethings bothering you."
Violet wasn't ready to talk about what she saw at the church just yet. She needed to talk to Nick about it before anyone else, not that they'd believe her.
"They found Nick," she told him. "He's in hospital. He was hit by a car."
"Holy shit, is he okay?" He looked as shocked as she did when she found out what had happened to Nick.
"I think it scared him a bit but he'll be fine," she partly lied. She knew what had Nick scared and it wasn't being hit by a car. "Maddie probably wants to find him another rehab, whether it works this time or not, I guess it's up to Nick."
"I don't know why she bothers." Justin frowned slightly. Even though he wasn't their at the start of Nick's drug addiction, he'd seen the effort and the money Nick's parents had put into getting him the help he needed and Nick throwing it all away.
"He's her son," Violet defended her childhood friend. "You'd do it if it was your son."
"I also don't know why you still bother with him."
"I'm not going to stop caring about him, Justin. I can't." She said as she put away the cleaning supplies. "You know there is more to him than just the drugs. They just mask who he truly is."
"You need to move on. He's not going to love anyone more than he loves the heroin." He told her. He hated to tell her that. Violet had been in love with Nick since they were five years old but it hurt to see his sister so broken about a man who could only depend on heroin to get him through the day.
"He loves Gloria." She spat.
"He thinks he loves her because she helps him get his next fix." He shook his head.
Justin liked Nick when he wasn't getting high. He remembered when Nick and Violet were young, how inseparable they were, how he always looked out for her and protected her. Nick was a great kid but the drugs were slowly taking away his respect for the young man. He didn't like seeing his sister being pulled into the shit-storm Nick created. She deserved better and he wished she could see that.
"I'm going to be late home today, I'm going to see Nick after class." She told him not wanting to continue their conversation about who loves what. She didn't want to hear the same speech she got every time she tried to help Nick. "Are you going to Connie's?"
"Didn't I tell you we broke up?" He asked, sighing at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name.
Violet shook her head no and mumbled a good riddance as she poured cereal into a bowl and then added milk to it.
"I'm going to go see a friend though." He told her. "I might be late home myself."
"You seeing someone new already?" She raised an eyebrow. She knew all his friends and when he talked about them he said them by name and didn't refer to them as 'a friend'.
"It's strictly no strings attached." He shrugged his shoulders letting her know this new relationship or whatever it was, was no big deal.
"It don't need to know." She finished her cereal and rinsed off her dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. She grabbed her bag, kissed her brothers cheek, told him she loves him and left for her classes.
-x-x-x-
Violet was three quarters of the way through another long boring lecture when a voice came over the intercom telling everyone to go home. The ten students that did show up to class today, looked at each other just as confused as the other person.
"Why do you think they're letting us leave early?" Annabelle asked as her and Violet left the classroom together.
"I have no idea, Anna." Violet sighed. "Maybe it has something to do with a lot of people getting that bad bug going around."
"Maybe," Annabelle shrugged and guided the conversation in a different direction. "Can I come to your place for tonight? My roommate is having a friend over and I really don't want to be there."
"Of course," Violet nodded.
"Great I'll be there in an hour," Annabelle grinned heading towards her dorm room.
Violet watches Annabelles retreating figure disappear behind one of the building blocks leading to the dorm rooms. Annabelle, a beautiful curvaceous woman one year older than Violet, was one of the smartest people in their class. The Auburn haired beauty always had questions, wanting to know and understand more.
The two had quickly become friends on their first day. Annabelle had spoke of her two years off after graduating high school which she used to travel and unwind before jumping back into full time study and classes. Violet had wished she could travel but she had spent a year catching up with her brother and helping the Clark's with whatever they needed. After she graduates college she plans to work for three years and in that time save some money to travel around eruope for three to four months before coming back to do therapy. Annabelle was the only one who supported her five year plan. Her brother always told her not to plan so far a head.
Just as she stood next to her car, Violet's phone started ringing. Looking at the screen she saw it was Madison calling her. She quickly got into her car before hitting the answer button and held her phone to her ear. "Hey Maddie, everything okay?"
"Nick ran from the hospital," the older woman sighed sounding frustrated and anxious at the same time.. "Have you heard from him?"
Violet felt her Madison's frustration. She couldn't blame the mother of two for how she felt. She couldn't understand how she felt but she saw why she felt the way she did. This wasn't the first time and it probably wouldn't be the last that he did this.
"Sorry Maddie, I haven't," she truthfully told the blonde. "I'm about to go home, I'll let you know if I hear from him or see him on the way there."
"Thanks, hon," Madison said then hung up.
It hadn't been five seconds when her phone rang again. She looked at her phone and saw the number was a blocked number. Instead of answering, she ignored it as she drove home wanting to get there before Annabelle did.
-x-x-x-
Violet got home just as her brother was getting ready to leave. She couldn't help but notice how pale he looked compared to this morning. It was like his sun-kissed tan had disappeared completely. His eyes were blood shot with deep dark circles around them. There was a thin layer of sweat on his skin.
"You don't look so good," she pointed out as he threw stuff into a backpack. "When did you start feeling sick?"
"I'm fine. I don't feel sick," he said being the stubborn barstard that he was. "I'll be home later tonight okay."
He kissed the top of her head and was about to leave when Violet called out to him. "If you start feeling worse, don't be stubborn, go to the hospital, please."
"I will." He nodded and left the house. She sighed shaking her head at his stubbornness, something all three of them had inherited from their father.
She went over to the refrigerator and found something to snack on. She walked to the front door that was still left open and looked out towards the street. She saw her neighbor, Peter Dawson, across the street checking his mailbox. She waved to him, always being the one to be friendly towards her neighbors. He waved back coughing into his hand before turning to leave to wall back inside. She noticed he didn't look so good either. Whatever this virus was that was going around, it was working it's way through everyone quickly. She hadn't heard much about it but she feared for the people who were coming down with any kind of illness.
She didn't have to wait much longer for Annabelle to arrive. The tall Auburn haired woman, pulled into the driveway twenty minutes after Justin left. Violet closed the door behind her before going back into the kitchen to get them both a drink and make something more sustainable to eat.
"Where's Justin?" Annabelle asked taking a bite of her sub sandwich. Since she met Justin a few months ago she's had a small crush on her friends brother.
"I wish it was the hospital but he's gone to see his booty call." Violet sighed, disapprovingly.
"Has he got the virus everyone is coming down with?"
"I hope not but he looks terrible. He seemed completely fine this morning."
"Maybe it's just the flu."
"That's how it starts," Violet pointed out.
"By the way we don't have school tomorrow." Annabelle said changing the subject slightly. "Until they figure this illness out I guess there isn't much to do except wait it out."
"I guess so," Violet sighed once more but this time because she knew whatever was happening, she didn't have an answer for.
"What happened yesterday?" Annabelle asked noticing Violet didn't want to talk about the virus anymore.
Violet paled at the mention of yesterday. She still hadn't gotten the chance to speak to Nick because he had ran from the hospital and once again couldn't be found. She still didn't want to mention what happened at the church until she talked to him, if she got the chance to.
"My old friend Nick was finally found, got hit by a car, ended up in hospital." She told her.
"Oh God, is he okay?" Annabelle asked, looking concerned. She had never met Nick but from the way Violet talks about him she knew the younger woman cared for the troubled young man.
"He'll be fine, once he's healed and given rehab another go." She said trying to sound hopeful but right now it was hard to be anything but mad and worried. Annabelle gave her hand a gentle reassuring squeeze as as she gave her a look of concern.
The two women hang out, laughing and joking for the rest of the day. They'd ordered pizza for dinner and watched a couple movies until they passed out on the couches, cocooned in a blanket each.
-x-x-x-
The next morning, Violet woke before Annabelle. Last night had been fun for her, it took some of her worry away but not the nightmares. She actually got some sleep but it was only every few hours for no more than 30 minutes. She left Annabelle to sleep.
She peered out the window to see if her brother had come home at some ungodly hour of the morning. His car wasn't parked behind hers and there was no sign that he was home. There had been no phone calls from the hospital so he couldn't have gone there. They would have called right away since she was listed as his next of kin.
She looked at the time to see it was almost midday. Checking her phone once more to see if there was anything from Justin, she was disappointed when she didn't see a text or a call.
Making herself a green tea, she grabbed her cigarettes and moved to the back deck and sat down on one if the deck chairs. She pulled out a cigarette from the pack, placed it between her lips and lit it. A hit of nicotine entered her system as she took the first drag.
Her mind drifted back to the illness that was going around. She sent a silent prayer to God hoping her brother didn't have the virus. Deep down she knew that he would. She just couldn't bring herself to think of the possibility she could be losing another sibling, her last remaining blood relative. Her father had died two years into his sentence and even if he was alive she wanted nothing to do with him.
Her thoughts quickly changed to Nick and the hope he'd be found sooner rather than later. She worried for him just as much as she worried for her brother. She needed to talk to him about what he saw as soon as possible. She also sent a silent prayer asking for him to be found unharmed.
Her phone ringing pulled her from her inner monologue. She picked it up hitting the talk button not bothering to pay attention to the caller ID.
"Hello?" She asked taking a drag of the cigarette between her fingers.
"Vi, we found Nick. You and Justin need to pack some stuff, groceries, water, survival stuff, clothes and all that as quickly as you can." Madison's frantic voice came through the receiver.
"What? Why? Maddie, you're making no sense."
"Just trust me okay? Something bad is about to happen and we need to leave, you and Justin need to come with us."
"Has this got anything to do with Nick," she asked as she stood up, putting her cigarette out and walked I side with her cup.
"Yes and No. Nick saw something in that church that's impossible, I didn't believe him at first. I thought it was something explainable."
"You've seen it too?"
"We'll talk more about this when we get home okay, just pack whatever you can, get Justin to do the same." Madison ordered her.
"I don't know where Justin is."
"We'll just get you packed and pack him some stuff for when he gets home. We're going to the desert, it's isolated there."
"Alright, I'm glad you found Nick. I'll see you soon." She hung up before Madison could reply.
She went over to Annabelle's sleeping form and shook her awake. "Anna, you need to go home, pack some stuff and get back here as quickly as you can."
"Why?" Annabelle groaned as she sat up.
"Please just do it." Violet begged her friend, something she didn't do often.
"Alright," Annabelle nodded seeing the frightened look in Violet's eyes. She had no clue to what was happening but she trusted her friend. "I'll be right back."
Violet thanked her for not arguing with her and for going along with what she said. She walked her friend to the door and watched her drive back into the city. She knew she had a lot of explaining to do to Annabelle and Justin, when he decides to come home.
Still looking for a beta if anyone is interested.