Chapter Three: A Call from Afar
Friday
Morning
It was not long ago that Vivian Harmon used to walk through her life without a care in the world. She held her head high then, a smile graced her face and she looked forward to every new day. But that was before, when she had nothing to fear. Since last week she felt like she had everything to fear. Her baby had died for some completely unknown reason. The unknown is what scares humans the most. Something had killed her baby and not knowing whether it was something she could have prevented caused Vivian great pain.
Now she walked through her house pale and lifeless. Catching a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror she was reminded of how her baby looked, wrapped in a blanket, held in her arms. Vivian knocked on her daughter's bedroom door, calling her name. Violet approved her entrance and motioned for her mother to sit with her on the bed.
"What was it like?" Violet didn't really know what to expect from that question.
"Awful." Vivian sighed.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you."
"Don't be. I understand. If I could stand to be in this house, I think I'd never leave." Vivian looked around her daughters' room, anything to avoid eye contact.
"I don't know how to make it better."
"You can't." Vivian turns to look in Violet's direction. "But knowing you want to, it helps. I'm going to spend some time at your Aunt Jill's, you're very welcome to join me but it's ok if you can't." She attempts to smile but it doesn't quite catch.
"Florida does sound good...but I've got a lot of studying to do so..."
"It's ok." Vivian quickly stands wringing her hands and staring at her feet. "I'll be gone a few weeks but I have my cell so call me if you need me. And your dad's here."
Violet walks with her mother to her bedroom door and kisses her on the cheek. She waits whilst her mother packs her things and walks down the hall to the stairs. Violet peers out between the slats of her blind to see Vivian get into a taxi and leave. Violet glances out at the street for a while before feeling anxious and returning to her studying.
Afternoon
Violet heard her dad's car pull up outside the house, but she ignored it. She heard her dad enter the house and call up for her, but she ignored him. Violet heard a knock on the front door, but she ignored that. She did not however, ignore the female voice she heard.
Violet flew from her bed knocking her Math book on the floor and crept to her bedroom door. She opened it a crack, to better hear whose voice it was at the door. Unfortunately she recognised it straight away as Hayden; her father's mistress.
The house being pretty big and Violet's room being far down the hall, meant that she couldn't quite hear the conversation between her father and Hayden. She was pretty tempted to go out of her room, closer towards their conversation, but fear of getting caught, and fear of being out of her room, stopped her. So Violet quietly closed her bedroom door, picked up her Math book and went back to studying.
Halfway through a particularly complicated algebraic equation Violet started hearing different noises coming from downstairs. The noises got closer and closer. The noise was coming from right outside her door just as she worked out what they were. Reaching for her iPod Violet blasted a loud, angry playlist at her eardrums slightly hoping for permanent hearing damage, and grabbed her laptop to inform her brother what their fowl father was doing, again.
Evening
Bennett walks into his dorm room and strips off his sweat soaked t-shirt.
"Serious workout," He throws the clothing on the floor and grabs a water bottle off a cabinet.
"Wimp." Tate chimes as he follows Benny through the door.
"Sweating! Look at me I'm sweating!" Tate obliges and takes a look at Benny rolling his eyes.
"Yep you're sweating, I see that."
"Well I have to shower then we'll get started with the studying."
"I don't remember a thing we've been working on." Tate looked up at Bennett, whose heart fluttered.
"Hence the studying." Benny shrugged, but Tate continued to stare blankly at him. "Here. Laptop." Benny grabbed his laptop and switched it on. "It's all set up, why not start while I'm busy?"
"I have an allergy to actual academic work."
"That's bullshit, you didn't get in on a track scholarship, I looked it up you got the grades."
"Stalker."
"Yep no denying that!" Bennett grabs his wash stuff, heads out of his dorm room and walks to the bathroom.
After spending a few seconds looking at Benny's laptop screen Tate decides to forget studying and check his emails instead. Clicking the icon on the laptop Tate accidently logs onto Benny's account. But before he can log off an email appears at the top of the list headed; 'The bitch came back'. Curiosity and a lack of respect for privacy stops Tate from logging off, especially when he sees that the emails from Bennett's sister Violet.
Tate has heard about her, she's one of Bennett's favourite subjects. As a brother who really cares about his sister himself, Tate understands Bennett's need and want to talk about her often. Unlike Bennett, Tate see his sister everyday as he commutes from home to College. He couldn't imagine being on the other side of the country from his sister.
Tate glances at the dorm room door gauging he has enough time he quickly opens the email. He scans it.
'That bitch came back again. Mom flew out to see Aunt Jill and she came round to fuck him. My ears are bleeding from the assault.'
Tate closes the email quickly.
"I know what that's like." He thinks remembering catching his father with the maid.
He scans the list of other emails seeing that Violet has sent more. For some reason Tate couldn't resist looking at another email.
'Mom's back. Looks like death'.
And another.
'Got hungry. Got out of bedroom. Got halfway down stairs. Heart was going crazy fast. Went back to my room. Try again tomorrow.'
Tate remembered some things Bennett had said about Violet and it just then clicked that she was agoraphobic.
Tate looked back at the email list just as the dorm room door burst open and Bennett rushed in. Tate swiftly closed the email account as Bennett reached him.
"Sorry! Forgot I've gotta Skype my Sister. She gets pissy if I'm late."
