Violet stirring broke me out of my light sleep.
Well actually, it hardly need to, as I hadn't been able to fall into a deep sleep all night, as I was worried about her. She'd struggled at first too, but I'd stroked her face and her breathing slowly become more and more calm, until she drifted off. Usually I'd mind being depraved of sleep, but I didn't really matter right now, all that mattered was her.
After Victor had dropped us off at Violet's house, I hadn't left her side, not for the whole night, and not even to tell my dad where I was. I figured that he'd probably assume I was at Ivy's so there'd be no harm done. I'd briefly slept on the floor next to her bed, but I'd sat next to her most of the time, looking down at her delicate features with a frown on my face.
My stubbornness had nearly got her hurt, or worse even, killed. I'd always been stubborn and fairly selfish, ever since I was younger, I just had even more stubborn relatives that kept me in check. However now I didn't have that, and I could see how I'd been bossing Violet around, and pushing her past her comfort zone. I'd just felt like what I needed - such as finding this man - was more important than her feelings. We'd only been friends for under two months, but I was already turning out to be toxic. Sure, she could be clingy and overprotective, but I was the one putting everyone in danger.
"Mmph?" Violet murmured incoherently, as she sleepily sat up in bed, her many pillows supporting her back. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Morning, pal, you doing any better?" I asked, my voice gentle.
Her eyes were half shut and squinting as she looked over at me. "Leenie... you stayed the whole night." she replied, softly.
I gave her a comforting smile. "Of course I did, I needed to make sure you were alright." I answered, my voice a little rough from thirst.
"Apology accepted." she stated, pulling the covers closer around her. She'd changed into her pink pyjamas before she went to bed, but they were thin and the weather was quite cold. Unfortunately it hadn't snowed yet.
I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You were feeling bad, I could tell. So I forgive you." She smiled with her eyes.
I simpered. "Pfft, thanks." I laughed. "If you'd have been wrong then I would have been quite offended."
"I can read you like a book, dude, so I'm never wrong. And right now you want coffee, correct?"
I rolled my eyes. "Now you're showing off; yes, I'd love one." I tried to get up but she quickly scrambled over and stopped me.
"Oh no, I'll get it, you've done enough good, and I'm gonna make it up to you."
I sighed. "I haven't done anything good for you, if anything, you should be thanking the guy who shot those men - Victor."
"I meant just being my friend in general. Getting me out of the house, showing interest in the things I like. I appreciate it."
I creased my brow. "That's just what friends do. And you're my friend."
She hmphed, looking at her feet. "And friends make each other coffee, so that's what I'm gonna do."
She left the room to go downstairs to the kitchen, and I was left alone with my thoughts. I'd had lots of friends over the years, most of them being kids from my street, but never one quite as interesting as Violet. She was quite literally the opposite of me, and yet we fit in so many ways. Like two adjacent pieces of a jigsaw.
Soon she was back, and I gave her a thankful look as the warm cup entered my hands. I sighed happily, and pulled it up to my mouth.
"Can I talk to you about something? Like a serious talk." she murmured, staring at something just to the side of me instead of in my eyes.
"Yeah, absolutely." I replied, my voice light.
She paused before she had even started. "You said 'at least you have a mom', and you were half right - Ivy kinda is my adoptive mother. But my real parents are long dead."
I stayed silent, not wanting to disturb her, albeit my eyes probed her to continue.
"My mom died when I was very young of something I still can't remember. And my dad, well he was crushed by falling debris during the earthquake seven years ago. I was eleven, and I watched my father die right in front of me."
"I'm sorry for your losses." I murmured.
Her eyes grew glassy with tears. "You don't have to be. If they hadn't died, I might not have been here today." She tipped her head forward. "You see, I had a rare degenerative tissue condition, which meant I struggled to walk without crutches, and most of the time I was in a wheelchair. I ended up being trapped in No Mans Land as I couldn't physically walk, until I was found by some other kids. They told me that I'd be safe with them in the Botanical Gardens."
My eyes widened slightly, and I put down my coffee. "And that's how you found Poison Ivy?"
She looked at me for the first time in minutes, but nodded. "She took me and the rest of the kids in, and protected us from harm. Those siblings I talked about, they were the other orphans. We were like a family."
I frowned. "But you said that she couldn't stand to look at them anymore, only you."
She sighed, pushing her copper hair back. "Long story short, some people that were trying to replicate Ivy's condition found us, and tried test after test on us. A lot of the orphans died of shock to their internal systems, but the ones that lived were allowed to leave. There were four of us, I was one of them."
"And the other three?"
"Suicide." She was blunt about it, and wiped away her tears. "I'm not sure what it was that brought them to it, but I suppose I've had the thought a few times in my life. And I suppose I should be glad - my life expectancy was sixteen when I was ill, but now I'm still here, cured of my condition because of evil scientist guys."
I gave her a bright smile, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for telling me, Vi."
She smiled back. "It's what friends do, Leenie."
Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Violet and I looked at each other.
"Are you expecting anyone?" I asked, curious.
She shook her head, and as I tried to peer out of the window, she pulled me back down to the bed. "Don't, they might be someone dangerous. We're pretty noticeable if we look out of the window, so it's better to just pretend no one's in the house."
We sat quietly, ducked under the window, waiting for something to happen.
"What happens if it's some kids that take the silence for the house being empty? They might come in." I murmured.
Violet paused. "We've luckily never gotten that but it's a fair point... I think mom would take care of them, though." she replied.
Kill them, she meant. Some poor kids get nosy and knock on the wrong door, and next second they were plant food.
"Hello?" a familiar, cocky voice called out. "Is anyone there?"
I scrunched up my nose. "Is that the guy from last night?" Curious, I opened the window and leaned out, to see it was of course him.
He was dressed in a slim fitting black turtleneck, with burgundy straight leg trousers, that were slightly too short for his long, thin legs.
"Victor?" I asked, so he could hear me.
He turned to look up at me and grinned. "I thought I'd gotten the wrong house. I hope you don't mind saying, this is a real weird area." he replied, scratching his neck.
"What are you doing here?" I queried, tilting my head.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to check up and see you were alright, I guess. When you said to drop you off here I thought it was a joke, but I suppose it wasn't..."
I felt Violet appear behind me and lean out the window too. She had a slightly cautious look plastered all over her face. "Thank you for last night, but you're gonna have to get out of here as fast as you can."
The man scrunched up his features. "What?"
"Just go before my mom sees you!"
He rolled his eyes. "You know if you wanted me to go, you could just tell me that straight out. But whatever I'm-" he started, beginning to walk away. However, before he could finish his sentence, vine-like organisms burst up from the ground and crept up his legs like a deadly snake. This restrained his legs, and he fell to the ground with a thud. He attempted to get away, but the plants had a strong grip on him, and he was dragged further toward the house, before being tipped upside down.
"And who is this walking bag of filth?" Ivy's voice sang, as she walked like a tiger toward her prey.
"I'm not really walking if I'm hung upside down, eh?" he replied, a little jokingly albeit mostly worry. "And listen lady, this bag of filth is about to throw up his liquid dinner, so I'd be really thankful if you put-"
The vines continued traversing his body from the bottom down, until they reached his throat. Violet and I watched in horror as they began to squeeze, and Victor gave gargled, choking noises in return.
"You have to do something about your mother, she's gonna kill him!" I pleaded, with worried eyes.
She looked just as nervous. "She hardly listens to me, especially when it comes to men. Luka was the odd one out..." she replied, chewing her lip. Nevertheless she jumped up off of the bed and raced out of the door, and I followed suit.
"We were doing well until you came." Ivy spoke, calmly. "We hadn't had unwanted visitors in years, and I thought there was really something special about this places, that just drove people away." She slid a finger over his pale, stubbled face. "Maybe I should hang you above the door to really keep people away."
Violet and I clattered downstairs and out of the front door, and I could hear my heart fluttering in my chest.
"Mom, stop! You can't kill him!" Violet begged, holding onto her arm.
She shrugged her off. "Sweetie, go back to your room, I'm just disposing of this waste."
My purple eyes met his black ones and I pitied him greatly. Unlike they were at the bar, this pair of eyes were panicked, and contemplating whether they'd wasted their life. I knew that look too well.
Violet narrowed her brow. "Please, mom!" was the last thing she could exclaim, before a vine snaked itself around her mouth, silencing her. Plants began to pull the two of us back inside, controlled by Ivy, and Violet began to cry muffled sobs.
I turned to her to try and console her, but noticed that as she cried, flowering vines snuck from out of her skin, in a way that made me cringe but also left me speechless. They grew from out of her, seemingly feeding on her strong emotions, and bulldozed Ivy's vines that were in their paths, including the one around her mouth.
"Mom!" she snapped, marching over to her, her small army of flowers following her steps.
Ivy turned around in surprise. "Violet I told you not to use that, you're not strong enough." she hissed in reply.
"Let him go, he's the man that saved my life." she retorted, sure of her words.
Her mother's eyes flickered a little and she pulled back her plants, so Victor once again smacked into the ground. He didn't have a smartass remark for this, he just sat there on the grass, massaging his now bruised neck.
Last night when Ivy had been concerned why we were so late, Violet had went straight to bed, but I had stayed behind to explain it to her. I'd mentioned that when walking from Robbinsville to when I lived, we'd been jumped by several men - Victor had saved us by shooting them. I didn't include the parts that might lead to more questions, such as why was Violet left alone, and why were we hanging around the Stacked Deck, a place known for being dangerous.
The older woman turned to look at him on the ground, and gave a blank look. "I'm thankful that you protected my daughter and her friend, but I'm afraid that's all you'll get from me."
"No kiss and make up?" he replied, though his voice was raspy from the cut off oxygen.
Ivy gave him no more attention, and returned back inside, her green army following her.
I offered out a hand and he took it, getting himself to his feet. His clothes now had some minor grass stains, though the bruise was the main catcher of the eye. He self consciously pulled up the neck of his shirt.
Violet looked at me, then turned toward him. "Why don't you come in for some tea, we have plenty."
He shrugged. "As long as I don't get attacked again, sure."
Without another word, the three of us headed back into the house.
