Sleeping was an odd sensation for Violet; it was more of a habit then anything else. The house would grow dark and stillness would fall upon them like a suffocating blanket. Some nights Chad and Patrick would stay up all night talking to Vivien and Ben, the four of them were becoming fast friends. But Violet would feel stillness, she would head to her dad's office, there was still a couch there and the book shelves. It was one of the nicest places left in the house. She'd lay down and stare at the ceiling, slowly her eyes would drift shut and the sensation of the couch would disappear. It felt like she was submerged underwater except that she could breathe, it was like gravity had left and her limbs were floating around her but at the same time she was being crushed. Her eyes snapped open and by then the sun would be shining through the windows.

Violet woke up, trying to shake off that uneasy feeling that clung to her. She sat up , shaking out her hair and looking around. Moria was dusting in the corner, her back turned to Violet.

"Your parents are in the kitchen." She said without turning around.

The kitchen was spotless, it looked the same as when the Harmons' were alive, except now that the power was cut off the fridge and appliances didn't work. Not that ghosts got hungry.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad." She called as she walked in. William was resting in Vivien's arms. He gurgled at Violet, slobbering running down his chin. If his body never ages will his brain stay in a infant like state to? Violet wondered staring at her brother. Was he trapped in the ageless body of a baby screaming to get out? Or was he mindless like all other babies? It was a cursed existence no matter what.

"Violet!" Ben shoved back from his chair and grabbed her shoulders. "Where have you been?" He shook her.

"Get off of me!" She snarled shoving away his hands and pulling back. She hated when he did that, when he just grabbed her. The tops of her arms were aching from his grip. Vivien and Ben were staring at their daughter then glanced at each other.

"Honey, where have you been?" Vivien leaned forward her elbow resting on the counter. Violet arched her eyebrows. Were they blind? Did they bother to look for her? It wasn't like she could go very far, in fact she was always here stuck at home.

"I went to the library last night to lay down." She reached forward to offer William her finger, he snatched it with his puny chubby fist and shook it, laughing up at her. Violet smiled down at him, ignoring her parents questioning looks.

"We looked there yesterday and couldn't find you. No one could find you Violet." Ben accused, his eyes glaring under his thick black eyebrows.

"Well I was there." She snapped back. She wasn't just going to sit her and let them accuse her of something that was completely false. Wasn't that slander? And it wasn't like he had room to talk much less considering his affair.

Violet knew that this new life with her family meant that she was supposed to forget about the past harms and fowls of their living life but it was harder than that. She couldn't just forgive and forget, although she was trying in her defense

"Vi, you weren't here yesterday." Vivien repeated. Violet shrugged.

"Maybe I slept through the day on accident." She sighed. If she did sleep through yesterday, big deal, it meant one less day to suffer through. She ducked down and kissed William on the forehead before quickly leaving the interrogation. She walked down the hallway past a mirror that hung between two oil paintings of flowers, in the reflection for a second, she thought she saw a familiar face that twisted at her gut. Violet quickly blinked away the image and darted down the hall. Where to though? The house was maze, a trap, no matter where she went it was a circle and eventually she'd come right back to this very spot.

Maybe the backyard? Chad had told Vivien that it was safe to go back there, Violet considered. She could feel the sky urging her forward, towards the back door. She gripped the doorknob and flung it open. It bounced against the side of the house with a crash but Violet didn't notice. Her dull senses were being over whelmed. Every sound and sight and smell made her twitch in ecstasy. For a moment she let herself believe that she could hop over that back fence in the Langdon property and run away. She stepped out into the grass, hearing every tiny blade be crunched under her chuck taylors. The sky was so vivid blue that it blinded her. It arched above her endlessly, unlike the bedroom ceiling. The wind moved her hair and blew wisps around her face. She breathed in deeply, trying to absorb this moment this feeling of wonder and amazement that she hadn't felt in so long. Violet took a few cautious steps forward, venturing farther out into the yard. From what she could see the fence and hedges hid most of the yard from people looking at the back and the house blocked the view from the front, it was safe.

Behind her was a soft sigh, when she looked to her left there stood Chad. His black hair was combed back stylishly, his green sweater sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He tipped his head back and looked at the sky.

"It seems better than it did when you were alive doesn't it?" His voice was soft, regretful. "We always took the sky for granted. When I was alive I never even bothered looking at." He glanced at Violet from the corner of his eye. Assessing her. She was still a small naïve little girl to him, she didn't know how life worked; she only saw what she wanted to see in his opinion.

"The carriage has to turn back into a pumpkin eventually, Violet. Even this yard, even this tiny bit of freedom." He stared down at the grass. The heel of his show was twisting and digging into the ground, making a hole. "Soon the charm of the sky will be gone and you'll want to be on the other side of that fence." He looked at her, stared her directly in the eyes with an unwavering hopeless look that made Violet want to crawl away and hide in the deepest trench she could find. "But you'll always be here." He finished with a sad hiccup, as if he was holding in tears. Hanging his head he stamped his foot down and crushed the grass before heading back inside.

Violet stood there. Her breath rushed out of her, she struggled to suck in more air but it was like Chad had taken all of it with him, including her tiny shred of hope for a life here. The yard didn't seem as wonderful anymore… It was like two crushing hands reached down and rested on her shoulders. It took all of her effort not to collapse and cry. But Violet doesn't cry, she refuses to. Her fingertips slid along the edges of her sleeve, worming their way to her wrist and fingering the old cuts there. They'd healed by now, just dull raised lines that ticked like a list down her arm. She hadn't cut in a long time, although she'd had the familiar urge on more then one occasion. But she'd made a promise… she was going to keep it. Stepping back in the shade and must of the house it seemed like the back door was behind a thick pane of glass, untouchable by her.