HxxA, guest, and Wonderfantasy, thank you for your reviews!
punishment with a price
Hearing Dr. Arden bellowing her name, banging furiously on the door, Violet knew she was caught.
There was no time to set the room right, to fix the state Tate was in, not to mention herself, after the night they spent together.
Scrambling to get dressed she shoved the empty vials back inside her shoes, before rushing over to Tate to adjust the linens on his bed.
She heard keys, locks being manipulated, panicking, she stuffed her stockings in her pocket and wound up her long hair back into a bun as she searched frantically for the bobby pins that were scattered on the floor.
It was over, he had the key's, she would be caught, fired, and she'd never see Tate again.
Enraged at her stupidity for letting the time slip away, Violet's eyes began to tear up, never did she cry, never when her father abused her, or over the memory of her mom, not even when she lost everything and ended up in that hellhole.
But the thought of losing Tate broke something inside her, it was inconceivable to imagine life without him now, swallowing hard she knew she'd have to do whatever it took to convince Dr. Arden to let her stay, to forgive her, no matter what that would entail.
It was at that moment that the door flung open revealing someone very unexpected.
Preparing herself for the likes of Dr. Arden, Violet was stunned to see a very stoic, angered, Sister June standing in the doorway with her hands clasped together gripping her rosary beads.
Breathless, Violet's long tresses hung messily down around her shoulders as she stood with the pins in her hands.
Her uniform was wrinkled, the room was in disarray, the only thing that looked normal was Tate.
Appearing lifeless in his comatose state, he was lying freshly bathed, in new crisp sheets that were properly tucked in neatly.
The basin was still filled with water by his side along with a handful of towels she obviously used to clean him.
Chewing on her bottom lip nervously, Violet held her breath hoping that maybe she had gotten away with everything she had done.
"In my office, now."
Nodding Violet looked around the room. "Sure, but can I just clean up first - "
Already making her way down the hall Sister Jude yelled through gritted teeth.
"Leave it! I need to speak to you immediately!"
Trying hard to calm herself, Violet darted around quickly wanting to at least dump the water, and throw the dirty sheets and towels in the industrial laundry bin in the corner of the room.
Running towards the door she took one last look back at Tate, her heart raced at the sight of him, the inside of her thighs were slick, evidence of their night together as her skin still vibrated from the heights that he had taken her.
He was her angel, a gift she did not deserve but would gladly accept, he was everything now, her very reason for breathing, and there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to protect him.
Peering around the corner she searched for Dr. Arden, completely confused as to what had happened, and why Sister June had intervened.
Her stomach twisted in knots at the thought of him touching her Tate, it was almost unimaginable now, the thought of his torture, what he was doing to him night after night.
Practically running down the curved gothic style hallway of the old wing, Violet made her way to Sister Jude's office doing her best to stick her pins haphazardly in her messy bun that was required as one of Sister's stringent rules.
Passing by the break room she noticed several of the other girl's pointing and whispering as she rushed by, she was sure gossip was already running rampant around the asylum from the volume of both Dr. Arden and Sister Jude's voice yelling her name.
They already hated her, she had been an outcast from the moment she stepped onto the grounds with her suitcase in hand.
Rumored swirled around town, suspicions surrounding her father's death were vapid that she was involved, even though the police quickly concluded his demise as an accidental fall, a tragic event.
She supposed she could've tried to fit in, gone to their lame parties, swallowed down their jello shots, let the boys from town feel her up, while going on weekly trips to the mall to hang out, but in all honestly Violet would rather stab herself in the eye with a icepick soaked in acid.
Conformity was never something she could fake, even if it meant a hard life, being constantly bullied, coming home with bloody noses, or bruises. Violet never cared, as long as the other girl looked worse.
It was as if Violet saw the world differently, felt things more intensely, while girls her age were listening to the latest boy bands, her room was filled with vinyl records with everything from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, to Nirvana, and the Smiths.
She was complicated, always looking past the obvious bullshit to see the truth in everything, refusing to buy into society's accepted stance on just about anything.
Violet was always breaking rules, and pushing the boundaries, no matter how bad the punishment her father dealt out.
It was always a bone of contention between them, her refusal, at any costs to be daddy's little girl, the perfect daughter.
In his mind, she had all the advantages, a mind that if she put good use to it, could excel at anything, beauty, that if she put forth any effort, could turn a thousand heads, but she fought it all with a fierceness that continuously disappointed him to the point of disgust.
But it didn't stop his nightly visits to her room, nothing did, nothing except the finality of his death, she basked in it, she practically smirked as they lowered him into the ground at his funeral.
Shedding no tears, Violet unflinchingly recited a quote from Edgar Allan Poe, when the Priest asked her to speak in her father's honor in front of a legion of mourners.
"All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry."
As the crowd gasped in horror, she simply turned towards them and shrugged as if irritated by their ignorance.
"My father is gone, he doesn't feel, think, or need anything, especially not your sympathy."
Some thought it was the shock of losing her father, the trials of grief, that made her say such things and act so flippantly, but others weren't so kind, whispers from the maids made the rounds and from then on she was suspect in his death by the community, it was a stigma that followed her still.
Approaching Sister Jude's door, Violet lifted the lapels of her dull, grey uniform breathing it in deeply.
She could smell him, the beautiful scent of his skin, his sweat was imprinted on her clothes, it was heavenly, clenching her heart, making her strong for what she was about to endure.
Knocking once she heard Sister Jude's stern voice calmly order her in.
Walking towards the metal chair in front of her desk, Violet pulled it towards herself.
"Don't sit."
Positioning it back in place, Violet stood facing her window and the trees that waved back and forth in the wind freely outside as Sister Jude began to pace the room.
"Violet, I'm sure you are quite aware of Dr. Arden's reputation, how he vehemently accepts nothing less than the stiffest of punishment for anyone who dares disobeys his rules, especially when it comes to his patients."
As she opened a large cabinet in the corner, Violet's brows furrowed with confusion as she eyed the large rods hanging in a row, every one a different length and width.
"I'm sure you also understand just how precious that boy is to our dear doctor, he is very… possessive over that particular case, over the manner in which he is cared for."
Violet watched closely as her fingers softly grazed over the wooden sticks, admiring each one as if she had a specific attachment to each individual piece.
"Fortunately for you, I was able to distract Dr. Arden, convincing him that I had just ordered the custodians to wash the floors and disinfect the medical equipment. I told him that I had Tate moved to another room temporarily, excluding you from the scene completely."
Opening her mouth to speak, Violet was quickly silenced by the swift raising of the Sister's hand in the air as she simultaneously chose a staff, removing it from it's place with the others.
"Now Violet, I spared you for a reason. I sincerely believe that you have a soft spot for this boy. I think that you are searching for someone to replace the loss of your father. That your misguided affections, while gravely disturbing, are innocent in nature, and should garner my patience and understanding. But Violet you also need to follow the rules, you need to understand that Tate Langdon, while although a patient here, is a convicted murderer, a monster that slaughtered his three sisters, and most likely his own mother, who was kind enough to save him from the horrors of a Romanian orphanage. He is, Violet, the devil incarnate, and you will learn, through pain if need be that you are nothing but his nurse, not his savior."
Rising the chosen thin rod high in the air, Sister Jude nodded in the direction of her desk, motioning her to bend over.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Violet's voice wavered in disbelief, convinced that she was misunderstanding her intentions.
"I can assure you my dear, I do not kid. This is a serious manner in which you have already been verbally warned. It's either this, or you get reassigned to a different wing of the hospital, pending a hearing on your dismissal."
Violet nearly collapsed to her knees at the possibility of never freeing Tate from his prison. The very thought of never seeing him again was paralyzing.
Quickly she moved towards the desk unsure of exactly Sister wanted her to do.
"I am grateful for your understanding Sister, I promise to learn from this punishment, and be better. Just please don't remove me from my position. I'll do whatever you ask. Tell me how I should be, I've never - I'm not sure how this - "
With a hint of lighthearted glee in her voice, a definite satisfying tone of victory, Sister Jude ordered Violet.
"Bend over and place your hands on the desk, do not move or make a sound."
Obeying, Violet did as she was asked nearly flinching when Sister raised her uniform bunching it up around her waist, and lowering her underwear.
Violet's eyes widened as twenty punishing strikes came down hard upon her tender flesh causing instant red welts to appear along her pale skin.
Her fingernails dug into the wood to control the screams that were rising within her throat as her legs shook threatening to buckle from the pain.
Sated for now, Sister Jude sauntered over to Violet noting her white nylons tucked in her pocket.
It was clear Violet had secrets far deeper than suspected, secrets that obviously she would do anything to keep.
With a deep disdain for Dr. Arden, ever protected under the Monsignors wing, able to perform secret experiments that she was sure bordered on blasphemy, Sister Jude suddenly realized she had the perfect opportunity, a willing little mouse to do some investigating, to find out some evil truths.
"You can go back to your room to pray on what you've learned here Violet. Tomorrow night you may resume your regular shift, and your care of Tate Langdon. Good night my dear."
Standing shakily Violet adjusted her clothes before whispering a strained 'thank you' knowing it was a small price to pay for her love.
Closing the door behind her, Sister Jude replaced the rod as a wide grin lifted across her thin lips.
'No, thank you, my dear.'
*Reviews are very much loved and appreciated :)