Violet Hour
I rolled over in bed, my eyes still heavy with sleep. I went to rub them when something cold and hard made contact with my skin, and I pulled my hand back in momentary shock.
When I saw the splint Mary had fashioned around my wrist I remembered the night before and groaned. The pain came flooding back to my wrist as if just to torment me further, though I had to admit it was already feeling better than it had while I tried to force myself to sleep.
I rolled over in the opposite direction and stared at the wall blankly. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to get out of bed yet or stay there for the rest of the day. Yet when I finally sighed and sat up, using my good wrist to help balance my weight, I decided to face the day.
On my bedside table sat a short vase filled about halfway with water. Several sprigs of delicate purple flowers hung over the edge, each resting on its stem at the bottom of the vase. I leaned forward to smell them and smiled, inhaling their scent deeply. My fingers fumbled with their fragile petals as I wondered how Mary and/or Hanna would have been able to sneak into my room to do something so sweet.
I got dressed and went down to the kitchen after making sure the coast was clear (meaning there was no Ethan in sight). I had the feeling however that he wasn't nearby, as his magnetic aura didn't seem to be radiating through the house as usual.
Mary was sitting at the table in the breakfast room when I walked in. She looked upon noticing me and smiled brightly, the sun bouncing in the room around her. "Good morning," she said.
"Good morning," I replied, grabbing a bowl from the cupboard and a spoon from the drawer below it.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, looking back down at the newspaper she had laid out on the table.
"Better," I answered truthfully. "Thank you for your help last night."
She watched me for a moment before asking cautiously, "What happened?"
I shrugged and grabbed a box of cereal from the pantry. "Ethan and I got into a fight."
"Did you punch him or something?" Asked Hanna, who had just walked into the room and was now getting a bowl and spoon for herself.
I laughed, "No. If I had, I would probably have an injury worse than this," I held up my wrist in the brace.
"So then how did you end up like that?" Hanna motioned to my hand while she poured milk into her cereal.
"Well, that's hard to explain," I told them carefully. "It was kind of an accident, I guess."
I took a seat between Mary and Hanna and started on my breakfast. "Just spit it out already," Hanna huffed, a spoonful of cereal already in her mouth.
"We were arguing," I started, "and Ethan grabbed me. He was squeezing my wrist so tightly I thought my hand was going to fall off."
"And he broke it?" Hanna's eyes were wide.
"It's not broken, it's sprained," I clarified, shaking my head, "and no. I pulled my hand away just as he was letting go, and I lost my balance and fell down. I must have landed on my hand weird because it hurt to move it."
"Thank God it isn't broken," Mary sighed, placing her hand over her heart. Hanna and I grinned at each other.
"So then what happened?" Hanna pressed on.
"I told him to leave." I took another bite of my cereal and listened to the crunch as I chewed it. "I decided that I don't want to see him ever again."
Mary chuckled at my childishness, "That won't be too hard, at least until Thursday."
I looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?" I asked, mentally counting the days until then. Three.
"He left this morning," Hanna filled me in.
"Where?"
"He didn't say," Mary told me. "He just gave me instructions and told me he would be gone for three days."
I finished my cereal and brought the dishes to the sink quietly. How strange a coincidence was it that the night after Ethan and I have a huge argument resulting in the spraining of my wrist, he mysteriously goes on a multiple day leave without ever mentioning it before?
"Hey," I turned back to them and they both lifted their heads. "Did either of you leave me flowers in my room?"
They looked equally confused, "Flowers?" Mary asked.
I nodded, "Yeah, there are purple flowers on my nightstand." Hanna looked to Mary, who looked back at her and shrugged her shoulders. "You didn't put them there?"
Both shook their heads. "No," Hanna said.
"Alright," I smiled to them. "I'm going to tidy up in my room. If you need me, you know where to find me." I left the kitchen with the strange thought that maybe Ethan had left the flowers. It was a gesture so unlike him that it was hard to believe, even if there weren't a lot of other options. Perhaps Jacques…
An hour or so later I took a step back out of my closet, crossing my arms and smiling with pride. Not only had I hung up every item of clothing that had littered the floor, but I'd also organized them by color and style. I wasn't sure whether to be proud of the achievement or embarrassed at my surplus of time to dedicate to it. Either way, it was going to be much easier to find something to wear.
I fell down into the velvet arm chair in the corner of the room with a sigh. It bothered me that Ethan had decided to just leave for a few days, especially without mentioning anything. I didn't expect him to; it wasn't any of my business. Yet how could he just leave after the argument last night? Was he not man enough to face the music?
I scoffed and shook my head. He wasn't a man, he was a vampire. Besides, I really didn't want to see him anyway.
Just then a soft knock on my door broke me from my thoughts and I looked up. "Come in."
Mary poked her head in and smiled, "How are you?"
"I'm good," I smiled feebly.
"What are you up to?" She asked as she entered the room, looking around the room.
"I just cleaned up some stuff," I told her. "Mainly the closet."
She instantly breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, good. That was getting a little out of control."
I laughed, "I know. It took forever to get through it all."
Mary's eye caught something and she lingered for a moment, staring at it quizzically. "Hmm," she mumbled quietly, as if to herself.
"What is it?" I asked, standing from the chair and moving beside her.
She walked over to the table next to my bed and stared down at it. "These flowers," she explained. "I'm not sure, but I think they're Hyacinth."
"Hyacinth?" I asked, not sure what she was trying to get across.
"Mhm," she nodded. I walked to the table and noticed she was brushing the flowers with her hand, just as I had when I first noticed them.
"Who do you think put these here?" I murmured, looking between her and the mysterious purple flowers. "If it wasn't you…" I trailed off.
"No, it wasn't me," she insisted. "Hanna wouldn't lie about such a thing. And Jacques," she hesitated for a second of two, "it just doesn't seem like him." I figured we had both come to last possible solution, and decided not to ask.
"But why?" I asked, my voice almost breaking a whisper.
"Almost every flower has some sort of meaning behind it," she told me. "Just like when someone gives you red roses, it means 'I love you'," she elaborated.
"So, then, what do these mean?"
She shrugged, "I haven't the slightest idea." She looked up at me, her eyes twinkling, "You could try the library."
A spark of hope shot off in my brain. I'd never been in the library and I had no idea what to expect. Part of me was hoping to walk in and find a book entitled Flowers and Exactly What They Mean When Someone Gives Them To You sitting on a table opened to the chapter about Hyacinths. Maybe just once I'd be able to figure out something about Ethan on my own.
"You are a genius, Mary," I grinned at her, spinning on my heels and practically jogging to the door.
I bounded down the stairs and bolted through hallway after hallway, trying to remember behind which door the library was hidden.
Eventually I came to a halt at a pair of dark wooden doors. The gold handles glittered invitingly and I almost couldn't help but put my hands around them.
I stepped into the library, both doors swinging open with me. I felt my jaw literally drop as my gaze swept over the rows and rows of books that lined the walls. What had I gotten myself into?