Donnie wasn't entirely sure how long Violet cried against him for. He just knew that he couldn't push her away. A part of him was worried what had happened to her. She claimed that she'd broken her fingers by accident, but now she'd turned up crying on the doorstep and he wondered if there was something more going on. He wasn't entirely sure and he didn't know how to bring it up in, what he'd hoped could be, a subtle way. Subtlety wasn't exactly his strong suit, but then again, neither was parenting.
He'd let Violet go to bed eventually, her claiming that she was fine and it had just been a difficult day at school. She went to her room and he'd checked in on her, seeing her laid on her side and fast asleep. Closing the door, he moved his hands to his hips and went downstairs, intending to lock up and turn the lights out.
Violet had heard her father come into her room and a small part of her wanted to turn over and tell him everything that had happened. She wanted to tell him that she'd been in the forest behind their house and there had been something there. She didn't know a lot for certain, but she knew that what she'd seen hadn't been a creature she'd seen before. Violet didn't necessarily believe in UFO's or aliens or monsters, but that had been before tonight. She figured her dad wouldn't believe her if she told him anyway. He'd claim that she'd just been seeing things and he'd be annoyed with her for hanging out with Nancy Wheeler when she should be focusing on keeping her fitness up so that when she could pick a racquet up again, she'd be the best there had been.
But at that moment in time, Violet didn't necessarily care about tennis. She just wondered if she could stay safe from whatever was lurking in the woods.
…
"Slow down," Daisy urged from her friend.
Violet had gone to meet her the next day after Daisy came home early from her trip. The two of them were sat in Daisy's yard, legs crossed beneath them and coats tugged on tight around their bodies. Violet had told her friend everything that had happened the night before, but Daisy was having a hard time believing it. Violet couldn't blame her. It did sound crazy and like some fictional piece of work. Why on earth would she believe something so profound?
"I know it sounds insane," Violet assured her and she tucked her hair behind her ears. "And I know that it doesn't make any sense…but I know what I saw last night. I know that it wasn't…from like…this planet."
Daisy observed Violet, wondering if her friend had maybe taken something, but then she also knew that Violet wasn't like that. She knew that she'd been going through a tough time, but that didn't mean that she would start seeing stuff. Plus, Barb was still missing and no one had found her or even looked like they'd come close to finding her. Then there was Will. Jonathan was convinced that Will wasn't dead and Violet seemed to believe that based on what she'd heard and seen.
"Vi…you know I love you like a sister," Daisy said. "And I am always going to be here for you because you mean so much to me."
"Why do I sense a but coming here?"
"But this sounds ludicrous," Daisy said with a firm shake of her head and she pushed her glasses further up her nose with her index finger. "You're telling me that there's this extra-terrestrial creature living in the woods behind your house. You know what that sounds like?"
"It sounds like you should be calling the men in the white coats to come and take me away," Violet agreed on that part. "But I know what I saw, Daisy. It was chasing us through the woods and it wasn't just me who saw it. Jonathan and Nancy were there too and Nancy said she ended up in like this…I don't know…this parallel universe, I guess."
"And you believe her?"
"After what I saw last night, yeah, I do," Violet said firmly. And she did. She believed her entirely. "And I know that you might not believe me and think I've either lost it or I'm winding you up, but I'm not. I swear to you that I'm not, Daisy. I'm your best friend. I'd never lie to you about something like this."
Daisy looked at her intently then, eyes narrowing and brow furrowing as she tried to work out if she did trust her on this one. She wanted to. She'd been friends with Violet for years and she knew her. She knew her better than anyone. So, no matter how it sounded, she nodded her head. She wasn't going to push Violet away.
"Okay," Daisy conceded. "It might sound mad, but I trust you. I'll always trust you."
Violet wasn't entirely known for outbursts of affection, but she did reach forwards and wrap her arms around Daisy, taking her back. Daisy hugged her back and just let her cling to her. She knew that Violet didn't have the easiest home life, but that didn't make her insane.
"Thank you," Violet said and she let go of Daisy before she could cry. She could feel herself getting weepy and she'd cried enough the previous night.
"But if there is something out there then you can't go back out there, alright?" Daisy warned her.
"I'm not intending to," Violet said with a shake of her head. "I'm going to go and see Nancy after this and make sure she's alright…and also make sure she's not going back out there. I get that she thinks Barb might be out there and Jonathan thinks Will might be too…but I just…I don't know. I wouldn't give up if you were missing so it's easy to give advice when I probably wouldn't take it if I was in their position."
Daisy suspected that might have been one of the sweetest sentiments she'd heard come from Violet, but she didn't call her up on it. She loved her friend. She adored her more than anything, but there were times when she wasn't exactly in touch with her feelings. She preferred to hide behind a layer of sass. It was only Daisy at school who usually saw behind that façade. Daisy knew why she was like it too. She tried to protect herself. She'd been raised to show no emotion. She hadn't been brought up being told that her parents loved her. She'd been raised to be tough and to think that the world was against her.
"I just think that you should stay away," Daisy encouraged from her. "I just want you to be safe and with everything going on…running around in the forest isn't the way to go about that."
"I know," Violet agreed with her.
"And then with Carol and Tommy and everything they've done…I just worry about you."
"I can handle Carol and Tommy."
"Your broken fingers say differently," Daisy pointed out and Violet just shrugged and tugged on a strand of her hair. She looked down to the grass beneath her. Daisy let out a deep sigh. "You still haven't told your dad the truth, have you?"
"What good would it do? It's not as if anything would happen to them."
"But they're getting away with it."
"They'd get away with it anyway," Violet said, trying to be nonchalant. She guessed that a part of her didn't care about Tommy and Carol after everything that had gone on. "And it's not worth it. They're not worth it. Besides, I'm fine."
"And if Steve hadn't been there?" Daisy questioned her. "I'm not Harrington's biggest fan and for the most part I think he's an obnoxious asshole, but he…and I hate sticking up for him…but he did take you to the ER and I imagine he did actually stick up for you."
Once again, Violet looked anxious. She laid her hands on her lap, settling them in the material of her short black skirt she wore with a grey sweatshirt and thick black coat, tights and boots. Daisy noticed the way Violet seemed to bite down on the inside of her cheek like she was nervous.
"I know he's your neighbour, but there's a lot of rumours going round."
"None of them are true," Violet replied almost too quickly and Daisy cocked her head to the side. "It's just Carol and Tommy spreading shit."
"If you say so."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Violet asked, sounding almost too defensive with her question. Daisy knew she had to tread carefully. This was new territory for the two of them. Daisy had dated before. She'd gone out with a couple of guys, but nothing had come from it. Violet, on the other hand, had never even shown an interest in anyone before, not that her dad would let her date anyway.
"I'm just saying that you and Steve seem to have spent a fair amount of time together," Daisy said. "And he stayed at your house that night…plus he…I don't know…I think he does care about you."
"He loves Nancy," Violet said. "And she loves him too."
"That's not what I'm asking, Vi," Daisy said, keeping her voice soft. Violet took a moment to gather her thoughts and she shook her head firmly.
"There's nothing else to say. He's a friend and that's it," Violet said and Daisy figured that she shouldn't push it any further. But she knew that Violet was lying. She was convinced of that much because she could see the upset on her face when she mentioned him loving Nancy.
…
Violet was fuming after she'd heard what had happened. She'd gone by Nancy's house to check in on her, but she'd been upset with what had gone on that morning. Steve, Carol and Tommy had been in town and they'd been graffitiing walls calling Nancy a slut after Steve had seen her with Jonathan the night before in her bedroom. But Steve had no idea what had gone on the night before. He had no idea why Jonathan had been in her room and Nancy hadn't told him. Not like that gave him an excuse to do what he'd done.
Nancy had been upset, but she'd said she'd be fine. She would get over it and she had other more important things to worry about. Violet had told her to call if she needed her and had even hugged her goodbye, seeming to take her off guard. Driving back home through Hawkins, Violet saw that the graffiti at the cinema had been scrubbed clean, but there was still a mark on it.
Pulling into her driveway, she parked her car and stormed across to Steve's house. Knocking on the front door, he didn't answer and she wondered if he wasn't at home. She moved around the side of the house and towards their adjoining back gardens and saw him sat on a lounger by the pool.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Steve?" Violet snapped at him as she approached, arms flapping by her side. It was only when he picked his face up did she see the cuts and bruises marring his skin. She stumbled for a moment, her anger disappearing for a second as she saw him holding a can of cola. "Jesus, did Jonathan do this to you?" Violet demanded from him and she finally stood in front of the lounger.
"I'll give Byers something, he has a mean punch on him," Steve said and Violet knelt down on the ground in front of him, not bothered about the damp stone on her knees. Taking the can from his fingers, she pressed it against his skin and Steve winced at the cold, but he let her keep it there, not pushing her away.
"Nancy said you two had gotten into a scrap, but I didn't think it'd be this bad," Violet commented.
"You went to see Nancy?" he checked with her.
"Yeah," Violet confirmed. "When she told me what you'd done, I was intending on coming here and beating you up myself, but I think you've taken enough punches for the day."
"Relieved to hear it," Steve mumbled and Violet moved the can slightly to the swelling on the edge of his cheekbone. "What did Nancy tell you anyway?"
"She told me how you were with Carol and Tommy with a spray can," Violet said. "I saw the sign at the theatre that you'd left calling her a slut."
"I shouldn't have done it," Steve said.
"No, you shouldn't have," Violet agreed firmly with him on that point. "What was going through your mind, Steve? You know that Nancy isn't like that. You know that she loves you…and to be with Carol and Tommy as well after everything they've done."
"I messed up. I know," Steve promised her. "I ended up going back to clean up the theatre and I told Carol and Tommy where to go. I don't want to hang around them anymore. I don't care about them or what they've got to say about me because they're not my real friends. I know that now…I just…I was hurt, Vi. I was hurt after what I saw and I lashed out. I was a dick."
Violet had to admit that she hadn't been expecting him to tell her that he'd cleaned up his mess. That part had come as a shock to her, but then again, why should it? Everything Steve had done in the last few weeks had been somewhat surprising. He wasn't who she thought he was, not really.
"And what did you think you'd seen?" Violet questioned and Steve noticed how she kept her eyes straight ahead, almost like she didn't want to make eye contact with him.
"I went by Nancy's last night and saw her and Byers together," Steve said. "They were in her bedroom and he had his arm around her…and she'd been distant the last few days too…I don't know…I just figured she was with him."
"She's not," Violet told him confidently. "She…she really does care about you, Steve. She wouldn't cheat on you."
"And I should've known that," Steve agreed with that point. "But I didn't…and I said some things to Jonathan…horrible stuff…and breaking his camera…I'm going to go and apologise to him. It's the right thing to do."
Violet almost wanted to smile and Steve noticed the way her lips were twitching upwards. Something about seeing her almost break into a laugh made his own lips arch, despite the fact nothing about this situation was funny.
"What's so amusing?"
"Nothing," Violet promised him and he watched how she slowly looked up to him then, peering upwards through her lashes. "Just thinking about how much you've changed. I don't think I've ever heard you apologise or admit to being in the wrong."
"Yeah, well don't get used to it." Steve warned her.
"I wouldn't dream of it," she replied.
Steve continued to observe her and he moved a hand to take the coke can from her fingers, brushing against her and feeling something in his chest lurch. Violet remained knelt in front of him and he watched her moved to her feet and sit on the lounger across from him, perching on the edge of it so that their knees were almost brushing.
"So, does that mean I get out of being yelled at?" Steve wondered from her.
Violet nodded once. "I think you might've been punished enough today."
"Glad to hear it," Steve said. "I'm not sure I could handle being yelled at by you as well."
"Then I'll save it for another day," Violet concluded.
"I appreciate it," Steve promised her. "Anyway, what were you doing at Nancy's?"
"I just went to see her," Violet said, not entirely sure if she should tell him about what had happened the night before in the forest. A part of her wanted to confide in him and tell him. She wanted him to know everything that had happened so that she could be sure he would definitely stay away from the forest. But then she figured it was probably better if he didn't know. Would he believe her? She'd already had trouble persuading Daisy of what had happened and she'd been her friend for years. Violet had only really started trusting Steve in the last year or so.
"You two are pretty close, huh?" Steve checked.
Violet tried to act nonchalant. "I wouldn't say that," she said. "I just felt bad for her after her friend went missing and I think she needed someone…a friend, anyway…"
Steve could sense that Violet was keeping something from her. He knew that she thought there was someone in the woods and he believed her. He knew that her and Nancy had been convinced they'd seen something and had called the police, but nothing had come from it. Steve wondered if it was maybe some older kids just playing pranks on people, chasing them through the woods to scare them. But he could tell there was something else going on that Violet was hiding from him.
"Well, she could use a friend," Steve confirmed. "I know she's worried about Barb."
"Understandable," Violet said and folded her arms across her lap. "She's her best friend and she's still missing. No one knows where she is and no one has seen her. I can only imagine how her parents feel."
"It's scary," Steve agreed with her on that point.
"I know," Violet mumbled.
"And you?"
"What about me?" Violet wondered.
"How's the hand?" Steve asked and Violet held her hand up and looked at the bandage on her fingers. "I know that things didn't exactly go well with your dad the other day and he was angry. I didn't want to get you into any more trouble."
"He was…it'll be fine," Violet promised Steve on that point. "He's not yelling at me and mom isn't home so I figured that I'm doing alright."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah, I'm good," Violet said, forcing a smile to her face. "Anyway, I should head home. It's getting late and I need to make something to eat. Are your parents away again?"
"Dad's on another conference," Steve confirmed and he stood up alongside Violet, seeing her tug her skirt down her thighs and he noticed her wrinkle her nose like she was trying to hold back a sneeze. "I've got the house to myself for the next few days so if you wanted to hang out then just come over."
Violet smirked. "You think my dad would be happy to know that I'm here?"
"Figured you could sneak in up the guttering again considering you're so nimble," Steve taunted her and Violet rolled her eyes at his comment, but Steve wasn't entirely sure if he was joking or not. He liked spending time with her. She was funny and she was easy to talk to.
"I could," Violet said, "but I don't want to injure myself any further."
"No…can't say I want that either," Steve said and he remembered how he'd felt when she'd broken her fingers. He remembered wanting to do nothing but yell at Carol and Tommy for hurting her. He remembered just holding her as she sobbed and he hated the idea of her being in pain.
"I should get going," Violet said and Steve just nodded, trying to peer at her through his swollen eye. He wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but Violet quickly turned around and he'd forgotten about his coat that he'd left on the floor by the lounger. Violet seemed not to have seen it either and she stumbled forwards.
"Vi!" Steve called out as he saw her lose her footing and fall into the pool.
Steve stood by the edge of the pool and looked into the water. Violet was submerged and he waited for her to come back up before he remembered what she'd told him.
"Shit," Steve mumbled and he didn't hesitate before he jumped in after her.
Moving underwater, Steve could see Violet kicking against the water, arms flailing around her as she tried to move back to the surface, but she was panicking. She was wearing heavy layers which wasn't helping either. Steve swam towards her, seeing the panic in her face as he grabbed her waist in his hands and he hauled her towards the surface. He came to the surface and Violet was already gasping for air, her breathing heavy and her cheeks a ghostly white.
"Hey, hey, hey," Steve tried to calm her. "Vi, it's alright, I've got you…I've got you."
Violet tried to calm herself, but she hated how she couldn't touch the floor and it felt like her lungs were on fire. She kept on kicking in the water, her own arms moving around Steve's neck and clinging to him like he was a lifeline. Steve didn't complain or do anything apart from try to push them towards the shallow end where he could touch the ground. He somehow managed to get her to wrap her legs around his torso so that she wasn't kicking against him and he finally touched the ground.
"It's alright," Steve promised her. "Vi, it's alright. I've got you."
Violet tried to slow her breathing, but she was having a difficult time. She buried her face against his shoulder and tried to tell herself that she had nothing to be scared of. Nothing had happened. Steve had been there. She wasn't going to drown. She had no reason to panic.
Steve peered down to her, seeing how her hair was now hanging in wet clumps down her back. He could feel her warm breath against his neck and he moved his palm to cradle the back of her skull, keeping her pressed to him.
He walked towards the shallow end and managed to get to the edge of the pool. He knew that they couldn't stay in the water too long. It was far too cold and Violet was already hyperventilating. Steve somehow managed to get her to sit on the edge and he tried to ignore the way her clothes clung to her body. He easily climbed out of the pool, water dripping down onto the floor beneath him. He took Violet by both hands and hauled her to her feet.
"Come on, I'll get you out of those clothes," Steve said and she didn't even have any sassy comeback which meant that she was definitely on edge. Violet always had a witty response ready to go.
Moving an arm around her shoulders, Steve rubbed his hand up and down her arm to try and get her to warm up. They moved up the stairs towards his bedroom and Steve opened the door, urging for her to move into the room. Steve helped peel her coat off of her frame and then knelt on the floor, tugging her boots from her feet. She reached down for his shoulder to steady herself.
Steve figured he best not try and peel anymore clothes off of her and so he reached for a spare sweatshirt he had on the end of his bed. "Take this," he urged from her. "And I'll put your clothes in the dryer."
Violet took it without another word and Steve turned his back, listening to her as she shuffled out of her own sweatshirt and it landed on the floor with a soft thud. She took a moment to shimmy her tights down her legs, but figured she should keep her skirt on even though Steve's sweatshirt was almost the same length as it. Turning back to face him, she saw that he'd tugged his own shirt off and she saw his bare back, noticing the way his shoulder blades seemed to ripple with movement.
She looked away again, feeling her cheeks warm up before she was certain he'd had enough time to get dressed. She dared to turn around again and she looked at him as he stood with his hands on his hips. Steve, for the best part, tried not to look at her bare legs as he collected the wet clothes.
"These might be too big," he said, giving her some knee length sports shorts.
"Thanks," she said and tugged them on under her skirt before slipping that off.
Steve took it from her before she could drop it to the ground and mumbled that he'd be back in a moment. He carried the clothes through to the utility room and put them on to dry. He shook his head and tugged his hand through his hair, trying not to think about how Violet Mattheson had almost drowned in his pool and the feeling that he'd had when he realised that she couldn't swim. It was like everything inside of him almost collapsed. He wasn't sure that he'd felt fear like it before.
He went back upstairs after he'd managed to calm himself down and found her sat on the end of his bed, hair matted and clinging to her cheeks.
"I was six when I fell into the pool," Violet said, her voice small. "I'd been at the pool with some friends for a birthday party and I…I was walking along the side of it and I fell in. I think some older kids had run by and knocked me…I wasn't in there long before a lifeguard got me, but I just…I kept trying to kick and nothing seemed to happen. I just couldn't move. Since then, I've not tried swimming again. I refused to go to lessons, even though dad tried to convince me to. I just…I didn't want to do it."
Steve stood in the doorway watching her. Finally, she looked him in the eye and a breathless laugh escaped her. "Pathetic, right? Being scared because of something that happened when I was a kid?"
"It's not pathetic," Steve promised her on that point, but Violet wasn't entirely sure if that was the case. He went to sit down next to her, the bed dipping underneath his weight. "I imagine it was pretty scary."
"That's the thing though, Steve," Violet confessed, "I don't know if it was scary because I can hardly remember it. I mean…I shouldn't be scared, should I?"
"You don't have to be," Steve said to her. "You know, I could always teach you how to swim."
Violet turned her head to the side, cocking it and looking at him sceptically. "You?"
"I'm a great teacher and I was captain of the swim team," he reminded her. "When the weather gets warmer, you can come over her and I'll teach you how to swim and show you that there's nothing to be nervous about. Besides, it might put my mind at ease and stop me from having to jump in to save you…not that I mind being a hero. It's part of the territory," he tacked on in the hope that it might make Violet laugh. He succeeded on that one, seeing her chuckle and her face scrunch up.
"If I agree," Violet said with consideration, "promise you won't be like a 'tough love' kind of teacher? I've seen them just chuck kids in pools as a way of getting them to swim."
"I'll handle you very delicately," Steve promised.
"Then we have a deal," Violet relented and Steve nudged her arm with his own, smiling at her and enjoying having her relaxing by his side.
…
Violet walked back home when her clothes were dry and she'd changed out of Steve's clothes. Her hair was almost dry too and so she tied it into a ponytail to get the wet strands from her face. Closing the door behind her, she could hear the faint hum of the radio from the dining room. She followed the noise and saw that her father was placing two plates down onto the table of grilled chicken and vegetables.
"I saw you leaving Harrington's and figured you'd be hungry," Donnie said. Violet nervously tugged at her skirt. "I was in the office and everyone was talking about a fight between him and the Byers kid."
"Yeah," Violet said. "I went round there to check on him…and maybe give him a piece of my mind."
"I saw the message he left on the theatre."
"Not his finest hour."
"Any truth in it?" Donnie questioned and he sat down at the head of the table. Violet sat down next to him and reached for a glass of water. Her father was still in his suit but without his jacket and his purple tie loosened and top two buttons undone.
"No," Violet answered. "Nancy had been spending time with Jonathan because they…well…her friend Barb is still missing and his brother went missing so I think they bonded over that. Steve got the wrong end of the stick."
"And his mind instantly went to affair?" Donnie asked, picking his knife and fork up and digging into the meal. Violet had to admit that she wasn't sure how to act. Her father never asked her about high school gossip.
"Yeah," Violet answered.
"And this has nothing to do with you?" Donnie checked and Violet's brow furrowed. Her father observed her and finished chewing on his chicken. "I saw you sneak into his house, Violet. You think I don't know about the two of you meeting up in the woods?"
"How?" Violet wondered and Donnie chuckled at that.
"I was a teenage boy once," he reminded his daughter. "Plus, I am your father. I notice things. I'm not as blind as you think I am…or as ignorant…so when you came home crying last night after sneaking around with him and then I find out he's been calling his girlfriend a cheat…well…I don't know what to think."
"You think I was upset because of Steve last night?" Violet checked, settling her glass back onto the table.
"I'm just trying to piece things together," Donnie said.
"No," Violet said firmly. "There's nothing going on there…Steve loves Nancy and it was all a big misunderstanding. They're both just friends and there's nothing else…last night had just been a lot…I'm struggling at school with grades and then not being able to play tennis has been difficult and I've been struggling with that."
Donnie just nodded and Violet hoped that he believed her. She wasn't sure he did, but he didn't push it any further. The two of them ate most of their dinner in silence before Donnie spoke again, looking over at Violet and feeling a twisting in his stomach as he observed his daughter, drinking in her features.
"You know why I want you to stay away from Harrington, don't you?"
"Because I need to focus solely on tennis?" Violet guessed.
"Partially," Donnie agreed, "but it…I know about his reputation. His father had the exact same one when we were at school. I don't want you anywhere near a boy like that because…all he'll do is hurt you, Violet. And trust me, he's not worth the pain."
Violet had never heard her dad speak to her like that before. She couldn't remember the last time she'd heard him concerned. She suspected he didn't entirely believe her when she said that there had been nothing going on between her and Steve, but the secret she was keeping from him was something completely different. But she wasn't sure how to tell her father that either.
"Don't worry, there's nothing going on between me and Steve," Violet promised her father.
"Glad to hear it," he replied and stood up to clear their plates, a hand going to her shoulder for the briefest of seconds in what she assumed was meant to be a comforting squeeze.
…
A/N: Please do let me know if you're reading and enjoying this so far!