by Ivy Smoak
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
“Kids being kids.” He pulled the wrench out of his toolkit.
I was pissed about the other kids bullying Zeke, but that wasn’t what I was referring to. “No I mean you flirting with Violet? And inviting yourself to dinner.”
He lifted his head back up and smiled. “She was the one with her hands all over me. Now I can see why you’re so obsessed. She’s sweet. And she smells even sweeter.”
I slapped him in the back of the head where he had hit it earlier.
“Ow! What the hell?”
“Before she walked out you were just talking about the fact that she was insane.”
“Because I just did what you asked. I looked into her stepfather and mother. They disappeared without a trace and I gave you my honest opinion. No one even knew they were moving to Florida. People don’t just decide to move and then vanish into thin air. The whole thing reeked of foul play.”
“So you think she murdered her parents and now you’re hitting on her?”
“I said she was a dime before she even came out. I was trying to see why you’re so smitten with her and I get it.”
He didn’t get it at all. Yes, Violet was beautiful, but I didn’t just like her because of her looks. There was something about her that I was drawn to.
“And tonight I can look around to see if there really are dead bodies hidden somewhere in her house while you make googly eyes.”
“I already looked around. I told you that.”
“But did you look for itty bitty chunks of bodies? Pieces of bones from decay?”
“There’s nothing to find. Besides, if her parents really died under suspicious circumstances, why didn’t the cops look into it?”
“They did. But technically they died in Florida. There wasn’t much to look into here. And the Florida cops are…you know. Florida cops. They just deal with drugs and old people. Homicide isn’t their forte.”
“Is that why her parents’ house didn’t sell for so long? Because people think they died in it?”
He nodded. “No one wants to live in a haunted house.”
“I was looking around it earlier today. There were these really deep gashes in some of the trim work that were apparently there when the current owners moved in. And in one of the bedrooms there were a few worn floorboards. It looked like furniture kept being put in front of the door, maybe to prevent someone from entering. I think she was scared of something when she lived in that house.” I didn’t tell him about the other floorboard. There was no reason to add to his suspicion by telling him that Violet did indeed like hiding things under the floor. Besides, the countdown etched into the wood was alarming. The quote more so. The only escape is death.
“You think it was already haunted? I know you’re a little squeamish, but I didn’t think you believed in ghosts, Reed.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I looked toward Violet’s house. “What if someone was hurting her?” I hadn’t wanted it to be true. But I’d had all day to think about what I had seen. The signs were pointing toward abuse. What else would she be counting down toward but graduation when she could leave town with Joel? The quote etched into the wood made it seem like she was suffering. Someone could have been hurting her. She could have been waiting to escape. The only escape is death. But that theory didn’t really fit the quote. She didn’t seem suicidal or homicidal to me. I couldn’t figure out why death had anything to do with her leaving town.
“Have you seen her naked yet?”
His question caught me off guard. “No.” What did that have to do with anything?
He laughed. “Your game sucks. But whenever you do get her out of her pants, look for scars. People that were abused usually have proof.”
That was true.
“Or I can get her naked if you’re too much of pussy to do it yourself. I’d be happy to.”
“Just fix her truck.”
He leaned back under the hood. “So you really don’t think she’s guilty?”
“She wasn’t involved in that fire. I’m sure of it.”
“Does this mean you’re actually done with the investigation that you were supposed to be done with last week? For real this time?”
“Yeah.”
“So…you could just stop poking around. Leave her alone and move on with your life.”
“I don’t want to move on.” I leaned against the truck. “I like her.”
“But you clearly don’t trust her or you would have just asked her about her parents and her old house yourself.”
My first reaction had been to get him to look into it. But it was only because Violet had made it pretty clear she was done talking about them earlier. She was skittish. Another sign of someone who’d been abused.
“Done.” He slammed the hood of the truck closed. “Good as new. Well, kind of.” He stared at the beat-up truck. “A little rusty for brand new, but still good. I’m going to go shower and I’ll be back for dinner. Anything else I should grab besides the wine?”
“She doesn’t drink.”
“It’ll help her loosen up. Loose lips.” He winked at me.
I thought about when she’d had Nyquil and didn’t realize there was alcohol in it. She did talk more freely, but that could have been the fever. I wanted her to open up to me naturally. Not like this. Especially with Damien around all evening. “I doubt she’ll have any. Sure you don’t want to make dinner plans with whoever you’re hooking up with right now instead?”
“Nah, I wouldn’t miss tonight for anything. I’ve always wanted to see inside that house ever since I was little. The thing was always boarded up. It still gives me the creeps.”
“You don’t have to come back!” I yelled at him as he climbed into his car.
He flipped me his middle finger and pulled out of the driveway.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked at the house. I never should have asked Damien to pull her parents’ case file. It just gave me more unanswered questions. The part that bothered me the most was that it was like Julie had said. Technically, Violet’s parents had died in a boating accident in Florida. The case was closed but their bodies weren’t found. On paper, they had officially drowned. Unofficially? They were still missing. But missing people that didn’t want to be found weren’t a top priority. Violet had made it clear she didn’t like her mother or stepfather. So no one wanted them found.
To anyone else there was nothing to think about. Case closed. But what if she had done something? What if even a tiny piece of the rumors were true? I tried to shake away the thought as I picked up both mugs of hot chocolate and walked up to her house. I should just let it go. What did the past matter? The issue was that it was ingrained in me to keep looking.
Violet opened the door before I knocked. She must have seen me standing out here looking like an indecisive idiot. She stepped out and closed the door behind her.
“He’s watching TV. I thought maybe you wanted to be there when I tell him we found Lizardopolous, so I haven’t told him yet.”
“I thought you didn’t have a television?”
“We don’t. He subscribed to Hulu without my permission and is watching it on the computer. He said everyone else in school has it.” She shrugged.
It was pretty clear she hoped it would help him fit in better. Based on what I saw earlier, I’d say it wasn’t working. “How is he doing?”
“Tough day at school. I think I’m going to start driving him.” She looked nervous about the prospect.
“I could take him if you want.” I had no idea what made me say it. I didn’t even know when his school started in the morning.
“Oh. No, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I mean, unless my truck is still shot.”
“Nope, it’s all better.” I smiled at her.
“That’s a relief. Thanks for calling Damien to come out. I’m not sure what I would have done otherwise. And I’m glad he’s coming for dinner. When he refused to let me pay him I was wor
ried he’d hang this over my head or something. It’s the least I could do.”
The way she was staring at me was making it hard to process what she was saying. Her eyes were captivating, but there was something else there aside from just beauty. It was pain. She was staring at me with so much pain. And I wanted to ease that for her. I wanted to erase what the people in this town had done to her. I wanted to fix it.
“Zeke is going to be okay, you know. Nicknames come and go. It’ll pass, you’ll see.”
“Why, because when he gets older people won’t be mean anymore? From my experience, adults can be pretty cruel too.” Her eyes stayed locked with mine. “I overheard Damien say he thought I was guilty.”
Damien had been referring to her homicidal tendencies, not the case. I wonder if she’d heard the beginning of the conversation, but I didn’t think so. She probably just thought it was about the fire.
“You didn’t seem to disagree,” she added.
“We weren’t talking about the case,” I said, trying to stall for a second.
“So Damien wasn’t referring to me? How often are you completely blinded by a nice pair of tits?”
It took me a second to register the fact that she was joking. I found my gaze dropping to her chest before I could help it.
She laughed. “It’s okay if he doesn’t believe me. Maybe I can convince him tonight. But you said you believed me. You do, right?”
“I do. I do want to talk to you about a few things, though. Maybe when Zeke’s asleep and Damien’s gone?”
“What do you want to talk about?” She looked as nervous as she did earlier when she was talking about driving Zeke to school.
“Nothing serious.” I shook my head. I wanted to ask her what happened in her childhood home. I wanted to be upfront about everything. “I just want to get to know you better. One on one.”
“You know me better than most people already. But I’d like that.”
We both stood on her front porch staring at each other for a few moments. The silence should have been awkward, but it wasn’t. It was comforting.
“I’m going to go get the lizard. You remember the plan?”
“I’ve got it.”
She grabbed Damien’s empty mug from me and opened up the front door. I followed her inside and shrugged out of my jacket as she left me alone. And then I wandered into the living room where Zeke was parked on the couch with a laptop on the coffee table. He was halfway done his hot chocolate and had the plate of cookies on his lap.
“Found the cookies?”
Zeke looked up. “Mhm. Thanks, Mr. Reed.”
“You can call me Tucker.” I sat down next to him and took a sip of hot chocolate.
“Okay.” Zeke smiled at me before taking a bite of another cookie.
“What are you watching?”
“I don’t know, I don’t even like TV.” He closed the lid of the laptop. “I know you heard what the other kids called me. You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. I understand.” He stared down at his plate of cookies.
“If they don’t know you’re cool then it’s their loss. I love hanging out with you.”
“Really?” He looked up at me with so much hope on his adorable little face.
“Really. Kids can be dicks.”
“What does dicks mean?”
Fuck. Cursing in my head made me curse in my head again. I needed to watch what I said around him. He was five. I cleared my throat. “It’s a bad word, you shouldn’t say it.”
“But what does it mean?”
“It’s like…” my voice trailed off. “It’s an offensive term in reference to you know…” I gestured toward my lap. “A penis.” What the hell was I doing? I was going to go to jail for pedophilia. I looked over my shoulder, worried that Violet would choose this exact moment to walk in.
“Oh. But the other kids aren’t penises. They’re just mean.”
“I know. Just forget I even said it.” Please. I took a huge sip of my hot chocolate, so I wouldn’t say anything else stupid to the kid.
“You’re cool, right?” Zeke asked.
I didn’t really know what to say. I fit in well enough in school, but I didn’t exactly have jock status with cheerleaders throwing themselves all over me. Now though? Being an adult wasn’t really about fitting in. It was about being comfortable with yourself. I shrugged my shoulders.
“You drive a fancy car.”
I did drive a nice car. I thought about earlier when I offered to take him to school. Would that help? Driving up to school in my Charger with me could add to his cool factor. Driving to school with his mother in her rundown truck was not going to help him, that was for sure. But Violet didn’t want me to do it. Or she at least didn’t feel comfortable asking me to do it. “What time does school start?”
“Eight-thirty.”
I could probably swing that. Before I could open my mouth, Violet walked in holding the lizard.
“Surprise!” she yelled. “Tucker and I found Lizardopolous today!” She walked over carrying the slimy little creature and held it out to him.
Zeke didn’t look nearly as excited as I thought he would. He looked at the lizard, back up at his mother, and then back at the lizard. “If you found him then where is he?”
Violet laughed. “Right here, silly.” She held the lizard a little closer to him.
Zeke squinted his eyes at the creature. “That’s not Lizardopolous.”
“What? Of course it is. Tucker and I found him right in this room.”
“That’s right,” I said. “He was under one of the couch cushions. He nearly made me pee my pants.” Why do I keep talking about penises?!
“You found that lizard in our house?” Zeke looked genuinely surprised by this.
“Just like I said we would,” Violet said.
“Weird. I wonder where he came from.” Zeke grabbed him from his mother and held him close to his face to inspect him. “I’ll call him Lizardnoceros.
“But, Zeke, it’s Lizardopolous.”
“No it’s not. It looks nothing like Lizardopolous.”
“That’s because of the camouflage thing he does. When you put him back in his aquarium you’ll be able to see.”
Zeke shook his head. “Look at him, Mommy.” He held the lizard in front of Violet’s face. “He doesn’t look anything like Lizardopolous. He’s not even as big. He’s only a teenager.”
“He’s probably just cold,” I said. “Sometimes things shrink when they’re cold.” What the hell am I talking about?
“Lizardopolous never shrunk. And he had spots on his tummy.” Zeke lifted him up to show us the new lizard’s belly. “This lizard doesn’t have any spots.”
“But who else would it be?” Violet asked. “We literally found him right where you’re sitting.”
“I don’t know. I’m not the grown-up.”
Violet sighed.
“Can I still keep him?” Zeke asked. “If he wandered in here he doesn’t have a home.”
It was cute that he knew for sure it wasn’t Lizardopolous but that he also didn’t suspect we were trying to trick him. He really did believe our story.
“I still think it’s Lizardopolous,” Violet said. She sounded defeated.
“It’s definitely not. But I like him.” Zeke opened up one of the many pockets in his cargo shorts and started to put the lizard inside.
“Absolutely not, little dude. Take him upstairs before he gets loose again.”
“Technically it would be the first time Lizardnoceros escaped. I only just got him.” He hopped off the couch and headed toward the stairs anyway, though.
“That was a disaster,” Violet said and sunk into the couch next to me.
“Really? I didn’t think it went that badly. He didn’t even ask about Lizardopolous or suggest that we look for him. Maybe he’s just content with the new one.”
“He’s momentarily distracted by the new one. I’ll probably wake up to the house ransacked because he spent
all night looking for him again. It didn’t solve anything. Today was a complete waste.”
I tried not to let her words offend me. “Not a complete waste, surely.” I put my arm behind her on the couch, without touching her.
“No.” For a second her eyes fell to my lips. “Not a complete waste.” She shook her head. “I should probably get started on dinner. Do you think ziti is okay? This was kind of sprung on me and it’s about all I have on hand. I’d already planned on making it this week and I think I can stretch it for a few more people.”
“That sounds perfect.” When she didn’t get up to start cooking, I took it as the sign I’d been waiting for. I slowly leaned in.
For a moment she didn’t move at all. Her eyes traveled back to my lips and I swore I heard a sharp inhale.
But then there was a noise upstairs, like Zeke had dropped something heavy on the ground. Violet immediately ducked away from me. “I should probably get started on dinner,” she said again like she hadn’t just said it a minute ago. She started picking up the hot chocolate mugs.
“Would you like some help?”
“No, you can just, um…” her voice trailed off as she looked around the room. “Actually, yes. Do you know how to medium dice vegetables?”
“Do I know how to medium dice vegetables?” I said with a laugh. “Of course.” I didn’t. And I had no idea why I was pretending that I did. I assumed it just meant cut it up pretty small. I could handle that.
“Great.” She shoved some crumbs from the coffee table into her hand. “Do you mind grabbing the plate of cookies? I can’t believe how many Zeke ate. He’s not even going to be hungry for dinner. It’s just so hard to say no to him when he’s upset.”
I picked up the half empty plate. Her son had a pretty big sweet tooth. I did at that age too. “He seems pretty resilient to me. And who knows, in a few years maybe he’ll be the star quarterback and all those kids that are making fun of him now will be sucking up to him. Was his dad good at sports?”
“Yes. I mean…no. I don’t know.”
