Ultraviolet

Chapter Three: Between the Lines

TW: mentions of ED

We settled into the living room of Jessica's apartment, which was above the club. The room was cosy, the dark exposed brick of the walls and the deep mahogany brown all the surrounding furniture was crafted from made the living area seem small and intimate. Jessica and I sat on a couch that shook in time with the muffled song that played throughout the bar below. Tattoo boy sat in an arm chair, a grimace on his face.

"So are you guys in the Mafia or somethin'?" I asked casually. It would explain the weird behaviour and the theories of contract killers. Jessica and the boy shared a quick, uncertain glance.

"No, not in the Mafia." Jessica promised.

"That guy just beats people up for fun?" I added, pointing to tattoo boy.

"Hadeon-"

"Hadeon?" I questioned, any fear I might've had for the boy disappearing. What kind of name is Hadeon?

"Hadeon is my... security guard, I guess. He's by my side, 24/7."

"Oh." I mumbled, looking between the two with a different lens.

"No, no!" She corrected my train of thought. "Not like that. I'm married, his name is Jack and his is... well, he's not in his 20's for starters." She laughed. "Hadeon is literally my bodyguard, no attachments." Hadeon simply rolled his eyes. "So, Violet, why are you here."

Here we go.

I'd spent the entire bus ride here trying to think of what to say when I finally get to this moment. Do I go into an entire monologue of my shitty life in Sunshine, and make her feel bad for me? Do I keep it short and simple?

"She needs money." Hadeon grumbled from his seat.

"I do not!" I shouted back.

"I can see in her face she wants to ask you something. What else could it be?" He reasoned. I hated been deduced. I especially hated it when it was dead wrong.

"Whatever it is, I'll help." Jessica promised blindly. "When our father died, I inherited everything and you and you're mother got nothing. Whatever you need, you got it."

I stared between her and Hadeon. Hadeon was being a massive bitch, and I didn't want to admit he was right and that I did want something. I was tempted to simply say I was after "reconnection" and leave with the impression I am not hopeless and homeless and starving. But, I didn't want to run away into nothing. If I can stay here with Jessica, I could work towards getting a job and eventually leaving her alone.

"I was hoping..." I started, my voice shaking ever so slightly. "I was hoping that I could stay with you, at least until I get a job and then I'll move out and leave you to your life."

"Done!" She waved her hands up, like a fairy godmother granting a wish.

"Theres no one else you could bother?" Hadeon snarled. I was not going to like putting up with him.

"Nuh-ah." I sung, unafraid of how sad that statement was.

"She's not staying here." Hadeon decided. "Put her up in a hotel."

"Absolutely not!" Jessica shrieked. "She is my sister, she can stay in the guest room."

"You mean my room." He grumbled. I struggled to understand the dynamic between them. It was almost as if she considered him to be her younger brother, but based on his reaction to my announcement of being Jessica's sister, I doubted I was also related to Mr. Grumpy-Bum.

"You never even decorated it." She reasoned. "You snooze, you lose, you're sleeping on the couch."

The guest room looked exactly like the motel bedrooms I used to live in when my mother was still trying to be a mother. A twin-sized bed with a flat grey fabric headboard was centred against the back wall, the headboard overlapping the window sill just an inch. To the left was a chest of drawers with a mirror above it and in the right hand corner was a small pine wood desk with a metal fold out chair tucked into it.

My bags were opened on the bed and my clothes were strewn across the mattress. I had left in a hurry, none of my things were organised or folded before I zipped up the bags and jumped onto the bus. I hopped up onto the bed and sat cross-legged in the middle of the mess, and began to separate things. All my clothes were several sizes too big for me. The last time I had money to spent on clothes was three years ago, and I was significantly bigger then.

The idea was to separate my things and place each pile into a drawer, but then I realised what I was doing. I was moving in. I was taking up space. I'm not staying here. I couldn't get comfortable, the last thing I wanted to do was impose. Not to mention that doing any of these things might leave a trace.

I changed into a large black t-shirt and red plaid pyjama pants, and folded everything else back into my bags, now organised in neat rows. I dropped the bags off the bed and tucked myself under the covers. I grabbed a navy blue cushion and hugged it tight to my chest, enjoying the cool comforter against my ankles and feet. For years I'd been sleeping on a thin mattress that sunk to the metal bars of the bed frame beneath it, and now I could feel my bones relaxing completely as I sunk into the soft, squishy mattress.

Just as I started to drift to sleep, my door was flung open and a dark figure stood in the door way. My heart jumped out of my chest, but as my eyes adjusted I could tell it was only Hadeon.

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing?" I hissed. Jessica had gone to sleep an hour earlier and I didn't want to wake her.

Hadeon stepped inside, his eyes travelling over the bags on the floor and the clothes from today that I had folded and placed on the chest of drawers.

"Get out before I start screaming." I challenged. Hadeon scoffed, clearly unaffected by the threat. He had changed into a black hoodie and grey sweat pants, but still held himself as if he were dressed formally.

"Why are you here?" He asked. Dark circles hugged his eyes and his hands were in the pocket of his jumper.

"I explained all this to Jessica-"

"I looked you up." He grumbled. "Violet O'Connor. Found a few profiles on different sites. All those girls looked nothing like you."

"Social media gives girls eating disorders. I try to stay away from it."

"I looked at State records too." He added, his long finger swiped over a candle tray atop the drawers before flicking away the dust that stuck to his finger tip. "The only Violet O'Connors I could find in Nebraska are 30 or older."

"I'm not sure about where I was born." I stated, trying to keep my voice even and unwavering. I thought for a second about begging him to not look further into my past.

"There should still be records. Doctor's visits, school enrolments, purchase of the plane tickets you bought to get here."

"I took a bus."

"I know your name is not Violet O'Connor."

"It is now." I said simply.

It was true, I was not born Violet O'Connor. But, according to my new license, I am. 

"I am not a threat. I don't pose a danger to Jessica or her loved ones or you. I promise, I am only here until I get settled. Once I have a job and some savings, I'll be out of your hair. For now... Let me sleep, goddamnit."

Hadeon stared at me for a moment longer, sizing me up, before walking back out the door, closing it slowly and quietly. I stood up and moved the chest of drawers just an inch over the door, before tucking myself away in the bundle of crisp, clean sheets, willing my self to calm down to the point where I could sleep.