Between Love and Hate

Same Team

*Violet's POV"

When I see the look of panic in Lana's eyes as they flicker to Harper at my statement, I know instinctively that she's scared of him. I don't know what exactly she thinks he'll do, but I quickly amend my statement. "Lana offered to take over and I declined," I tell him.

"I see," he says before pulling out a chair. I look back over to her and see her silently thanking me with her eyes. I get the sudden urge to ask her why but it'll have to wait.

The food is done and Lana helps me bring it over to the table and we all have a seat and Lana disappears into the backyard.

"So, we will be attending a luncheon at the Johnson's house today," My mom says. I'm hoping "we" means her and Harper. I have absolutely zero desire to spend my day with a bunch of stepford wives pretending to like each other. Apparently Kane has the same thought because he says, "We, meaning?"

"All of us," Harper says. Damn. My eyes flicker to Kane briefly and he hides it well but he's just as annoyed about this as I am.

"I trust you slept well last night Violet?" My mother asks me.

I nod and say, "Yes I did, thank you." I have to force myself not to look at Kane as I think about the dreams I had last night.

"Did I hear someone leaving this morning?" Harper asks.

"Oh, um yeah, that was me. I just went for a run. Sorry if I woke you, I was trying to be quiet."

"No, it's not a problem, I was just wondering. It was odd hearing someone moving about that early around here." I just nod and return to my breakfast and my coffee.

"Also, this is very good Violet. Where did you learn to cook?"

"Marcella, my father's housekeeper. She taught me."

"I see. She did a wonderful job then," he says before taking another bite of the eggs. I nod again, and proceed to cut my sausage into smaller pieces before eating it slowly.

By the time we've finished eating, it's past 10am and apparently we need to be at the neighbours house by noon. Lana appears to clear the dishes and we all head upstairs to get ready.

I put on a blush pink skater skirt that goes down to mid thigh and tuck a white, loose fitting silk tank top into it. I then grab the white blazer with subtle pink flowers on it that Stella insisted I buy. Honestly, I'm glad she did because the material is so soft, it almost feels like I'm wearing a hoodie.

I roll the sleeves up, put on some gold jewelry and put my hair up in a high ponytail. The ends are still curled from last night so it actually looks like I put in more effort than just throwing an elastic in. I don't try too hard with my makeup because, honestly, I really don't care. I check the time. It's taken me all of 15 minutes to get ready.

I figure I might as well use this time to call Rebecca. I haven't really spoken to her since Monday and I could use a friendly face. She answers quickly and says, "Hey Vi! How's it going?"

"Hey Becca! I'm alright. How was your week?"

"It was good, I finished reading a couple books, watched some Netflix, nothing too crazy." I see her squint at the screen and she says, "Wait, where are you right now?"

"My mom and Harper's house."

"Is Kane there too?"

"Yeah. We drove up together. Most uncomfortable 3 hours of my life."

"Eesh, that's unfortunate. Also, are you wearing a dress?" She asks incredulously.

"It's a skirt and shirt thank you very much. Stella, my roommate talked me into buying a bunch of fancy new clothes and Harper and my mom are dragging us to some garden party luncheon thing today."