Petal [h.s.]

Chapter 45

Violet.

It was 5 in the evening when Lana and I exited the gates of the RSP again, both letting out a yawn and looking forward to our day off tomorrow. Stephen and Isaac were staying for the late shift, which shouldn't be too much of a hassle since the lunch had ended by now and most of the kids were off on their postponed weekends.

"Hey, Violet?" Lana called as I approached the car that William was waiting in for me. I turned around to face her as she had her one hand on her car door, but let go again to take the few steps towards me. "Yes?" I smiled.

"I just wanted to say... I've seen you with Harry today and you two look really cute together. I know our line of work isn't easy with personal relationships, since the whole proximity-distance thing with the kids can get a bit hard, but I think you're doing a great job at it. I know it can't be easy. And I'm really happy for you." Lana softly spoke in the silent parking lot, her fingertips playing with her long hair.

I let out a breath. "I'm... thanks. This means a lot. And I promise it won't be an issue with my work, I appreciate your silence on this." I quickly approached her and pulled her in for a small hug.

Lana and I had been working together for about two years, and even though she had never become a friend, she had always been a colleague I enjoyed working with. We had the same morals, which was important in a job like ours. 

My heart wrenched slightly at the fact that I wasn't even telling her half of it, and it suddenly became hard for me to keep quiet.

I wanted to spill everything, tell her that Ian was coming to gang meetings and that he was involved in the drug life, that Harry was an ex-addict and that I used to work at the bar and was now also part of the Oliveira-family. 

But I kept my mouth shut as she nodded at me one last time and opened her car door to drive off.

I was frowning slightly, nibbling on my cheek as I joined William in the large car. He didn't say anything as he started the engine and drove me to the mansion.

I had told Harry what he needed to bring from the apartment in terms of clothes, since I was going to be slightly late for the meeting due to my working hours.

William was already in his expensive suit, joining the meeting and the party at the same time as me and I felt slightly bad for making him late too. I got that I had been attacked a few weeks ago, and it had been scary and I realized I had in no way coped with the trauma of that. It would probably hit me in a few months or even years, as that was usually how trauma worked for me.

My life had been high speed lately and I knew once I slowed down I was going to have to deal with that, but for now it was stored away in a little back corner of my brain. The bruises had faded, my arm was going back to normal and nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

I kind of missed being alone sometimes. I wanted to drive myself to work one day, wanted to go on walks and shopping trips without security guards having to follow me everywhere. I wanted to delete the tracker of my phone, have some of my privacy back.

"Thank you." I warmly smiled at William as he parked the car in the long driveway of the mansion, the secured gates locking behind us. I glanced at the many security guards walking around the gate and the front yard, Bob at the front door as per usual.

"Miss Rae." He nodded, opening the door for me. I smiled at him thankfully for letting me in, and my eyes instantly fell on the many people in the foyer. They were all dressed in cocktail attire and I awkwardly stood there with my orange summer dress and my sneakers, my hair a mess from working all day.