Butterflies Volume II

Chapter 17

Violet leaned against the wall outside the motel room they were staying in. She waited for Butcher to return, and because she could hardly stay in a room with Soldier Boy. If he were a bug he'd be a wasp, constantly annoying them all until they just shut up and let him buzz around them. Unfortunately for Hughie she left him in there to entertain their new teammate, as he had the most patience out of the three of them. Phone ringing, it was Lola, and Violet relaxed to see her name on the other line.

"Hey there," she said as she brought the phone to her ear, staring off into a woodland abyss.

"Did you hear what happened to Maeve?" She immediately asked, "I've been trying to get ahold of you."

"Huh?" Violet stood up straighter.

"Apparently she's gone to some rehab center, but it sounds weird right?"

"You tell me."

For someone who had no interest in supes, she suddenly had a lot of interest. She hadn't known that Maeve went away, and it was weird. Maeve was sober, at least in all the times she had seen her recently.

"I thought because you two spent a lot of time together you'd know," Lola said.

Violet bit her thumb, "you're right, it does sound odd. I wouldn't trust it, but why you calling so concerned?"

"Well I saw that building that got blown up on the news, and that mysterious Supe people have been saying about," she replied, "does this have anything to do with what happened in Russia, why Butcher convinced you to come back?"

She should tell her. It would be simple to just explain it all to her in that moment before it went any further and before something could happen. But if anything, she shouldn't say a word, because that would keep her safe. Violet hated how much she was like Billy in that moment, that she wanted Lola away to keep her safe. But was it not the same as M.M. as his daughter? He didn't tell her about anything, and that kept her safe. Running a hand over her face, Violet grew quiet as she tried to figure out what to say. Any words she tried to string together held no weight in her attempts to keep Lola close but also keep her safe. She was her light at the end of the tunnel, she wasn't meant to be in the tunnel.

"Maybe... Maybe it does, but I don't want you to worry okay?" She said, "it's complicated right now, but thanks for telling me about Maeve, I'll see what I can do about that."

"Where are you?"

Violet huffed, "fuck knows, some motel. I'll be done with it soon yeah? Then everything can resume."

"What about you and Butcher?" She asked next.

"We spoke, and um..." She trailed off, "I get him, I understand it now I think. Not completely but... Enough for now. I'm sorry I didn't check in sooner, it's getting crazy again."

"Well, I'm always a phone call away."

"Yeah."

As the phone call ended she stared at the profile she set up for her months ago; how she never changed her name from when she first added her contact to the picture she saved with it. Never seeing much value in a phone, Violet would leave it everywhere, so naturally half her camera roll had been dominated by pictures and selfies Lola took. Not that she minded. Leaning against one of the wooden pillars she flipped through her camera roll, wishing she maybe had one nice picture with Billy. Which was strange, because never before did she think she cared about anything sentimental with another person. It made her feel more human.

It wasn't long before Butcher's car pulled into the empty parking lot. He hardly minded to stick to the drawn out bays, which Violet couldn't really complain about since there was no one else staying at the motel. The black car was old, as he always did like old cars and Violet wasn't sure if it was style or affordability. Though, how affordable is a fancy vintage car like his?