Violet's Delight

Chapter 12: Alfred & Robin

~Violet's POV~

"Alfred, I'm back," I called as I entered the house and closed the door behind me.

"Welcome home, Robin," called Alfred who was descending the stairs. He started towards me with a smile.

"It's not home," I said under my breath.

It's never home. We've never stayed in one place long enough for me to feel comfortable enough to call it "home." The word "home" according to Google dictionary means: "the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household."

See the word "permanently". Yeah, that never applied.

The current house I resided in wasn't really a house. It was a mansion. Yes, I lived in a mansion. Wherever we lived, my dad never liked to rent out hotels because hotels were temporary so he bought house upon house then sold those and bought some more. I guess it was a coping mechanism for him. I sometimes think that maybe he's as tired as me of always constantly moving. Maybe he thought if he bought enough houses then one day, one would really be it. 

The current mansion was everything you think of that comes to mind when you think "mansion". There are literal columns out front near the door. There is a large scenic pool and jacuzzi in the backyard. There are over twenty large rooms. My room is actually three rooms. Honestly, from a distance, it looked like a castle.

Alfred started to approach me with concern in his eyes.

"Robin, your dad said–"

"Papa says that all the time!" I shouted back. I shoved my head into my hands.

"I'm sorry, Alfred. I didn't mean to yell at you. You're not the one I'm mad at," I apologized into my hands.

"And who are you mad at?" he asked softly.

I pulled my hands away from my face and looked at him. Henry Durden was his real name. But I called him Alfred after the Batman movies. I absolutely love to watch movies and television shows. When I was in 7th grade, I was obsessed with Batman and Ironman. And so I related Batman's life to mine where my dad was the billionaire philanthropist Bruce, I was Robin, and Henry was Alfred. Henry is not related to me, but I think of him as my grandfather anyway. He's known my dad since he was a boy because he was best friends with his dad. When my dad's father and mother died in a car accident after being hit by a drunk driver who had other drunk friends in the car, my dad was 14 and Henry was my dad's legal guardian and raised him as his own son. Henry is also supportive of me and loves me for who I am unlike my real blood-related grandparents from my mom's side who I rarely see anyway cause they are too busy traveling the world to run away from their past to care about me.

Side note: That's also why there's absolutely no alcohol in the house. My dad has never drunk in his life and Henry stopped drinking when he heard about the accident. So, alcohol is one of the many, many things I am forbidden from. Not like I could drink it anyway, I'm only 16. But I know that doesn't stop people my age.

"I'm mad at... myself," I said, the last word surprising me.

"And why is that?" he asked as we walked to the kitchen. When we got to the kitchen, I sat down at the island on one of the bar stools while Henry went to the fridge to find some Kalamata olives for me.

    Another side note: Olives are my favorite food.

    I slumped and leaned into the marble counter resting my head on my crossed arms, chin on the counter.

    "You know the only card game I know how to play is solitaire?" I asked.

    "Robin, if this is about you wanting to learn new card games, I can play with you and teach–"