See No Evil (Anthony Lockwood)

chapter 43

Violet lugged out the heavy silver net bag filled with the stinking bones of Mr. Claridge's remains. It had taken them some time to get every single one securely into the bag and then get the bag safely through the crawl space.

Violet felt annoyed, hungry, and tired by the time they were done. Not to mention she was covered in a layer of dirt and dust from having to crawl through the tunnel and traverse in the dirty areas of the basement. She felt the constant urge to sneeze, which wasn't helping her bad mood.

Lockwood dropped his kit bag at the front door with a sigh, "The cab should be here in about 20 minutes."

Violet groaned and headed into the library, plopping down on the floral chair, "God, I just want to go home and take a hot bath."

Lockwood sat in the chair next to her, "Agreed."

Violet laid her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, trying to relax for a little bit while they waited for their ride.

"You know...you called me Ani. Twice. I don't know if you noticed that," Lockwood said, watching her face carefully for any reaction.

Violet simply laid still, "Yeah, I know. I remember. It wasn't an accident."

Lockwood froze, "It wasn't?"

"That's what I just said."

"It really wasn't an accident?" Lockwood asked again in disbelief.

Violet opened her eyes, "How many times do I have to repeat myself, Ani? No, Ani, it wasn't an accident. It was intentional, Ani. You wanna hear it again, Ani? I called you Ani on purpose, Ani."

Lockwood knew she was just repeating it to make her point because she was annoyed, but he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. He straightened up in excitement, his eyes wide and alight with happiness.

He leaned forward, "I...Wow. What does that mean?"

Violet side-eyed him, "What do you think it means? It means you've earned your nickname rights back, idiot. If you hate it that much, I can just keep calling you Lockw-"

Lockwood quickly cut her off, "No, no, no. I love 'Ani'. 'Ani' is great. The best even."

"...I'm scared," Violet admitted as she pulled one leg up to push her knee against her chest.

"I know, Vi. It's ok. I'm scared too," Lockwood said, holding his hand out.

Violet stared at his hand for a moment before she took it, a small smile forming on her lips, "I want that necklace back, by the way. I feel kind of naked without it."

"Funny you say that. Because..." Lockwood pulled the jewelry out of his pocket with his free hand, "I have it right here."

Violet rolled her eyes playfully, "Of course you do. You've just been on standby waiting for this moment. I don't know if I should be annoyed or flattered."

"Flattered, definitely," Lockwood stood up and pulled Violet out of the chair to stand in front of him, "May I?"

Violet turned around and moved her hair out of the way. It was half-falling out of the ponytail in a complete mess and definitely needed to be washed after all the dust and cobwebs.

Lockwood was happy to clasp the necklace back around her neck, his hands lingering on her shoulders when he was done, "Is now a good time to ask you out on a date?"

"No, but the answer is yes," Violet shrugged.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Just be happy I agreed, dumbass."

"Yes ma'am."

~

"No, you can't keep moving that piece like that, Ani! The bishop is only supposed to move diagonally! And you can't move it twice in one turn just so you can keep saying checkmate and asking me to reward you with a kiss!" Violet yelled, moving the piece back to its original spot.

They had turned their chairs in the library to face each other with the table in the center. Bringing out an old chess board to play. Obviously, Lockwood didn't know how to play that well.

"Who cares? I'm winning anyway," Lockwood argued halfheartedly.

"No, you literally are-!" Violet glared at him, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"No, of course not."

Yes, I absolutely am.

Violet crossed her arms, "So you asked me on a date just to piss me off?! The only outcome you're going to get from this is my foot up your-!"

The library door slammed open and an annoyed George with disheveled curls and no pants appeared, "Will you two shut up?! Some people are trying to sleep here!"

Violet pointed at Lockwood, "He started it!"

"I don't care! Shut up!" George yelled before slamming the door and stomping back up the stairs to his room.

"That was your fault," Violet hissed at Lockwood, who just smirked in amusement.

Lockwood reached forward and ran the back of his finger down her nose, "You're adorable."

Violet scrunched up her nose in response, "And you're an ass."

"Oh please, I'm darling. People tell me I have a special way of lighting up the room," Lockwood winked at her.

"It's called arson, and those people are called witnesses," Violet said with a deadpan expression.

"Ok, that was one time, and technically that was Lucy's fault," Lockwood pointed out.

"One time? Really? What about that time-"

Lockwood stood, leaning across the table to quiet her with a gentle kiss. Violet was immediately responsive as she placed her hand on the back of his neck.

Eventually, he pulled back with an even wider grin, "You're beautiful."

Violet huffed and sat back in her seat, "Whatever."

Violet was doing her best to try not to blush. He had been non-stop complimenting her from the moment they left the Claridge house to now. But none of it felt disingenuous. He was just genuinely expressing what he thought of her and how much he cared about her. She just wasn't used to it. Lockwood was usually the type to show his love through actions or physical touch. Words of affirmation hadn't been his go-to before. Not that she didn't enjoy it immensely.

Lockwood just watched her in amusement as she curled up in her chair, one knee drawn up to her chest while the other hung over the arm of the chair. Her lips were pursed in a dramatic pout and her damp hair was clipped up at the back of her head. Despite her expression, she seemed completely relaxed.

What he wouldn't give to kiss her endlessly and tell her every beautiful thing about herself and how much he loved her. He would write it, sing it, put it in an advert in every paper in the world, scream it from the rooftops if he could. And he would do all of that if it would make her happy. If it would make her realize just how badly he had fallen. But for now he would just settle for this moment. Right here and now.