See No Evil (Anthony Lockwood)

chapter 51

Lockwood and Angela walked as far apart as the hall would allow them. An incredibly tense silence hung in the air and the glares they threw at each other could have just as easily been knives thrown to kill.

They had no genuine reason to hate one another besides the fact that they both harbored feelings for Violet Summers. And neither of them were willing to give her up.

"Is Violet actually dating someone like you?" Angela asked suddenly, looking Lockwood up and down with disgust.

"Yes, she is. And she loves me very much. We share a room too...and a bed," Lockwood said, trying to get on the girl's nerves and rub it in her face.

Angela scoffed, "I shared a room with her too, idiot. So, if you guys are so close, you must know about her birthday then? It's today."

Lockwood tried not to show his surprise, "Of course I knew about her birthday."

"Oh, really? What did you get her?"

"None of your business."

"She's so hard to shop for. Not really a flowers and chocolate kind of girl. I bought her a metronome. Does she still use it?" Angela smirked.

Lockwood huffed, "No. She doesn't...anymore."

Lockwood felt the pang of jealousy underneath his skin. He knew it was ridiculous to feel this way. Violet had been saying it over and over all day. He was being an idiot. She loved him. But he couldn't help that he didn't feel like he would ever be good enough for her.

Angela laughed dryly, "You know how I know you're lying to me right now? Violet hates her birthday. She refuses to talk about it. She hates it so much that she refused to let me give her anything. She's had that metronome for years. I only found out by chance because of a slip up. To be fair, she was drunk off her arse. Only time that happened. Never drank again. You know, maybe she doesn't trust you as much as you think she does. Do you even know anything about her?"

Lockwood's glare was fierce and unforgiving, "Stay out of my relationship."

Lockwood knew for a fact that he knew more about Violet than Angela did. Angela may know Violet's birthday, but that didn't count for anything. Especially since Violet didn't even technically tell her that little fact.

Angela wasn't fazed in the slightest, "I'm jealous. It's so clear when I see her with you guys...she's the happiest she's ever been. Especially when she's with you. The way she smiles, the way her eyes light up, the way she completely relaxes as soon as she's near you. When Vi was at Davies, she was always so angry. So withdrawn. She barely even let me touch her in front of other people."

Lockwood, despite not even looking in Angela's direction, was listening closely. He didn't feel bad for Angela. But he did understand.

"I always dreamed of the day I would get to see Violet smile at me the way she smiles at you. Be happy the way she is with all of you. I dreamed of the day she could call me her family. It isn't Vi being happy that makes me so upset, it's knowing that I couldn't be a part of that happiness. I tried so hard back then, but I don't think it ever would have been enough. I couldn't care for her like you guys do," Angela spoke with a sadness in her tone, though she did well to keep it off her expression.

Lockwood couldn't agree or disagree with her. But he could respect her feelings. Angela sounded like she genuinely cared for Violet's happiness. And that was one thing he could relate very well to.

"You better treat her well. Treat her better than anyone else ever did. Like royalty. Violet's one of the best people I've ever met. Beneath all that sass and fire is a girl who genuinely cares for the people she loves. Violet's been hurt too many times. She doesn't deserve any more pain."

"I know that better than anyone. Believe me. I'll never hurt her again," Lockwood said determinedly.

Angela looked at him, and when she didn't detect any lies on his face, she nodded, "Good. 'Cause if you do, I'll kill you and no one will ever find your body."

"Deal."

~

"They're talking about me. I can feel it in my bones," Violet muttered, annoyance on her face.

"That might just be the source, but you're definitely right. It doesn't matter though. We should really get you cleaned up soon, Vi. Your hand is covered in blood and I don't want either of those cuts getting infected. Especially the one on your neck," Lucy said.

"I'll be fine, Luce. I always am."

Lucy scoffed, "That is such bullshit and you know it. You're never fine. You're just reckless."

Violet once again felt that pang of guilt in her heart, tightening her grip on her torch as her hands began to shake. She knew what Lucy was alluding to. And she was right. Violet was always 'fine', which meant she never was. That's what got her killed.

Violet felt that, at this point, she was in the phase of denial about it. She never talked about it anymore and any time someone brought it up, she would get upset or defensive or just completely dismiss the topic. Violet didn't think she would ever recover from the trauma. But none of her friends expected her to. They just wanted her to rely on them a little bit more.

"You're right. I'm not fine. I'm in a lot of pain. My head hurts because I forgot to take my migraine medication. I feel like my whole body is shaking. I'm struggling to stay completely balanced and focused. I feel like complete shit right now. I would like nothing more than to go home and wrap myself in blankets with a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows," Violet confessed, letting all of her feelings out.

"Was that so hard?" Lucy asked sarcastically.

"Yes, Lucy, it was 'so hard'. Thank you for asking."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Honestly. Violet, we're here to help you. We aren't going to hurt you. And it's not a bother for us either. We're here with you because we want to be."

Violet bit the inside of her cheek, her shoulders relaxing slightly as her eyes glinted with exhaustion and sadness, "Thank you. It's just...something I have to work on."

"Yeah, it's something we all need to work on. Now, let's focus on finding the damn source so we can go home."

"Yeah, ok. Well, I can definitely feel it. This one's pretty aggressive too. So much...rage."

"It's probably attached to the woman-killer then."

Their chat was cut off by a high-pitched scream that echoed throughout the large house. Violet and Lucy took off running in that direction as they recognized it to be Timothy.

Violet skidded to a stop when she almost bumped into Lockwood and Angela around the corner, which caused Lucy to crash into her. Violet steadied herself with her hand on the wall, reaching back to keep Lucy upright as well.

"You guys ok? We heard screaming," Angela asked, breathing heavily.

"Not us. That was Timmy."

"Really? It sounded like a girl," Lockwood commented.

Violet rolled her eyes, "Oh, leave it alone, Ani. Let's just go before one of those idiots gets themselves killed."