Scout: Devil's Rose #11

Chapter 4: Major Owens

I place my cell to my ear and hear her soft breathing on the other end.

"Yes?" I ask her gently, waiting for her to say something.

"I don't know why I called you. I was watching Midsommar and got scared and thought of you," Violet replies honestly.

"Why are you watching that?"

"I always think I'm in the mood for a certain movie, but I never am. And then, I feel bad I didn't finish it because it's a brilliant movie, but then it's too much," she speaks quickly, trying to explain herself.

"So, you don't just turn it off?"

"That's what I'm saying. I feel obligated to finish it."

"Turn it off, Violet. Change it. Don't watch it if you're too scared. It's okay."

"That's the nicest thing I've heard in a while. From a guy specifically. My best friends, who are girls, say nice shit to me all the time."

"You deserve it," I affirm back to her.

"You don't even know me."

"You don't know me and yet you call me when a scary movie."

"Yeah, it's odd. I feel like I'm giving you a piece of me tomorrow, and I feel like I want to know who I'm giving it to."

I guess I never thought of it that way.

The women that I've talked to have been affected so deeply by Kai. It's almost as if the instance is part of them. Some random guy asking for information, to take that or invite him to be part of that piece of them is hard.

Violet's fucking amazing for being willing.

"What would you like to know?"

"Do you have siblings?"

"A younger sister. Her name is Alice."

"She has a better name than you," Violet teases.

"Thank you, I guess. I always wanted to change it as a kid, but when I joined the military, it seemed appropriate."

"Ah, yeah. It's very appropriate. What branch?"

"Air Force. Joined when I was eighteen, left when I was twenty-eight."

"So how old are you now?"

"Thirty. You?"

"Twenty-five," she answers, the tone in her voice deeper yet breathy.
Uh, interesting. The last time I heard a woman sound like that she was grinding on my dick. Funny.

I shouldn't be thinking about that right now.

"You know what happened with Kai, right? What he did?"

Definitely a change of subject.

"Yes, I do."

"It's hard going out now. Because he was supposed to be safe. He was Harper's boyfriend, so we felt okay around him. But since he was the guy to hurt me, I don't think I can trust going out. 

"Clara and Harper go to clubs and dance and drink alcohol with random guys. I'm not saying that they shouldn't, but I just can't find the courage to join them."

"You shouldn't punish yourself for that. You're surviving something right now, and that's okay too. There isn't a guide to healing. There are no step-by-step directions for what to do. So, you have to do what makes you feel better, what makes you feel comfortable while you heal."

She pauses for a moment, taking in what I've said.

"How are you so good at this?"

"My sister got into a car accident, and something like that also changes you. She has many scars, physical, emotional, and mental. I found with her that there was grief for the life that she had before, and she tried to push herself into being that same person.