dear violet ➳ andy biersack (currently editing)

11

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chapter
eleven
andy

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"Where'd you guys go?" Ashley asked curiously.

I shrugged. "All these random places. Rooftops, cul de sacs. But they were different. Better." I shook my head. "Man, I can't really explain it."

I had travelled around New York before on tours and vacations, but never so close up, in such depth. What I'd seen of the city was just a thin, wavering phantom, a reflection of the real thing.

What I'd done tonight was dive in to ground level, in to the wet back alleys and narrow streets lined with strange random shops spilling neon light across the tar, in to the shiny white flourescent glow of the subway stations, the messy gardens on rooftops, the fences and flowers.

There was so much more to see when you weren't cooped up in a hotel room or restricted to tourist attractions, so much more to remember.

"Just some of my favourite spots that I - I -" Violet heaved out a massive yawn, covering her mouth with one hand -"found over the years."

She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open, I noticed.

"Hey," I said gently. "Why don't you get some rest? There's an extra room down the hallway. First to the right."

But Violet frowned reluctantly, suddenly uncertain.

I worried that I'd overstepped until she said, "But is that - okay? What will everybody else think? I'm just some random chick off the streets they've never met."

I rolled my eyes at the same time Ashley laughed a little. "Nah, it's cool," he reassured her from opposite us. "Seriously. They won't mind. I mean, you're Andy's friend so."

The way he said 'friend...'

I shot him a look.

"But-"

"You're exhausted," I interrupted Violet. "And you're completely welcome to sleep over here. If you want to, though. If you don't, that's cool too. I can just as easily walk you to the buss stop and call you a cab if you'd prefer."

Violet looked at me for a second before forcing down a smile.

"Thanks," she said, which I assumed meant that she'd taken me up on my offer to call her a cab until she got up slowly, uncrossed her legs and made her way over to the only unoccupied bedroom.

I watched, suprised but pleased, until the door clicked shut and she disappeared behind it.

There was a long silence, interrupted only by the clock ticking softly on the wall.

"You like her."

"What? Who?" I sounded very eloquent.

Ashley rolled his eyes, clearly unfooled. "Violet. You like her. And don't even try to deny it, it's so damn obvious," he added with a grin when I opened my mouth to protest.

I thought of Violet right then, now in the room next door. With her trouble seeking eyes, gold as medalions. With her pale skin, with her silhuete framed against the wet night sky like a siren at sea. Her dry hair lashing against her cheeks in the wind that pulled her shirt lower around her shoulders to reveal the cursive tattoo that coiled around her neck.