Only 2: A Short Story

Better Together

Violet let the water wash over her feet as she sat near the foamy ocean waves. She put her sparkly purple bookmark on the page she was reading and put the book neatly away in her bag. As she stood up, she stretched her arms, wiggling her toes in the wet sand.
"Are you ready to go yet, V?" Lucy asked from up the beach, "It's getting kind of late".
"Yeah, let's get out of here. The wind is picking up and it's getting cold!" Violet shouted back as she began to pack up the rest of her stuff. Lucy and V walked back to Lucy's rusty pickup truck, hand in hand.
Lucy threw the bags and towels in the back of the truck, and was about to open the car door when Violet stopped her.
"C'mon, I' wanna show you something" Violet insisted, dragging Lucy by the arm.
"Where are we going?" Lucy giggled, her feet barely keeping up with her.
"You'll see," V replied, turning around to face Lucy. "Hurry or you'll miss it!" She ushered.
Violet and Lucy soon approached the end of a long pier and gazed off of it, resting crossed arms on the coarse wood fencing, side by side.
"Is this all you wanted to show me?" Lucy Inquired, tilting her head in disappointment.
"Just wait. It's worth it, I promise" V reassured, nudging Lucy with her shoulder.
Suddenly, as it out of nowhere, dozens upon dozens of swans flew across magenta painted sky. Lucy's face lit up instantly, the colors of the sunset cast on her face as her eyes twinkled with the orange haze of the setting sun's light.
"I used to come here all the time as a kid, back when my mom was still alive. She used to hold me up so I could pretend I was flying with them." Violet informed while looking down at her crossed arms, examining the freckles covering them.
"It's beautiful." Lucy whispered, shaking her head as if in disbelief.
Violet turned to look at Lucy, who was still facing the horizon. The way her long, sandy blonde hair fell neatly behind her ears was enough to make V melt. How her lips curled when she smiled gave V goosebumps.
"My mom told me only to share this with someone truly special", Violet spoke as she took her arms off the edge and stood upright. Lucy stood up shortly after and turned to meet her gaze, the red indents in her skin from leaning on the wood plank making her arms itch. Violet gently held the sides of Lucy's face, and pulled her in to kiss her softly. Lucy closed her eyes and held her arms close to her chest as she leaned against the woman in front of her.
Pulling away from V, Lucy ran her hands through Violet's short, dark haired curls.
"I...", Violet began, glancing down at the wooden boards beneath their feet, "...Love you, Lucy", Violet confessed, looking back up at her.
A wide grin spread across Lucy's face, her hands resting on Violet's shoulder's with her fingers interlaced behind her neck.
"Violet Scott, I love you", Lucy stated, smiling slightly. At this moment, nothing else in the world mattered to them.
Suddenly Violet felt a chill down her spine and shuddered. It was dark now and the winds were even stronger than before.
"Let's get out of here, for real this time", Lucy suggested before heading back to the car, Violet in tow.
Lucy pulled up to the sidewalk in front of Violet's house and kissed her on the forehead before she got out of the truck. After waiting for Violet to enter the house, Lucy headed home herself.
"Hey, where were you today?", Violet's dad asked, peering back at her from the couch as she walked through the door.
"I was with... friends." Violet replied, avoiding his gaze while she took off her sandals and placed them outside. Violet's dad turned back to the TV screen.
"Argh! Come on! I pay good money for cable and this is the fourth ad I've seen in 30 minutes!", He exclaimed, waiving his hands wildly in the air. "Get a load of this! It's an ad for that queer eye show! Who in their right mind would air this knowing it pollutes the minds of children with the homosexual agenda? It's a downright sin!"
Violet felt her whole body tense up and her heart pound rapidly in her chest. She quickly scurried to her room to avoid any more of her dad's indirectly harsh words.
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Lucy parked in the parking lot behind the apartment building, and turned off the engine. She sighed and relaxed her shoulders, hanging her head for a moment before perking up in an instant. Rent. Lucy hit her forehead with her palm, suddenly remembering it was the first of June, and she didn't have the money. Her landlord would be pissed.
She got out of the truck and took the remaining bags into her apartment. Once inside, she threw the bags on the dusty wood floor and headed to the kitchen to make some instant ramen. She knew she had to get a job, but seeing as she wasn't a legal adult that was going to be hard to do, and dog walking just wasn't cutting it. Getting kicked out of her parents house at 16 wasn't exactly ideal, but she was glad she at least had a roof over her head, and she intended to keep it by whatever means necessary.
Lucy walked over to the mattress on her floor and sat down with her ramen. After slurping up the last of the noodles, she set down the empty ramen cup on the floor next to her. As she began to walk to the bathroom to wash her face, she heard her ringtone go off from the living room. She hurried over and glanced at her phone. It was Violet.
As soon as V answered the call, the sound of heavy sobs came through the phone.
"Lucy, I don't know what to do anymore. I- I don't feel safe here. My dad just went on a rant about how being gay is a sin and all that. He seems drunk, which is no surprise because he's been heavily drinking ever since-" Lucy cut V off from her rambling.
"Everything is gonna be fine Lucy, just breathe. I'm here for you. You know that don't you?" Violet assured Lucy calmingly.
Lucy's breathing slowed at the sound of Violet's voice.
"We're going to get through this together. I promise you"