Follow Your Heart Auto Memories Doll

Chapter Twelve

"Wha..." Violet half gasped. "What happened to your hand?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady. She hadn't expected to come home and find him like this. Iris and Violet had made their way to the Postal Company as soon as they'd gotten home from their trip expecting to simply get right back to work. They'd arrived at the train station in Leiden right before lunchtime and on a whim, Violet had decided to bring Iris to the little sandwich shop that Trevor had taken her to on their first date.

Some small part of her had probably hoped to find him there on his break but she hadn't expected him to be in this state. Most of him, well, nearly all of him looked as it always did. The only thing out of place was the new cast on his hand that he'd broken two fingers on the other week.

She'd only been gone for a few days and he'd managed to hurt himself again? That seemed uncharacteristic for Trevor based on her experiences with him. He always seemed so careful and patient but she'd let herself believe that when he hurt his fingers that maybe he had just had a clumsy day or been impatient at work. Everyone had bad days after all. Even Violet knew that and it was even true about herself.

But twice in one month? Once was enough to rouse suspicion but Trevor hurting himself twice so quickly was too strange to ignore.

"I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing," he said slowly as he ran his good hand up and down the back of his head. "I'm fine I swear," he chuckled but Violet knew better. She knew the difference between a real laugh and one that was forced. That was one of the few things she'd learned to spot about people. Whether their smiles were real or not was a little more difficult but she thought she was getting the hang of it.

But what could she say? 'You're lying to me?' 'I don't believe you?' What if she was wrong? She couldn't just call him out like that without being sure of herself. She couldn't help the uneasy feeling that washed through her though and she was suddenly afraid that her disbelief may be written on her face. She'd slowly been becoming more expressive lately and it would be a very bad time for the muscles in her face to betray her.

"I..." the word escaped her lips softly and she quickly zipped them shut. "Are you...okay?" She managed to change her sentence.

He let his hands drop back to the table in front of him and the brief silence that followed made Violet incredibly uncomfortable. He had to be hiding something from her but what could it be. He didn't seem the type to get into a fight with another person so what else could explain it other than it truly being his behavior at work.

"Yeah I'll be fine, I promise," he sighed and Violet at least thought that that might be the truth.

'I'll deal with you later.' The words Trevor's father had said during their first meeting still haunted her from time to time. "Okay," she nodded and breathed nervously.

After the trio had eaten their lunch Violet and Iris left Trevor to head back to work. When they got back to the Postal Company the pair walked together until they reached the second floor. The office was empty save for Erica and the girls set their portable type-writers in their places. Violet had been trapped in her own thoughts for much of the long walk but Iris broke her out of them momentarily when she spoke up.

"Hey I'm gonna..." she started before she stole a glance at Erica. The shorter girl was sorting through papers across the room from the pair of them, paying them no mind. "I'm gonna go find Benedict..." Iris said in a low tone and Violet could see her shifting her weight on each of her heels.

"Are you...nervous?"

"Yeah Vie..." Iris exhaled quickly. "But I should talk to him..."

"It will be fine," Violet smiled and was thankful for the distraction, even if it was fleeting. Iris was out the door in moments and she was alone with her thoughts again. Erica wasn't much of a talker and right now...Violet really thought she could use someone to bounce her own thoughts off of.