And Suddenly, I'm Sinking | Violentine

Part Six | Storm

Clementine taps her pen against the clipboard as she stares mindlessly at the bottles of soft drinks and sandwiches on the shelves in front of her.

She's been at work all day, and throughout her entire Friday shift, she's been thinking of Violet.

As she takes stock of the various items and consumables she lets her mind drift back to the events of earlier that morning. Clementine bites her lip and smiles to herself as she twists her fingers around a loose spool of her hair.

Clementine's one regret was that she had to leave for work before Violet awoke. But Clementine remains hopeful that after work she'll be able to catch up with the blonde and talk about the events of the night prior.

"Hey, Clem?" calls Stephanie from the front of the store, her words pull Clementine from her thoughts. The brunette turns to look at the other girl, lowering her clipboard.

"Yeah?" replies the brunette with intrigue.

"The boss has said that you can go home if you'd like. It's so quiet today so I can finish the recall if you want to head home early."

Clementine drops her shoulders as she relaxes. "That sounds great," she says with a lilt to her voice as she begins to walk up the aisle of the store.

"Somewhere you'd rather be then?" asks Stephanie with a smile as she reaches out to take the clipboard from the brunette.

Clementine bites her cheek and laughs quietly to herself as she tries to find the words for the happiness she's feeling. "Just someone I want to catch up with," she says as she passes the older girl her pen and heads into the staff room to change into her clothes.

"You look happy Clem," shouts Stephanie after the brunette, smiling to herself as she scans the shop for customers before heading down the aisle to continue the pricing and recall.

Inside the quietness of the staff room, Clementine shreds her work jacket and retrieves her coat from the hanger. As she pulls on her coat, she quickly checks her phone for text messages, frowning as she sees that no one has contacted her.

There's nothing at all from Violet.

Clementine sighs but maintains her smile as she tries to conjure up reasons to stay positive. As she exits the corner shop she places her headphones in her ears, hoping that listening to music will distract her in the time it takes her to walk to the clearing.

As she walks through the quiet town and into the heart of the village, Clementine pauses her gait as she looks over at the row of larger houses in the nicest part of town. With elaborate gardens and oversized windows, this avenue is where the wealthiest residents of the town reside, including Louis and his family.

Clementine checks her phone and frowns at the time. Surely Violet should have been in contact with her by now, even if it was just a hello, or an acknowledgement of what they'd shared the night before.

Unsure of what else to do, Clementine abandons her usual route home and tightens her grip on her bag as she begins to ascend the hill towards the grand house that belongs to Louis.

Upon arriving outside house number twenty-four, Clementine steps onto the front porch and rings the bell, hopeful that Louis will be able to shed some light on her confusion.

"Hey Clem," states Louis as he opens the door and smiles at the brunette.

"Hi," says Clementine, suddenly unsure of what to say. "Um... I was just wondering if you knew were Violet was, I haven't heard from her all day."

"Oh," says Louis as he casually leans against the arch of the doorway. "I would have thought that you'd know where she is out of everyone."

Clementine furrows her eyebrows and for a moment she panics. A thought crosses her mind that perhaps Violet told Louis what happened between them, but then she reads further into Louis's confusion and realises that's not the case.