And Suddenly, I'm Sinking | Violentine

Part Seven | Salt

Clementine doesn't come to the clearing the following day, and on Sunday she's absent as well.

Instead, Clementine spends her weekend focused on her job. Alternating her time between working late hours and turning up on her day off to kill time. With each passing day, it becomes clear to her that her fling with Violet was nothing more than that, and as well as losing a potential lover, she's also lost a friend.

As she sits alone in her room on Sunday evening, Clementine stares aimlessly out of her window. She sighs as she watches the rain droplets roll down the glass and the storm in the distance roll away into the horizon. On her lap, her phone vibrates, but the brunette chooses to ignore it.

"Hey, Clem?" calls her father from the landing.

The brunette looks away from the window and spins around on her desk chair as she turns to face her closed door. Not particularly in the mood to talk with anyone, she rolls her eyes as she shouts out her reply. "Yeah?" she asks, waiting for the reasoning behind her father's call.

"Louis is here," he replies, his voice growing distant as he slowly heads down the stairs and sends Louis up.

Clementine frowns again and spins her chair back around, so once again she's overlooking the dimly lit street and the rain that pelts against the window. "I don't want to talk to anyone," says Clementine bluntly as she becomes aware of her door creaking open.

"Yeah well," says Louis as he shuts the door behind him and takes a seat on Clementine's bed, "I could have guessed that from the radio silence."

The brunette turns in her chair and frowns at Louis. The other boy is absentmindedly looking around Clementine's room, taking in the trophies on the shelves and the photographs on the walls. Major landmarks in Clementine's life that are frozen forever in the form of tinny ornaments or captured memories. 

"I guess I just didn't feel like seeing anyone or talking about why I feel this way," mutters Clementine as she leans back in her chair.

"I thought that perhaps we'd see you at the clearing over the weekend, Violet was there both days you know," says Louis with a small smile.

"That's basically the reason that I wasn't there," mutters Clementine as she dips her gaze and rubs the back of her neck.

Louis furrows his eyebrows and frowns. "Really?" he questions, "Violet was asking about you every chance she could, she seemed disappointed to see that you were absent."

Clementine scoffs and rolls her eyes. "That's weird," she states, "considering the last time we talked I got the impression she didn't want anything more to do with me."

"What is going on with you two?" queries Louis with confusion. "A few days ago you were looking for her to talk with her, and now you're avoiding her?" Louis leans back against the wall and frowns. "What happened between you two?"

"It was a mistake," mumbles Clementine as she dips her head to gaze at the floor. 

Clementine inhales and shakes her head as she thinks over the events of that night in question. "Me and Vi," she begins as her voice falters, "we had sex."

"Oh," says Louis as his voice quietens, obviously at a loss for words. "But, that's a good thing isn't it, I know you had feelings for her."

"Yeah, well..." mutters Clementine, "I thought it was a good thing too. Until I met up with her the day after and she told me that she wanted nothing more than 'just sex'. And you know what," says the brunette as she inhales and looks back out of the window. "That might be okay with Violet, but I can't have a friends with benefits relationship with her. I'd always want something more."