A History Of Violence - Violentine AU

Chapter Four: Bacon, Eggs And Good Company

Violet's first thought after she awoke was that she had been kidnapped. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. She tossed the covers off herself and realized that she was wearing different clothes than she had been at the bar. The shirt was definitely not hers, baring the name of a band she had never heard of. Violet pulled the collar up and breathed in, smelling a hint of citrus. She recalled smelling the same scent last night when Clementine had leaned close to her.
Why am I wearing Clementine's clothes? What the fuck happened last night?
She opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the short hallway. There was a small table with a single drawer leaning against the door with a vase of flowers resting on it. Violet smelled something cooking and could hear a sizzling sound, she stepped around the corner and found herself in a lounge room that backed up onto a kitchen.
"Oh hey, morning." Clementine said from the kitchen.
She was standing at the stove cooking something. Violet took immediate notice of the red flannel shirt Clementine was wearing. She had no idea where it stemmed from, but she undoubtedly had a thing for girls in flannel shirts.
"Uhh...hi. Where am I?" She asked sheepishly, coming closer and leaning on the kitchen counter.
"My place, in the city. Did you want some eggs and bacon?" Clementine asked casually.
"Yes please. Umm, I don't remember anything from last night past a certain point. Did we...?" She trailed off, feeling awkward for asking. Clementine seemed to be just as awkward about the question, her eyebrows raising in surprise.
"Oh! Yeah uhh, no." She let out a nervous laugh.
Violet nodded, looking down at her feet. She wasn't sure whether she was relieved or disappointed to hear she hadn't slept with Clementine while blackout drunk.
"You were really drunk, you spilled whiskey all over yourself," she chuckled quietly, "I tried to ask you for someone's phone number so they could pick you up, then I asked where you lived so I could take you, but you had no idea what I was saying. I had to close up and I didn't want to just kick you out, so I took you here."
"Oh, thanks then." Violet said, feeling slightly more at ease now that she knew how she ended up there.
"Any time." Clementine smiled.
Violet looked around the room, the apartment was modestly sized but still very nice. There was a TV in the corner adjacent to the front door, a sofa, a recliner and a guitar leaning against the wall. The kitchen was furnished with a small table and chairs and there were an assortment of framed photos along the inner corner of the counter. Violet leaned down to get a better look. The frame at the front held a picture of a young Clementine on a boat, still wearing the same hat and holding up a fish with a proud grin on her face.
Huh, I guess she was always adorable.
There were three people with her, a young boy, a man with a large handlebar moustache and a dark skinned man who had his hand on Clementine's shoulder with a smile.
"Who are these guys?" Violet asked, holding up the frame of Clementine to see.
She looked up from the frying pan and a grin shot across her face.
"That's Kenny, Duck and my dad. That was the first time they took me fishing." She beamed, recalling the memory.
Violet put the frame down and leaned against the bench, looking up and giving Clementine a smile. While she watched her cook, Violet began postulating. The fact that Clementine had brought her back to her house, given her clothes and was cooking her breakfast told her something; it told her that Clementine liked her in some capacity, whether it was just as a friend or otherwise was still beyond Violet however.
"Feel free to use the shower after breakfast, it's the first door on the left over there." She pointed to the small hallway.
"Thanks, I probably smell like booze." Violet chuckled.
She felt strangely at ease, she was usually somewhat tense when visiting new people's houses. As a general rule of thumb, Violet didn't trust people who she hadn't known for a decent period of time. But standing in the kitchen talking with Clementine felt oddly familiar to her, like it was the norm.
"I put your clothes into the wash this morning by the way." Clementine said.
"Thanks, but you didn't have to do that."
"It's cool, don't mention it." Clementine waved the spatula casually, scooping the eggs onto three plates and divvying out the bacon.
Violet wondered why there were three plates, she hadn't seen or heard anyone else in the apartment.
"AJ, breakfast is ready!" Clementine suddenly called.
In an instant, a small boy with dark skin and a mass of curly hair barrelled into the kitchen at high speed in search of eggs.
Violet was thrown for a loop, who was this kid?
"AJ, this is Violet."
Clementine gestured to her. The boy looked her up and down, like he was sizing her up.
"Hi Violet!" He finally said, not lacking enthusiasm.
The boy went to reach for a plate before it was pulled away from him.
"Did you wash your hands?" Clementine asked sternly.
"No." He mumbled before running off to the bathroom.
Clementine noticed Violet's confused expression.
"Oh yeah, I didn't mention AJ." She laughed.
Violet nodded, not sure what to say. She had a lot of questions, mainly what her relation to AJ was. He looked to be about five years old, Clementine couldn't have been much older than Violet. If her math was right and AJ was Clementine's son, then she had him at sixteen or so. The thing that confused her the most was that AJ didn't bare much if any resemblance to Clementine at all.
AJ re-entered the kitchen, having now washed his hands and took a seat at the table, eagerly awaiting his food. Violet and Clementine joined him, taking up their cutlery.
"So, what have you got planned for today?" Clementine asked, gesturing with her egg adorned fork.
"Nothing really, what about you?"
"I was thinking of going to the park or something with AJ. Just somewhere nice to get out for a while and enjoy the day, y'know?"
"Yeah, sounds good." Violet said, scooping a piece of bacon into her mouth.
She continued eating, trying to think of something else to say. The guitar leaning against the wall caught her attention.
"You play guitar?" She asked, pointing over her shoulder.
"Yeah, I play left handed. Turns out it's a little hard to fret with a missing finger." She chuckled, placing her knife and fork parallel to one another on the now empty plate.
"That's cool as hell. I'd love to hear you play sometime." Violet said, feeling proud of herself for how smooth it sounded.
"I'm sure I can do that for you." Clementine smiled at Violet across the table.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned her head to face AJ.
"Do you know Disco Broccoli?" He asked with wide eyes.
"Of course. I used to love that show when I was a kid, he's the coolest."
AJ's face lit up and he beamed from ear to ear. He looked at Clementine and back to Violet, prompting a laugh from the curly haired girl.
When they had finished eating, AJ retreated to the lounge and began drawing on the floor. Violet took the dishes up and washed them, despite Clementine's protest.
"You're a guest, you don't have to do that."
"Come on, you let me stay here and you cooked me breakfast. This is the least I can do."
Clementine shrugged and leaned against the bench next to her.
"Whenever you're ready I can give you a ride home." She said.
"Thanks, I might actually take you up on that shower offer first though." Violet chuckled, setting the dishes aside on the drying rack and turning to face Clementine.
They both stood there for a moment, not saying anything. Violet was once again frozen admiring Clementine, the way her curls flowed over her shoulders, how the light from the window illuminated her right side, creating a vivid contrast of shadow on her face and highlighting her high cheekbones. Everything about her was perfect.
Violet knew that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't just stand there staring at her all day.
"Towels are in the closet in the hall, grab any one you like." Clementine finally said, clearing her throat beforehand.
Violet thanked her and took a towel from the closet. Clementine had a different shower to her, rather than two dials, there was one uniform, metal handle. She turned it to the left and the water flowed out, turning hot after a few moments. Violet stepped in and sighed, embracing the warmth of the water.
The other thing she loved about showers, besides the warmth, was the fact that everyone had them. No matter which friend's house she was at, she could always retreat to the shower if she really wanted to. While she was in there, Violet got to thinking, as she often did in the shower. Last night was almost a complete disaster, she back-pedalled on asking Clementine out and got utterly wasted in front of her. But there was a silver lining, the fact that Clementine cared enough to look after her while she was drunk. Being at the house rather than the bar made Violet feel more calm when speaking with her due to the lack of social pressure. She decided not to waste the opportunity, she would ask Clementine out before she drove her back home.
When she was done, she dried off and got dressed back into Clementine's clothes. Partly because hers were in the wash, but mostly because she liked the way that they smelled of the brunette's perfume.
Violet walked out into the lounge, still drying her hair with the towel. Clementine was sitting on the couch quietly reading a book. Violet sat on the recliner adjacent to the couch, Clementine looked up and smiled before placing her bookmark between the pages and setting the novel down on the coffee table.
"Once AJ is ready to go we'll take you home."
"Thanks for that, I really appreciate it."
"Its cool, it's not like I was gonna make you walk." She giggled.
Fuck it, now or never Violet.
She took a deep breath before looking Clementine in the eyes.
"Hey, I was actually wondering if you wanted to maybe do something sometime?" By the end of the sentence, Violet was almost out of breath from the nervousness that gripped her.
"Like a date?" Clementine asked, leaning forward and resting her chin on her fist and watching Violet with intrigue.
"Yeah..." Violet said, trying very hard to seem confident while the ever growing fear of rejection crept up on her.
Clementine flashed her a half smile and got up, walking to the kitchen bench. Violet whirled around and watched her as she pulled out a pen and a notepad. She scribbled something on it and tore the page out before returning to the couch.
"I'd love to." She smiled, handing Violet the page.
In neat handwriting on the piece of paper was a phone number, Clementine's phone number. Violet smiled and quietly sighed in relief, she carefully folded the paper and put it into her pocket.
"Clem there's no toothpaste!" AJ's voice called from the hallway.
Clementine smirked and got up to help the boy. Violet pulled out the piece of paper once again and gazed at it, as if it would disappear at any second.
Clementine's number. There are definitely worse ways to start a day.