Sequel: Warning ›
Status: completed
Precaution
Irreplacable
When the both of us walked into the living room, their heads turned out of curiosity. There were three figures there. Liz, Kris’s girlfriend, was perched on the tan leather couch neatly next to Chloe and Sidney seemed to be distanced away from the two girls, uninterested in their conversation.
He moved off the couch first, moving quickly towards me as soon as I had walked in. Liz followed almost immediately after, moving to the kitchen with a melodious “oh my god.” I heard the freezer open and saw her grab a bag of frozen peas.
I had seen my face as it reflected back to me in the window of Kris’s Mercedes and hadn’t thought I looked that awful. I remembered my eye looking sunken and purple, which was to be expected, but I had managed to remove the majority of the thick, black streaks across my face. My eyes were still a bright blue and my cheeks were slightly blackened. But I didn’t look as bad as they made it seem did.
Sidney’s hand reached out to touch my face but I moved back, looking at Kris bitterly. “I’m fine, it was an accident.” I said and tried to push through him, but he took me by the shoulders, watching me carefully. I avoided looking at him, my eyes watching the walls and the ceiling and everything that was not him.
But I couldn’t do it. It only took a moment before I had completely broke down and found my face buried in his shoulder. I felt him ease up, his arms folding around my back and his hand ran across my hair. “It’s okay, Vi.” He said kindly as he held me, the two of us just standing there. I felt Chloe and Kris’s eyes on me but I didn’t care. I needed him right now, at the very least as my friend.
“You want to go outside?” he asked and I shook my head, finally pulling away. His hand was still on my back as I turned around, avoiding looking at anybody. Liz moved quietly to me, handing me the bag of peas. I smiled at her and took the bag graciously, taking a seat on the couch.
Elizabeth, Liz, was one of my favorite people in Pittsburgh. She and Kris met two years ago at a function thrown by the Penguins organization. She was a kindergarten teacher and took her class to see a team practice and the two had started talking instantly.
She was just like him: shy, kind and quiet. Not to mention one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever met. Everything about her looked sweet—she looked like a storybook princess with her medium length, shiny blond hair and large brown eyes. And as I sat down, Liz immediately handed me a blanket before getting up again.
“I’m making dinner now. Quiche Lorraine—would you like some?” she asked and I nodded, pulling the blanket over my knees. Sidney sat between Chloe and I and if I was in the mood to laugh, I would have laughed at the situational irony. I absentmindedly watched CNN, my eyes blankly staring as Anderson Cooper reported from the front lines of Libya. Sometimes I wished I had the courage to have his job. It would have been so much simpler to compartmentalize when there were bullets firing at you, so much easier to put yourself first.
Kris eventually left the living room to go help Liz set the table, the sound of silverware and plates highlighting the lack of conversation.
Eventually, dinner was called and we all left the couch hurriedly to our seats. I sat by Liz, who smiled out at everyone nervously. I saw Kris place his hand on her knee while the rest of us chewed. There was heavy tension in the air, everybody unsure of what to say.
Kris finally spoke up. “So I’ve been meaning to tell you for awhile, Violet, but Dan wanted to invite you to this charity benefit the whole team is doing.” He pulled two tickets out of his pocket, throwing me a look that insinuated the second ticket was not for Derek. And just in case I didn’t pick up on that, he elaborated. “Max needs a date. No girl in Pittsburgh is desperate enough, apparently, so he’ll need a friend.”
I laughed and set the tickets on my lap. Kris turned to his girlfriend, looking at me then back to Liz. “Hey, Violet is going to stay here for awhile—I don’t want her going back to her house now and getting anymore black eyes.” He said, throwing me a look and I stabbed at a piece of spinach.
“Of course. Are you alright?” Liz asked me and I nodded. “I’m great.” I said before taking a sip of water, looking at Sidney and Chloe. The two of them sat silently, eating their quiche without saying a single word.
“So Chloe, how’s work?” Liz asked politely, smiling at her. Chloe just shrugged. I could tell she didn’t suspect anything—there wasn’t anything to suspect— but I knew she wasn’t happy about being excluded from what was going on. After all, she was one of my friends.
“It’s fine, I just booked a few swimsuit ads.” She said pleasantly and I glanced at Kris, who had rolled his eyes quickly. Just as she was going into the details of her new work, I heard the distinct beep of my pager. I went up to get it and Sidney looked like he was about to stand, but remained seated. I dug through my bag and pulled it out, my shoulders sinking. “It’s 911.” I said and anxiously looked for my cell. Kris darted out of his seat, fishing his keys out of his pocket.
“I’ll drive you.”
He moved off the couch first, moving quickly towards me as soon as I had walked in. Liz followed almost immediately after, moving to the kitchen with a melodious “oh my god.” I heard the freezer open and saw her grab a bag of frozen peas.
I had seen my face as it reflected back to me in the window of Kris’s Mercedes and hadn’t thought I looked that awful. I remembered my eye looking sunken and purple, which was to be expected, but I had managed to remove the majority of the thick, black streaks across my face. My eyes were still a bright blue and my cheeks were slightly blackened. But I didn’t look as bad as they made it seem did.
Sidney’s hand reached out to touch my face but I moved back, looking at Kris bitterly. “I’m fine, it was an accident.” I said and tried to push through him, but he took me by the shoulders, watching me carefully. I avoided looking at him, my eyes watching the walls and the ceiling and everything that was not him.
But I couldn’t do it. It only took a moment before I had completely broke down and found my face buried in his shoulder. I felt him ease up, his arms folding around my back and his hand ran across my hair. “It’s okay, Vi.” He said kindly as he held me, the two of us just standing there. I felt Chloe and Kris’s eyes on me but I didn’t care. I needed him right now, at the very least as my friend.
“You want to go outside?” he asked and I shook my head, finally pulling away. His hand was still on my back as I turned around, avoiding looking at anybody. Liz moved quietly to me, handing me the bag of peas. I smiled at her and took the bag graciously, taking a seat on the couch.
Elizabeth, Liz, was one of my favorite people in Pittsburgh. She and Kris met two years ago at a function thrown by the Penguins organization. She was a kindergarten teacher and took her class to see a team practice and the two had started talking instantly.
She was just like him: shy, kind and quiet. Not to mention one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever met. Everything about her looked sweet—she looked like a storybook princess with her medium length, shiny blond hair and large brown eyes. And as I sat down, Liz immediately handed me a blanket before getting up again.
“I’m making dinner now. Quiche Lorraine—would you like some?” she asked and I nodded, pulling the blanket over my knees. Sidney sat between Chloe and I and if I was in the mood to laugh, I would have laughed at the situational irony. I absentmindedly watched CNN, my eyes blankly staring as Anderson Cooper reported from the front lines of Libya. Sometimes I wished I had the courage to have his job. It would have been so much simpler to compartmentalize when there were bullets firing at you, so much easier to put yourself first.
Kris eventually left the living room to go help Liz set the table, the sound of silverware and plates highlighting the lack of conversation.
Eventually, dinner was called and we all left the couch hurriedly to our seats. I sat by Liz, who smiled out at everyone nervously. I saw Kris place his hand on her knee while the rest of us chewed. There was heavy tension in the air, everybody unsure of what to say.
Kris finally spoke up. “So I’ve been meaning to tell you for awhile, Violet, but Dan wanted to invite you to this charity benefit the whole team is doing.” He pulled two tickets out of his pocket, throwing me a look that insinuated the second ticket was not for Derek. And just in case I didn’t pick up on that, he elaborated. “Max needs a date. No girl in Pittsburgh is desperate enough, apparently, so he’ll need a friend.”
I laughed and set the tickets on my lap. Kris turned to his girlfriend, looking at me then back to Liz. “Hey, Violet is going to stay here for awhile—I don’t want her going back to her house now and getting anymore black eyes.” He said, throwing me a look and I stabbed at a piece of spinach.
“Of course. Are you alright?” Liz asked me and I nodded. “I’m great.” I said before taking a sip of water, looking at Sidney and Chloe. The two of them sat silently, eating their quiche without saying a single word.
“So Chloe, how’s work?” Liz asked politely, smiling at her. Chloe just shrugged. I could tell she didn’t suspect anything—there wasn’t anything to suspect— but I knew she wasn’t happy about being excluded from what was going on. After all, she was one of my friends.
“It’s fine, I just booked a few swimsuit ads.” She said pleasantly and I glanced at Kris, who had rolled his eyes quickly. Just as she was going into the details of her new work, I heard the distinct beep of my pager. I went up to get it and Sidney looked like he was about to stand, but remained seated. I dug through my bag and pulled it out, my shoulders sinking. “It’s 911.” I said and anxiously looked for my cell. Kris darted out of his seat, fishing his keys out of his pocket.
“I’ll drive you.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Irreplaceable -- Beyonce