Chapter Two: Violet
I didn’t want to come back to Gravenbridge. After leaving five years ago, finally settling in and finding my place in Chicago, I didn’t really want to go back. I’ll admit, it sucked leaving my friends behind back then, but at least I had a reason. There was some kind of benefit from leaving. But this time? Dad didn’t really tell me.
One week ago, he and my mom sat me down. “Violet, your mother and I have been talking, and we think it’s time for us to go back to Gravenbridge,” my dad said, stroking his grey goatee. His tone was calm, as if saying it nicer wasn’t going to upset me. He was right—I hated getting mad, especially at my parents.
“I know this is kind of shocking, Vi,” my mom said. She was always good at detecting when I was getting worked up, even if I rarely showed it. “But we think we’ve done all we can here. And Gravenbridge… those are our people. We can do a lot of good if we go back.”
Dad made his money in the stock market before I was born, and before leaving New York, he made some good investments that kept our family going. He moved to Gravenbridge, met my mom, and the two of them started becoming local philanthropists by investing in local business. I was born in Gravenbridge and was treated like royalty. Everyone was really nice to me so they could stay on my dad’s good side. But whenever I got into trouble, my dad would know. Someone would tell. After Wes, Dad decided enough was enough and we moved into a really nice penthouse here in Chicago, where my parents did the same song and dance. It was nice, being just one girl among the crowd.
“When are we moving?” I asked. I knew I didn’t really have a choice in the matter and getting angry would do no good. I figured it was best to accept it and move on.
“Next week. That should give us enough time to get you enrolled in school and arrange for our stuff to be shipped,” Dad said. I guess moving wasn’t really a big deal, considering we had the old house in Gravenbridge. At least, not from a logistical standpoint. Emotionally? That was another story.
My friends insisted on seeing me off at the airport. “Don’t worry, my dad says he’ll pay for your flights so you can come visit,” I told my friends Sasha, Laurie, and Izzy. I met these girls on the first day of high school and we had been inseparable since. It was going to be tough being away from them, especially with senior year next year.
“There’s nothing we can do to make you stay?”
“This can’t be happening.”
“We’re going to miss you so much!”
I gave them one last hug. “I’m going to miss you guys too,” I told them.
“Tell your old friends that we said hello!”
“And we’ll kill them if they decide to be jerks.”
My old friends. That was going to be interesting. When I left, I tried to keep in touch with them, but the memories were just too painful. I couldn’t stop thinking about Wes, and that changed how I talked with all of them. I hoped they didn’t hold it against me. Especially because unlike Wes, I had the luxury of coming back.
“I love you guys,” I said, pulling away. I didn’t want to let go, but I could feel my parents’ eyes on me. “I’ll text you as soon as I land, okay?”
The girls nodded, teary eyed, and let me go. I walked backwards, maintaining eye contact, until I reached my parents.
“It’ll be okay, Vi,” my mom told me. I was sure it would be, but it still hurt.
As we waited to move through the security terminal, my dad asked, “Have you told anyone we’re coming back?” He sounded hesitant. He never really liked my old friends. He barely tolerated Mina and Gray and was apathetic to Joe. He did like Wes, but… he was gone.
“No, not yet,” I told him. “Maybe once we land.”
He nodded silently. That could have meant anything coming from him, but I decided not to give it too much thought. He had gotten me thinking more about my old group. I wondered what they were up to now. Had Mina and Gray finally gotten together? Had Joe grown any taller? Oh man, could any of them drive now? That would be cool. I never got around to getting my license. Izzy just drove us everywhere. I wanted to reach out, I really did. But I had no idea what to say, especially with the Wes-sized elephant in the room. What was I supposed to say, “Hi, I know the last time we saw each other, I was running away because we were the last people to see our friend alive. Anyway, how are your classes?”
Yeah, I don’t think so. Regardless, I was going to have to see them at some point. That was unavoidable. But I didn’t want to think about it yet. Flying was a nerve-wracking experience enough without considering the awkward social situations that laid at the end of the trip. Before long, we were boarding the flight, and I put headphones in and my “Calm Times” playlist on. The plane took off, and I let my music wash me away to a land without worries.
Or so I thought. Unfortunately, nightmares found me. Another reason to hate flying. As my dream came into focus, I realized I was on a hill, overlooking Gravenbridge. I remembered it. I used to come up here with my friends and look up at the stars. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw smoke billow over the water. The trees and cottages bordering the lake quickly lit aflame, and the fire spread into the main area of town within moments. I saw everything I knew burn to ashes. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t look away. My eyes were glued to the town and my feet were like cement blocks, weighting me in place. Stores I frequented, my old school, my house, everything was gone. Before I knew it, the flames were crawling up the hill, and I was engulfed. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. The heat on my skin was unbearable. I closed my eyes, and a second later, the hotness was replaced with cool, breezy air. I opened my eyes, and saw that the cinders had revealed a haunting, yet familiar, setting.
All around me, leafless trees shot up in a manner so dense, it blocked out most of the sunlight. If I wasn’t still stuck in place, I would have needed to watch my step to avoid the copious amounts of rocks, roots, and dead branches that littered the ground. Old stone shacks were scattered around the forest, stretching on until the horizon. The majority of them were basically rubble at this point, but some still had some semblance of structure. Even without its signature landmark, I knew this was Old Town.
“It was your fault, you know,” a voice said from behind me. I turned, and saw the speaker was a young Mina, my former best friend. “You left. You’re the reason we fell apart.”
I found my voice, but it was ever so weak. “No, I—”
“You want to blame it on me, don’t you?” a newcomer asked, appearing to Mina’s right. A young Gray. He wasn’t wrong, I did want to blame him. Maybe that wasn’t fair of me, but I couldn’t help it. He was the one that took us there that night. He was the one that pushed Wes too hard.
“You can’t just come back and expect everything to be the same,” said another voice. To Mina’s right, a young Joe appeared, his eyes bloodshot from sobbing.
“I—” I tried to start speaking again, but this time I just couldn’t find the words.
“No one ever found me. I could still be out there,” a fourth voice said from behind me. I turned my back to the shadows of my friends, and was faced with Wes, exactly how I remembered him. Big brown eyes that always carried a soft expression. A round face, thanks to the chubby cheeks he hadn’t yet lost to puberty. Dark brown hair that was swept across his forehead. It was like looking straight into the past. “Maybe no one ever found me because you left. Maybe you’re the reason I’m still gone.”
The ground began to shake, and behind Wes, a house started to put itself together—the house. Pieces of wood and stone flew through the air and started to stack on top of each other, until the house was complete. Unlike the other houses in Old Town, this one had three storeys, and a large oak door. Sure, it was old and creepy, but it was well-constructed. The exterior was built with large, black stone bonded to each other with grey paste. Its only structural weakness was the wooden porch that was hardly safe to stand on. I had no idea how it even weathered the elements over the years. Decades? Centuries? No one really knew.
“Maybe I’m dead because of you,” Wes said, his eyes narrowing on me. As he spoke, the ground rumbled. It started off slow, but by the time he had finished speaking, the remaining stone houses had begun to fall, and I was struggling to keep my balance. The shaking continued, and I couldn’t help it any longer. I fell to the ground, and suddenly, there was nothing.
“Sorry about the turbulence there, folks,” a voice said from an intercom over top of my head. My eyes shot open. I was back on the plane. Nothing to be worried about. Nothing at all.
We landed just after midnight and a man with a pencil-thin mustache and a nice suit welcomed us. He shepherded us to a car, and we loaded our bags in. We were soon on our way to Gravenbridge—to home. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep. The images of my friends haunted me.
“As per your request, the house has been cleaned, and all the linens have been washed,” our driver said.
“Thank you very much,” my dad responded from the passenger’s seat. “I’m sure we’re all excited to get in and be able to go right to sleep.”
They continued to make small talk, but I tuned them out. I stared at my phone and wondered if I should text my friends. Maybe if I could talk to them, it would alleviate some of my worries about returning. Maybe it would just make them worse. I took a deep breath and rattled out a quick text to Gray. He likely wouldn’t get it until the morning, but that was fine. I could make it through the night and deal with everything then.
It seemed like multiple hours before we pulled up to the old house. I had been drifting in and out of consciousness, but as soon as the car lurched to a stop, I rallied and was full of energy. The idea of getting to sleep in my old bed was enough to get me to power through the unloading process. I hopped out of the car and grabbed my backpack and suitcase from the trunk. We packed light, since the rest of our stuff was being shipped. Some of it had probably already arrived.
I made my way towards the front door, and my dad called out, “Violet, hold on.” Reluctantly, I stopped.
“No, honey, go on up. You’ve had a long day. We’ll talk to you tomorrow,” my mom said, placing a hand on my dad’s arm. He didn’t look too pleased with this, but he shrugged.
“Sure. Have a good night, sweetie. Love you.”
“Love you guys,” I said. I continued to walk and opened the front door. If I wasn’t so tired, I would have taken in the sweet familiarity of this house. But I was exhausted, so I made a beeline for the staircase. I lugged my suitcase up the stairs, and on instinct, headed for my old room at the end of the hall. I swung the door open, dropped my bags on the ground, and flopped on the bed fully clothed. I hated that I had to leave my friends in Chicago, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to be back in my childhood home. The rest of the town? That would remain to be seen. The warm comfort of my old bed embraced me, as I succumbed to sleep.
It was one of the best sleeps I had in the past couple years. God, I missed this bed. Before I got up, I checked my phone. No text from Gray. Fine. I lounged around taking in the décor that my eleven-year-old self had used to make the room her own. The walls were a light purple, and stickers of flowers, animals, and stars were distributed all over the ceiling. I had left up posters of boy bands and movies I liked, some of which I barely remembered. I’d have to redecorate at some point, but right now, I was content to bathe in the nostalgia.
After lazing around for a bit, I got up and changed out of yesterday’s clothes into a beige wool sweater and some jeans. I sat down at my old vanity and brushed my hair, so it was no longer a tangled mess. I threw on some socks to warm my cold toes and descended to the main level to see my parents.
“Morning, sunshine,” my dad said, before taking a sip of his coffee. Of course they were both awake already.
“Sleep well?” my mom asked.
“Yeah, I really did actually,” I told them. I hoped that quelled their worries about moving me in the middle of my junior year.
There was a silence, which was shortly broken by my father. “Vi, would you be able to head down to Gerald Graven later today to hand in some paperwork?”
Gerald Graven High, my soon-to-be high school. That wasn’t really a surprise since it was the only high school in town, but the thought of having to stop by a school a day after my move was a bit daunting.
“They don’t accept e-mail?” I asked.
“You know how they are,” my mother said, coming to my dad’s defense. “They like to do things traditionally.”
“Plus,” my dad added, “It would really mean a lot. You know, your mother and I have a meeting today with some of the old guard here in town. You going to the school would really show that we’re back and all in.”
There was no sense arguing. They wanted me to do it, so I would. I was a good daughter that way. “Sure. Just leave the documents out here on the table. I’m going to go shower and get ready.”
And just like that, I was on my way. I got washed up, dried off, and threw on the same clothes before heading out the door. I was prepared to walk, but my pencil-stached friend from the night before was waiting for me outside. “Ms. DuBois, your ride awaits,” he said, opening up the back door to his car.
“Thank you, uhhh,” I said, not remembering his name.
“Horace,” he said. Horace. What a name.
“Thank you, Horace,” I said politely, as I took my seat in the back of the car. I placed the manila folder full of forms that my parents gave me on my lap.
The drive took no more than ten minutes. Did not surprise me, since Gravenbridge was the epitome of small towns. We basically just headed downtown and took a left.
“You don’t need to wait for me,” I told Horace. “I might hang around here for awhile.”
“You sure, Miss?” he asked.
“Yup, take the rest of the afternoon off,” I told him, flashing him a smile as I exited the car.
If I had the timing right, all the students would be in their third period class, the last one before lunch. I strolled through the halls, and I thought back to when I toured the school as a kid. It looked so big back then. But now? Honestly, it felt small, especially comparing it to my old school in Chicago.
I headed to the main office and knocked on the open door. “Hi, I’m here to drop off some forms.”
The administrative staff person at the front desk barely looked up from her work. “Alright, drop it here. Name?”
“Uh, Violet DuBois,” I said uneasily.
Immediately, she sat up straight. “DuBois. Yes, of course. I have your file here. Can I please see your paperwork?”
I handed it to her silently, not really knowing what to say. She took the folder from me eagerly and entered some information into her computer. “Okay, great,” she told me, handing me my folder back after a minute. “You can start with classes as of tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” I said, taking the folder. I was already supposed to start classes, but I hadn’t even selected them. Had my parents done course selection for me? What was I even taking? I guess I’d talk about it with them when I got home. I slowly backed out of the main office as the staff member smiled at me.
As soon as I exited, I broke eye contact, and power-walked forward. I didn’t really know where to go. I could have just gone the same way I came in, but I didn’t have a ride, since I sent Horace to have a chill day, and I wanted to explore. As fate would have it, I didn’t have to go far until things became more complicated.
As I walked down to the landing between the second and third floor, I heard voices.
“Look, I’m sorry. I—I just thought it was important,” a male voice said.
“I don’t care! I’m done with that! I can’t handle it anymore,” a girl’s voice responded.
“It’s now or never, I think. I just wanted to give you the option.”
“Look, I don’t want any part of this. I need you to fuck off. Politely.”
I came across the pair, and I couldn’t believe what I’d found. The guy had short brown hair, the same haircut my old friend Joe used to have. And the girl had dark hair with dyed blue ends. But her face? No question, it was Mina.
I stepped towards them and cleared my throat. They both fell silent, and stared at me.
“Violet?” Mina asked, her voice just briefly shaking.
“No way,” Joe murmured to himself.
I put on a friendly face. I didn’t know what they were thinking, but I wanted to start back off on the right foot. “Hey guys,” I said, layering warmth into my voice. “I missed you.”
Mina surged forward and embraced me in a firm hug. “You bitch,” she said, though there was clear affection in her voice, “You didn’t tell me you were coming back.”
I held the hug for a moment. After worrying that she’d hate me, it felt good to experience Mina’s softer side. “I texted Gray,” I told her. “He didn’t tell you?”
She pulled back, obviously bothered by this. “That dick. No, he didn’t. And I talked to him this morning,” she said.
“And he said he talked to me?” Joe said from a couple feet away. He seemed more hesitant to get closer to me.
“Yeah, so I guess he’s even more of a liar than I thought,” Mina said. Were the three of them no longer talking? And Gray was lying to them? What happened to him?
“I’d like to talk to him,” I said. “Do you know where he is?” As soon as I finished my sentence, the bell rang, and students started pouring out of classrooms, heading for lunch.
Joe spoke first, “Yeah, he should be in the cafeteria. That’s where he normally spends lunch.”
“If you guys are going, I’d love to come too,” Mina said. She linked her hands together and cracked her knuckles. “And then you and I can catch up.”
I don’t know if I liked the idea of confronting Gray in front of my future classmates, but I’m not sure what other choices I had. Mina and Joe were both eager to talk to him, so I had to go along with it.
“Alright, let’s get going then,” I said, as I headed down the stairs and walked towards the cafeteria. This wasn’t going to be a fun reunion.
