Formidable // Sally Face (2)

T w e l v e

The rest of the school day went as normal as it could have gone following the events at lunch. Violet found herself feeling rather frustrated with Sal and her friends (mostly Sal). Did he really think that she was too incompetent to participate in their investigations? He always praised her for being strong and intelligent. What more did she need to be in order to qualify as an official member of the group? Even Ash, the group skeptic, was more involved than her, and she didn't even live in the apartments!

Turns out, Todd was unable to find any abnormalities in the bologna when testing it in the lab. But this wasn't enough to satisfy the group, especially after Sal and Violet's discovery in Mrs. Packerton's desk. Even Violet was growing disturbed by how things were playing out.

The boys decided to carry on their investigation back at the apartments after school. They weren't going to rest until they got to the bottom of the whole bologna situation. That meant that the next step was breaking into Mrs. Packerton's apartment.

"Let's meet up in Todd's room when everyone's ready," Sal planned as he, Larry, Todd, and Violet stood in the lobby of the apartments. Ash was sitting this part out, as she had to watch her younger brother. 

Everyone agreed and split off. The boys headed to their respective apartments while Sal stopped to check the mailbox. Violet watched as he flipped through a stack of envelopes, nervously chewing on her bottom lip. She was itching to confront him about his lack of transparency with her. However, now certainly didn't feel like an appropriate time to do so. But with all that was going on, when would the next appropriate time come? Days? Weeks? She couldn't last that long.

"Sally," she began, "I don't understand."

He sighed, reaching out to grab her hand and lead her toward the elevator. "I know, Vi."

"You guys...excluded me. Why?"

"You'll understand once I'm able to explain everything. But for now, I'll sum it up and say that it was because I love you."

She huffed. "I'm not happy with that answer."

"I know you're not."

Violet pulled her hand out of Sal's once the elevator opened. She was growing angry with him. To top off the fact that he'd been lying to her, she didn't hear even a hint of remorse in his voice as he spoke. His tone was solemn, but in a dreadful sort of way. Like he didn't even want to come clean with her. 

She didn't speak for the entire ride to the 4th floor. The words bubbling in her throat weren't the kindest, after all. Silent, she followed Sal into his apartment and made a beeline to his room to put her backpack down. He made a stop in the kitchen before coming in behind her.

Sal knew that this would happen some day or another. He'd spent quite a while preparing for Violet's reaction, therefore leaving him unsurprised by her silent treatment. There simply wasn't enough time to unload everything right now. He was sure that she knew that too. In the meantime, he needed to find the right words to hold her over.

Violet was sitting on his bed by the time he walked into the bedroom. Her knees were pulled to her chest as she stared downward with a rather bitter expression.

"If I had the time to tell you everything right now, I would," he said, taking the vacant spot beside her.

No answer.

"Vi, the stuff we've been researching is dangerous. And not only that, but a lot of it is kinda fucked up. It's weird, it's confusing, and it's pretty stressful at times."

She still didn't say anything, but Sal could see her expression become more focused. She was listening.

"You had just lost your parents. It was a battle just getting you to eat or get out of bed in the mornings. There was no way you would've been able to handle the stuff we were doing. Honestly, we could barely handle it ourselves."