Ephemeral (#Wattys2016 #JustWriteIt)

Chapter 5

Violets's POV

I walk down the halls of the mall behind Anna. She walks into a story called Zara and when I enter I stop dead in my tracks. Wow. This is gigantic. I speed walk to where Anna is, she walks fast, and see all the clothes I can. So many pretty clothes. I pick up a price tag of a shirt I liked and once I see the price I drop it like it was made of fire. It was 30 dollars.

"Ooo cute shirt. You have a good taste!" Anna says before picking it up with a 2 pairs of jeans and another shirt. She gives me the shirt I liked and a pair of jeans and pushes me in a tiny room, and drags the curtain so no one sees me. This feels like home. "Try it on!" She tells me and I hear her going in the room besides mine.

I quickly take out my old and dirty clothes and try the new ones on. I pull the curtain and step out.

"I'm done. Come see" I tell her and her curtain drags back to the fullest. When she sees me she smile and whistles at me.

"So hooooot oh my!" She says and I blush.

"I can't afford this. But it was fun trying them on" I tell her and her face drops. I don't know why. Mine should be the one dropping, but all that happens is I turn redder from embarrassment.

"Its on me" She tells me before getting back into her dressing room.

"No its not. I'm taking them back" I tell her and quickly change back to my normal black jeans, shirt, hoodie, and boots, before walking out of the room and giving the clothes to the lady, giving her a polite smile.

Anna walks out a few minutes later with the jeans and the shirt she took and walks to the cashier. She pays for her stuff and we go home.

*~*~*

"VIOLET! Come in here!" I hear Anna scream from her room and I walk to it and knock on the door. "Enter duh" She says and I open the door, and close it once I'm inside her room. "This is yours" She tells me digging under her bed and pulling out a bag. I look at her confused and look into it. The shirt and jeans.

"No no no take it I don't want this. Thank you but take it" I tell her pushing the bag to her chest and stand up from her bed.

"Violet sit down and listen" She tells me and I sit back down, intimidated by the sudden seriousness in her voice. "I have something to tell you, but you can't tell Jonah. Or anyone. You have to promise" She tells me and a million emotions flash before her eyes.

"I promise whats wrong?" I ask her concerned and confused.

"Jonah told me about the little... Incident. About he following you and what happened over at your ho-" HOW COULD HE?!

"Oh my God! Seriously?! This is all because of pity?! Look I don't need yours or his shitty pity I already have enough okay?! So shove that pitt up you'-" I start to say but she cuts me off by pushing me down on the bed again.

"This is not about pity... I haven't been completely honest with Jonah. He thinks I was adopted as a baby into this great family because my mom couldn't support me when I was a baby. He thinks that because thats what I told him. But I'm going to tell you the truth, and I need you to don't tell anyone" She tells me staring straight into my eyes and I nod, signaling her to continue. "Its a very very long story so I'm going to give you a summary. I was born and raised in a neighborhood like yours. Poor and without anything. My dad hit my mom, then my mon started hitting us. She did drugs and my dad did alcohol. I ran away at 14, and was adopted at 16" She tells me and I look at her completely perplexed. She looked so... Perfect. Nothing like me. Well she did run away. I have a little brother I need to take care of while my mom is out doing drugs and men.

"Wow I'm sorry I didn't know that I-"

"I haven't finished. I remember that all the girls wore better stuff than me and that I was never going to be able to afford such living, and I want to give you this because I know how hard it can be to feel lef-" She says but my blood starts to boil and I explode before letting her finish.

"You know nothing about me or my life! I don't need your pity clothes. 'Poor Violet, she must feel so sad that she isn't pretty and perfect like the other girls' Fuck that shit. I don't need any more of that in my life" I tell her and stand up from the bed.

"It's not pity. Its empathy. I know what you're going through because I already went through it. Just take it" She said before pushing the bag to my chest, and out of her room.