Landslide: Before (Book 1) (GirlxGirl / lesbian/ LGBTQ)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hey peeps, here's the update as promised. I, unfortunately, won't be updating at all next week. I'm ridiculously swamped in school work and just don't have the time to write at the moment. But, I promise there will be a chapter posted on 11/13. 

Summary: The one with the Ferris Wheel 

TWENTY-FOUR

Violet had called that night while I was suffocating under a pile of homework and college applications. It was a nice reprieve from the impending dark cloud that was my future. I could hear the exhaustion in her voice as she lazily spoke. She had finally got Tyler into bed after several hours of him refusing. She detailed how she had to play cowboy with him where she had to be the pony; "He may be five, but carrying him on my back for an hour was painful," She had grumbled to me. Her voice slowly began to fade as the minutes ticked later into the night. Eventually, I was left with the sound of her soft snores through the speaker of my phone. I smiled to myself before hanging up the call. We never lasted long on the phone with each other at night. It was usually me who would fall asleep on the phone, though. She had told me she never felt comfortable enough to, so she would force herself to stay awake until I fell asleep. She didn't want to do something embarrassing in her sleep; at least that's what she told me. I didn't know if she fell asleep on me tonight because she was that exhausted, or because, finally, she trusted me enough to do so. I was hoping it was the latter.

The morning after, as I was driving us to school, Violet sat happily in the passenger seat nursing her drink in one hand and a donut in the other. Some Indie song was playing softly through the speakers; Violet said we listened to my "screamy stuff" all the time, and that it was her turn to play music.

"My car, my music," I stated back attempting to swat her hand away from my phone.

"Yeah, sure, but you should be focusing on the road, not the songs," Violet argued. "I'm just worried about my safety."

"That's crap, and you know it," I grumbled, but didn't attempt to change the music back. Out of my peripheral, I could see Violet sitting there with a proud little grin on her face. I was still astounded by the girl she was behind the mask she wore for so long. In school and at work she was serious and far more mature than when we were together. With me, Violet was goofy, sarcastic, and cracked jokes like it was her day job. She smiled more, laughed a lot, and while there were times where I would see her retreating, I knew she would come back. I'd wait patiently, talking to her gently, until she was back again with another wisecrack letting me know she was okay once more. I never anticipated these moments with her -- they always took me by surprise.

"You're always buying me breakfast," Violet stated bluntly.

"Good observational skills you've got there, Vi," I said back sarcastically. She gave me an exasperated and unimpressed look.

"Oh, hush, I was going to say that I owe you something in return," She answered. "Food for food, you know?" I pulled into a space in the school parking lot and turned to her.

"Violet McKinnon, are you asking me on a date?" I gasped placing my hand over my heart feigning shock. Her eyes widened drastically.

"I-I....well, I mean, if---" She stumbled helplessly over her words.

"Breathe, I was just teasing you, Violet," I said getting out of the car and shouldering my backpack. She scrambled quickly out of the car and stopped in front of me. "Don't worry so much, cutie." I chuckled as a blush crept up her face and took the opportunity to leave her speechless like she did to me the other day. Leaning forward, I grazed my lips on her cheek and stepped back with a soft smile. "I'll see you after school." As I sauntered away, I could feel my heart hammering against my chest. I peeked over my shoulder when I neared the school; Violet stood in the same spot, her hand on her cheek and an uncharacteristically dainty smile on her face. Maybe, it was just forward enough.