VI

“I don’t understand how we’re just supposed to go about business as usual.. People were hurt. We could have been killed.” She ranted as she walked down the stairs, glancing back over her shoulder at the person behind her.

She crawled into Violet’s lap, her arms around the blonde’s neck, and suddenly they were thrown back in time to when neither of them gave a fuck about what they were. No fighting, no jealousy. Just chemistry, and confusing emotions that were numbed by alcohol or drugs or, sometimes, both. “I don’t need to talk about it right now.” She whispered, looking down down at Vi, their lips inches apart. With both of her hands cupping either side of Vi’s face, she couldn’t help but notice the undeniable, familiar spark of sexual tension that was almost always present when they were in the same room. But now, this close together, that tension was multiplied by a thousand. And then she went for it, deciding to fuck any and all promises she’d ever set for herself when it came to Vi. Crashing her lips against Vi’s, Eliana pressed her body against the other girl’s. Ignoring the fact that both of them were covered in dirt and soot, all she could focus on was the sweet taste of Vi’s lips, something she had missed more than she was willing to admit.

Vi was caught off guard by Eli suddenly crawling into her lap, staring at the other for a moment before hands came to rest at the other’s side. Her heart skipped a beat as the other whispered, her gaze falling to the other’s lips as she drew closer. This was a terrible idea. Violet was still mad about the way things had ended last time and she knew deep down that she shouldn’t trust this as being anything other than Eli trying to cope with the shock of having the building they were in nearly fall in on them. 

Vi started to respond but it ended in a wordless murmur as the other’s lips met hers, a surge of pent up attraction washing through Vi like a tidal wave. Her arms circled around the other girl, pulling Eli closer. She was afraid to let her go for fear of Eli coming to her senses again, afraid that the girl would push her away again like before.

Turning on the TV as instructed, she really didn’t want to watch it, but at the same time she knew that ignoring the blonde really wouldn’t change anything, like, at all. For fucks sake, this was Vi she was with, so maybe it was better that she wasn’t going to just sit around in this state of shock and panic. And besides she could hardly focus on much of anything right now, let alone watch television. Even still she climbed further onto the bed and curled up, leaving room for Violet to join her once she got back. Seeing the bottle of wine her eyes widened in surprise but she still didn’t say anything. She was still wishing that she could fall asleep and just wake up to a day where none of this had happened. But it had happened, and that was only part of why she couldn’t shake the weakness she felt in her body. The rest was to blame on the fact that the impact of the explosion had seriously affected her body, she was smart enough to know that much. Which sucked because in a number of ways this made her vulnerable, and there was nothing Eli hated more than coming across as vulnerable to other people.

She took a long swig from the bottle, entirely disregarding the pang she felt in her chest that reminded her of how her brother and father seemed to behave when they were intoxicated. But the wine gave her a pleasant buzz as she handed the bottle back to Vi. “What doesn’t make any sense?” She asked, shifting so her legs were tucked neatly beneath her. She turned her body so she was facing Vi more. And it took her a few more minutes before she was able to actually respond to Vi’s previous statement. “I know I’m s’posed to support the cops n’ shit cause I’m a teacher but. Some of ‘em don’t do shit. Either that or I’ve got terrible luck with them.” She was trying her best not to slur her words, as she’d only had the equivalent of about one and a half cups of red wine in less than twenty minutes. And she knew that if it was too obvious, Vi would definitely not hesitate at the opportunity to make fun of her. But now… now they had something else to worry about.

“Why would anyone want to do that, though? Like… what the fuck did anyone at that party do to deserve this.” She shook her head, scrunching up her face. “It doesn’t make sense.” The alcohol in her veins was making it easier for her to cope with the inevitable shock, apparently, making it easier for her to speak. In the morning chances were she was going to regret absolutely everything, but at the moment all she could do was continue to take drinks out of the bottle each time it was passed to her. Not the smartest way of coping, but it was effective. It was also the easiest, and right now she was too emotionally shook to even process the fact she was drowning herself in alcohol.

Violet couldn’t help the smile that pulled at the corner of her lips, Eli’s whole dedicated teacher and public servant thing was adorable. Adorable enough to make Vi want to forget that they’d just nearly been blown to smithereens for reasons unknown to either of them. She reached for the bottle in Eli’s hand, the girl’s slurred words betraying how hard it was hitting her. “I don’t know.” She lied in response to Eli’s question, not about to tell the girl all the reasons she could think of for why someone would want to blow them all to hell. That party had been full of criminals and poor Eliana had no idea what she was caught in the middle of, something that just made Vi want to protect her from it all. “It doesn’t make sense.” She mumbled, tilting her head back to take a drink from the bottle. “Are you okay, though? You can talk to me... I know I haven’t been a perfect friend but, I’m here for you. I mean that.” She insisted, reaching to set the bottle on the bedside table.

Harper: Thank god

Harper: I'm fine. Whitney has a few broken fingers, I'm with her at the hospital

Harper: Ty pushed her out of the way to save her, Vi, and he's not doing well...

Violet: Shit

Violet: I'm glad you're both ok

Feeling Violet’s hand wrap around her arm, Eliana couldn’t help but follow after obediently. Under any other circumstances she might have dug her heels into the ground and refuse to let the other girl tell her what to do. Now, however, she was faced with an entirely different situation. Hurrying with the blonde, she managed to dodge the debris and smoke, only coughing slightly as the dusty air clouded her lungs. Staggering out of the building, she followed the other girl down the  street, unable to say anything until they finally reached the other girl’s apartment. She honestly wasn’t sure why they were there, or how they’d gotten there, but she remembered nodding when being asked if she wanted to go home with Vi. Not that her response would have changed whether or not the blonde girl ended up dragging her home either way, of course. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she looked up at the other girl with large doe eyes which were uncharacteristically cloudy. Her skin was pale and cool, but she was scarily silent. She slowly moved her focus to her hands, which were still shaking, before finally whispering. “We should sleep.” Because despite everything that had just happened, she really didn’t want to be awake…and she didn’t know what else to say. There were a million things to say to the girl she’d been falling for, but none of them made it to the tip of her tongue. The only thing she could think about now was the act of violence that had just happened, and just how scared she felt on the inside. About a year ago, though, being with Vi might have made her feel safe… but after what had happened between them things had grown different. And now was the first time in awhile where she wished they could go back to the way things were before. She just wanted to fall asleep with Vi and wake up next to her just like the good old days, but the saddest part was that she was certain Vi was over her. And if she truly was, then how Eliana felt didn’t matter anymore.

Vi was relieved to get away from the building and the emergency vehicles that were arriving, wholly disinterested in talking to the police about what the hell had gone down. She headed straight home, pulling Eli along with her. She just wanted to lay low until she knew what had happened, anxious to hear from some of the others. 

As she stepped inside of the flat she let go of Eliana’s hand, turning to lock the door behind her. The flat was quiet, causing Vi’s heart to sink in her chest. She knew that Harper and Whitney had been at the party too, desperately trying not to worry that either of them might be hurt.

She sat down next to Eli, only jumping back up again when the other said that they should sleep. How the fuck were they supposed to sleep after that? Vi was too busy trying to ignore the fact that her hands were still shaking without someone to hold onto. “Turn on the TV. See if they’re reporting on it.” She tossed the remote at Eli and walked back to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine to open it. She climbed back onto the bed, drawing her legs up to sit criss-cross there. She started to ask Eliana if her stupid brother had been there but Violet realized that she couldn’t even attempt to express concern for Jeb’s life without it being obvious that she hoped something good had come out of all this after all. 

She took a long drink from the bottle before shoving it into Eli’s hands, her brow knit with confusion. She had so many questions about what had happened, the shock slowly fading into curiosity. Violet loved a mystery and a bomb that had gone off to blow both Royals and Strix alike was a hell of a good one. “This doesn’t make any sense.” She declared, grabbing her phone to check for messages. “If the police had any integrity or brains I’d want to credit them with this stroke of genius but that seems unlikely.”

Sera’s head spun but she was aware enough to cry out when she felt someone trip over her. The ringing drowned out the cry, but she saw the familiar face come into view. Violet. One of the other interns from Royals. She looked so different all dolled up, but it was unmistakably her. Sera groaned and tried to sit up as Violet touched her arm. It hurt, but she could do it. 

It was only then, when Violet spoke and Sera saw her lips moving, that she realised something was terribly wrong. “I… I can’t hear.” Sera’s hand went to her ear, feeling for bleeding. She needed her hearing, how was she meant to hear people creeping up on her? She relied so heavily on her senses that not having one was a serious blow.

Now wasn’t the time though. They had to get out of here. Adrenaline seemed to be stopping her from feeling the impact of being thrown across the room too much and she managed to get to her feet. She felt like she was going to vomit, but she pushed it down. “We’ve got to go!”

Violet stared at the girl as she said that she couldn’t hear, cringing as she heard the fear in the other’s voice. Violet didn’t want to stop and help but what else could she do? Leaving the woman alone seemed too cruel even for Vi. 

She nodded as the girl got to her feet, scrambling to her own and reaching for the other’s hand. Trying to communicate verbally was useless, instead pulling Sera towards the nearest clear exit she could find. 

Harper: Vi, are you okay??

Harper: Where are you?

She was lucky to have friends who cared. Whitney knew she was. And in the wake of her ‘accident’t a lot of them had really stepped up for her, while she understood they were also worried. None of her injuries were small. The combination of them left her fairly dependent on constant help and assistance, and despite her mothers efforts to convince her, Whitney had refused to hire some part time nurse to help her out. No way was she agreeing to being tracked and watched and worried about by a stranger. Instead she tried not to take any of the pain she was in out on her friends and family. Tried to stay strong for them, even if what she wanted to do half the time was scream or cry. 

Like right now as the door clamped down on her broken leg, sending spikes of pain trough her joints as she had to bite down on her lips in order to keep from howling out. Fuck. This. Door. She gasped a little, both in relief and exhaling all that pent up frustration as the door was opened for her, revealing Violet behind it. “I’m.. yes I’m fine.” she replied a little breathlessly, having to dig deep for the somewhat forced smile that she gave her roommate and friend. “Uhm.. I’m sorry for disappearing?” she offered, recognizing her friends frustration as well. Oh damn. “I had to pee and you were talking to someone so I asked a waiter to wheel me over here.” 

Violet rolled her eyes, sidestepping Whitney to help her dislodge the chair from the antagonistic door. “You’re welcome to interrupt me, Whitney. I’d rather that than you losing a fight with a bathroom door.” She insisted, shaking her head. She worried about the girl. Violet just wasn’t convinced that Whitney was cut out for surviving the world on her own. There was something about the girl that made Violet feel compelled to protect her- especially now that they were more than just coworkers since becoming roommates too.