Violet Chain

Violet Chain

By J Kahele

Text copyright © 2015 Violet Chain by J Kahele

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.

 I froze.

My heart exploded in my chest.

The breath left my lungs.

 I couldn’t believe my eyes as they took in the sight of my new fiancé Harrison grunting and thrusting into a cheeky redhead on the game room floor.

“Violet!” Harrison yelled frantically as he yanked his trousers up hurriedly, practically knocking over the redhead kneeling before him.

“How could you?” The words came out in a whisper as I tried to choke back the tears that were threatening to appear. I would not cry! 

I ran out of the room and straight to the front door.

As I reached for the doorknob, I felt a hand brush against mine. “Violet, please let me talk to you,” Harrison pleaded.  With my eyes down, I pushed his hand away and scurried out the door.

In minutes, my perfect world had come crashing down. Instead of enjoying a night celebrating my engagement with friends and family, I spent it in my bed, curled up like a snowball wishing I could just melt away.

“Violet, you can’t spend the rest of your life in this room,” my brother Vince murmured as he flung the drapes open. I blinked hard as the bright light beamed into my swollen eyes, causing them to water. It had been two days since I had caught Harrison cheating on me, and other than when I made an occasional run to the bathroom, my bed had become my comrade, my safe haven, my complete existence.

“Leave me alone,” I bellowed before burying my face in the pillow. I had never felt pain like this before; it was excruciating. It felt like someone had reached into my chest and ripped my heart out. The pain was not only mental but physical, defeating my body and wrecking my head. I was a mess, a complete disaster; and the tears, God, the tears, flooding down my face faster than I could blink them away, a constant reminder of what Harrison had done.

Four years I had dedicated myself to him—four years of cleaning his house, doing his laundry and paying his bills. And he repaid me by shattering my dreams, crushing my spirit and breaking my heart.

I felt the pillow being ripped away, and my face fell onto the bed.

“That was a real dick move Harrison pulled, but it’s not the end of the world,” Vince said as he plopped down on the bed, throwing the pillow to the side.

Easy for him to say. He didn’t catch his fiancé getting a blow job from some random redhead in our parents’ house during their engagement party. How did I not see the signs? There had to be signs, right? Maybe a part of this was my fault? It was obvious I wasn’t giving him what he needed if he had to fall into the arms—correction—the mouth of another woman.

“Come on, Violet, please get up,” Vince wheedled as he yanked at my arm. I pushed his hand away and wrapped the blanket tightly around my head and body, turning away from him.

“Go away,” I muttered hoarsely.  Didn’t he get it? I was slowly dying, withering away, my heart shattered and cursed by the memory that haunted me every second I breathed. All I wanted to do was disappear into the shadows of my room and wallow in my misery, alone.

I heard Vince grunt. “Fine, you leave me no choice.”

I felt the mattress lift as he stood up. Thank God. I comfortably adjusted my blanket and closed my eyes as my mind wandered back to Harrison. Why did he cheat? If it was other women he wanted, then why didn’t he just stay single? How could he do this to me? I thought he loved me, he said he did, was that just a lie? Why would he—? My thoughts were interrupted as my body, blanket and all, was lifted from the bed. I whipped my head to the owner of the arms that cradled me and was met by the grin of my other brother, Victor.

“Put me down!” I demanded. He tightened his hold, furrowing his eyebrows in a stern look that reminded me of my father way too much. Victor favored my father in all ways, dark hair and eyes, tall and muscular, where Vince favored my mother and me, with light amber eyes and sandy brown hair.

“Nope,” he said firmly. I threw an elbow into his side.

“Victor, put me down, now!”

He chuckled at my aggressive move, unaffected of course, and shook his head. Stubborn ox!

“Look, Vi, we’re not going to let you sit in this bedroom another day, feeling sorry for yourself,” my brother Vince chimed in as he stood next to Victor.

My eyes flickered back and forth from Victor to Vince; their similar expressions reminding me that they were twins, though they looked nothing alike. I was their baby sister, younger by two years. Like most twins, they were inseparable; they shared a house, worked together and even socialized together. They were like a two-for-one deal, you get one, and you get the other. So it wasn’t uncommon for them to double team me in any given situation. 

I scowled at them and they laughed. I tried to squirm out of Victor’s arms, but it was dreadfully impossible. He outweighed me easily by a hundred pounds and was about eight inches taller. He was strong and in excellent shape and used his strength against me quite often. I began kicking my feet like a child having a tantrum and finally, Victor placed me on the ground.

“I wish everyone would just mind their own damn business!” I blurted out with annoyance.

“You’re our little sister, you are our business,” Victor countered.

“Yeah, Vi, we’re worried about you, we love you, you know that,” Vince added, purposely blinking those puppy dog eyes at me, knowing that they always made me feel shamefaced in some sort of way.

I knew my brothers were worried about me and they had every right to be. I was a complete and utter train wreck, even I was surprised by my emotional weakness.  It pained me to see them so concerned, so I felt compelled to ease their worry, even if it meant being untruthful.

“I’m okay, I promise,” I lied, forcing a smile.

Victor’s eyes narrowed. “Harrison’s a dickhead. If it was up to me, I would tell Dad to throw him out on his ass!”

Did I mention that Harrison worked for my family’s advertising business? It was how we met.

I shook my head.  “I’m not going to have him fired just because things didn’t work out between us.”

Victor stilled me with a look. “Well you should; me and Vince sure don’t want to work with that cheating asshole. I don’t see how you would want to.”

I never gave much thought to working with Harrison until now. How hard was it going to be? I couldn’t fathom the idea of talking to him right now, much less seeing him. Maybe Victor was right, maybe I should have a word with my father.

I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind. I was not a vindictive or selfish person; I could never purposely hurt anyone out of anger. Besides, it wasn’t like Harrison slacked off at his position. He was an exemplary accountant and did a superb job taking care of the company’s finances. I knew his salary was above and beyond what he would earn at any other company and I didn’t feel it was fair to rip that away, even if he was a low-life cheat!

Vince rested his hands on my forearms. “We have to get to the office, are you sure you are going to be alright?”

I gave him a half nod. “I’m fine, really.” But was I? They both hugged me and I sighed. Was it going to get better? At the moment, it didn’t feel like it was.

Victor ran his nose up my arm, sniffing me like a dog.

“Christ, Vi, you smell worse than the men’s locker room at   the gym,” he said with a look of disgust.

I rubbed my face against my shoulder and an unpleasant odor reached my nose. He was right, I did smell pretty rank. “Sorry, haven’t showered in a few days.”

Victor grinned. “Hose yourself down, you really stink!”

What did it matter what I smelt like? It wasn’t like I had a boyfriend or fiancé to impress anymore, anyways. I cleared my throat. “I will.”

I felt hands on my shoulders and looked up to meet the soft-hearted eyes of Vince. “You sure you’re alright? We don’t have to go to work. We can stay here with you, if you need us.”

Victor moved to the other side of me, adding his two cents. “You’re not going to off yourself or anything like that when we leave?”

Just like Victor to blurt out something ridiculous. Never once did taking my life enter my mind. I was depressed, but not stupid.

“Victor, you say the dumbest things, I swear,” I mumbled angrily.

He shrugged his shoulders before saying, “What? You act like my question is asinine. I mean, that has to feel pretty shitty, to catch some bimbo knobbing your fiancé.”

A normal woman would be mortified by his comment, but I knew my brother and being blunt was just a part of him, so it didn’t even faze me.

“I’m fine, really, go to work,” I responded as I waved my hands towards the door. Although their intentions were noble, they were beginning to really irritate me, especially Victor, and I didn’t need it, not now.

They sauntered towards the bedroom door when Vince stopped suddenly. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Vi, Callie is here. I’ll let her know that you’re taking a shower and will be out when you’re done.”

“Okay.”

I wasn’t surprised Callie was here. Whenever I went through a troubling time, she was always there for me; she was my oldest and dearest friend. To be quite honest she was my only friend. I had met Harrison when I was only 19 years old, so I didn’t do the normal girl thing at that age, going to clubs and parties, so over the years, my friends from high school slowly dissipated, but not Callie. She stuck right by me through thick and thin.

“Love ya, sis,” my brothers said in perfect sync.

“Love you too,” I shouted to their backs as they both exited my room.

I walked into the bathroom and stared into the mirror. The spaces under my eyes were poufy, resembling small balloon-like bags, my cheeks blotchy and tear stained.

I wondered how Harrison was feeling. Did he feel the pain like I felt? The aching chest, the twirling stomach and the shattered heart? I wanted to believe more than anything that he did feel the way I did, it made me feel better, but something deep inside of me knew that it wasn’t true.

I tried to convince myself that he had to feel at least guilty for what he had done, but that thought vacated my mind almost instantly. If he had a sliver of a conscience, or half of a heart, he would never have done what he did in the first place.

***

The shower did nothing for the aching that seemed to be permanent in my chest but it did wake me up a bit.

I threw on a pair of yoga pants and a tank top and walked out of my bedroom.

As I shuffled out to the living room, Callie, along with her boyfriend David, walked over to me. I took a moment to admire them. They were a handsome couple, both blond with green eyes and in very good shape.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her.

She placed her hands on my arms, puckering her lip as she frowned. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you okay?”

Her eyes tilted up at me and I could see the distress gleaming through them, but I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous as I gazed at her. Even with a stupid look on her face, she still looked so elegant and beautiful. She was the epitome of perfection, flawless. She did everything right: impeccable daughter, supreme girlfriend and an excellent best friend. I envied her.

I nodded my head. “Yes, I’m fine.”

David patted my shoulder.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked me, the words rolling slowly off of his tongue.

The pity in his eyes made me flush with embarrassment. I could only imagine what he was thinking. ‘
Poor girl couldn’t keep her man satisfied so he had to find someone else!
’ I grunted as the thought left me and I looked down.

“I’m fine, David,” I whispered under my breath. 

He smiled and walked over to the couch, leaving Callie and me to talk.

“Harrison is on my shit list! I swear when I see him, he is really going to get a piece of my mind!” she raged.

I suddenly felt sorry for Harrison. I had seen Callie mad more than once and that woman could be vicious when she wanted to be. The very thought of her losing her mind on Harrison worried me.

“I’m okay, Callie,” I muttered, hoping to calm her temper.

She tenderly rubbed my arm.  “I don’t know what to say, Violet, except you deserve better.”

What could she say? There were no words that would ease the pain, none.

I didn’t realize how weak my body was until my head began to spin, making me feel dizzier the longer I stood. It was probably from the lack of nutrition, from not eating for two days. I wondered if Harrison was having a hard time eating, too. I plopped down on my tan armchair. Callie walked over to the couch, sitting down next to David.

She leaned forward, her face beaming with pride. “I was hoping that maybe you would want to go out for a little while today. David and I just bought a new house; I really want you to see it.”

“You two are living together already? You just started dating,” I exclaimed, astounded. Wow, they were really moving fast. I wasn’t big on people living together before they were married, but that was just me. Harrison had wanted me to but I refused. You know the old saying, ‘Why buy the cow when you can drink the milk for free?’ That was how I felt.

Disappointment flooded her eyes. “We’ve been dating for two years.”

I instantly felt bad for not knowing this. The last four years of my life had been all about Harrison. I had completely cut Callie out of my life and did not realize it till now. Here she was by my side, taking time out of her busy schedule to make sure I was okay. And how do I repay her? By not even knowing how long she had been with her boyfriend. I could understand if it was a new relationship, but two years. How did I not know that she had been with David for two years? What an awful friend I was. I had to make it up to her.

I leaned forward to reply, but before I could, my cell rang. I was surprised after two days that it was still holding a charge. I snatched it up from the coffee table and stared down at the screen. Harrison’s name flashed before my eyes and my first reaction was to whip it across the room, but instead I pressed talk.

“Violet?” he muttered nervously.

“Yeah.”

“Shit, Violet, I’ve been calling you for two days, where have you been?” he asked frantically.