ch25 or 26?

It was a tense ride home as scenes from the party danced through my mind.  Violet arguing with Gabe and that look she gave me.  It felt like she knew my secret, like she could see right through me.  

Izaak's eyes stayed focused on the road as he rambled about something unimportant.  My intermittent "mmhmms" kept him satisfied enough to continue the chatter as I wondered what to do.  Running was still at the top of my list, but Izaak's protection and my new family made it harder to do that.  Toby's idea to frame somebody sounded good enough and Vanessa was an easy target.  How else could I steer the case in that direction but to tell Violet?

The idea of telling her made my heart rate speed up drastically.  Before another panic attack came on, I inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring, ignoring the blurry spots in my vision.  Izaak's voice came back to my consciousness, the calming aura of his deep tone, the slight accent that came out in his "th"s.  He was droning on and on like a lecturing dad, talking about speakers he was thinking of getting, all of the specs and technical features.  

How will he take it when he realizes what I've done?

I tossed and turned in bed for about an hour after Izaak was locked in his room.  Sleep was out of the picture.  Not that I'd been able to sleep much lately anyway.  But tonight there was a knawing feeling in my stomach telling me that it was time.  It was now or never.  I couldn't depend on Sage or Toby or Izaak or anyone else to tell me what to do.  I had to approach Violet myself and con her into helping me frame Vanessa.

It started with a simple text message asking to meet up tonight.

does sergeant douche let you out this late???

I rolled my eyes at her thinking that I let Izaak run my life like that.......  Besides, the month-long deal was almost over and I was again free to do as I please.

I'm not worried about him.  So meet up, or not?

It only took 30 seconds for her to respond with:  Dominic's?

x-x-x-x

The cotton summer dress I wore was a little too classy for the dive bar.  Even Violet gave me a weird look as we ignored the gang cat-calling us as we clomped up the metal staircase.  

Violet ordered us drinks then slid into a booth on the other side of the bar from her poker buddies.  

"Are you allowed to drink again?" I asked when I saw the mojitos.

"Seriously?  Fuck Gabe and his punk ass rules.  I'm tired of his shit tonight.  And it's not like sergeant douche knows you're out here, right?"

I blushed and took a sip off the mojito, sinking into the booth.

Violet only allowed me to make small talk for a minute before she cut to the chase.  "What did you wanna talk about?"

My body shivered as I held onto the frosty glass, sucking through the straw to get a little drunker.  "Lemme just get us more drinks first."

She laughed.  "Bro, you better slow down.  I ain't carryin' your drunk ass home tonight.  We gotta work in the mornin'."

"Fuck work," I mumbled, and went to the bar anyway.

As I waited for the mojitos, I saw a familiar face, but couldn't put a name to it.  He talked to his buddy in Spanish about me before approaching.  "Hey, I know you.  Violeta's friend.  What was your name again?  I'm Andy."  He reached out a hand to shake mine, but I just smiled and waited for the drink.  "'Ey!  I'm talkin' to you."

A flash of the gun pointed at Violet went through my mind, so I smiled at the greasy gang-banger.  "Oh, hey.  Yeah, I remember you.  I'm Clo."  My stomach clenched when I touched his hand to shake it, and he brought his mouth to my hand for a kiss.

"That was fucked up what you did, swipin' money from my cuz.  You're gonna have to pay for that."

I giggled nervously and took my hand away, going back to grab my drink when Violet suddenly appeared at my side.

"Hey!  Leave my girl alone," and shoved Andy.

They exchanged words in Spanish and I closed my eyes for a moment to steady my dizziness.  This was all too much.  I was so sleepy.  And hungry.  And guilty.

Someone broke up the exchange between Violet and Andy, so we went back to our table.  That's when everything spilled out — my entire confession.  I told her about Sage and trying to throw her off our tracks.  I told her about how it all started and details of my crimes, exaggerating the emotional moments though she didn't care much about that.  

We drank and exchanged sob stories from childhood, completely and totally drunk.  Blackout drunk.  

Everything began getting hazy.  Purple and blue spots.  Andy and his body guards in the background, watching us.  Echos of him promising to get back at me.  Blurry.  Eyelids heavy.  Closing.  Darkness.  Out.

x-x-x-x

I woke up in a cold sweat, body heavy.  As my eyes opened I struggled to gain full vision, wondering where I was.  My hair was matted to my face, dress surprisingly still in tact, though there was the suspicion that something fucked up happened.  Glancing around the room, I noticed that it was oddly familiar, not because I'd been here before, but the aura just seemed like somebody I knew.  

Nostrils flaring, I breathed in the scent and immediately a face came to mind — Toby.   How did I end up here?