Random dialogue with violet and izaak

“I can’t believe you still want anything to do with that bitch. Not only did she lie to you, but then she got all butt hurt about you ‘lying’ to her. What a fucking hypocrite.”

“Chloe is family. Family deserves to be forgiven.”

“What the fuck? That’s so toxic, bro. She could just use you forever and keep hurting you.”

“She does not hurt me.”

“Ha. You ain’t made of steel. Of course she does, even if you won’t admit it. You’ll stick around and have all this resentment built up til shit explodes.”

“Are you projecting?”

“Ooo fancy word usage. You’ve been hanging out with Toby too much.”

And then he stayed silent, probably another trick he learned from the doc.

“Maybe I am, but you know I’m right.”

Izaak shrugged. “Maybe you are.”

violet thoughts after realizing it's chloe

i don't even believe it — innocent little clo?  she's the voice behind all those sleezy conversations i read? the naked body in that video?

yo, i'm kinda impressed.  i didn't know she had it in her.  that sneaky bitch was able to find a way to put winters in his place.

then kind of guilty-feeling cuz winters didn't even do anything wrong and was at risk of losing his company and that's fucked up.

remembering the seattle trip.  kinda mad about opening up with her when she was lying to me the whole time.  she must've gotten something at sage's house, that's why she snuck in, not to "help" me, but to sabotage the case somehow.

but makes sense she's like this if her dad was a con, too.  

putting pieces together from the last few weeks we've known each other.

the money she stole, but then saved me from andy when i was drunk af

of course she was living with izaak for his protection.  that's why she was running from michigan — she knew she was about to get caught.

something about that rubs me the wrong way.  

she seems so sweet but has this dark side nobody knows about.

does izaak know?  he must.  he's probably been making sure she hasn't gotten caught so far.  well, someone's bubble is about to burst.

how can i prove it's her?  

not sure if any of this makes sense 😂🤷‍♀️

chloe's feels

It was a tense ride home as scenes from the meeting 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.  [[[[and with the memory card gone i have no other choice but to tell her before she tells gabe.  why hasn't she told him already?  i guess she hasn't been able to get into the card.  but where did she go on a lead?  fuck i just need to talk to her... it's my only option]]]]]

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 I could find an easy target.  How else could I steer the case in that direction but to tell Violet? [[[[trying to find another way because confronting her will be scary... esp after the way everyone was kinda ganging up against her tonight...]]]]]

feelings

just rethinking this chapter and adding in the feels... gabe is so hott 🥵 

I listened again to the recording as I sat on the train, playing the same 2 minute clip where Clo talked about her grandmother on repeat.  If she's a con-artist, she could turn on the waterworks easily, but those tears felt genuine.  It also poked at something inside of me...

If I could've been a con artist to make enough money to get my dad proper treatment so he wouldn't have died so soon... fuck the government and the law, I would've done it. [[[[remembering injustice of her parents — this is what she's actually going to have to resolve at some point i guess]]]]

And revenge.  Another thing I understand.  To be honest, I didn't think innocent little Clo had it in her to do something like this out of revenge.

But Winters shouldn't pay for a crime he didn’t commit.  Sure he was creepy as fuck, but 17 is on the verge of consent, and Clo wasn't even actually 17.  He didn't actually do anything wrong... Or did he? [[[[some part of her knows that winters did something wrong, but it doesn't justify chloe getting totally off the hook]]]]

I was lost in curious thoughts when I got home, but as soon as I pushed open the door, the negative energy hit me.  I barely flipped on the light when my gaze landed on the immobile, seething figure, sitting up straight.  "Where the hell have you been?"  Gabe shot up from his seat and strode towards me.  [[[[mixture of emotions... surprised, excited, nervous, and kinda mad]]]]

re-thinking the plot 🤔

(After everyone knows it’s Chloe — violets perspective)

“You’re a fucking bitch.”

“Vi….” Molly said with pleading eyes, only to be ignored.

“No.  Don’t try to defend her.  She lied to you and all of us.  For months she pretended to be someone she’s not… she hasn’t earned our mercy.”  I took a step closer to Clo, pissed off at myself for not wanting to punch her pretty little face.  Any other bitch would’ve gotten pounded on… but she had magic powers that made everyone like her, and it also fucking worked on me.  “Fucking lied, guilt tripped me, got my closest friends involved in your bullshit.  Why are you even still fucking here?”

“Just because you don’t think I’m worthy of your presence doesn’t mean everyone else here agrees with you, contrary to what you believe.”

“Ahh look at this chameleon bullshit.  You used to be so submissive it was disgustingly cute, but suddenly you grew a pair and now you wanna stand up to me?”  I let out a laugh and shoved her.

“Hey, none of that,” Izaak commanded, ready to jump in and break up a fight at any moment.

“Let the little girl speak for herself since she’s so tough.”

Clo didn’t say anything though, backing down a little and giving puppy eyes to Toby so he would baby her.  She didn’t know that he’s a pro at dealing with manipulative bitches.

But even he caved into her con-artistry at some point, urging me to be nice.  I’d been nice enough before.  There’s no going back.