Page 49 of Petals of Blue: Part Two
Will Violet be okay?
Thirty-Five
ROMAN
When Felix told Blue he would call Violet, I was confused. Why in the world would he call V? Most of the time my friend has zero tact when it comes to emotions, and Violet is bound to have way too many for him to handle.
Jared has kind of zoned out in the past few minutes since Jim stopped talking. Once Blue's water arrived, Felix took over and made her drink. She's getting enough fluids and nutrients in her IV, but her throat needs all the help it can get.
She fell asleep a minute ago, and we're all still staring at her even as Jim says goodbye. We haven't called Violet. I can't tell if there's an avoidance thing happening, but this crash of adrenaline is showing differently for each of us.
Jared is coming down from his energetic need to make everyone feel better and continues to stare at her face.
Felix is incredibly focused on tucking the sheets around Blue and fluffing her pillow.
Declan wipes a tear and takes a deep breath, checking the monitor beside the bed with her vitals.
I'm sitting, observing, and waiting for someone to shift gears again because there's still shit to do.
Someone needs to contact Levi and Kevin to make sure they're okay and maybe ask them to get us a change of clothes. We stink. Each one of us should run through the shower quickly so we don't wreck Blue's room. And most importantly...
"You gonna call Violet?" I murmur and tap the back of Felix's leg with my muddy boot.
He glances over his shoulder at me and tenses. Felix may be showing growth in his emotional intelligence, but it's not his strong suit. Yet. I'm holding out hope.
"I got it," I say, holding back my grumble of slight indignation. Tonight has already tested my mental strength, and this fucking phone call might be the thing that completely breaks me.
I've been staring at Violet's new number on my phone for about five minutes now. The clouds have broken in the sky, and the stars are staring at me. I came outside to get away from the feel of the hospital. The machines, constant murmurs of staff, and bright lights did nothing for my mind.
Even with the shock of cold air and a beautiful night sky, the tumbling thoughts haven't stopped. Or slowed. My mind is still going a mile a minute, thinking about everything we've been through and what the next steps entail.
The next step is talking to Violet. Having a clear head while I talk to her isn't going to happen, unfortunately.
"Fuck," I groan and hit the call button. My heart is in my throat, forcing me to hold my breath.
What do I say? Why the hell wasn't I thinking about what to tell Violet? I'm such a dum?—
"Roman? Is everything okay?" Violet's voice is high-pitched and fast on the phone.
I breathe again, but only because I have to if I plan to speak. If I don't talk, she will panic more than she already is. "Why did the phone only ring once before you picked up, Violet? Shouldn't you be asleep?"
She ignores me. "Is everything okay?!"
I pull the phone away when my ear cringes. "Yes. She's okay."Wait.
"WHAT?! YOU FOUND MOM?! WHERE IS SHE?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Shit. Fuck. Declan should have done this. I missed the step about telling her we found her mama and just jumped right to a vague mention of Blue.
"ROMAN?! ROMAN!"
"Shit, kiddo. I hear you. I'm sorry." And I really fucking am. I'm messing this up. "We found Blue. We're at a hospital in—" Where the fuck are we actually?
I look around for a sign that tells me where I am, butI don't see jack shit. Meanwhile, Violet's still screaming through the speaker, and I'm convinced she won't hear anything I say.
Still I tell her I'll text her the address when I figure out where the hell we are. I would send her my location pin, but the poor kid only has a flip phone now.
"I want to talk to Mom," she begs, sounding quieter. Soft voices filter through the background, and I bet Jared's parents are up. Bethany, too, would be my guess. Violet was literally screaming.
