Page 7 of Petals of Blue: Part Two
"It's okay," Declan coos when she hesitates. His patience is a breath of fresh air considering the increasing feel of feral alpha vibes in the room.
Violet blows out a big breath. As if she's shaking off the heaviness of the situation, she shimmies upright and furiously wipes her tears away. "Someone has beenharassing me on my social media. I've been blocking them, but they keep making new accounts."
"Why don't you have your settings on private?" Felix growls, his jaw clenching with barely restrained anger.
Defiance flares in Violet's gaze and, I shit you not, I feel so much better because of it. "I have a lot of followers. There's no time to go through and handpick them."
Apparently it's Felix's turn to be a dick. "That's stupid. There are so many creeps out there!"
Violet rolls her eyes and ignores Felix's exasperation. "Whoever it was started scaring me a little, so I asked Mom to?—"
I rear back.Linda's in town?!"Mom?"
Violet's eyes fill with tears before she blinks them away and nods. "Blue. I—she-she's been more of a mother to me than the one that gave birth...I want to call her Mom. Do you—do you think she would be okay with that?"
Fuck, my heart splits in two. It's so easy to forget Violet is actually an adult by law.
Her heart and worries remind me of a young kid sometimes. She's a vulnerable young woman with so much love for her Ma.Mom.
My God, Blue Bennett really is amom.
"Blue wouldlovethat, V," Declan croaks, studying the hope in Violet's face. She gives him a watery smile before huffing away the emotion again.
"So I finally told her on the way to the theater. I figured she might have some advice, but then she asked for my phone and sent me inside. I thought—ugh, I thought she would follow me in just a few minutes!"
I'm frowning, trying to put all the pieces together. Did this person kidnap Blue? And if so, I thought they were harassing Violet. Is it just a coincidence?
"Show me the messages," Felix demands, stepping forward with his hand outstretched.
Violet blinks up at him and chews the inside of her cheek. "You don't think..."
Fortunately, Felix has the sense to soften his voice and relax his face before addressing Violet's fear. "I won't know anything for sure until you show me. Most of your contentisabout Blue, so it's likely."
"Oh god..." she gasps and all but tosses her cellphone at Felix. With free hands, she covers her face and huddles further into the cushions.
He mumbles a thank you and leaves the room, but not before giving me a pointed look. I know what that means;look after Violet.
As much as I would like to stare over my friend’s shoulder as he looks through the messages, I refuse to leave Blue's sweet kid alone. There's a reason she came to me for a hug at the theater. I'll be damned if I let her down now.
Five
BLUE
I'm hearing things, and I don't just mean the growl of my stomach. There are things moving outside. Big things among the critters. Sometimes I swear I can hear someone taunting me.
I've cried out for help, albeit not as loud as I could have as my throat is so dry all I can do is croak. The response I think I received sounded a bit like a chuckle. A throaty, masculine laugh that made the chills I already had itch. Itchy goosebumps.
I'd rather be itchy due to a lacy top that isn't actually meant for comfort.Yes, I miss my nice clothes. I worked so hard for them, and here I am dying in a pair of jeans and an extra-large T-shirt.
Dying might be a bit of a stretch. I'm starving, freezing, and my head hurts so bad, but a moment ago I managed to sit up. Every bone in my body creaked and groaned. Or maybe that was my mouth.
I really have no idea. Everything is fuzzy, and thelight shining through the walls disorients me.What day is it?I don't feel rested, so I must not have been asleep for that long.
"H-Hello?" I wheeze and cough.Jesus, what's wrong with me?
No response, just birds chittering happily outside. Whether or not it's been days, I do need to actually try to get out of here. No more ignoring the problem.
For real, I've never ignored priorities. Why now? I've hit my head before because of Linda's perverts, but this time it feels like the fight has been knocked out of me.
