Violet

Thirteen

Elliot, my mother and I were sat around our kitchen table. Elliot had been relaying a hilarious story to us about when he first moved here and I couldn’t help but join in on the laughter. 

“So, this was my first time going out shopping, alone, and I ended up falling on my face in front of this gorgeous man, turns out he wasn’t interested in calling me after that.” Elliot relayed the ending and I watched my mother let out a loud round of laughter before she quieted herself down. 

I couldn’t stop smiling at the two of them. 

“Well, maybe you’ll meet another nice man soon and maybe this time around you won’t fall on your face in front of him.” My mother spoke up with a chuckle. 

“I hope so.” Elliot responded as he reached for his, now cold, cup of tea. 

“Hey, Vi, we should probably start heading to the barbecue. Is there anything you need to do before we go?” Elliot asked and I nodded my head my head once as I sat my cup down on the counter and stood from the island. 

“Yes, I’ll be right back.” I spoke up as I shot them both a smile and then turned towards the exit, heading to my room in a rush. 

It took no time to change and, as a last minute decision, I decided to throw on a little bit of eyeliner and blush. Once I felt I looked good enough, I made my way back to the kitchen. 

“Violet, please don’t forget I still want us to take you shopping to get some clothes and I think it would be a good idea to take you up to that diner to apply for the job. I figured I could take you on Monday after school.” My mother spoke up as I made it to Elliot. 

We began walking towards the front door when I gave my response. 

“That’s fine, I will let you know when we make it to Elliot’s and if the plan changes later on okay?” I asked with a brief glance back at her. 

“Okay, Elliot, be careful when you drive.” She addressed Elliot as we slowly made our way to his car. 

“I will Ms.Monti.” 

Neither one of us spoke again until after we had made it safely inside his car. It looked clean, with comfortable seats and as soon as the car was started, he turned he heater on low. I watched silently as he pulled away from the house and began making his way through the residential streets. 

“So, are you ready to see Aiden again?” Elliot asked me and I turned my eyes to his just in time to see him make a suggestive face. 

I smiled as I felt a red blush make its way up my neck, to my face. 

“I already told you, we’re going to this barbecue so I can meet your family, not so I can canoodle with this man I just met.” I piped up. 

Elliot’s laughter rang out around the car and it didn’t take long before I joined him, both of us laughing for a moment before it faded. 

“Girl, what kind of word is canoodle?” 

“Anyway, it is entirely possible to do both; meet my family when you get there and if you happen to bump into Aiden, spend some time getting to know him.” He responded and I nodded my head once. 

Elliot and I fell into a small silence as I watched the trees go by outside of the car. I didn’t have much time to think any longer about the barbecue as I paid close attention to the streets Elliot turned down. I wanted to remember the route to his place. It was located on the other side of town from my house but with this town being so small it wouldn’t take long to drive here on my own. He had a few neighboring houses scattered down the street but overall it looked like each house had it’s own plot of land behind it. 

Elliot pulled into the driveway and I tried to choke down my anxiety as we clambered out of the car and moved towards the front door. There weren’t many cars in the area so I had half a mind to assume that people hadn’t arrived yet. I followed Elliot as he opened the front door and I couldn’t contain my happiness when we had finally made it into a warm house again. 

“Elliot is that you?” A woman’s voice could be heard. 

“Yes, Mama, it’s me.” Elliot spoke up and I could feel butterflies in my stomach at the idea that I would soon be meeting Elliot’s mom. 

“Come to the kitchen and help me carry these trays out to the garage.” She spoke up and I glanced at Elliot to see him rolling his eyes with a smile on his face. 

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to my mom.” He spoke to me as he lead me through the living room and towards the kitchen. 

“Mom, this is my friend from school, Violet.” Elliot said. 

His mom was facing away from us when we walked in and I watched her turn around and smile at us both. She stood only a few inches taller than me with curly brown hair and dark brown eyes. She wore an apron around her front and a heart shaped necklace around her neck. She looked kind. 

“Hello! It’s so good to meet you. My name is Rose. I’ve heard so much about you. Thank you for coming today, I hope you’re not allergic to anything.” Rose spoke with a hint of nervousness and flashed a sweet looking smile. 

I smiled back at her and shook my head. 

“No, I don’t think I’m allergic to anything. It’s nice to meet you too. Do you need help with anything?” I asked.

“Oh yes I do. If you wouldn’t mind grabbing that tray of cookies there and following me out to the garage.” She replied as she motioned to the stove top. 

I nodded my head once and quickly Elliot and I got busy helping her finish setting everything up. 

By the time it was all done guests had begun to arrive and as the time ticked by Elliot slowly introduced me to more and more family members. Hours had gone by and I couldn’t deny how much fun I was having with everyone. Everyone had come together to eat food and I had helped Rose bake more desserts than I knew what to do with. Sometime in the evening Elliot’s dad, Mason, had arrived and he did well to help make me feel even more at home than I already did. Mason and Elliot pulled me into a game with the young ones that were there and I couldn’t deny how much fun it was just to not be worried about anything for a little while. 

It was now five in the afternoon and Elliot and I were sat inside at the kitchen table playing cards while the adults and most of the younger children were in the heated garage. The sun had begun to set a while ago and I had heard talk of starting a fire in some fire pit here on the property and roasting marshmallows. 

“Elliot, we should make hot chocolate for everyone while we eat the marshmallows.” I spoke up as we continued our game of cards. 

“Oh yes we should girl! Let me go tell my mom real quick, maybe we can get that started soon.” He replied and I excitedly nodded my head. 

I watched as he departed the room and when I realized I was alone I pulled out my phone to check for any notifications. I only had one from my mom, asking if everything was going okay and if we were having fun. I quickly shot her a reply as I heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. 

“How have you liked the party?” Aiden’s voice floated to me and I quickly glanced up from my phone in time to catch him sitting down in Elliot’s seat. 

“It’s been fun. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun.” I replied then shook my head, not wanting to ruin the happy day with sad thoughts. 

“You’re arriving late.” I spoke up with confidence and watched Aiden’s face as he lifted an eyebrow at me. 

“I wasn’t aware there was a schedule to keep.” His smooth voice replied and I did my best to hide the shivers it produced that ran down my spine. 

I shot him a smirk. 

“Did nobody tell you?” I replied sarcastically and watched as he playfully rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. 

“Do you want to go for a drive? I have to go pick up some firewood for the fire pit and I don’t want to go alone.” Aiden asked hopefully and with a small smile I nodded my head.