Between Love and Hate

Same Team

*Violet's POV"

When I see the look of panic in Lana’s eyes as they flicker to Harper at my statement, I know instinctively that she’s scared of him. I don’t know what exactly she thinks he’ll do, but I quickly amend my statement. “Lana offered to take over and I declined,” I tell him.

“I see,” he says before pulling out a chair. I look back over to her and see her silently thanking me with her eyes. I get the sudden urge to ask her why but it’ll have to wait.

The food is done and Lana helps me bring it over to the table and we all have a seat and Lana disappears into the backyard.

“So, we will be attending a luncheon at the Johnson’s house today,” My mom says. I’m hoping “we” means her and Harper. I have absolutely zero desire to spend my day with a bunch of stepford wives pretending to like each other. Apparently Kane has the same thought because he says, “We, meaning?”

“All of us,” Harper says. Damn. My eyes flicker to Kane briefly and he hides it well but he’s just as annoyed about this as I am.

“I trust you slept well last night Violet?” My mother asks me.

I nod and say, “Yes I did, thank you.” I have to force myself not to look at Kane as I think about the dreams I had last night.

“Did I hear someone leaving this morning?” Harper asks.

“Oh, um yeah, that was me. I just went for a run. Sorry if I woke you, I was trying to be quiet.”

“No, it’s not a problem, I was just wondering. It was odd hearing someone moving about that early around here.” I just nod and return to my breakfast and my coffee.

“Also, this is very good Violet. Where did you learn to cook?”

“Marcella, my father’s housekeeper. She taught me.”

“I see. She did a wonderful job then,” he says before taking another bite of the eggs. I nod again, and proceed to cut my sausage into smaller pieces before eating it slowly.

By the time we’ve finished eating, it’s past 10am and apparently we need to be at the neighbours house by noon. Lana appears to clear the dishes and we all head upstairs to get ready.

I put on a blush pink skater skirt that goes down to mid thigh and tuck a white, loose fitting silk tank top into it. I then grab the white blazer with subtle pink flowers on it that Stella insisted I buy. Honestly, I’m glad she did because the material is so soft, it almost feels like I’m wearing a hoodie. 

I roll the sleeves up, put on some gold jewelry and put my hair up in a high ponytail. The ends are still curled from last night so it actually looks like I put in more effort than just throwing an elastic in. I don’t try too hard with my makeup because, honestly, I really don’t care. I check the time. It’s taken me all of 15 minutes to get ready.

I figure I might as well use this time to call Rebecca. I haven’t really spoken to her since Monday and I could use a friendly face. She answers quickly and says, “Hey Vi! How’s it going?”

“Hey Becca! I’m alright. How was your week?”

“It was good, I finished reading a couple books, watched some Netflix, nothing too crazy.” I see her squint at the screen and she says, “Wait, where are you right now?”

“My mom and Harper’s house.”

“Is Kane there too?”

“Yeah. We drove up together. Most uncomfortable 3 hours of my life.”

“Eesh, that’s unfortunate. Also, are you wearing a dress?” She asks incredulously.

“It’s a skirt and shirt thank you very much. Stella, my roommate talked me into buying a bunch of fancy new clothes and Harper and my mom are dragging us to some garden party luncheon thing today.”

“Oh boy, sounds like your scene,” she says sarcastically. I chuckle and reply, “Yeah, totally. I love hanging out with a bunch of stuck up rich folks.”

“So when are you coming back to visit?”

“Maybe in two weeks. I’ll have to coordinate with Jace though.”

We chat for a while longer about our books and shows we’re watching; our usual topics of conversation and I don’t realize what time it is when someone knocks on my door.

“Violet, are you ready?” My mom says from the other side.

“Yeah, be right there!” I yell back.

“Sorry Becca, I gotta go. I’ll call again soon though.”

“Alright, enjoy your luncheon,” she says sarcastically. “And let me know what you decide about coming for a visit!.”

“I will! Bye, love you.”

“Love you too!” She says and then I end the call. I grab my small purse and sling the cross body strap over my head, slip on my white keds and then head downstairs.

Everyone is waiting at the door for me and I see my mother looking me up and down, her disapproving stare pausing on my footwear. She doesn’t say anything though because I’m sure she’s just happy I’m not wearing flannel. 

She’s wearing a light blue dress with a beige blazer to match Harper’s beige slacks and light blue button up shirt. I think it’s a bit weird that they’re matching but whatever. I notice Kane is wearing dark jeans and a t-shirt. I don’t think he owns anything else to be honest.

“Sorry, I lost track of time facetiming Rebecca,” I say when I reach them.

“That’s alright. You look lovely Violet,” my mother says.

“Thank you,” I say quietly. “Shall we go?” I ask, hoping to divert everyone’s attention from me.

“Yes, we shall,” Harper says, taking my mother by the arm and we head out. They weren’t kidding about it being at a neighbour’s house. We literally walk two doors down to a big white mansion with pillars out front.

When we walk up, there are two men at either side of the double doors who open them up for us and direct us to the backyard. Kane and I follow Harper and my mom and when we go out I see a sea of people in a mix of pastel colours and beige. Oh boy.

As soon as we step outside, a server holds out a tray with champagne flutes on it. I take one gratefully. I’m probably gonna need it. I see Kane reach for one, equally as eagerly as me and I am once again glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to be here. I take the first sip and then a tall lady wearing a long white dress and a man in white slacks and a purple shirt walk over to us.

“Harper, Heather, so glad you could make it,” she says and greets them each with kisses on the cheek. Everything about this lady screams fake.

“Well thank you for having us,” My mother replies. “And of course, you’ve met Kane before, and this is my daughter, Violet.”

I shake their hands and say, “Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Johsnon,” with a polite smile.

“Oh please, Marissa and Larry. No need to be so formal. We’re all friends here,” She tells me with a smile. I nod and she says, “Well, feel free to roam about, there’s food around and if you need anything to drink, let the servers know.”

“Thank you Marissa,” Harper says politely. She eyes him up and down in a not-so subtle way before returning to the sea of people. After we walk around and I endure more awkward introductions to many people whose names I will not remember, my drink is empty. Kane has already disappeared somewhere so I politely excuse myself.

I wander over to the table with the food and place a small sandwich on my plate, when I hear two people walk up behind me. I turn to see Marissa with a boy who looks to be about my age beside her. He’s a little taller than her, has a slim build and hair the same shade of brown as hers.

“Violet, I have been looking for you. This is my son Lucas. Lucas, this is Violet, Heather Owen’s daughter.”

He smiles at me and I can see genuine kindness in his eyes. He sticks out his hand and says, “Hi, nice to meet you Violet.” I take it and reply, “Nice to meet you too, and you can call me Vi.”

“Right, well, I’ll leave you to get to know each other. I must attend to something...over there,” Marissa says and then walks away.

“Not very subtle is she,” he says.

I laugh and shake my head. “Sorry about that. My mother seems to think the more girls she tries to set me up with, the more likely I am to start seeing one.”

“I’m sorry, I have a boyfriend actually,” I say apologetically.

“No worries. I’m not into girls anyway,” he says with a wink. I see.

“And your mother thinks she can change your mind somehow?” he nods. “That’s kinda messed up.”

He chuckles and says, “Yeah it is, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m over it.”

He grabs us each a glass of champagne and offers me his elbow and we walk around the yard getting to know each other. He’s the same age as Jace and goes to NYU for environmental sciences. I tell him about Jace and Harvard and my dad.

“So your brother-”

“Step-brother,” I say abruptly.

“Sorry, step-brother. He’s a bit of an odd guy isn’t he?”

“Yeah, Kane is strange. I don’t know him very well to be honest. But at least he’s not pretending to be someone he’s not like 90% of the people here,” I spill out before I can stop myself. “Oops, sorry, that was rude.”

“Oh, no don’t apologize. You’re absolutely right. These people are two-faced bitches. Most of them are sleeping with each other’s spouses behind their backs,” he whispers in my ear.

“No way! Who?! Wait let me try and guess." We stand still and I look around trying to point out people I think are cheating with each other. We make a little game out of it and a couple glasses of champagne later I realize I’m actually having a really good time.

I turn to him and say, “You know, this kind of thing isn’t really my scene, and I was kind of dreading coming, but now that I met you, I’m glad I did.”

He touches a hand to his heart and says, “Ugh, you are literally the sweetest person. I’m so glad my mom tried to set me up with you.” We both burst out laughing and then he says, “Here, give me your phone.”

I hand it to him and when he sees the picture of Jace and I on the lock screen his jaw drops and he says, “Is this Jace?” I nod and he says, “Damn, nice job. Wow.” I giggle and then unlock it and hand it to him. He types in his number and then sends himself a text.

“Okay, how about you go grab us some more champagne and I’ll grab us some more food?” I suggest.

“Deal,” he says and goes off in search of a waiter.

I go up to the table and before he speaks, I’m hit with the intoxicating scent of his cologne and I know Kane is standing beside me. “I see you’re making friends. What would your boyfriend say about that?” He asks.

I continue to plate food and don’t look at him when I reply, “He would say nothing because Lucas and I are playing for the same team.” I walk away before he can reply. I know for a fact he doesn’t care about Jace, so it must mean he was jealous. For some reason, the thought makes me grin. No Vi, stop it. I don’t care if he is or isn’t jealous. He has no right to be anyway.

I find Lucas at a stand up table with two glasses of champagne on top and set the plate with the food down.

“Uh oh. Here comes Queen b***h and her crew. Just smile and act nice,” Lucas says as I see a group of people about our age coming our way.

The girl at the front in an extremely tight and short yellow dress says, “Lucas, hi.”

“Hello Cara.”

“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend here?”

“Yes of course, this is Violet, Heather Owen’s daughter.”

“So Kane is your step-brother?” she asks curiously. Why is she so interested in Kane? I nod and she says, “Interesting. Maybe you could introduce us,” she says with a slinky smile. I see. She wants in his pants. A surge of jealousy flashes through me and I fight to swallow it down. “Maybe,” I reply, attempting to keep my tone as neutral and polite as possible.

“Right, so Vi, obviously that’s Cara, and then there’s Stacey, Leah, James, Louis and Mitch. They all grew up around here and we all went to school together.”

“Nice to meet you all,” I say with a friendly nod. I catch Mitch’s eyes on my boobs and I fight the urge to squirm. Just ignore him Violet. He looks back up and his eye catches something behind me and I see fear flash in them. I have a feeling I know who caused that.