Troubled With Tattoos

Chapter :

What Life Came To

I ran for as long as I could without winding myself, and then I walked. It grew dark out, the wind picked up, dark clouds covered the sky and all I had was some change left in my bag from lunch. My sweatshirt wasn't enough to keep me warm, droplets of rain sprinkled out of the sky. I had become too numb to feel anything other than the rain drops.

Deep down I had to have known this day would come. I knew that my mother would have one of her psychotic episodes when my dad wouldn't be there to save me. I had one person to call, one person I knew would always have my back.

I took my phone out of my pocket dialing one of the only numbers I knew by heart. Aunt Sharon.

She picked up on the second ring answering cheerfully. "Violet, I haven't heard from you in a few months. Is everything OK?"

My mouth opened and closed but couldn't come up with anything to say.

"Violet? Are you there hun?" she spoke through the line nervously.

"Yeah, sorry," I snapped out of the mind space I was stuck in. 

"Are you okay? Do you need me to get you?" she asked. Sharon had always been like a motherly figure to me. We grew closer after my mother took the psychotic route.

"Yes," I answered to the second question. I hated hearing "Are you okay?" because it just reminded me that I wasn't. These last few months everyone kept asking if I was okay but none of them actually cared. My friends at school had given me too much space, I now sat alone in the cafeteria and never had a lab partner. When I needed everyone the most, no one was there. I had been there for Janelle when her golden Labrador had died. I was there when she couldn't fall asleep because her bed felt too empty without him. I had been there for Desiree when her father was put in jail for rape. I had been there when she had to tell her story to the entire court room for the hundredth time. But, no one was here for me.

"Where are you sweetheart?" she asked wasting no time. I felt the slightest bit relieved, to have someone. Having no one for so long makes you wonder why you're even here in the first place.

I gave her the street name, telling her I'd wait inside one of the karaoke places we had. She only lived about thirty minutes away. I stepped into the karaoke place, wishing I was one of those teenagers singing terribly off-tune, wishing I could forget how much my life sucked for just one night.

I found my thoughts drifting to my mother. What if I accidentally killed her? What if she really didn't mean to cut my arm? I gasped looking down to see that my sweatshirt was stained at the spot. With my adrenaline running through veins, I had completely forgotten about this cut.

A horn beeped from outside, and I recognized it as the old red car Sharon would always drive. Her windshield wipers were going crazy, swishing the rain away.

I jogged out of the building despite my bruises screaming in pain. I opened her car door plopping down in the passenger seat ignoring my ringing ears and my pounding headache. I let out a big breath of relief, when do you ever really feel safe?

"What happened V?" She asked using the nickname she gave me a long time ago. I shook my head, it's not that I didn't want to tell her, I just didn't know how. She pulled away from the building bringing me to her home.

"My mother..." I began but I didn't know where to start. What do I say? After Ashton's' death, her sister went completely insane and just tried to kill me?

She nodded, her dirty blonde hair was up in a bun and her brown eyes full of worry. So then I did something I didn't quite know how to explain, but I managed to. I told her from the very beginning with right before his death, to the very end where she sliced my arm and I ran away scared.

Tears managed to escape and cascaded down my already stained face. I could still feel the stinging of the knife hitting my bare skin. My sweatshirt was drenched in blood in that one spot. My old bruises and even the new ones didn't matter to me as much as this cut did. This was the final straw.

"We need to go to the police about this Violet." She said worriedly as she speeds down the road with her windshield wipers moving crazily. Panic set in my mind, I didn't want to get my father in trouble. After all, they're just heartbroken that their son died. I managed to convince myself she didn't mean it, she was just mentally ill.

"No, we can't...I can't." I spoke, my voice cracked in response. She licked her lips, while her mind was spinning.

"Vi, we can't just let this slide. We said the last one was going to be the last time." She sighed stopping at a red light. She looked at me with her big brown eyes full of worry.

"I know, I'm just not ready yet," I answered honestly. I didn't want to have to tell my story to ten different cops, the judge, and then a lawyer. I didn't want to have to go through any of it. I just wanted things to be back to normal, to forget it even happened.

"You can stay with me if you want. You know I have the room," She smiled at me. Aunt Sharon has always wanted children, but she never found the right guy to have them with. I was relieved that she dropped the subject but I still wasn't sure if she was going to the police.

"Only for a few days." I said suddenly feeling guilty for dragging her into all my issues.

I couldn't just barge into her life out of nowhere. The thought of going home to my mother dead on the floor because of me did not appeal to me. 

"Of course, you can, and call me Cherry, sweetheart. I'm trying out a new nickname." She waved off with a flick of her hand. She pulled up into a filled neighborhood. The houses were very close together, and they all looked the exact same.

She pulled into one in the middle of the neighborhood unlocking her doors. I sighed when I realized the only belongings I brought was my backpack. 

"OK come on, I'll show you around," She offered leading up the pathway. She moved here around the same time Ash passed. I still hadn't seen her house, but with my mother's mood swings it was kind of impossible. We had tried to hide my mother from most people since she was different now.

I followed her with my bag hanging off my shoulder as she unlocked her front door. Her house had that same smell mine used to have. I've grown to miss the smell of cinnamon sticks and pumpkin pie. For a second, I had closed my eyes and pretended everything was back to the way it was. The sound of nails hitting the hardwood floor interrupted my daydream.

A small dog came running up barking in my direction. "Ooh, I almost forgot about Ollie here," She said picking him up to give him a kiss on the head. She put him back down and he scurried off to who knows where.

"I rescued him from a shelter in Mississippi. In here is the den," She said waving around the room in front of me. The room was painted a light brown, and she had a leather couch to match. All the wooden tables were dark which complimented the walls nicely.

She walked into the next room flicking the switch as she went in. The smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies had invaded my nose.

"This is the kitchen, I had just pulled these out of the oven when you called. Did you want some? Oh, you're probably starving aren't you?" She rushed out while digging through the fridge.

I nodded, admitting that I was too starving. She smiled, something she did a lot. She resembled my mother a lot, being her sister and all. Her hair was lighter and shorter but they had the same brown eyes that I had also inherited. Only Sharon's were friendly and welcoming while my mothers were mischievous and deceiving.

"In here's the bathroom," she called out flicking on the light switch. I stood still in the kitchen noticing I was so in thought I didn't realize she left the room. I followed where her voice came from which was a room next over.

"Let me show you your room" she smiled as she walked up the stairs leading to the bedrooms. Aunt Sharon had always been stubborn to the bone. She was more than selfless. There was no way she was going to let me leave without a solid home. I followed her up the stairs nonetheless.

She walked into a medium-sized room that had a double bed and a dresser already there. The room was nice, it was painted blue with white furniture.

It also had a slider door that led to a small balcony. I've always wanted a room with a balcony. I had to remind myself that I wasn't planning on staying too long. After all, if I didn't feed my parents, who would?

"Like it?" Her cheeks rose up as she grinned. I nodded.

"It's perfect, Cherry. Thank you for everything." She pulled me into a hug and I had almost forgot that human contact was normal. She was always an overprotective person when it came to family.

"Oh, hun you're always welcomed here." She smiled brightly, pointing at a room across the hall.

"My room's across the hall if you need me, now let's go get cleaned up and get something to eat," Her small lips spoke as she nodded towards my cut up arm. I had already forgotten about my sliced arm. My stomach growled in agreement as I glanced back at the balcony wishing I could already watch the stars from it. Ashton loved the stars. 

I dropped my bag to the floor and followed her until she turned around abruptly making me halt in my steps.

"And watch out for the neighbors, they're bad news." She warned.