The Certainty of Violet & Luke(65)

‘I think you know what I want.’ He winks at me as he adjust his beanie farther over his head, the stench of pot reeking off of him and his bloodshot eyes full of hope that I’m going to deal to him.

I glance over at Callie, who is looking in the other direction, as if she’s deeply preoccupied by a poster of the upcoming Winter Ball. As far I know, Callie thinks I’m a prostitute, at least that’s what she used to think I was, but maybe she knows the truth now.

‘Look, I don’t do that shit anymore, okay.’ I keep my voice low, but firm. ‘So take your stoned ass to someone else.’

‘You’re mean,’ he says, pouting in a way that I think he thinks is sexy, but is just plain annoying. ‘But you’ve always been mean. Sexy as hell, but mean. No wonder Preston has you doing his dirty work.’

My muscles ravel into frayed knots about to snap. ‘Had me do his dirty work. Past tense. Now get the f*ck out of my face.’ When he keeps grinning at me, I give him a little shove. ‘I’m serious, you dipshit. I don’t deal anymore nor do I have any connection with Preston.’

He scratches the back of his neck, seeming lost. ‘Weird … I just saw him and he said to hit you up, that he was dry but that you’d help me out.’

The knots in my muscles wind so tight it hurts and I frantically scan the area around me, searching for his face in the dwindling crowd and the remaining cars still parked in the lot on my right. ‘You saw Preston here?’

He tips his head to the side, still confounded. ‘No … not here. At Garyford’s, down on Elm, earlier today.’

My heart skips a beat but I tell it to settle down – don’t get too excited yet. ‘The bar?’

Jonah nods. ‘Yeah, he’s always down there trying to sell. But today he was just chilling. Said I’d need to find you if I wanted anything … I think he was super drunk or something. Said if I found ya to tell you that he was looking for you.’

Fucking *! God dammit, what the hell is the point of this? To drive me mad. ‘Thanks Jonah.’ I pat his arm then push him toward the exit. ‘It’s been super fun talking to you, but time for you to go.’

‘What about the stuff I need.’ He stumbles over his feet as I push him.

‘Preston lied. I have nothing.’ I retrieve my phone from my pocket and press Detective Stephner’s number. Jonah is mumbling about something as he wanders away and Callie is giving me this worried look. But I disregard them both as I move to the outside of the canopy with the phone against my ear. As soon as Detective Stephner answers, I blurt out everything that just happened.

‘Violet, calm down,’ he says. ‘I can barely understand you.’

I take a breath, realizing I was getting no oxygen in with my words. ‘I just ran into someone who told me that Preston hangs out at Garyford’s on Elm every day. You know the bar where college kids like to hang out.’

‘Okay, I’m on it,’ he says and I can hear him rustling around. ‘But Violet, I want you to go home and wait to hear from me okay? Stay indoors. I don’t want anything happening.’

What the hell does he thinks going to happen that hasn’t already happened? ‘Okay, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere, just dinner with Luke and his dad ‘

‘No, stay indoors,’ he says. ‘Promise me, Violet. Just go home and wait this out.’

‘Why does it matter?’

‘Dammit, Violet, just listen for once, okay?’

‘Okay dad,’ I say sarcastically but then realize I’m acting like a brat. ‘Sorry, I promise I’ll stay in.’

‘Good.’ He breathes a breath of relief. Something’s off. He’s acting more worried than he normally does.

‘What aren’t you telling me?’ I ask suspiciously, watching a group of people closely as they walk by. What if Jonah lied and Preston is out there watching me right now?

‘A lot,’ Detective Stephner replies. ‘There’s a lot of stuff I can’t tell you.’

That’s news to me and by the time I hang up, my minds racing with a million different ideas. I shut it down though when Luke finally walks through the doors. He’s wearing jeans and a hoodie, his hair damp, probably because he just showered. At least he smells like he did, the fresh scent of soap surrounding me as he pulls me in for a hug. He does it without so much as a hesitation, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. It’s starting to feel that way for me too.