storm while our minds processed it all.
And when I left, he wordlessly kissed me on the cheek as the sun rose over the ocean, his sad eyes looking me over with regret and hope. I didn’t know how to feel about this. About any of this. I needed time to process it all. I was looking forward to the day, though. I was scheduled for my first shift back at the surf shop after school. I hoped some normalcy would help me find my footing and would give me time to settle for a bit.
Chase was still asleep when I walked through the front door of his large, empty house. I was still wearing Kai’s T-shirt, and only his shirt. It was long enough that my soaked shorts forgotten in a pile on Kai’s floor didn’t even matter for just the drive back. Instead of going back to Chase’s room, I went to Violet’s. I didn’t want him asking questions about where I was and why I wasn’t wearing any shorts. I would tell him what I found out, but I needed to process it first before I would be ready to handle Chase’s reaction.
I opened the door to Violet’s room, turned on the light, and took a step in. Chills broke out across my skin the moment my feet landed on the plush carpet. When her body was first discovered, the police did a search for her cell phone, since it wasn’t on her in the woods. They took a few things for the investigation, but for the most part, the room was completely preserved, like a shrine to Violet’s memory. Had Chase come in here? I couldn’t help but feel like there were secrets hidden in every corner, every crevice.
I walked over to the bed and ran my fingers over her pretty purple comforter. I had sat there on her birthday, hours before the party while she put on makeup and curled her hair. I had spent so much time in this room over the years. Having tea parties, putting on fashion shows, talking about cute boys, and planning for our futures. I thought that I had known everything about her.
I went to Violet’s closet to find something to throw on. All of her clothes were hanging neatly in her oversized closet. Violet was slightly smaller than I was, but I knew she had a few things that fit me perfectly because I used to steal them all the time.
I started opening the drawers in the built-in dresser and rummaging through them. I was looking for a specific pair of shorts that I could wear to school and not be uncomfortable by the too-tight waistband. I was standing on my tip toes, combing through the very top drawer. I couldn’t see over the edge, so I was trying to find the shorts based on feel alone.
I was just about to give up and settle for something when my hand brushed over something hard. I closed my fingers around it and lifted it out of the drawer. It was a book wrapped in leather. I opened it to discover that it wasn’t a book, but a journal. A diary. Violet’s diary.
Before I even had a chance to read the first page, a picture dropped out. I bent down to pick it up and was met with a sonogram photo. It had Violet’s name in the corner and 7W5D printed directly under it. I ran my fingers over the photo. I couldn’t really make anything out. It was a black and white blob. But I knew there was a baby in there. I knew there was life pulsing on the faint image.
“Oh Violet, what did you do?” I whispered to myself before gently putting the photo back in the pages of her journal. I didn’t even know she kept a diary, she hated writing. Anytime we had papers due at school, she paid someone to write them for her. I wanted to scan the pages and search for information. Maybe she wrote about who she was sleeping with? Maybe it confirmed everything.
“Breeze?” I heard Chase’s sleepy voice call from the other room. I quickly found a pair of shorts and put them on before grabbing a hair tie off the top of her dresser and throwing my hair up.
“In here,” I called back before shoving the journal in my purse. After last night, I wasn’t sure if Chase was able to handle any more revelations.
The doorknob jiggled, and soon a