Chapter 8 Even Steven

• ~ Violet ~
• “Um, yeah, sure,” Violet replied. “Dinner sounds good,”
• “Great. I’ll call you?” he said.
• “Okay,”
• Jesse didn’t bother getting her number. He probably had it from the station earlier because Violet had to fill out a bunch of paperwork. He gave her one last smile before driving the car away. Violet stared at him for a second longer before turning to her heels, heading into the apartment building.
• “You know he meant that as a date, right?”
• Violet suddenly heard Dylan’s coherent voice. She was dragging him up the stairs and it turned out that he was awake all this time. Violet immediately let go of his arms and Dylan fell to the ground with a loud thud.
• “Ouch!” he protested.
• “Shut up, Dylan. He just saved our asses,” Violet hissed and continued up the stairs.
• “You did that actually. You saved all our asses,” Dylan chuckled and followed her up. “Thanks a lot, Vi,”
• Violet let out a deep sigh. She couldn’t care less about the mafia, she only cared about Dylan. If she gave them up, Dylan would get dragged down with them. That was the only reason why she lied for them to the cops.
• And that was one time too many.
• Dylan and Violet were about to reach the door, but Violet stopped her brother from getting in. She had one last thing to say and she didn’t want their mother to hear this.
• “Dylan, you’ve gotta stop doing this,” Violet said rather sternly.
• “Doing what?” he was playing dumb.
• “The private parties. We can make do without them. Especially if it’s connected to the… freaking mafia!” Violet hissed the last part so only Dylan could hear her.
• “Oh, really?” Dylan scoffed. He then pulled out his phone and showed Violet the screen. “Look at how much tips I’m getting just from last night,”
• “Those are just the tips?” Violet gaped. She stared at the zeroes attached to the last payment Dylan received on his Venmo account.
• “10,000 dollars for a night, baby,” Dylan hollered and put his phone away. He pushed past the shocked Violet and opened the door to their apartment.
• 10,000 dollars just for tips? For one person? For one night?
• “Ma, we’re home!” Dylan announced proudly and stepped inside. Violet was following behind him.
• “Violet, Dylan, where have you two been?” their mother came out with a concerned look.
• “We had some work to do down at The Union,” he said simply. “It ran long so we ended up sleeping over there,”
• “Oh, okay. Do you guys want some breakfast?” their mom didn’t wait for them to answer and she already decided, “I’ll make you some breakfast,”
• “No, mom, it’s okay. I’m tired, I’m just gonna sleep,” Violet said.
• “Nonsense, you need to eat something. Look at you, you’re so thin,” her mom wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Just eat a little and you can sleep after,”
• Barbara Carvey stepped into the kitchen as her son and daughter followed right behind her. Today was a good day for Violet’s mom. It seemed like she remembered most of everything. On these kinds of days, Violet would consider it a blessing. So even though she hadn’t slept all night and she was dying for a hot shower, she obeyed her mom’s wishes and ate breakfast with her family.
• Violet, Dylan, and Barbara sat around the small dining table and ate the eggs and bacon that Barbara made. Dylan and Barbara were talking about a TV show Barbara watched last night and Violet was tuning out. She was mostly silent, but Violet enjoyed the comfort of being around her mom and brother.
• Honestly, Violet was still thinking about the 10,000 dollars Dylan got as tips. She did a quick math and if Dylan could do that just once a week, they’d be 40,000 dollars richer every month. That kind of money could go a long way, especially that they still need to pay the mortgage and their dad’s debt. And not to mention, Barbara would be able to get better treatment for her Alzheimer’s.
• “So, are you gonna go out with him?” Dylan’s voice suddenly broke through Violet’s daydreaming.
• “Huh?” she looked up instinctively. Her mom and brother were staring right at her.
• “Go out?” Barbara repeated Dylan’s words. “Violet’s got a date?”
• “Yeah, with a policeman,” Dylan snickered.
• “No, it’s not a date. It’s just dinner,” Violet glared at him.
• “A policeman?” Barbara was now very interested. “How did you two meet?”
• “At the police station interrogation room—“ Dylan was jokingly answering, but Violet quickly stepped on his foot to stop him from talking.
• “No, don’t listen to him,” Violet said quickly. “He’s Jesse Miller, mom. He used to live down the street,”
• “Oh, Jesse Miller,” Barbara looked up as if she was thinking hard about something. “I remember him. He’s a good looking kid,”
• “And he’s asked Violet out on a date,” Dylan interjected again.
• “It’s just dinner,” Violet rolled her eyes dramatically. “Besides, a guy like him is never gonna be interested in a girl like me,”
• “What do you mean?” her mother asked.
• “He’s, like, beautiful. And I’m all… plain,” she sighed, motioning to her face and body.
• Violet never had much luck with guys in her life. She was always too bookish and serious. When all the girls in her high school were making make up tutorials on Youtube or making Tik Tok Videos, Violet stayed in the library to study or at the coffee shop to work. Guys like Jesse Miller would never notice someone like her. The only reason he was so nice to her was because they used to be neighbors and he felt bad that her innocent ass was being dragged to the police station.
• “That’s nonsense, Vi. You’re beautiful. And plenty of guys adore you,” her mother said in protest.
• Of course you have to say that, mom. You’re my mom.
• “Pssh, yeah right, which guys?” she scoffed.
• “The one that sent you the gift,”
• “What gift?”
• “There’s a package sent for you. It arrived this morning,”
• “For me?”
• “A very nice man in a suit sent it. I put it in your room,”
• Violet narrowed her eyes at her mom, but Barbara only shrugged. She didn’t even have any guy friends, let alone a gentleman caller.
• “And I don't remember ordering anything from Amazon…” she trailed.
• Plus, Amazon delivery guys wouldn’t wear suits.
• Violet couldn’t wait any longer. She instantly got to her feet and raced to her bedroom. It was a small apartment, so it didn't take her long for her to get there. Violet opened the door to find a big white box sitting on her. She approached the box and her finger trailed the lid. Violet could feel the hard material of the box and she knew this must an expensive packaging.
• Definitely not Amazon.
• Slowly and gently, Violet opened the lid and she gasped at the sight before her. Inside the box was a glamorous arrangement of purple flowers. Roses to be exact. Violet had never seen such beautiful flowers in her life.
• “Woah, those look mighty expensive?”
• Violet whipped her head to see Dylan standing at the doorframe. He was holding a plate and eating as he walked inside her room.
• “I didn’t even know they could make violet roses,” Violet giggled to herself. She had seen plenty of red, pink, or white roses before. But she had never seen it in this color.
• And Violet Rose is my name.
• “Who’s it from?” Dylan asked.
• Violet tried to reach around the box to see if there was a card and she found something resembling an envelope at the bottom of the box, underneath all the roses. She pulled it out and it was a big white envelope, much too thick for a card.
• Violet and Dylan exchanged a curious look as Violet held the heavy envelope in her hand. They then took a peek at what’s inside, and their jaws dropped to the ground.
• “Oh my god, Dylan!” Violet gasped. Her hands were shaking.
• “Shit!” Dylan muttered. “That’s thirty grand right there,”
• Inside the white envelope were three stacks of 10,000 dollar notes. The only other time Violet has held this much cash in her hand was when she was counting the register at work.
• Also tucked inside the envelope was a small black card. Dylan watched in bewilderment as Violet pulled the black card out.
• “What’s it say?” he asked.
• Violet swallowed hard as she read the one line written in gold ink. She couldn’t even open her mouth to speak. She simply showed the card to Dylan and let him read it by himself.
• “ Now we’re even. – D V Z. ”
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• - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -