Violet is Blue (Hothouse series) by Tawny Stokes, Vivi Anna Read Free Book Online

nodded, then continued his walk down the sidewalk.
    I watched him until he turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.
    The front door opened and Patrick came out. “Are you okay?” He walked down to meet me on the lawn. “I heard a commotion.”
    “I’m fine. It’s over.”
    I walked to the door, Patrick beside me. He was looking me over.
    “Your arm is red.”
    We went inside, and I dropped my book bag on the floor. “It was nothing. Just a misunderstanding.”
    “Who touched you?” He clenched his hands. I’d never seen anger in him before. It was kind of frightening. He looked like a completely different guy.
    I shook my head. “It’s okay, Pat. It’s over.”
    “Was it Jordan?”
    “I handled it. It’s over. It won’t happen again.”
    “Vi, if...”
    “Please don’t tell Mom or Dad, okay?”
    He looked at me for a long moment, and then finally nodded. “Okay, but if I find out this has happened before or again...”
    “I know. It hasn’t, and it won’t.”
    He studied me a little longer, then finally swung an arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go make one of your disgusting smoothies and I’ll even drink it instead of make fun of it.”
    I laughed, the reprieve was just what I needed right now. “Sounds good. And they aren’t disgusting; they are tremendously good for you. Full of vitamins...”
    “Disgusting in other words.”
    “Whatever,” I said, “You’ll like whatever I make.”
    Together, we went into the kitchen and I could almost forget that Jordan had nearly struck me, and that Devon had been lurking mysteriously nearby and came to my rescue.
    An hour later, we were both at the counter bar drinking mango and spinach smoothies. Patrick had made several faces as I put it together, and then made an even worse one with his first sip, but soon he was gulping the concoction down rapturously.
    He made me relax and take my mind off the incident, but he’d also managed to get me to open up about my and Jordan’s relationship. At first I thought it was weird that he wanted to know, but after a while I found I needed to talk about it, especially to someone who was a completely unbiased and neutral bystander.
    “It used to be good, you know.  He was a lot of fun.  Then he got all possessive and jealous.  I couldn't go anywhere without telling him first.”
    “He sounds like a real douche.”
    “He is now, that’s for sure.” I laughed.  “He even had the nerve once, to accuse me of neglecting him.  I suppose that was his reasoning when he slept with that slut.”
    Patrick shook his head. “I hate guys like that. You are way better off without him Vi. You know that right?”
    “I know.” I finished off my drink, and wiped my mouth. “Hey, thanks for listening. I can’t talk to my mom about this, and my friends just don’t get it. They think Jordan is worth the struggle.”
    “They’ll learn when they grow up.”
    I laughed. “Hey, I’m the same age and I’m grown up. You and I are only like 6 years apart, you know?”
    “A lifetime.”
    “No, it’s not.”
    “I’m like an old man compared to you.”
    I smacked him playfully. “Not even.”
    He finished his drink, then ran a finger over the water ring on the counter. “Maybe we should hang out sometime.”
    My eyes widened at that. “Ah, yeah, that would be awesome.”
    “How about Friday?”
    “This Friday?”
    He nodded and smiled. “Yeah.”
    “Sure,” I said, then frowned, “but damn, I promised Dahlia we’d hang out.”
    “Bring her along.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yeah, it will be fun.”
    “Okay. It’s a plan.”
    “Great.” He stood and took his glass to the sink to rinse it out. “Oh, just one thing though.  I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Mark.  I don't know how he'd feel about me taking you out.”
    “I’m sure he’d be fine with it.”
    “Maybe, just keep it because us, okay?” He looked at me and I could see the urgency in his gaze.
    “Sure. No problem. I’ll tell