From my cracked-open window, the sound of men’s laughter drifts in and so do the shouts, the occasional curse, the rumble of motorcycles coming and going and the loud, angry music.
Two months ago, all of this would have terrified me, but now I look out and see Pigpen laughing with a bunch of guys. I see Olivia with Cyrus near the bonfire. I know that Eli and Oz are somewhere inside the clubhouse.
“Is it that bad here?” I point then relax my toes. “I mean, yeah, they’re sort of crazy, but they seem to care for one another.”
“Oh my God!” Violet shrieks. “Are you for real? There’s a reason why you’re locked in here and the rest of them are out there. It’s easy to love them if you can ignore the truth and you’re doing exactly what they want. You’re ignoring what’s in front of you. Well, I refuse to live this way. I need to leave. I need to get out of here!”
“What about your mom?” I ask.
“What about your mom?” Violet spits. “Call her. Ask her if I can come.”
She rolls her shoulders as if she’s on the verge of bursting out of her skin and then grabs my hands. “Please. Please do this. Please call her and ask your mom to let me live with you. Tell her that I’m Christy’s girl. Tell her that she owes us. My mother risked a lot for her once and your mom promised her she’d do anything to help her in the future because of it. Tell her that I’m taking her up on the offer. Your mom understands you can’t go back on a promise. Just for the year. Then I’ll get a job when I graduate and move out and I’ll be able to take care of Brandon, but I have to get out of here.”
Violet’s eyes are wild, crazy, just as insane as she’s acting right now. Her nails dig into my hands and I’m pulling to get free. “Listen, calm down. You’re not making any sense. Why would my mom owe your mom? You need to calm down!”
I yank my hands away and Violet flies to her feet. “Call her!”
Freaking terrified, I also stand and attempt to figure out how I can maneuver past her for the door. “I don’t know what your mom did for my mom, but I can’t imagine that it’s big enough for her to harbor you after you run away.”
“Big enough?” Violet gathers her hair at the base of her neck. “It’s huge. It’s the secret they’re keeping from you. It’s the reason you believe that they are rays of merry fucking sunshine when they aren’t.”
“What?” I press. “What is it that’s so huge that my mom would be okay with you running away?”
“My mom’s the one that drove your mom out of Snowflake. The one who helped you two escape in the night. My mom kept the secret of where you went when Eli went to prison. That’s right, everyone’s precious Eli went to prison for eight years and it’s your mom who turned him in!”
Violet’s chest is moving rapidly and a strange sound leaves her throat as she goes white.
The blow slams straight into my stomach and I stumble back and land on the bed. There’s a buzz in my head and my eyes flicker in front of me as I try to understand.
“Shit,” Violet whispers as she shoves her hand through her hair. “Just shit. I didn’t say that. Please, Emily, I didn’t say that.”
But she did. Violet said it and it’s there and my gut twists in a way that feels like I’m snapping in half. “What did he go for prison for?”
“Emily...”
I push off the bed and get in Violet’s face. “What did Eli go to prison for?”
Her lips thin out. “Attempted murder...aggravated assault.”
The room spins. “Who? Why?”
“You’re not going to like it.”
“Because I’m liking what I’ve heard so far?” I shout. “Tell me, Violet! You cannot get this far and stop!”
She closes her eyes and whispers, “It was your mother’s brother. Your uncle. Your mother’s family didn’t want her and Eli together and when her brother tried to break them up...”
A spark of anger propels me out the door of my room.
“Emily!” Violet is hot on my heels, but I’m faster. I jerk open the front door, my hand smacks the screen and the moment I’m on the front porch, there are two walls of leather vests in my way.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Emily,” says one with a long drawl. “The McKinleys said that you aren’t allowed to leave the house.”
“What are you going to do?” I yell. “What the freak are you going to do to stop me?”
They look at each other. For too long. Long enough that I have my answer. Nothing. There is nothing they can do to me. I slip past them and I’m down the stairs. Loud footsteps behind me. My name from their lips. From Violet’s lips. But I don’t care.
Eli served time in prison. He almost killed someone. My mother’s brother. My uncle. An uncle I didn’t even know existed. They’ve lied. They’ve all lied.
I’m halfway toward the crowd when a hand clamps down on my arm. I swing around and it’s the prospect. “I’m sorry, Emily, but you’re not allowed out here.”