Chapter 9

***Alicent***

As the woman rolls down the passenger door window, I kindly ask her, “You need help?”
Well, looking at her expensive car, the last thing she needs is MY help.
However, I couldn’t simply pass by her without asking if she needed any assistance, especially considering that her car had both front tires flat, a rather peculiar situation. Nevertheless, I make the conscious decision to refrain from immediately probing her about the details of what has transpired, because maybe she’s in shock or something.
Another peculiar thing happened when I knocked on her door. She seemed to be changing her clothes, which is another thing that I think is best not to point out.
“Uhmm,” she looks around with a searching gaze, as if seeking an answer. “Yeah! Can you give me a lift? My car’s got flat tires!”
“Of course! I’m Alicent, but everyone calls me Allie,” I say, walking away from her car. After grabbing her purse, she closes the car window and exits her car.
She locks it and starts walking towards me. With a polite smile, she says, “I’m Violet!”
Oh, Lord! How did I have the courage to offer a ride to a woman who exudes such elegance?
My old car is a real death trap compared to hers, even with its two flat tires! What a joyride this will be!
Violet is wearing a sophisticated dress. She appears to be around the same age as me, about 27 years old.
She comes to a halt as soon as she catches sight of my old car, and her eyes widen.
I bite my bottom lip. “I promise it’ll get you where you need to go.” I chuckle awkwardly.
Violet’s sun-kissed skin immediately turns red. “No, it’s okay, I’m sorry! In fact, if you let me borrow your phone, I can call someone to come get me.”
“Sorry, my phone has zero power left!” I lie.
She already knows that my car is ancient, and I’d rather not add that my phone battery is also malfunctioning. It decided to stop working right after I dropped Az off at his school earlier. And frankly, I have no idea how I’m going to pay for the repairs.
“Okay,” Violet says, heading towards the passenger seat.
I hold back a laugh because her classy figure is a stark contrast to my beat-up old car. However, she doesn’t react with a disgusted face like Chelsea always did whenever I offered her a ride.
I waste no time in starting to drive as soon as I get into the car because I had intentionally left it running.
It would be even more mortifying for me if I offered her a ride and then my car failed to start.
“So... What do you do, Allie?” Violet asks me as her gaze discreetly looks around the car.
“I’m a teacher.” I quickly glance at her when I ask, “What about you?”
There is something about her eyes that strikes a chord of familiarity within me, and then it suddenly dawns on me that they mirror the exact color that adorns Elizabeth’s chestnut eyes—the very same color as Az’s doll.
However, Violet’s sharp, almond-shaped brown eyes aren’t like the glassy eyes of Az’s doll; instead, they’re more akin to a fox’s gaze, with a hint of something almost supernatural sparkling within them.
She gives a small smile before responding and then I hurriedly shift my focus to the road in front of me. “I work in Summerville.” She doesn’t say anything else after that, and I don’t try to pry anymore.
After a few minutes, Violet breaks the silence. “Ugh! I’m starving!”
“There are some snacks in that bag next to my purse in the back seat. Help yourself!” I offer.
Suddenly, I remember my late brother. He had the habit of leaving snacks in his backpack whenever I felt hungry.
Now, whenever I have some extra money, I make sure to stash snacks in my bag just in case I ever find myself without food.
I don’t want to experience that pain ever again.
Violet bends back, her fingers reaching into the bag to retrieve a ziplock filled with cookies. Once she faces forward again, she eagerly opens the ziplock and begins devouring the cookies.
“Wow! That’s delicious,” she says excitedly. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her surprised reaction.
The genuine smile on my face makes warmth spread through my cheeks. It catches me off guard because I don’t recall the last time I smiled so genuinely, except with Az.
“My son loves these cookies too,” I reply, flicking the car light to the left even though no one’s around.
“Are you married?” Violet asks before shoving another cookie into her mouth.
I bite my bottom lip, not knowing how to respond to it.
If she were a man, I would instantly say yes for my own safety.
When I don’t respond immediately, she says in a more firm and polite tone, “You don’t need to respond if you don’t want to.”
“No, it’s okay...” I respond right away. “Actually, I just got divorced... We were together for ten years,” I close my eyes tightly for a second, hoping to erase the disturbing image of Logan and Chelsea together out of my mind.
“Weren’t you happy together anymore?” She asks curiously before devouring more cookies.
I’m just amazed at how she can down so many of those in one go! I mean, look at her, all slim and toned. You’d think she’d be chowing down on lettuce leaves instead. I know for sure that if I eat all this like her, I’d gain a ton of weight, but she doesn’t seem to care at all.
“I actually caught him cheating on me with my best friend!” I summarize my divorce to her. I don’t even know why I told her, maybe it’s because I don’t expect to ever see her again.
Violet unleashes a series of curse words that make me blush. Although I will save certain words for future use. With the way things are going downhill in my life, I would need them for sure.
“Well, my EX-best friend!” I quickly correct myself.
“Fuck, Allie! That’s awful! I’m so sorry,” Violet says. Despite expressing words of sympathy, her tone remains filled with anger in my defense.
“Thank you, Violet—”
Violet cuts me off, turning to me. “No! Stop! Don’t call me Violet,” then she adds right before she chomps down on the second to last cookie, “Call me Vi. My friends call me that.”
I open a big smile, “I could use a friend, Vi!” I reply. Even though I know she probably just said it to be polite since I’ll likely never see her again.
“So, got your eye on anyone new yet?” Vi asks.
“Oh, no! I can’t. I don’t even have time for that. Besides, look at me,” I say with a scoff, feeling my face get hot as I recall what Chelsea and Logan said about my appearance.
People can be really mean.
Initially, I thought I didn’t care.
But then, I find myself forcing myself not to care.
Yet, their words burrowed their way deep into my mind.
It becomes this rotting thing inside me, growing and growing until I can’t breathe, I can’t sleep, I can’t eat.
Their words become a mantra in my head every time I need to put on my clothes. Or when I arrive in my sketchy neighborhood.
I knew they were not right. But then I started to think... Maybe they are...
Maybe I am what they say. Maybe I am a stupid slut. Maybe my family wished I’d never been born so they could be alive. Maybe the world would be a better place if I weren’t in it.
“Hey! Where did you go?”
Vi breaks me out of my thoughts, and I clear my throat before speaking. “I’m sorry! What were you saying?”
“I was saying you should go out and meet a new guy,” she says. “You humans can afford to be with whoever you want!”
You humans? What a weird way to say it.
“And what guy would want a low life like me?”
Oh, Lord! I didn’t want to throw my pity party on her. Argh!
“What the hell are you talking about?” She turns sharply to me and I startle at her icy tone.
I quickly lose control of the steering wheel beneath my hands but return to driving properly shortly after, though with a stiffened body.
I’m sure I’m pale. “Forget what I said!”
Yeah, right, like Vi could.
Judging by her furrowed eyebrows, I don’t think that isn’t going to happen.
“Girl, I just can’t. Forget what I said about waiting until you feel better,” she says, and frankly, I don’t even remember her saying that. I think I was too focused on the pity party in my mind. Vi goes on, “You need to catch a dick!”
“What? No!” I say, eyes widening. “I’m a mother! It takes time for me to meet someone and get that serious! It takes time to build that connection. It can’t be like this.”
“I’m not talking about meeting your future mat—I mean—your future husband, Allie,” Vi says, “I’m talking about having a one-night stand. Yeah, that’s it! That’s what you need! If you want, you can literally have a dick a day—”
“What?” I interrupted her, switching gears in the car. “I could never!”
“Yes, you can!”
“What’s wrong with meeting someone calmly and then exchanging a few kisses after a few weeks or months?” I ask all prim and proper. Okay, even I can hear how boring I sound.
“Allie, you literally caught your husband with someone else. I think you should have a one-night stand. Not only do you seriously need it, but you also need to get revenge so they can both see what they lost,” Vi says in a commanding tone. “Like tonight!”
“And what have they lost, Vi? Someone ugly and boring? Also, I can’t do that, because my ex-husband asked me to look after our son this weekend. He and my ex-best friend said they needed to enjoy themselves as a couple this weekend.”
“Fuck. My. Life! And you accepted that?” She asks so indignantly that my cheeks and ears burn with embarrassment when I nod. “Bitch, are you a crosswalk or something? Is your sole fucking purpose in life to be stepped on?”