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Red just laughed at her.
“Relax. Even Dani thinks it’s funny now. But anyways, the New Year’s Ball.” She went on to tell her at length about all the dresses Dani had made for various people in town. Violet’s mind wandered. Time had passed easily since Mikel had bitten her. It had been a little under two weeks, but her scar was already silver and flat, and they’d already settled into a rhythm that felt right.
He was easy to fall for, and he doted on her. Life was dangerously good, yet one thing about the Bluff still nagged her.
“Okay, babe, for real, where’s your head?” Red asked when she realized Violet wasn’t listening. For the millionth time, Violet wanted so badly to tell her.
“What do you think of Kane?” she hedged carefully.
“The alpha?” Red clarified, and Violet nodded.
“This is about Mikel’s dad, isn’t it?”
Violet shrugged.
“You can talk to me. Obviously, I wasn’t around, but Dani told me the story. She was like fifteen when it all went down. It’s dumb that half the town treats him like they do. Guessing he doesn’t like Kane very much?”
“The opposite actually. He’s weirdly chill about the whole thing, thinks his dad went psycho and killed sixteen people from my town.” She tried to reason with herself that this wasn’t betraying Mikel’s trust. He’d never expressly told her not to discuss this, and Redwasa friend.
“I never put it together that you were from there. Nobody you know, right? I know your mom—” There was a long pause, and she watched the pieces fall into place for her friend. “Oh shit, Violet.” Red turned to her, stunned.
“Watch the road!” Violet rushed to remind her. “You cannot tell him. Promise me?”It was a gas leak, she reminded herself over and over, like she did every time this came up.
“How…? Your mom,” Red spluttered. “I mean. Not like Mikel had anything to do with it, but are you okay with this?”
“Promise me you won’t tell him?” she demanded again.
Mikel was already guilty enough over it and Violet wasn’t convinced guilt was even warranted. Knowing her mom had died in that building would only make it worse.
“Promise,” Red agreed, grabbing her hand and squeezing. “Not my thing to tell.”
Violet exhaled. “Thanks. And I can talk to you, right? Like, you won’t repeat this?”
“I won’t even talk to Dani if you don’t want me to. We’re friends; you’re stuck with me.”
The sentiment made Violet smile, but the smile didn’t stay.
“My mom died in a gas explosion, Red. A wall blew out in that building, and it took half a block with it.” She swallowed, searched for a way to say it without saying it and found none. “My mom wasn’t torn up by some animal, she got crushed under a beam when the ceiling fell on the other side of the place. Probably died from smoke inhalation before they found her.”
“Violet—”
“It’s fine. It was a long time ago. But it gets weirder.”
Red shot her a look, then made a hard left into a parking lot. The van jerked to a halt parked over three spaces. “Go on,” she said as she killed the engine, and Violet hoped she could trust her.
“When I first got here, I recognized this guy in the Target parking lot. My dad’s the mayor of Frankston, remember?”
Red nodded.
“This guy, Jared, he came to my house to meet with my dad, picked me up from school a few times. He wasn’t there every day but enough that I knew him by name. Figured he was part of Magnus’s security.”
“Why would a descendant have a job outside of town?”
Violet shook her head. “Just wait. Then, Kane happens to show up at the hardware store on the exact day Mikel goes every month for his supplies and tells me I look familiar. Mikel jumps in and brushes it off, and they have this weird exchange. Problem is, Kaneisfamiliar to me. He’s been having dinner with my dad forever, back when my mom was still alive even.”
Red clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. Violet continued.
“Magnus, my dad, became the mayor of Frankston after the previous mayor died in that explosion. He was supposed to be at that meeting. My mom went. He stayed home with the stomach flu.”
