Chapter 14
“Want a piece?”
I glanced over my shoulder, away from the dirty dish I was scrubbing, and looked at my dad. He stood at the island, a pumpkin pie in front of him and a sleepy, food coma smile on his face.
“No, thanks,” I replied, my fingers tightening around the sponge clutched in my hand. Our annual Thanksgiving Day football scrimmage would start once we finished cleaning, and I didn’t want to puke in the middle of a play because I’d overeaten. “I’ll have some after the game.”
“Suit yourself,” he said, pulling the plastic lid off the pie container as I turned back to the sink.
Three weeks had passed since my grounding, and although my punishment was up, a palpable tension still lingered between us.
We tiptoed around each other, only engaging in polite conversation when absolutely necessary.
In fact, this was the first time we’d been alone together since our fight, and I could barely get through a simple yes-no question without wanting to hurl the sponge, a plate, anything really, at his face.
But what pissed me off the most?
My dad’s swift return to being as uninvolved in my life as possible, like nothing had happened at all. Even though his attempt at discipline was nothing short of infuriating, a tiny, minuscule part of me had hoped it was a sign—one that meant he was trying to change, that he wanted to be my dad.
I resumed scrubbing, taking my anger out on the crusty bits of food baked onto the side of a casserole dish. Two more pots found their way to the drying rack before my cousin stomped into the kitchen carrying a broom and dustpan.
“Does anyone know where Violet is?” Hillary asked. She threw open the pantry door and dumped the contents of the dustpan into the garbage with more force than necessary. “I don’t mean to be a crab, but she hasn’t helped at all.”
I smiled to myself, glad I wasn’t the only person who was irritated by my sister’s disappearing act.
Right at the end of dinner, her phone rang, and she excused herself to take the call.
Nobody had seen her since. Now that I thought about it, I wouldn’t put it past Violet to have Lydia call her just so she could avoid washing dishes.
Dad shrugged as he polished off his last bite of pie. “No clue.”
Sighing, I dried my hands on a dish towel before turning to Hillary. “Leave whatever else is still on the table,” I told her. “I’ll go find Violet, and she can finish what’s left.”
Except locating my sister wasn’t the easy feat I thought it would be.
The first place I looked was the living room where most of our family was congregated around the TV, but unsurprisingly, Violet wasn’t there.
Maybe she was still on the phone and had shut herself up in Dad’s office for privacy?
But a single glance through the French doors let me know the room was deserted.
After doing a thorough sweep of the main floor, I went upstairs to check her bedroom. That was empty too.
Where the heck was she?
I was heading back toward the stairs, thoughts focused on bribing Wyatt or Quinn, my two youngest cousins, to help me with my search, when I heard my name.
“I understand, but Indie is an adult. She can handle this.”
To my left, the door of an unused guest room stood ajar. Violet’s voice was coming from inside, so I paused in confusion. Why was Violet hiding in one of the spare bedrooms? More importantly, why was she talking about me? I leaned in to hear more.
“I’ve been trying to fix things, but it’s not going well,” she continued. A pause. Then, “Okay, maybe you should tell her.”
No longer able to keep quiet, I pushed the door open. “Who are you talking to?”
Violet, who was standing by the window looking out at the ocean, jumped so high it was a miracle she didn’t shoot through the ceiling.
Without saying goodbye, she ended her call and spun around to face me.
“What do you want?” she demanded, her neck and cheeks flushing red as she shoved the phone into a back pocket.
“I’ve been looking all over for you,” I replied. “We’re almost done cleaning up dinner, and you haven’t pitched in at all. No need to bite my head off.”
“Okay, fine. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you downstairs.” She turned away as if to dismiss me, but she had yet to answer my question. No way was I letting her off the hook.
“Who were you talking to?” I asked again.
“Someone I work with.” Her response was brisk, flippant. “Nothing you’d be interested in.”
“But I am interested,” I said, putting a hand on my hip as I took another step into the room. “I heard you say my name.”
“Weren’t you the one who told me to mind my own business the other day?” Violet snapped. “Why don’t you do the same and butt out?”
“There’s a huge difference between you meddling in my life choices and me wanting to know why you’re talking about me,” I told her.
“Despite what you think, the world doesn’t revolve around you, Indie.”
I gave a humorless laugh. “That’s rich coming from you.”
Violet’s nostrils flared—it looked like she was resisting the urge to explode—and three tense seconds of silence passed.
“Oh, really?” she finally said. “I don’t suppose you know where my script for Lady Phoenix went, do you?
Obviously someone as perfect and considerate as you would never snoop through my stuff, but I wanted to ask just in case. ”
Oh, crap.
I’d been so caught up in the excitement of ACM and creating my portfolio that I’d forgotten all about returning the script to Dad’s office.
I’d left it in Sofia’s room, which in all likelihood meant it had been swallowed up by an endless mountain of laundry.
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and crossed my arms. “I thought you were taking a break from acting.”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Violet said, “I mentioned wanting to take a break, but that doesn’t mean I can afford to.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to be remembered as a vapid vampire princess for the rest of eternity!” she said, throwing up her hands. “I want to be cast in dynamic, meaningful roles that earn me Oscar nominations. I want to have a career that lasts a lifetime and for people to take me seriously.”
I snorted. “And you think Lady Phoenix will help you accomplish that?” Although I loved the series with all my heart, I wasn’t naive.
Things teenage girls liked—whether it was the Heartbreakers, Twilight, or Taylor Swift—were always mocked by the rest of the world as uncool and less than. This would be no different.
“Maybe not, but it’s a step in the right direction.” Violet sank down on the end of the bed and briefly closed her eyes before letting go of a frustrated gulp of air. “My screen test is next month, so I need to start practicing. Any idea where my script disappeared to?”
A heaviness settled over my body at her response.
So she really was auditioning. Despite Dad’s promise to spend more time with me, Violet’s desire to press pause on acting, and her forthcoming album, she was still going to try out.
I knew I was being childish, but the realization made my eyes water.
Sure, there was always a chance Violet wouldn’t get the part, but I knew better than to hope for that.
Not only was she good at her job, but after the phenomenon that was Immortal Nights, Violet was a hot commodity.
What director or producer wouldn’t want to tap into her massive fan base?
“Not a clue,” I lied through the lump in my throat. I’d deal with returning the script later. Right now, there were more pressing matters at hand. “What role are you auditioning for?”
Please not Kelina. Please not Kelina! Anything but her!
“Some weird alien girl,” Violet said, pulling her hair over her shoulder and twisting it into a thick rope. “I think her name is Kelly Stardust. You read the comic, right? Is she a good character?”
“No!” I gasped, the word erupting from my mouth before I could stop myself.
My outburst must have caught Violet off guard, because she accidentally dropped her hair, which sprang free and unraveled. “So…she’s not a good character?”
“That’s not what—” With the shake of my head, I broke off. Violet’s mouth opened, but I held up a hand to ward her off until the bile burning at the back of my throat subsided. “You can’t audition for her,” I said at last.
She scratched her forehead. “Why not?”
“Because. She’s my favorite character.”
The expression on her face turned stoic. “What does that have to do with anything?” she asked, her voice low and seething.
“Everything!” I breathed hard to keep back a sob. “Look, I know this probably doesn’t make sense to you, but I’ve been waiting for a Lady Phoenix adaption for years, and if you’re in it, I don’t think I’ll be able to watch—”
Violet shot to her feet in one swift motion. “You’re unbelievable! I’m not allowed to have a conversation with you about your college applications, but you can ban me from an audition? Do you realize how selfish you sound?”
Shaking my head, I willed her to understand. “Violet, I don’t care if you audition for every role that comes your way from now until the end of time, but please, I’m begging you,” I said, clasping my hands together in a plea, “not this one.”
There was a long pause. Finally, “Maybe if you acted more like my sister and less like a bitter bitch, you wouldn’t have to beg,” she said, using a twisted version of my own words against me. “And for future reference, I don’t need your permission to do my job.”