V IOLET BEGAN TO feel a little uneasy around two in
the morning. She threw her legs over the edge of the
couch and noticed that her feet were unusually cold
when they met the floor. Her face felt warm though; a
little too warm. Jenny had made her a simple chicken
salad for dinner, so it probably wasn’t something she’d
eaten. Yet there was an intense gnawing in her
stomach and her face was flush. She also felt an
uncomfortable rush of heat in her upper back and
neck.
Not wanting to wake Jenny, she walked into the
kitchen and peered out the window to distract herself
from the strange physical issues she was experiencing.
Growing up on the street, she knew that not eating for
a few days — something which had occurred more
times than she could count — produced negative
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consequences for her body. Terrible symptoms. So she
knew the stomach pain that often crippled her was
probably the result of such a lifestyle. But she had
eaten this evening. During her three days with Jenny,
she’d actually eaten several times a day, whether she
wanted to or not.
Maybe The Pain had returned. “Not this again,” she
whispered.
Violet sat by the window and watched random cars
moving through the intersection below. She counted
the black cars as a mental distraction. Sometimes that
worked. But oddly, as she began to play this mind
game, her thoughts turned to — of all things — boys.
Violet wondered what it would be like to have a normal
student life, and how it would feel to have a boyfriend.
Would he be impressed by her pickpocket skills? Or
her ability to endure pain or go without sleep for days?
Is that what modern guys were looking for in a
girlfriend? Perhaps not.
I’m such a loser.
Violet laughed quietly to herself. Then she heard the
creak of a door and the sound of soft footsteps behind
her. She turned to see Jenny approaching her from the
hallway. She sat down next to Violet at the window.
“Sorry I woke you up,” Violet said. “I was trying to be
quiet.”
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“No — it’s all right. I was already up. I can’t sleep
either.”
“I remember when I was a kid,” Violet said, “my mom
would sing a lullaby to get me to sleep. It’s corny as all
hell, but it worked. Hush little baby, don’t you cry —
mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that
mockingbird won’t sing, mama’s gonna buy you a
diamond rin g.”
Jenny smiled and offered her own voice, “And if that
diamond ring turns brass, mama’s gonna buy you a
looking glass.”
Violet pressed her shoulder against Jenny and said,
“Don’t you have work in the morning?”
“Don’t remind me,” Jenny said with an easygoing
smile.
“So…,” Violet asked in a quiet voice. “Where do you
work again?”
“It’s a law firm. Few blocks over.”
“Really?” Violet chirped, perking up. “You’re a
lawyer?”
“Oh no — I wish. I’m an administrative assistant.”
“Wow. That sounds pretty cool.”
“Not really,” Jenny corrected. “It’s a fancy word for
someone who does a lot of work but gets treated like a
secretary.”
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Jenny saw that Violet’s face was a bit rosy, so she
put a hand on the young girl’s shoulder.
“You feeling okay?” Jenny asked.
“I’ll love,” slipped out. “I mean live. I’ll live.”
“Too late,” Jenny joked. “Now I know what’s on your
mind.”
Violet conceded a smile, a little embarrassed to have
her thoughts read so easily. They sat together for a
long while, just enjoying the fact that they had each
other, whatever that meant. At little past three, Violet
fell asleep in Jenny’s lap. And Jenny fell asleep too —
slumped against the wall. Together, they entered into a
deep and relaxing rest, free of worry, boy issues, or
stomach pain.
• • •
Levi returned home from a morning drive and parked
on the curb. Sometimes he felt like strolling the streets
to be alone with his thoughts, but other times — and
despite the cost of gas — he needed to be behind the
wheel.
It’s not good to just let a car sit, he reasoned. He’d
become friends with the machine over time.
Levi wanted desperately to run over to the bar and
tell Charles he’d sign the papers right away. It seemed
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foolish to even delay his decision. Although Levi knew
his friend was seriously lacking in the character
department, he trusted that Charles wanted his
commission and that could only happen if he
fashioned a legitimate deal. So Levi didn’t doubt what
he’d been told: that there was a promoter who wanted
to sign him to fight overseas. That much was
believable. What bothered him was this whole mess
with the lamp. Could he take the lamp with him
overseas? K.S. hadn’t told him that he couldn’t, so
maybe that was a sign of affirmation.
Levi noticed the note the moment he entered his
home. This time he hesitated. Did he really want to
know what was written on it? How might the message
interrupt these plans he’d been making all morning?
He let the door fall shut and took a few steps forward,
telling himself that it would be all right.
Setting the lamp on the floor, he walked over and
grabbed the note. After a gentle pep talk, he took a
frustrated breath and read it.
Be very careful to do only what I instruct. Don’t think
with your gut. Keep your mind sharp and fight with
courage. Your dear friend, K.S.
“Only what you instruct?” Levi questioned out loud.
“You’ve barely told me anything.” A muffled laugh
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escaped his mouth. “Oh well. I guess that’ll have to
do.”
Levi was intent on ignoring the part that told him to
fight with courage. He could have interpreted that to
mean it was okay to take the deal and sign the papers.
After all, that’s exactly what he wanted to do. But
being honest with himself, he knew that fighting
scrubs didn’t take courage. Courage is only involved
when one is facing a foe he isn’t sure he can defeat —
especially if the consequences of losing are great.
• • •
Jenny was in the bathroom flossing when she heard
a thud. She peeked her head out the door and saw
Violet lying perfectly still under the rays of the morning
sun. Jenny rushed over to her in a panic.
She rolled the girl over and gasped. Violet was pale,
and a splotch of blood was on the floor near her head.
Violet tensed up and threw herself onto her hands and
knees, vomiting watery blood.
“Violet, honey, what’s wrong?!” Jenny asked in a
frenzy. “What happened to you?”
Violet fought to regain her throat and said, “My
stomach.”
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• • •
Levi looked up from the utility closet near the
apartment entrance and saw Jenny walking a half-
dazed Violet toward the door. He dropped his tool belt
and ran over to them.
“What happened?” he asked quickly.
“Violet is having stomach pains. I’m taking her to the
E.R.”
He noticed that she looked unusually pale.
“Let me go with you,” he demanded.
“No, no — everything is okay. Probably just stomach
flu or something. I’ll handle it.”
Jenny’s fear, which was not unreasonable, was that
Violet was probably suffering a miscarriage and she
wanted to hide that suspicion from Levi. She didn’t
know why exactly, since he’s not her father or even a
proper guardian. But deep inside she knew that Levi
had taken to the girl and would be unable to function if
he knew someone had taken advantage of her in a
sexual way.
Levi walked them both out the front entrance and
hailed a taxi. He was not as naive as Jenny thought;
he’d also suspected that she was pregnant. Then he
remembered that he’d left the utility bag, with the lamp
inside, back in the storage room. Momentarily
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panicking, he dashed back inside. Luckily, it was still
safely tucked away right where he’d left it. He breathed
a quick sigh of relief before his thoughts returned to
Violet. He whipped the closet door shut and locked it
before kneeling down to offer a desperate prayer on her
behalf.
• • •
Jenny had been in the waiting room for what seemed
like days, but in reality had only been three hours,
before Violet came through the double doors and
wearily greeted her in the lobby. A doctor accompanied
her.
“You’re the girl’s guardian?” he asked.
“Um — yes. I’m the caretaker. What’s going on? Is
she going to be all right?”
“We re-hydrated her and kept her on the IV until her
color returned, then ran a few tests. Looks like Miss
Violet has a peptic ulcer, a pretty severe one.”
Jenny felt relieved, but only slightly. The word severe
was not comforting to hear coming out of a doctor’s
mouth. But at least she wasn’t pregnant.
“I’m sending her home with a prescription. I gave her
a dose thirty minutes ago, but make sure she takes the
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antibiotic every twenty-four hours or things could get
dangerously worse.”
Jenny looked at the girl, who was a bit zoned out,
not really listening to their conversation. She thought
that maybe the medicine had put Violet into a fog, but
then it seemed as if something across the room had
stolen her attention. Jenny followed her gaze to
someone in dark clothes situated about thirty feet from
where they were standing. Although the shadow from
his jacket’s hood covered his face, Jenny could sense
that he was staring at them — specifically Violet. And
she was staring back.
Chills racked through Jenny, causing a deep shiver
to trundle up her spine. A group of medics and nurses
passed through her field of vision; the hooded man
followed them through a door. The man was gone,
passing into the next room like a phantom, but Jenny’s
heart was still racing.
The doctor finished saying something that she didn’t
hear, shook her hand, and left them alone. Jenny
turned to Violet, who was still mentally checked out.
“Do you know that person?” she asked.
Violet just shook her head back and forth: No.
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