Chapter Five

The turkey was burnt.

Not just burnt. Gray smoke swirled above the turkey, then spiraled and spiraled and spiraled until it hit the fire alarm. Noah had scurried and pulled the fire extinguisher from the cabinet below the sink, but there was no hope.

His dinner was ruined.

"Shoot," he cursed himself while lifting the pan that held the grotesque-looking bird from the oven. Smoke continued to diffuse throughout the kitchen. 

Noah never could cook. He had fast food restaurants on speed dial on his iPhone, and he ate out five or six times a week. On Sundays, he was accustomed to eating with the Weavers at their humble abode. Ironically, even though he knew that he only had the capability to boil water, he still suggested to make dinner for Shannon and her sister.

Her sister.

Noah ran a hand through his hair. How could he manage to keep face while his insides were gnawed by guilt? Luckily, he rarely had to hear about or see Violet, but on those rare occasions when he did, he nearly spat out his lunch.

Am I such a shitty person that I deserve this mess? Noah gestured angrily to the bird but also to his current situation.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Violet pulled at the hem of her knitted dress that she had borrowed from her best friend for this occasion. Most of her dresses were only an inch past her hips or were very revealing at the top. She did have one dress, in particular, that she used to wear to these outings until Charlie had rudely commented that Violet looked sickly in it. 

So, this is why Violet Weaver was wearing an oversized rag of a dress tonight accompanied with a horrid smell.

Maybe this will scare Noah off, and I won't have to stay more than ten minutes tops!, she thought to herself, taking a whiff of her outfit. 

Just as she was about to knock a fourth time, the door opened in front of her. Wearing a crisp cream-colored shirt and khaki pants was Noah Anderson, her sister's beloved boy toy. Violet leered him over, noticing that he had soot at the top of his pants and his eyes had a glazed look to them. She forced a smile onto her face. 

"Hey, Vi," he paused, "Violet. Come on in. Shannon's running a little late I assume, but I bet she'll be here in a few minutes." He stood there for a minute staring before stepping aside to let the petite blonde in.

"Uhh," she coughed into her left sleeve, "thanks for letting me know. And for cooking."

Noah grimaced, his eyes darting towards the kitchen. Violet wondered why he was acting stranger than usual. However, her question was answered when she took a waft of the smoke seeping from the kitchen. A lop-side grin slowly inched onto her mouth.

"Or maybe I should rephrase that. Thanks for attempting to cook," she jested before coughing from the fumes. The horrid stench of the smoke tainted most of the air in his apartment.

Noah rubbed the back of his neck, biting his lip. "Yeah, didn't go so well. 

Violet rolled her eyes. That was an understatement. The apartment reeked, the bird was almost burnt to ashes, and a huge grease stain was the centerpiece of his table. 

"I can cook if you want," she suggested, her eyes continuing to survey the room. "That is, unless you have another meal already in the oven."

The man gulped. "No, no, no! Please go ahead. I didn't know that you could cook."

She smirked in response, pulling out her cellphone from her back pocket. "Yes, Boston Market? I would like a turkey dinner," she began.

Violet Weaver was finally saving the day!

"Shit," Shannon muttered to herself.

It was nearly six o'clock, and she had piles of pictures and editorials that she had to sort through. Shooting a glance at her Rolex, she cursed silently under her breath after realizing she had been  doing this for at least three hours. She then placed another grammatically incorrect and dull article back into its pile. Out of the fifty she had read so far, only three were worthy of appearing in her magazine.

"Shay, you need any help?" Aaron, her assistant inquired, before taking another sip from his purple coffee mug. 

The beautiful blonde closed her eyes. "No, Aaron, it's fine. Feel free to go home. I don't want you to miss out on your Friday night, too. I have a dinner with Noah and my sister, and if I don't finish this soon, I'll have to cancel on them."

Aaron's nose crinkled in disgust when he heard Noah's name but then relaxed. "Violet? When did you start hanging out with Violet?"

Shannon peered up from her work and shoved another worthless article back onto the table. "I've been trying. It's been difficult. She's so distant, you know?"

Aaron smiled back, nodding sympathetically. He placed the mug onto his desk beside him. "Yeah. Violet's distant with everyone though. I barely can get a word out of her."

She sighed loudly, rubbing her temples. This was too much. Between work, her wedding planning, and her attempts at spending time with her friends, family, fiancee, Shannon was physically and mentally exhausted. All she wanted to do was sit in front of the fire with a good book, but she rarely had time alone. 

"I guess. Do you think she likes Noah? I had the feeling that she wasn't particularly fond of him. Do you like him?"

Once again, Aaron gagged slightly at the mention of Noah Anderson. Fortunately, Shannon hadn't noticed as her nose was stuck in between the pages of an article. Finally, she thought, I found a writer among these amateurs! 

"Shay, don't worry," he managed to choke out. "He's a great guy...you two are perfect for each other."

Tears began forming at the brim of Shannon's eyes. She loved Aaron. She had met him when she began interning at this magazine, and they had become best friends quickly. When she became editor and had to choose an assistant, there was no doubt in her mind that Aaron would not be her first choice. Aaron was kind, hilarious, and intelligent, and she was thankful that he was part of her life.

"Thanks, Aar. I hope that you can find a girl that you love as much as I love Noah. Maybe I can hook you and Violet up?" Her eyebrows wiggled up and down, causing a laugh to escape Aaron's lips.

 "Yeah, maybe." He smiled, but it never reached his eyes. 

"So, Shannon's not coming. Too much work. She sends her love and her apologies," Noah responded monotonously, dreading another hour with Violet.

It wasn't that Violet was a horrible person. She was witty, and Noah had to admite that he enjoyed her sass. However, whenever his eyes laid upon her face, he couldn't shake off the memories of that chance encounter a few months ago. Their proximity was causing his heart to break with guilt.

"Tw-o-o-w b-wad Shay-nuh," Violet grumbled, chewing on the leg of chicken. She was such a lady, Noah mentally noted. With gravy dripping down the sides of her mouth and with pieces of mashed potatoes on her blouse, she was definitely a fine catch.

Noah gulped. He wondered how he could carry on this evening without the assistance of his girl. Could he kick Violet out? No, of course, not! Could he lie and say he suddenly got the flu? No, there was no way that he could pull off being sick in a matter of minutes. 

Maybe, I could lie and say that I suddenly needed to go to work. Noah quickly excused himself, stating that he had to use the restroom, and rushed over to grab his phone. After doing so, he  hurried back to his original location.

"Hello, Noah Anderson speaking," Noah declared in a booming voice, hoping to grab Violet's attention. The blonde looked up from her plate.

After he noticed that Violet was listening, he continued his act into the lifeless phone. "Oh, you need me to go to work? At this hour? I have family over, so I unfortunately will not be able to come in."

Violet chopped on her corn, and tiny pieces flew into the air.

Noah hoisted the phone in the air and rubbed his left ear, pretending as if the person on the phone was yelling profusely. He rolled his eyes at Violet before placing the phone back onto his ear. "Okay, if you really need me there on this case, I guess I can be over there shortly."

Just as Violet was about to place the plate onto the table and grab her belongings, the phone beeped. "The number you have reached does not exist. Please try again. The number you have reached does not exist."

Shit! Noah groaned, realizing that he must've dialed a number by accident while he was moving the phone around for dramatic effect. He silently hoped that Violet hadn't noticed and that she was about  to say goodbye.

"That was a good show," Violet muttered, snatching up her new purse, a Bucci, that she had bought three weeks ago from a vendor on the street. "If you wanted me to leave, you could've just asked instead of using up your phone minutes."

The man blanched in response. He presumed that Violet, even if she had known that Noah had fibbed, would have left and acted as if he really had received an urgent work phone call. Shannon would have done that. Of course, Noah soon recognized that although Shannon and Violet were sisters, they had nothing in common besides a few physical traits.

"You have to understand," Noah implored, his hand gingerly touching her arm, "that this has been so hard for me. I'm living this lie, and whenever I'm around you, it just reminds me what a piece of shit I am."

The girl's nostrils flared. "Listen, whatever happened the night we," she hesitated, pointing to herself and then to the trembling man in front of her, "we were intimate meant nothing. We discussed this at your stupid engagement party!"

Meant nothing? Of course that night meant everything. It meant that he wasn't a faithful guy. A couple of drinks, and all of a sudden, his loyalness for his girl was out the door. How could he continue to face Shannon, their friends, and their families in front of the alter knowing that he broke his sacred promise? 

Noah felt like banging his head against the wall. "I'll never move on from this mistake! It's going to haunt me for the rest of my life. How can I--"

And before he could utter another word, Violet Weaver had closed the gap between them and pushed their lips together.

Merry Christmas guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. XoXo. FYI, I'm going to try to make the relationships as realistic as possible, so although Violet just kissed Noah, I can reassure you that Violet has not suddenly fallen in love with Noah. Relationships don't happen that quickly! There's another purpose for the kiss ;)