Chapter 4 Out For A Jog

*Yawn*

Violet slowly sat up in her bed and sleepily rubbed at her eyes. She yawned again, blinked severally and lay back on the bed.

Few minutes later, she groaned tiredly and sat up in bed. Then she rubbed at her eyes and blinked severally to chase off the sleep.

She looked around her room tiredly before her brows furrowed in confusion. "Where am I?"

Panicking, she scrambled off the bed in a hurry and landed on her face.

"Oowww" she groaned as she rolled onto her back. Her fall had triggered her head to recall that this was her new room, in her new house, in a new town.

Her body ached badly because of her sleep and the pain of falling off the bed. To top that, she had a splitting headache.

Getting up, she looked into the mirror and gasped. Her hair looked like what a million chickens had scratched and picked at. And that only happened when…

She whipped her head to her bedside clock. 15:42 PM.

"O My God. I slept for that long?!" She whispered in mild surprise.

She got up from the floor and went over to her vanity. Sitting on the chair, she began to brush her hair. She wondered why she had woken up so late.

Yesterday wasn't so stressful, and she had also set her alarm clock before sleeping.

Oh…maybe it was because she had been up all night, listening to the howls and growls from the forest, which a large part of it was, unfortunately, at her backyard.

She had fallen asleep later in the night, dreaming of savage, man-eating wolves. She shuddered involuntarily.

Having brushed her hair to the silly, smooth nature of it, Violet got into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. When she was done, she put on some jogging pants and a tank top. She tied her hair up and jogged downstairs.

Downstairs was empty. Aunt Ree wasn't home as she had suspected. She would never let Violet stay in bed for that long.

She opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water. She made rounds in the house, locking up every door and window. She came back to the kitchen to retrieve her bottle when she found a note on the island.

'Left for city hall to get us registered as residents. I'll pick up some groceries on my way home, so I might turn up late. There's some mozzarella sticks and leftover pizza in the fridge if you're hungry. I'm hoping to run into that handsome stranger from yesterday. He didn't give his name, can you believe that!'

"Oh aunt Ree" Violet chuckled and read on.

'Remember to lock up If you're going out and please Vee, don't wander off to anywhere you don't know.

Love,

Aunt Ree.'

Violet slipped the note into her pants pocket and jogged out of the house.

After an hour of jogging, Violet was exhausted. She leaned tiredly on the tree beside the main road. She was sweaty and tired, and she was panting as she had gone from jogging to running, in the last five minutes.

She had jogged to where she did not know and panicked when she couldn't find her way back. It was also getting dark as the sun had begun to set.

Luckily for her, she had found the cafe she jogged past, before she got lost. She did the mental math and estimated that her house could be about seven blocks from there.

Grrrr

Her stomach grumbled, interrupting her thoughts. She rubbed it in surprise. " I haven't…"

Suddenly, the weight of exhaustion and hunger came down on her. She slid to the ground.

"I've only had a bottle of water today" she mumbled sadly. "Aunt Ree is going to kill me for this."

She stretched herself but immediately regretted it as she held her stomach tightly, and the hunger stabbed it mercilessly. Her body began to shake from food deprivation.

Violet looked longingly at the cafe, imagining herself stuffing her mouth with food. All the flavors bursting and delighting her taste buds; the satisfying drop of the food in her stomach. She'd soon start hallucinating. "No. I need to get home soon," she smiled as she dusted herself off and began to walk.

She would eat as soon as she got home. She'd even eat Aunt Ree's meatloaf if it was the only thing left. But her hunger didn't agree with her decision, as her legs buckled and she fell.

"Aahhh." Violet curled up like a ball. The hunger stabbed her on all sides of her stomach. She shut her eyes to endure the pain. She wondered what sort of hunger was this. She breathed a few times before changing her position to all fours. Maybe she should rethink her decision…

"Hey, are you okay? What's happening to you?" A male voice called behind her. She felt his hurried footsteps coming towards her, but she was occupied. She was enduring her pain that she didn't hear his next question. She finally acknowledged his presence when she felt his hand on her back.

She looked up to see a concerned young man hovering over her. He had blond hair that fell to his face. A straight nose, thin lips and obsidian eyes. His skin was tan and he looked fit. Athletic fit.

"Let me help you up," the guy mumbled as he lifted Violet up. He watched her quietly while she dusted herself off. She was a beauty, he thought. Her violet eyes were very peculiar too and he was just drawn to her immediately.

"How did you fall?" He inquired curiously. She looked just fine a second ago, when he had been watching her from a distance. Now, not so much.

He chuckled lightly when Violet shook her head and mumbled a small 'thank you'. She was also very cute. He tucked a stray hair behind her ear and replied, "it's okay. You're welcome."

He watched her for a moment and asked, "tell me, how did you fall?"

Violet shook her head and was about to speak, when her stomach grumbled treacherously.

The guy threw his head back in laughter. Her stomach was quick to answer before her. Violet flushed with embarrassment. "Traitor!" She whispered as she glared at her stomach. How could it do that to her, upon everything she had fed it in the past.

"You know, you shouldn't starve yourself when there's a nice cafe right in front of you. Why don't you come and get some food into you before heading off anywhere. My treat," the guy suggested warmly. He wanted to spend a lot of time with this girl. He didn't know why, but he just wanted to.

Violet hurriedly declined. She had been mortified thanks to her screaming hunger, so she couldn't risk another one in front of him. She'd better leave soon. "I appreciate it, thanks, but I can manage till I get home."

She quickly turned away and had taken just two steps when her legs gave way. "Ahh" she squealed. She felt herself falling and shut her eyes to prepare for the impact. Her body parts haven't been working well lately.

Before she could hit the ground, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and steadied her. "That was close," he breathed when he had let go of her. Violet felt her face heat up painfully. She didn't know what to do anymore.

"So there's two things I suspect. Either you intentionally fell so you could end up in my arms…"

"No way!" Violet cut in sharply. Why would she even want to do that? It wasn't like he was her soulmate or something. She folded her arms and glared at him. Why would she even think of doing that?

The guy laughed cheerfully. Even her glare was cute. He would enjoy her company, mostly teasing her. "Calm down, calm down. So if it's not that, then it must be that you've been weakened by hunger to continue on your own two feet. Just come into the cafe with me, it's just food and my awesome attitude. Not a horror house. Really this would be my treat, promise."

Violet started to decline his offer again but she could feel the growing protest in her stomach. Like it threatened to embarrass her again if she even thought of refusing to feed it. She sighed in resignation.

"Okay."