*Violet's POV*
When she tells us to get out, I’m still too mad at her for what she said to Kane to be upset about it. I stand up from my chair and storm out the door, and I know he’s following me.
Once I make it out the front door, I storm down the driveway and sit on the curb of the sidewalk. “Well that could have gone better.”
Kane sits down beside me and says, “It also could have gone worse.”
“I know, you’re right. The important part went okay. And my mom will come around. I think.”
He puts his arm around me and I cuddle into his side. “Are you going to be okay if she doesn’t?” He asks me.
“I think so. I mean, she was never really there for me before anyway. It’s my dad I’m more nervous about. That would much more difficult.”
“I mean, I don’t know your dad, but from what you’ve told me, he seems like a pretty unde
*Kane's POV*I’m very pleasantly surprised that Malcolm is so accepting of this. He’s probably the only stable parental figure I’ve ever witnessed. No wonder Violet talks so highly of him. He’s what a father should be and I’m glad she had him to raise her.Truthfully, I don’t know what I would have done if he had reacted the same way as her mother. I don’t think I would have been able to handle causing her that kind of pain, but at the same time, I’m not sure I would have been able to let her go either.“Are you guys hungry? Should we order some food?” Malcolm asks.“Yeah, I could eat,” Violet says and looks at me and I smile. I’m glad she seems to be doing better since breakfast. It was really hard for me to watch her struggle, knowing it was my fault. Malcolm nods and then raises his hand to get the waiter’s attention.We order our food and we eat mostly in
*Violet's POV* We meet my Dad downstairs for breakfast and discuss our strategy for dealing with my mother. Personally, I don’t think it’s going to make any difference what we say if she hasn’t cooled off since yesterday, but it can’t hurt to have a plan. After some discussion, we finally come to the conclusion that none of us has any clue how to approach this so we’re just going to show up and hope she’s feeling more reasonable today. Dad drives us there and we walk up to the front door and stand there awkwardly, unsure if we should be knocking or not. It reminds me of the first time I came here with Kane. Naturally, my brain starts flooding with other memories of that same trip and I feel my cheeks heat up. Get it together Violet. After several seconds, my dad sighs and takes the initiative to knock. We wait there awkwardly for a few minutes before the door swings open to reveal my mother, dressed in a skin tight black dress with her hair curled and
*Violet’s POV*I’m currently lying awake, staring at the sheer canopy above my four poster bed, still completely unable to fall asleep. Tomorrow is the day I travel to Boston with my boyfriend Jason (everybody calls him Jace) to start my freshman year at Harvard. He’s a year older than me and is heading into his second year at UMass Boston. We’ve been together for almost 4 years now, though our relationship started long before that. We grew up as neighbours in our gated community and over the years, our friendship developed into more.He was there for me through my parents’ divorce which caused my existing anxiety problems to snowball into a pretty bad eating disorder. He was there for me when my mom remarried and moved to London.I was actually a little surprised that he stuck with me because when he hit tenth grade, he basically became hot overnight. He joined the football team, filled out, grew like a foot and his baby face disap
*Violet's POV*We drive straight through, deciding to stop for lunch at some random diner in Cambridge. We both order sandwiches and split a chocolate milkshake and then we head over to campus and find my dorm. I sling my backpack over my shoulder and grab one of the bags as Jace takes one of the boxes.I’m suddenly nervous about meeting my roommate. What if she hates me? No, that’s stupid. She’s not going to hate you. That’s just the anxiety talking. I take 3 controlled deep breaths, counting 4 seconds in and out, just like my therapist told me to do when I’m feeling anxious or overwhelmed.My room number is 204 which means it’s on the second floor. We make our way through the crowd of people also rushing in and out with boxes.When we find my room I see that one half of it is already set up with posters, pictures, string lights and a neon pink bedspread. A girl wearing very small short shorts and a tight tank top with
*Kane's POV*“Oh by the way, Kane, your mother and I-”“Heather is not my mother, and she never will be,” I say coldy.“Watch your tongue boy,” He snaps and the look in his eyes has me freezing in place. His punishments are...brutal. And they’ve been getting progressively worse since my mother’s death when I was 12. And I can’t do a damn thing about it because he literally has my entire life in his hands.“Like I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, we will be moving to New York next month and I’ve arranged your transfer to Harvard to finish up the school year.”“Fine,” I bite out. It’s not like it matters where I finish school. And it’s not like I’ll be leaving anybody behind. I’m not in the business of making personal connections. My father made damn sure of that.“Was that attitude I just heard?”&ldquo
*Violet's POV*As I look into his dark eyes, I can’t help the slew of emotions that over power me. Anger, hatred and fear are the most prominent ones. He looks exactly the same as he did the last time I saw him. Tall, fit, covered in tattoos, black hair short on the sides and pushed back on top and giving me a cold, calculating look with a hint of unpredictability that tells me he could snap at any second. The same one that was always on his father’s face.“What are you doing here?”“I go here. What are you doing here?” He spits back.“I go here. I thought you were at Oxford?”“I was. I had to transfer here for my last year because my father forced me to follow them to New York a couple months ago.”I’m so shocked I don’t even know what to reply to this. How did I not know they were here? Also I think this is the longest we’ve ever spoken without him insulting me.
*Kane's POV*God dammit! I slam the door to my room and begin pacing, remembering the first time I ever met her. It was at the wedding 5 years ago. She was so small and fragile, wearing a long sleeved dress that was a couple sizes too big for her. I didn’t know who she was at first, but when my father introduced us, I felt fear. Raw unadulterated fear. Not for me. But for her. There’s no way this girl could survive my father. I remember having a very strong and sudden urge to protect her.I made a big mistake, though. I didn’t hide it fast enough. He saw. He saw and I caught the glint in his eye that told me he was going to use her to punish me, just like he used to use my mother. I had to try to cover it up.When I found out she wasn’t going to be living with us, just visiting occasionally, I was relieved. But still, he needed to think I didn’t care and I needed her to hate me so she would stay away. So, every time she came to visi
*Violet's POV*When my alarm goes off the next morning, I look over and see Stella passed out on top of the covers wearing last night’s clothes. I didn’t even hear her come in last night. I stretch and get up and then go over to her bed.I put my hand on her shoulder and shake her a bit and say, “Stella, it’s time to wake up.”She groans and says, “I don’t wanna,” into the pillow.“If you get up now we’ll have time to go to Starbucks on our way,” I bribe. I’m not even sure if she likes coffee but I am in desperate need of one so hopefully she is too.Her head perks up at this and she says, “Need caffeine,” as she pushes herself up into a seated position.“When did you come back last night?” I ask her.“I have literally no clue,” She replies as she makes her way to the mirror. She looks in it and goes, “Dear God, I look lik