by Bria Leigh
Bing opened the door and took one look at me, breaking into a big lopsided grin. He’d grown so much since I last saw him. He resembled Wilder more and more.
“Violet,” he said, wrapping his arms around me. I ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head.
“You are huge,” I pulled away so I could get a better look at him. He stared back at me with big brown eyes.
“That’s what Wilder keeps telling me.”
“Where is your brother?”
“In the kitchen making drinks with Saint,” he said, giving me an eye roll. “Come on, let’s interrupt him. He’ll be happy to see you.”
From the looks of him, he was wrapped up in Saint and drinking when I walked into the kitchen. And there were two girls there I never seen before.
They both stopped talking and looked at me when I walked in. Wondering who I was and why I was interrupting all the fun going on.
Wilder stopped talking when he realized I was there.“You’re here already?”
I nodded. “I told you it wouldn’t take that long.” I let him pull me in for a hug. He smelled like alcohol. Drunk Wilder wasn’t the Wilder I was expecting to see when I came home.
“Violet, you want a drink?” Saint filled a cup and headed for me. He was already a mess, red cheeks, and that look in his eyes when he had too much to drink. The same look he gave me the night he told me to kick rocks.
“Thanks.” I accepted it but didn’t take a drink. I kept my eyes on Wilder, hoping he would offer to go someplace quiet so we could hash out our issues from a couple of weeks ago.
“This is Jessa and Pruitt.” He gave a short introduction to the two girls who were still staring at me. “Pruitt is an exchange student. And Jessa is the hot piece of ass I picked up at the gas station. They wanted to celebrate the holidays with the funniest guys around town.”
He tapped my drink. “Don’t be a prude. Drink up. I know you got it in you.”
Wilder’s eye got big. “Saint shut the fuck up. She doesn’t have to drink if she doesn’t want to.”
“Relax. I don’t want the fun to die now that Violet arrived.” He laughed it off like it wasn’t a big deal. He was insulting me in front of the entire room.
Bing gave me a sympathetic smile and left. He wasn’t fond of Saint any more than I was.
“I don’t have to drink to have fun,” I said to Saint. I walked the cup over to the counter and sat it down. “It makes you do stupid things. Like sleep with people you shouldn’t sleep with.”
“Ooh. Are you saying you had a one-night stand?” Saint loved every moment of this.
I glared at him. “I’m saying you’re an idiot. Can you ever come around and not influence him to make dumb decisions?”
“Wilder is a grown man. I don’t have to force him to fuck anyone,” Saint threw back at me. “Maybe you ought to admit you don’t like it. Then maybe he wouldn’t do it anymore.”
Wilder shoved Saint into the cabinets, the girls took off, screaming. Wilder pushed him again, so hard I was sure he broke him in half.
“When are you going to learn to shut your fucking mouth about her?” He threw him against the wall.
“Wilder!” I couldn’t let him kill Saint no matter how much I didn’t like him. I grabbed him by the arm trying to get through to him. “Stop it. I didn’t come home for this.” Saint fought against his grip, and Wilder kept him pinned. He was no match for Wilder when he was angry.
“Fuck you,” Saint spit, trying to get Wilder’s hand off of his throat. “Get off of me.”
“Wilder, let him go, please,” I begged.
He finally released him, watching him leave like a dog with his tail between his legs. Wilder looked at the girls. “You might as well get the fuck out too.”
Neither one of them argued they collected their purses and shoes and headed for the door.
Saint slammed the door shut, and not long after that, I heard him peel out of the driveway. I rushed to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
I felt horrible again. Every time Wilder and I came together, something bad happened. Someone knocked on the door.
“You okay?” Bing said softly.
I looked in the mirror, watching the tears fall. I wasn’t okay at all. But I wiped my eyes and splashed my face with cold water. “Yeah. I’m okay, Bing.”
I pushed down the sad.
I hid the hurt feelings.
I put it all away and unlocked the bathroom door.
Wilder
“I MADE BREAKFAST,” Bing said as soon as I shuffled into the kitchen, transferring scrambled eggs on two plates on the table.
I had a massive headache from both the drinking and feeling like an asshole on Violet’s first night back in town. I was sure Bing was going to want to talk about it. He was an emotional kid. And he didn’t like to see anyone hurt. That was why he was jumping between flying fists and my mother. He cared too much—just like me at his age.
I fucked up. It wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t like I planned on drinking with Saint. He showed up, toting bottles of booze and two chicks. I had every intention of seeing Violet. But when Saint came with alcohol and woman, there wasn’t much you could do to get out of it. I knew it wasn’t an excuse, but I really had planned on telling him we had to wrap it up.
I grabbed the fork on the table and started shoveling scrambled eggs in my mouth. He wasn’t a bad cook. You had to be good at everything growing up with our mother. When I was a kid, I survived on cereal and frozen pizzas. Not much changed when Bing came into the picture. One difference between the two of us—I had Violet’s house to run to when shit went south. And her mom always fed me before she sent me back home.
“You know, she was crying.” He got straight to the point. “Her eyes were red when she came out of the bathroom.”
The thought of Violet upset because of me hurt more than anything. I didn’t know why I was messing things up so much lately. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I so selfish?
“I didn’t mean to make her cry.”
“Why did you freak out on Saint?”
I chewed, thinking about that question. Saint had a mouth. And any other time, I wouldn’t care if he was talking shit. But he did it too much with Violet. She didn’t need that shit.
“He was disrespectful to Violet.” I hadn’t hit him. I wanted to, but I was able to control myself and what I really wanted to do.
“I’d have punched him.” Bing shrugged.
I shook my head, getting up. I walked my plate to the sink and set it in there. “Nothing gets solved using violence. I didn’t want to hurt him. I just wanted him to act right.”
“You think he’ll come back around after that?”
“I don’t know.” Our friendship never got to that point before. I wasn’t sure what he would do. I didn’t care if he ever came around again. He was wrong, and I wasn’t going to be friends with someone who didn’t respect my best friend.
“I’m heading over to talk to her right now. Lock up if you go home.” I messed his hair up and headed out the door in sweats, slides, and a white t-shirt. I was ready to apologize for being an asshole.
I climbed the stairs to Violet’s place and knocked. Her mom answered, smiling at me.
“Wilder. I was wondering when you would show up,” she pulled me in for a hug. “How are you doing?”
“I’ll be okay once I talk to Vi.” I hugged her tight. “I was an asshole last night.”
She shut the door, and I followed her into the kitchen.
“Oh. I’m sure your intentions were pure.” She lifted her cup of coffee off the counter and took a sip. “She didn’t say much about it to me. Other than how out of line you were. And then she went to bed.” She rolled her eyes.
I sat down at the kitchen table. “Why don’t you ever kick my ass?”
She laughed at the absurdity of it. “I am no match for the likes of you. Why would I kick your ass?”
“Because I upset your daughter and act like a
n asshole.” If it were me, I would want to kick my ass if someone treated my daughter the way I acted towards Violet lately.
“I know your heart, Wilder. If I thought you wanted to hurt my daughter, of course, I would rip your heart out and feed it to you.” She shook her head and leaned against the counter. “You have always been nothing but loving and protective of her. I’m lucky my daughter has someone like you.”
I stared at my hands. Violet’s mother loved me, she always had, and she still did. It felt good, especially when I never felt that from my mother growing up. I never wanted to do anything to make that go away.
“She’s upstairs,” she told me, heading out of the kitchen.
I went upstairs for the millionth time in my life. When I made it to the top, I stopped admiring her school pictures hanging in the hallway, every year on display. She was more beautiful every year. She didn't even know how great she was or that I was falling more in love with her every year.
I got to be by her side, and that was the best place to be. I didn’t care how bad it sucked at home. I didn’t care if my clothes weren’t as nice as the other kids. I only cared about how good it felt to have a friend that needed me as much as I needed her.
Her door was halfway open, so I pushed it the rest of the way. She was in bed asleep. Her hair spread out against her pillowcase, going in every direction. Her hands were neatly resting underneath her pillow. One leg sticking out from the blankets. She was beautiful, the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Nobody compared. And there were a lot of women out there in the universe. Not even one of them made me feel the way Violet did when I looked at her.
I carefully worked myself between her and her wall. “Why are you still asleep? It’s almost eleven.”
I startled her awake with my question. She slapped me. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Sneak up on me,” she warned. She laid back down on her pillow, still tired. “I’m surprised you aren’t sleeping.”
“I couldn’t sleep knowing you were mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you.”
That surprised me. It felt like she was. She left and didn’t even tell me goodbye.
“Then what are you?”
“Disappointed.”
“Why are you disappointed?”
“Because you have been quite disappointing lately.” She got straight to the point.
“That’s because I don’t know how to handle this new shit.”
“What new shit?”
She never hung out with guys. She didn’t go out drinking. It had always been her and me. I didn’t like seeing her that way. I didn’t want her to like anyone other than me.
“At least kiss a guy with better tattoos,” I said with a shrug. I knew I was petty. But what else was I supposed to do when I felt like putting both hands around Mac’s neck and strangling him.
“Wilder, he’s a nice guy. Stop being an ass,” she warned me. Finally, we were in the same room, talking to each other instead of being angry and avoiding each other. I felt like myself again.
“Okay. I’ll believe you if you say Mac’s a nice guy.”
“He is. And you need to apologize to him. He could have pressed charges on you.”
“Nobody apologizes for that shit,” I sighed. “It’s like guy code.”
“Wilder.”
“Alright. I’ll send Mac a text apologizing for throwing him in the bush.”
“Good. And for punching him.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t even remember punching him.”
“Well, you did.”
She rolled over and touched my face. “See. Sweet and nice Wilder is the Wilder I love so much.”
I covered her hand with mine. “You just said you loved me.”
“Well, of course, I do.” She didn’t realize how that made me feel to hear it. Of course, I knew there was love between us. But it wasn’t often we spoke on it.
“I love your bed head,” I told her, messing with her crazy curls. I laughed when she tried swatting my hand away. “You know you have never liked me touching your hair.”
“That’s because I don’t.”
I poked her in the nose. “Why not?”
“Because nobody has ever liked my hair, which made me hate my hair. So, it’s strange hearing you say you like it.”
“I love everything about you.” I smiled at her, and she rolled away from me, getting off the bed.
“Did you eat?”
“Yep. Bing fed me his famous eggs.”
“Well, I haven’t eaten. So, I need to eat something.”
I sat up, toying with one of her decorative pillows. “What happened to you the night of the costume party?” I still had no idea where she went.
She gave me a look. “I went home with Mac. I wasn’t about to leave him beaten and bloody.”
“That’s why you went home with him?” She kissed him. I knew there was something there; otherwise, she wouldn’t have sucked face with him.
“I wanted to go home with him, Wilder.”
That was a stab to my heart.
“Because you left me for the blonde girl. It felt like you didn’t care what I was doing. I only knew three people at that party. And the one I knew the longest was shoving his tongue down someone’s throat.”
“It was stupid. I was drunk and acting like an idiot.” I could admit it. I was thinking with my dick and not with my head. All the shots and beers and a cute girl rubbing her ass against my crotch, I was thinking about one thing. By the time I had more to drink, it all blurred together. I didn’t have to have a good memory to know why I hit Mac.
“You do that a lot,” she insisted.
“Because I’m an idiot. You’re right. I need to get it together.”
“You’re too good to act like that,” she said.
“I acted that way because I was jealous.”
“You were jealous?”
“Someone else was taking away my best friend.” It was halfway true.
“Nobody is taking me away from you,” she hugged me, knocking me backward on her bed, her body falling on top of mine. “This was a lot easier to do when we were kids.”
“You didn’t have boobs,” I joked.
“And you were shorter. And were way skinnier.”
“I have muscles, girl. And don’t you forget it.” I tickled her, and she laughed.
There was silence. We stared at each other, smiles hanging on both our faces. There were a million things I wanted to tell Violet. A million things I wanted to explain.
“No more fighting,” she said.
“No more fighting,” I promised.
She kissed me on the cheek and dropped down on my chest. Her hair was covering most of my face. But I didn’t care. There was no better place to be trapped than beneath Violet.
I traced my fingers up and down her back like I did when she was upset when we were kids.
THE NEXT DAY, I WAS in the middle of the store in the mall, trying to figure out what to buy Violet for Christmas. What could the most incredible person I’d ever known want?
People were out and about scrambling for those last-minute gift ideas. And I was completely unsure of what I should do. What would make her smile? I had no idea.
“Shopping for someone special?” The lady behind the counter asked.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“Jewelry is always a great option,” she suggested, gesturing to the counter she was standing behind. “What kind of girl is she?”
“A simple one.” Violet didn’t care about material things like other girls.
“What about a necklace?” She opened the case with a key and brought up a tray of jewelry. “This is simple but so beautiful. See the tiny diamonds in the heart?”
I nodded; it didn’t do anything for me. “She’s so much more than a diamond necklace.”
She bit down on her lip, trying to make sense of what that even meant.
“A ring?” She sugges
ted. “Is she amazing enough to take the next step?”
Holy fuck. The thought of marrying Violet sent little shock waves through me. I was struggling to be a good friend, let alone a husband. The idea of her walking down the aisle in a white dress towards me would be the happiest moment in my life, I was sure. But that was a lot of pressure. We were still young. I didn’t know anything about being a husband.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I stepped away to check it. My Instagram was blowing up. A couple of swipes and I knew why. Comment after comment kept piling up and making my phone buzz. Saint had released a video—of me drunk. I wasn’t sure exactly when it was, but it was right there for everyone to see.
I squeezed my phone, ready to kill him. I headed for the exit, sure this time that when I found him, I actually would punch him in the face this time. There would be no pity given, I wanted to smash his face into a million pieces.
The more I watched, the more my anger grew. What the fuck had I been doing? I could hear Saint laughing in the background watching me with two girls I didn’t even remember. Girls doing things with me I didn’t want anyone witnessing—especially Violet.
I hooked up with a lot of girls Saint brought around. But knowing he was filming me proved just how shady he was. And now he was sharing it all over social media. I guess it was his only way of getting even for the other day.
And showing Violet the night two girls gave me head was his way of doing it. He wanted to ruin my image and take away the one thing that made me happy. All because he couldn’t stand up to me on his own.
Violet
“SO, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS for tonight?” Mom said coming into the living room with a bowl of popcorn. I turned my phone off and dropped it in my lap. I didn’t want her to see the video of Wilder that Saint posted all over the internet.
She loved Wilder. There was no way she could stomach watching him in such a position—literally.
“Nothing. I have absolutely nothing to do.”
“No Wilder?”
I shook my head. “No, he hasn’t called.”