“You do realize that she never told me you existed, right? She told me she was an only child, no brothers or sisters to speak of.”
His words are knives piercing my skin, but I refuse to show him how much they hurt. “I’m sure she had her reasons. Just like I’m sure she’s not cheating.”
“Great. Well,yousaid it, so it must be true, because you know everything about everyone, don’t you?”
I give a slow nod, simply because I’m at a loss for what else to do. I’m not trained for a sparring match. I don’t want to use my words as weaponsorshields, and Landon’s forcing me to do both.
“Fucking unbelievable,” he mutters. “I suggest you start looking for a different living arrangement. The second Melanie comes back, you’re gone.”
FOURTEEN
Once Landon stalks out of the room, I just…stand there for a moment, paralyzed. My eyes burn from holding back tears, and my throat feels thick. I swallow. Blow out a breath. Then, I clean the kitchen until it’s spotless, if only because I’m not sure what else to do. I don’t know if I should search for an apartment now, stay with Brit and Sienna for a while, or continue my daily routine as though nothing ever happened.
One thing is obvious: Landon doesn’t want me here. And I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted. That’s why I left home. Since the day my mother died, the town made it clear I was an outsider. An outcast. But I screwed on my smiles, and I went to the parties, and I drank what was in the cups, no matter how disgusting. I couldn’t stand the idea of not fitting in, but the pressure of it all was killing me and the nature of it all was caging me in. Trapping me.
I had to get out, so I did.
Landon wants me gone, so I’ll go.
I can’t deny that it hurts, though. I can’t deny that at all.
That night, tucked in bed withThe Baking Challengequeued up and ready to go, my dad calls to check in. Staring at his name flashing across the screen, I ignore the call, guilt churning my stomach as I let it roll to voicemail. I can’t talk to him right now. I can’t let him hear the pain in my voice because I know it will upset him.
He knows me too well, so I call my sister instead.
She answers on the third ring. “Violet?”
“Hey,” I say, not sure how to proceed. Not sure if I called to tell her about my argument with her boyfriend, or my talk with his father, or to defuse all the bombs Landon threw at me in the kitchen with truths. Or maybe I called to hear the sound of my sister’s voice. Why can’t it be as simple as that?
“Everything okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, I was actually calling to see how your trip is going,” I lie. “Are you out?”
“No, I’m in my hotel room. Just got back from dinner.”
I’m about to respond when I hear it. A man’s voice in the background. A man’s voice in the hotel room with her. “Who is that, babe?”
Babe.
Who is that. Babe.
My stomach drops. No way. No way is Landon right.
“Who was that?” I ask, trying to make the question sound as innocent as possible, all while my heart is in my throat.
“Oh, just one of my co-workers," she says, brushing me off like it’s normal. Like it’s nothing.
My next words come out hesitant. “This late?”
“We’re about to grab a drink. I should go. Was there anything else you needed?”
Do all your business associates call you babe?is what I want to ask. But I don’t. I can’t. Because I’m Violet “No Backbone”James. Violet “Must Always Be Liked”James. Violet “Doesn’t Have A Clue”James, apparently. It’s who I’ve always been, and there’s no point in changing now.
“No,” I lie, my stomach hollow. “Nothing else.”
“I’ll be home in a week. We can chat then.”
“Okay, have a good-”
