Wanting The Wilson Brothers

Violet’s POV It was very quiet at first; the only distinguishable sound was the hitting of a baseball by my annoying neighbour, who also doubles as my best friend. But that faded away along with the night, and just when I was about to close my eyes into dreamland, a loud thud jerked my head up. “No! You can’t do that to me and expect that I take it without fighting back, Clement. You hurt me!” Her voice sounded heart-wrenching, and I tried not to pay attention to my mother yelling in the living room. My hand darted out, throwing a pillow over my head. Yet, it wasn’t enough to stop the sounds from getting in. “What did you expect me to do?” My father yelled back. “I fell for her. You were unavailable, and she was right there. I couldn’t…” “I was unavailable?” I could imagine the tears piercing the corners of her eyes. The way she would blink them away. She hated appearing weak. She hated crying in front of anyone. Not even the man she promised to spend the rest of her life with. “Mara, you know…” “I have cancer, Clement,” she wailed. “Of course, I am unavailable because I am trying to save myself from dying.” “I didn’t mean it that way…” Groaning, I dragged myself up from my bed, grabbed a crop hoodie from the hook over my denim shorts, and walked out of my dark-themed room. They both looked up the minute I stepped into the living room, guilt on their faces. I raised my hands in the air before shrugging on my headphones. “Don’t mind the kid in the house,” I muttered. “Just get on with it.” “Violet…” My mother called, her hand stretched out. But I was already under the night air before she could take another step forward. I hated everything that my life had become. But it was so much worse that I was angry with her for being on the path to death. I had imagined my mother attending every important milestone of my life. But now, it was so hard holding on to those dreams, especially when the doctors had given up hope too. She was on a new treatment. Still, the chances were slim, and the hospital had already asked us to make the best of these last days. Yet, my cheating father had chosen the right time to pick a fight. Walking out through the gates, I turned to the left, walking down the familiar path. I didn’t bother to knock because I never did. Well, maybe I should have because they were both on the baseball court. My best friend, Nate, and the new girl he was going out with. Ashley? Shirley? And they were kissing. Disgust rode up my chest as he snaked a hand around her waist, pulling her flush against him. But it was much more than that. It was pain that I had tried to suppress for almost my whole life. It was jealousy that I would never be her. I turned around to leave, feeling much worse than a few minutes ago. But in that minute, Nate looked up. “Violet,” he breathed, pulling away from her with red patches on his face. “Em… What are you… I thought I told you…” His new girlfriend held on to his arm, her perfectly manicured nails splayed on his arms. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I can’t believe I walked into that,” I sighed dramatically. “Next time, lock your gates and take this inside. Some of us would rather keep the image of you undefiled…Oh. Wait a minute. You have always been defiled.” He laughed, a hearty sound that I fell in love with years ago. “Come on, Violet, you know you love these scenes. At least, it makes up for your non-existent s*x life.” “At least, I don’t have a different girlfriend every other week.” I darted my gaze towards her. “No offense meant, Ashley. You are a darling. In fact, you are by far the hottest girl Nathaniel Wilson has ever dated.” “Her name is Beckley,” Nate whispered loudly, his eyes wide with something I liked to think was panic. “Ashley is the last girl.” “Oh! Em…. I guess I’m just going to go. Have fun, you two.” “Wait,” Nate called, jogging over to me. “Did you need to talk to me about something?” I looked back at the redhead waiting for him. The words were on my lips, but on a second thought, I changed my mind, shaking my head. “It’s nothing that can’t wait.” I didn’t wait for his response before turning around and heading back to our house. It had grown quiet now. My dad must have gone to spend the night with his colleague s***h f**k buddy, like he had been doing these past few weeks. I met my mom in the living room, her eyes sunken and her fingers jittery. She got off the couch immediately I walked in. “Violet….” “Mom, can we do this tomorrow?” I whispered. “I really do not want to talk about Dad right now.” She shook her head. “We don’t have to talk about him now, honey.” But it was more than that. It hurt that I had to look at her lose a part of herself every day. So, I pulled away from her, heading up the stairs. “Goodnight, Mom.” Back in my room, I pushed the quilt onto the floor and lay on the bed, turning on my phone. Nate was my screensaver, but of course, he couldn’t know that. My fingers traced the edge of his perfect face and that smirk that never ceased to make me breathless. My blinds shook suddenly, and a groaning sound erupted from the window, causing me to drop my phone. “Who’s there?” In another second, Nate climbed into my room. He was still in the same outfit from earlier, but there was something different about him. His eyes. They had tears in them.